Space policy luminary Mary Lynne Dittmar joins Axiom Space as Executive Vice President, Government Affairs

Axiom Space revealed Monday that Coalition for Deep Space Exploration founder and former President/CEO Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, known for her influential role in national policy toward human space exploration and commercial space development, has joined the Houston-based space infrastructure leader as Executive Vice President, Government Affairs.

At Axiom, which is currently constructing the world’s-first commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO) destination that will succeed the International Space Station (ISS), she will direct the company’s policy objectives and strategic advocacy with local, state, and federal government authorities.

“I am excited to be joining the team of experts I believe will accomplish the necessary next steps to ensure a permanent U.S. presence in low Earth orbit,” Dittmar said. “Axiom is leading the development of next-generation space infrastructure to meet the needs of industry, science, and the government. The opportunities it will create for a global user base are boundless.”

An established thought leader in the space industry, she sits on the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group, the Space Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). Through her work with the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration and her own consulting group, Dittmar Associates, she has served as one of the industry’s top representatives to the White House and Congress and been a senior adviser to multiple NASA mission directorates, the ISS Program, and various aerospace companies supporting the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Defense, and NASA.  

Her previous experience also includes roles as Senior Policy Advisor for the ISS National Laboratory, Member of the Board of Directors at the American Astronautical Society, and managing the Flight Operations Group and serving as the Chief Scientist for Commercial Payloads on the ISS Program at Boeing.

Dittmar’s addition bolsters an Axiom team already laden with specialized expertise in human spaceflight and deep experience in the design, construction, assembly, and operation of the ISS. She will report directly to President & CEO Michael Suffredini.

“Mary Lynne is one of the truest visionaries, leaders, and representatives our industry has ever had,” Suffredini said. “NASA and the whole of the U.S. government are valued partners in our efforts to preserve American leadership in space and open the floodgates of economic development and innovation in microgravity. She will tirelessly advocate for this vision and serve as an essential strategic voice. We are beyond thrilled to welcome her.”

In selecting Axiom in January 2020 to attach its own privately developed modules to ISS, NASA marked the Houston company a key driver of its efforts to commercialize LEO through public-private partnership. Once constructed as a new segment of the ISS, the Axiom Station will separate when the ISS is decommissioned and form the core infrastructure layer of the LEO economy – an industrial park in orbit offering space infrastructure as a service, opportunities for microgravity manufacturing and research, and accommodations for national and private astronauts.

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