SpaceX’s Florida Director of Mission Assurance Leaves Company

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla – Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX) Scott Henderson, who joined the NewSpace firm in 2009 and served as the company’s director of mission assurance, has left SpaceX for a position with Raytheon.

Henderson, a former U.S. Air Force officer, was a fixture out at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40). While the media frequently saw and spoke with him out at SpaceX’s launch pad, few knew much about his background.SpaceX issued a press release when Henderson was hired stating that Henderson holds a degree in astronautics from the United States Air Force Academy. He also earned a masters degree in engineering management from Florida Tech. Henderson put his education to good use and worked a number of positions within the space industry.

“Scott was a part of a number of the tours out at the pad. It is my understanding that he got an offer he couldn’t refuse,” said SpaceX’s spokesperson Katherine Nelson. “While we certainly will miss his contributions to SpaceX, we absolutely wish him all the best.”

According to an article appearing in Florida Today, Henderson’s new position will be the vice-president of Raytheon’s Integrated Information Systems Division which is located in Dallas, Texas.

SpaceX has flown four of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets from SLC-40. Three of these launches saw the Hawthorne, Calif., –based company’s Dragon spacecraft make history for a variety of reasons. The first Dragon launched, entered into the history books as the first commercial spacecraft to orbit the Earth and splash down safely. The second was the first private spacecraft to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS), and be berthed to the station. The last Dragon, launched Oct. 7, was the first planned private resupply flight to the ISS. It completed its mission Oct. 28.