Sr. Director, Business Development
Ken serves as a Sr. Director for Business Development at the Sierra Space Corporation, where he is responsible for leading business growth and asset utilization for Sierra Space Destinations, including the Orbital Reef Commercial Space Station, which is a Sierra Space-Blue Origin partnership under NASA’s Commercial Destination Free-Flyer program. The Orbital Reef will be a free flying commercial space station; playing host to a vast array of R&D and human spaceflight missions that will transition from the International Space Station. Orbital Reef customers will include government agencies, industry, academia, non-profits, and private citizens.
Before joining Sierra Space, Shields was the vice president and chief operating officer at the Center for the Advancement of Science In Space (CASIS), managers of the International Space Station National Laboratory. In serving the mission of the ISS National Lab from 2012-2021, Ken directed business operations, research programs, and ISS resource utilization for the benefit of life on Earth.
Mr. Shields is the recipient of the NASA Medal for Outstanding Public Leadership and has served on numerous boards and industry societies, including as the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGRS) President-elect.