Featuring former NASA Astronaut, Boeing Executive, and Government Affairs Professional

[Huntington Beach, Calif. February 28, 2023] – Karman Space & Defense (“Karman”), an integrated concept-to-production solutions provider for mission-critical systems, including crewed-space flight and hypersonic missions, announced today the formation of its Board of Advisors. The Board is comprised of leading industry experts that will support the executive management team, through strategic guidance and technical analysis. A highly distinguished defense professional will join the board in the following months and be publicly announced.

Tony Koblinski, CEO of Karman Space & Defense, said: “We are honored and excited to welcome this group of admirable and talented industry leaders as members of our Board of Advisors. Their distinct backgrounds, intelligence, and invaluable years of experience, will help further enable Karman to drive our mission forward and better serve our key customers.”

The Karman Space & Defense Advisory Board Members announced today are:

Anthony “Tony” Antonelli – NASA Astronaut, US Navy (ret.) – Retired Astronaut, Naval Aviator and Test Pilot, with engineering degrees from MIT and University of Washington. Antonelli has accumulated over 4,700 flight hours in over 40 different kinds of aircraft and has completed 273 carrier arrested landings. He served as the Pilot for two Space Shuttle Missions, STS-119 and STS-132. After retiring from NASA, he worked at Lockheed Martin in various Executive roles including Chief Technologist and Director of Advanced Programs and Artemis II Mission Director for the Orion Program Office.

Rich Choppa – Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (ret.) – President of DellaCioppa Inc., an Aerospace and Defense Consulting firm, providing expertise in leadership, program management and operations, business development and sales, talent management, strategic and organizational planning. Choppa retired after 17 years as an executive at Boeing, most recently as Program Director for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Sustainment Programs and former Senior Director of Global Sales and Marketing for the company’s Missile & Weapons Systems division. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army, starting as a private and retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He served as a forward observer, fire support officer and commander in Ranger and Airborne units with multiple worldwide deployments.

Jack Czerwinski – Government Affairs – Founder and president of Reston Strategy Group “RSG,” a successful government affairs and strategic business consulting firm located in Northern Virginia. Czerwinski has extensive experience with the Congressional appropriations process and focuses on the aerospace, defense, and technology sectors. Before moving to the private sector, Czerwinski served as Appropriations Legislative Assistant to Virginia Congressman Frank R. Wolf (VA-10), who served as Chairman of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee with oversight and funding jurisdiction over NASA, DOJ, the FBI and other federal agencies.

About Karman Space & Defense

Karman Space & Defense is a concept-to-production solutions provider for the Space and Defense industry’s most complex and mission-critical systems, including crewed-space flight and hypersonic missions. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA, with facilities in Washington, Alabama, and Washington DC, Karman brings together industry-leading capabilities, advanced technologies, and the multi-decade history of its four business divisions, AAE Aerospace, AEC, AMRO, and Systima. For more information, visit our website Karman-SD.com.

Brenda Ramirez
Marketing Manager
Brenda.ramirez@karman-sd.com