Fortastra Expands Leadership Team to Support Development of Mission Ready Space Systems

Fortastra Expands Leadership Team to Accelerate Mission-Ready Space Systems

Fortastra Corporation, a developer of advanced space systems supporting national security and commercial missions, has appointed Josh Jetter, Sahil Desai, and Arnold Nowinski to its leadership team. This move strengthens Fortastra’s engineering, product, and organizational capabilities as the company continues scaling to support modern space infrastructure operations.

Industry Veterans Join Fortastra

Josh Jetter steps in as Chief Technology Officer and will lead the engineering organization across design, manufacturing, integration, and operations. Jetter brings extensive experience from Relativity Space, Impossible Aerospace, Momentus Space, and SpaceX, where he contributed to hardware development for Starlink and supported multiple space systems programs at Sandia National Laboratories. At Fortastra, he will work closely with customers to align product roadmaps with evolving technical requirements and mission needs.

Driving Product Strategy and Growth

Sahil Desai has joined as Vice President of Product and will direct product strategy and growth to ensure Fortastra’s technology delivers mission-ready capabilities for defense and commercial partners. Desai began his career as an Intelligence Community Officer supporting national security initiatives and later served as Director of Programs at Hermeus Corporation, where he established program management and helped secure key hypersonics contracts. Most recently, at Divergent Technologies, he scaled the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies in defense environments.

Strengthening Organizational Foundations

Arnold Nowinski takes on the role of Vice President of People, bringing more than 25 years of experience in commercial, civil, and Department of Defense programs. He previously served as Vice President and General Manager of the Space Launch and Sciences business unit at Astrion, leading a team of over 250 engineers and scientists across NASA and U.S. Space Force programs. Nowinski also worked on the flight safety system for Falcon 1 at SpaceX and served as a developmental engineer in the United States Air Force, supporting research and development at the Air Force Research Laboratory and mission assurance for National Security Space launches.

Leadership Perspectives

Mike Smayda, CEO of Fortastra, shared, “Fortastra is building technology that will define the next era of space operations and achieving that vision demands leaders from across disciplines and industries. Josh, Sahil, and Arnold bring world-class experience spanning engineering, product strategy, and organizational leadership from some of the most demanding and innovative sectors. This diversity of expertise provides a unique advantage as we continue developing mission-critical systems for our government and commercial partners.”

Josh Jetter added, “I’ve spent my career building aerospace systems that push the boundaries of what’s possible and am thrilled to be joining this organization securing critical assets in orbit. Fortastra is tackling some of the most complex challenges in space operations, and I’m happy to be a part of the journey as we build reliable, scalable systems.”

Sahil Desai commented, “Modern space missions demand advanced technologies that are operationally ready. Fortastra is uniquely positioned to deliver that capability, and I’m excited to help guide the product strategy to bring these innovations to customers who need them most.”

Arnold Nowinski remarked, “The space economy is growing rapidly, and building the teams most capable of supporting that growth is essential. Fortastra is curating an exceptional group of experts and I’m excited to help develop the organizational foundation that will support the company’s expansion.”

Recent Funding and Company Overview

Fortastra recently raised over $8 million in seed financing, led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Generational Partners, Wave Function Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Forward Deployed VC.

Headquartered in Torrance, California, Fortastra designs and operates maneuverable spacecraft for on-orbit security. The company combines modern engineering practices, high-rate spacecraft manufacturing, and advanced autonomy to protect critical space infrastructure and deliver consistent operational advantage for the United States and its allies. Learn more at www.fortastra.com.