Capella Space Appoints Frank Backes as CEO

Capella Space’s new CEO Frank Backes.

Capella Space appointed Frank Backes as its new CEO, the company announced Tuesday. Payam Banazadeh, who founded the company and has led it since 2016, will serve as board director. Backes’ appointment is effective Oct. 23. 

Backes joins Capella Space from Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, where he has been senior vice president for federal space and commercial cyber operations for the past six years. Backes is the former CEO of Braxton Technologies and Braxton Science and Technology Group. He currently serves as president and chairman of the board of Space ISAC. 

Capella Space is the first American commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) operator and has launched 12 SAR satellites. The company recently doubled its office and manufacturing space in Colorado to accommodate its growth. Earlier this year Capella raised $60 million in new funding, and the company has raised more than $250 million total. 

“In just seven years, Capella grew from an idea to becoming a trusted provider of SAR imagery. The next phase is about harvesting the power of our capability across the many markets that have shown significant demand for our products,” Banazadeh said. “Frank is a proven leader with a diverse background in software and hardware across both national security and commercial markets. He understands our customers’ problems and challenges and is the perfect leader to further accelerate our growth by unlocking new opportunities.”