Axiom Space, a commercial space infrastructure and human spaceflight service company has announced the appointment of Tejpaul Bhatia as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Bhatia takes over after serving as Chief Revenue Officer for the company over the past four years and replaces the previous CEO, Executive Chairman, and Co-founder Dr Kam Ghaffarian. Ghaffarian will continue as Executive Chairman of Axiom Space.
Since joining Axiom Space in 2021, Bhatia has pioneered landmark deals and missions, notably leading the industry’s first-ever sovereign government purchases of commercial human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station, including the groundbreaking Axiom Mission-1 (Ax-1) through Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4). He also oversaw high-impact, cross-industry collaborations, such as partnering with Prada on NASA-awarded, next-generation spacesuits for the Artemis III lunar mission, and with Nokia to integrate high-speed cellular connectivity into the lunar exploration spacesuits — establishing Axiom Space’s position as a leading innovator and commercial integrator for human space exploration.
Bhatia brings more than two decades of experience as a seasoned technology and business leader and founder of three investor-backed startups with two acquisitions under his belt. He joined Axiom Space from Google, where he led strategic narrative and ecosystem management for Google Cloud, engaging Fortune 100 executives, venture capital firms, and startup founders, supporting over $4 billion in sales pipeline. As a founder and executive, he led startups Explain Everything, Chatwala, and Kaptur, and was an early pioneer in modern-day video streaming at ESPN, where he spearheaded the company’s international digital expansion across the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Europe.
“I’ve been inspired by space exploration since childhood, and leading Axiom Space at this critical inflection point in human spaceflight is the realization of a lifelong ambition. We are accelerating our investment in next-generation technologies — spacesuits, orbital infrastructure, and microgravity research and manufacturing — and we’re actively seeking passionate, visionary engineers, technologists, and entrepreneurs who want to help build humanity’s future in space,” said Tejpaul Bhatia.
“Axiom Space was founded to expand the boundaries of what’s possible in space, and Tej has been instrumental in turning that vision into a reality. His blend of entrepreneurial drive, global perspective, and deep commitment to our mission will ensure Axiom Space’s leadership at the forefront of the rapidly growing commercial space market,” said former CEO and Co-founder Dr Kam Ghaffarian.
