Former Space Force general joins Lunar Outpost board

WASHINGTON — A retired Space Force general who served as deputy commander of U.S. Space Command is joining the board of lunar rover developer Lunar Outpost.

The company announced Aug. 11 that John Shaw, a retired three-star Space Force general, had agreed to join the company’s board. He will represent Industrious Ventures, a venture capital fund that led a $30 million Series B round in the company in May. Shaw is an adviser at the fund.

Shaw spent more than three decades in the U.S. Air Force and, later, the Space Force, primarily in space roles. His final assignment was deputy commander of U.S. Space Command from 2020 to 2023.

“Lunar Outpost is building capabilities that will shape humanity’s future in space,” he said in a statement. “The company has demonstrated its ability to translate ambitious visions into real-world technologies and missions.”

Lunar Outpost is best known as a developer of lunar rovers. In May, the company won one of two NASA contracts to build lunar rovers for use by astronauts on future Artemis missions. The $220 million award covers development of Pegasus, a rover whose design the company says is inspired by the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. The rover is intended to go to the moon on a Blue Origin Blue Moon lander in 2028.

Lunar Outpost also builds smaller rovers, the first of which was sent to the moon on the IM-2 lander by Intuitive Machines in 2025. IM-2 fell on its side upon landing, preventing the rover from being deployed, but the company was able to do some testing of the rover in flight.

The company said it plans to use Shaw’s expertise to help the company not just on lunar rover missions but also on other opportunities, ranging from cislunar operations to space resource utilization.

“His deep understanding of how critical space capabilities are conceived, developed and deployed at scale is invaluable,” said Justin Cyrus, founder and chief executive of Lunar Outpost, in a statement.

“As space becomes increasingly strategic and contested, his decades of experience leading military space operations will provide invaluable perspective as Lunar Outpost delivers mission-tailored, persistent capabilities throughout cislunar space,” added Taylor Sargent, a partner at Industrious Ventures.

In addition to Lunar Outpost, Shaw serves on the boards of several other space companies, ranging from satellite operator SES and spacecraft developer Sierra Space to launch startup Stoke Space and nonprofit engineering company Draper.

Reporting from SpaceNews contributed to this story.