by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Todd Lindner resigned earlier this month as CEO of the Mojave Air and Spaceport at Rutan Field after 16 months on the job.
“Todd resigned due to family reasons,” a spokesperson for the inland California spaceport said.
Lindner had given two week’s notice prior to the Aug. 2 meeting of the spaceport’s Board of Directors, the spokesperson said. Meeting minutes indicate the board appointed Tim Reid, the spaceport’s director of operations, as acting CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is undertaken. Board members also thanked Lindner for his service.
Parabolic Arc has reached out to Lindner and members of the spaceport’s Board of Directors for further details. This story will be updated if additional information is received.
Lindner took over as head of the spaceport in April 2021. He replaced Karina Drees, who left to become president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation in Washington, D.C.
Prior to moving to Mojave, Lindner had been director of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s Cecil Spaceport in Florida. The Mojave Board of Directors selected him from among 100 applicants.
Lindner, who is an experienced pilot, was the first Mojave spaceport CEO to have previous airport management experience.
“With 30 years of aviation management experience, Todd Lindner understands the unique financial and operating requirements of an air and spaceport. He is also experienced in working with state and federal government agencies to obtain the resources necessary to manage Mojave’s operations,” said then-board President Jim Balentine.
