We are pleased to announce that Pedro Duque, ESA astronaut who served as Minister of Science for the Government of Spain and former President of Deimos Imaging, was elected to our board of directors. His addition expands the board to four members, demonstrating the pan-European character of Destinus and increased importance of Spain. Besides the Founder & CEO, Mikhail Kokorich, the other board member is Dr. Cornelius Boersch, considered as one of the most active and well-recognized business angels in Europe.
Mr. Duque continues his life-long mission of space initiatives development and serves Spain and Europe by bringing his unique expertise and knowledge to industry disruptors, such as Destinus. Pedro Duque comments: “Destinus is one of the boldest companies in European aerospace. With prototypes already flying and with extensive support, they are starting a new phase for high-speed and clean aviation.”
“The entire team is proud to welcome Mr. Duque to our board. Having the trust and faith of a legend helps us contribute to European space initiatives with combined efforts. We are confident that his insights and contributions will be meaningful for our board discussions. We also appreciate the support from the Spanish Government, such as with test facilities made available for our development of hypersonic flights,” said Destinus Founder & CEO Mikhail Kokorich.
Destinus is headquartered in Switzerland and has strong R&D branches in Spain, Germany, and France. Spain has been selected for the next phase of flight tests at INTA’s facilities in the Huelva region, close to the prominent aerospace hubs, Sevilla and Cádiz.
“Flight tests of highly innovative airframes, such as the prototypes that Destinus is developing, have nonconventional requirements. After a comprehensive analysis of most test infrastructure in Europe, two facilities in southern Spain – CEDEA and CEUS – were selected on technical reasons, including communication, control, facilities, ground infrastructure, weather availability, as well as the proximity to skills through an industrial base”, shares the CEO of Destinus Spain, Davide Bonetti. It is no doubt that the unique expertise of Pedro Duque will help the company in our Spanish expansion and operations.
