The Space Development Agency has appointed Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, most recently deputy director at SDA, as acting director.
SDA said Monday Sandhoo will oversee the strategic direction and program execution for the acquisition, delivery and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA.
He succeeds Derek Tournear, who helped establish SDA as an independent agency within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in 2019.
Tournear, a Wash100 awardee, has joined Auburn University as director of space innovation.
“Derek’s vision wasn’t just courageous; it was transformative. His unwavering commitment to innovative space acquisition strategies, coupled with the implementation of spiral development, has revolutionized the speed at which we deliver vital capabilities to the warfighter – a pace that has not been seen in previous space acquisitions,” said Sandhoo.
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Who Is GP Sandhoo?
In July, Sandhoo joined SDA as deputy director, succeeding Ryan Frigm, the agency’s first deputy chief.
Before SDA, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps veteran was vice president and chief architect at Quantum Space and director for emerging technologies at Northrop Grumman.
His government career included time as deputy director at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency; head of the Spacecraft Engineering Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; acting director of the Naval Center of Space Technology; National Reconnaissance Office liaison to the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine; and a senior scientist at the Defense Innovation Unit.
He previously served as a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and a research and development engineer at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory.
The University of Maryland mechanical engineering graduate holds a doctorate in aeronautics, astronautics and propulsion from George Washington University.
Mike Eppolito as SDA’s Acting Deputy Director
Mike Eppolito, who has served as SDA’s chief program officer since 2024, has been selected to serve as the agency’s acting deputy director.
As chief program officer, he leads planning, development and deployment of programs within PWSA. He previously served as the Battle Management Cell chief and Tranche 0 program director at SDA.
The Rochester Institute of Technology graduate held project management roles at several companies, including Exelis, Harris and L3Harris Technologies.
Eppolito’s “deep expertise in government and space industry programs makes him the ideal leader to guide us as we begin delivering PWSA’s Tranche 1, the first set of capabilities that will directly support our warfighters in the fight tonight,” said Sandhoo.
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