Bio
Major Derek A. Holsapple is currently assigned to Oak Ridge National Laboratory as an Air Force Education With Industry Fellow. During this time, his fellowship tasks him with learning best engineering and acquisitions practices at the lab that he can take back and apply to current US Space Force and Department of Defense processes.
If you are curious to learn more about the US Space Force, the Education With Industry fellowship, or have projects that you would like to collaborate with Derek on, please reach out to him at holsappleda@ornl.gov or 309-229-1383 to discuss!
Prior to his fellowship at ORNL, Derek was the Flight Commander, Flight Operations Division, Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado. He led a 159+ person team charged with baseline integration and maintenance, resilience, and continuity of operations of a $15 billion fleet of spacecraft, satisfying over 100K requirements annually. He was also the Program Manager for the NRO’s largest operations contract, responsible for 800 personnel at 11 sites providing 24x7 O&M for 80% of the NRO’s satellites. His leadership and guidance during recent heightened conflicts guaranteed mission production for Combatant Commands, resulting in personal recognition from the Commander, USSPACECOM.
Derek commissioned through AFROTC at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2014. Upon commissioning, he served as the mission manager leading launch of a threat-representative target to support the US Army’s PATRIOT missile defense system, ending his time at Kirtland AFB as the Deputy Operations Branch Chief, Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP). Derek was then assigned to Hill AFB, Utah, where he served as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Launch Facility Engineer, and later as the Minuteman III Systems Directorate Executive Officer. While assigned to Hill AFB, he deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve as the Executive Officer, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Prior to his Flight command position, he was the Lead Engineer, Strategic Automated Command and Control System (SACCS) Replacement Program, Hill AFB, Utah.
Education
2014 Bachelor of Science (Mechanical Engineering), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
2018 Test & Evaluation Certificate Program, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2018 Master of Business Administration, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ill.