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The Elara Edge is a thought leadership forum of military and industry experts providing commentary and analysis on the latest news developments in national security - with an emphasis in space and aerospace applications.
37 Episodes
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When a foreign partner seeks military technology from the U.S. defense industrial base, there’s two ways for them to acquire that capability: Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS). In DCS, the foreign country negotiates directly with the contractor. But in the FMS process, the United States government manages the sale and transfer of that technology with additional training and sustainment support in a way that strengthens international cooperation and the collective ...
The Department of War (DOW) kick-started the year with a series of steps to enhance the resiliency and reliability of the digital infrastructure underpinning military operations. In early January, the United States Space Force announced it will be overhauling computer networks at all 14 of its bases under the Base Infrastructure Modernization program. Then the National Security Agency released the first two products of its Zero Trust Implementation Guidelines, while the DOW launched its Artif...
Recent years have demonstrated the growing prevalence of drones in surveillance and military operations. In 2024, unidentified drones flew over a military base in Langley, Virgina. In 2025, Israel used drones to take out Iranian air defense systems in a coordinated attack, while Ukraine launched “Operation Spiderweb,” using drones to damage and destroy aircraft deep within Russian territory. But a new Department of Defense Inspector General report uncovered a series of challenges for defendin...
In response to evolving cyber threats that can manipulate and compromise a satellite’s data, the United States Space Force is heightening its focus on “space cyber,” or the cybersecurity of space systems on-orbit. One emerging solution toward this effort is the Cyber Reslience On-Orbit tool (CROO), a software program that focuses on not just securing the data links between satellites and their terrestrial networks, but on the cybersecurity of the satellite itself. Funded in part by an AFWERX ...
Welcome to the inaugural episode of "The Elara Edge: International Insights Edition," where the leaders of the international space community join Elara Nova partners to share their insights and perspectives on the increasing strategic importance of space in joint force and alliance operations. In today's episode, Brad Head, Managing Director of International Partnerships at Elara Nova, is joined by Air Marshall Sir Johnny Stringer, who at the time of this recording was retiring out of his rol...
Space Systems Command recently announced that the United States Space Force will have access to a working capital fund to buy commercial space services on-demand. But the fund, which is authorized to hold up to $1.2 billion in a given fiscal year, is not actually new money appropriated by Congress to the Space Force. Rather, it presents another flexible funding option to move money around in response to emerging mission requirements. But the timing of the announcement also coincides wit...
To better understand the space operational environment, the United States Space Force has traditionally relied on military-operated constellations like the Space Based Space Surveillance system (SBSS) and the Geosynchrnous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), both of which provide space situational awareness (SSA) data that simply identifies and tracks man-made objects in orbit. But SSA is vital to a broader Space Force imperative known as space domain awareness (SDA), which goes anot...
In today’s congested and contested space environment, commercial space companies must now prepare for a variety of threats that can compromise their systems on-orbit: from incidental collisions with space debris, to counterspace threats like cyber and electronic warfare attacks, as well as kinetic strikes. Meanwhile, the inherently dual-use nature of space systems, which often support both national security and economic purposes, further reinforces the imperative that the United States Space ...
With a projected $1.8 trillion space economy by 2035, regions around the world are looking to leverage the space domain for a variety of use cases. Countries in Europe and the Indo-Pacific want space technologies for national security-related missions like missile warning and space domain awareness. Meanwhile, in other regions like the Middle East and the Global South, countries want to use space technologies for civil applications like environmental monitoring and economic growth. But ...
In a little over a year since the program’s announcement, two prototypes of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) have started ground testing and are expected to fly in the coming months. The achievement marks an impressive timeline for the aircraft’s development, which is designed to be an unmanned platform that will fly in tandem with, and in support of, manned platforms like the F-22, F-35 and the future B-21 and F-47. While the two prototype CCAs, being produced by Anduril and General Atomi...
In General B. Chance Saltzman’s “Theory on Competitive Endurance,” the Chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force listed three core tenets of the military’s approach to the space domain: avoid operational surprise, deny first-mover advantage, and undertake “responsible counterspace campaigning.” This third tenet, counterspace, has become increasingly relevant for a warfighting domain that has traditionally approached space capabilities with risk-averse language and restrictiv...
A single week in early March saw two commercial companies, Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, land their respective spacecraft on the Moon’s surface to deliver scientific payloads on behalf of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which aims to facilitate rapid acquisition of lunar delivery services that both enable scientific exploration and commercial development of the Moon. These sequential landings demonstrate not only the substantial progress made by comm...
In 2009, an on-orbit collision between a defunct Russian satellite and an Iridium communications satellite created more than 1,800 pieces of debris and signaled an emerging need for a space traffic system. Since then, space has only become more congested with the rise of a commercial launch market that has enabled affordable access to space for commercial, civil and military space programs alike. The resulting influx of satellites on-orbit inspired the signing of Space Policy Directive-...
Welcome to the inaugural episode of a new, special edition series: "The Elara Epilogues," where the space industry’s leading journalists and authors will join Elara Nova partners to discuss their published work covering today’s ever-evolving space environment. In today's episode, Founding Partner Mike Dickey, former chief architect of the United States Space Force is joined by Christian Davenport, space industry and NASA reporter for The Washington Post. Together, they’ll discuss Christ...
The United States Space Force allocated $35 million to the Space Power & Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness & Resilience - or SPAR - Institute to develop nuclear-powered systems for spacecraft propulsion. The Institute demonstrates the latest effort by the Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to explore nuclear fission as an energy source in space. If successful, nuclear energy can enable the Space Force to “maneuver without regret,” amon...
The United States Space Force requested $29.4 billion for Fiscal Year 2025, a two percent drop from the previous year. The final budget, however, has yet to be passed as the federal government operates under a continuing resolution. The Space Force was founded in response to the actions of near-peer competitors in space that threaten the United States’ national and economic security. But now, any decline in funding, compounded by the inherent restrictions that come with continuing resolutions...
China’s advancements in quantum technology have triggered a call-to-action for the United States to accelerate their own investments in quantum research and development. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Critical Technology Tracker, China surpassed the United States in published quantum research in 2021. In response, the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) is similarly advocating for more research and development to support quantum technologies in spac...
Ms. Katharine Kelley, the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Human Capital with the United States Space Force, recently announced the military’s newest service was engaged in a pilot program called the Defense Civilian Training Corps (DCTC). While similar to the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), the DCTC is a congressionally mandated initiative to streamline university graduates into civilian careers at the Department of Defense (DOD). While the DCTC exemplifies how the governme...
In November 2022, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering commissioned the Defense Science Board (DSB) to study the commercial space market and how their systems can be leveraged to support Department of Defense (DOD) objectives. The study came in direct response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year, when commercial space systems provided critical capabilities in support of Ukraine’s defense. However, the use of these commercial space systems in Ukraine was no...
Over the past decade, China’s rapid rise in adopting and deploying innovative technologies has sparked a new “Great Power Competition,” particularly in the space domain. According to Major General Gregory J Gagnon, the chief intelligence officer for the United States Space Force, China’s “strategic breakout” in space is evident by the country’s more than 1,000 satellites on-orbit today, and a demonstrated capacity to launch over 200 satellites each year. Meanwhile, the budgetary process...
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