Claim OwnershipThe Space Hour
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A deep look at the commercial space industry from both the public and private sector. We discuss topics pertaining to the aerospace community with current and former members of the federal government, academics with in-depth knowledge, along with industry leaders, all of whom are paving the way to advance the U.S. space field.
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I recently had the honor of speaking with Joy White, she is freshly retired after a remarkable 40-year career in federal service — most recently as the Executive Director of U.S. Space Systems Command, the top-ranking civilian in the organization. Joy led a global workforce of over 15,000 personnel and oversaw a $15.6 billion portfolio delivering agile, resilient space capabilities for national defense. We caught up to discus her career, the evolution of space acquisition, and what’s next for the future of space operations.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Tim Ryan, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and has nearly 30 years in space operations and national security strategy, Tim is now helping Guidehouse advance its space mission capabilities for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. I recently had the chance to speak with him about how space is becoming a more connected, contested domain — and what it takes to stay ahead.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
IBM and NASA have just unveiled Surya, a groundbreaking open-source AI model designed to forecast solar activity with unprecedented accuracy. It's trained on nearly a decade of high-resolution solar data and represents a major leap forward in space weather prediction — a field that’s becoming increasingly vital as our reliance on satellites, GPS, and telecommunications grows. For a chance to discuss how this will help in those areas, I spoke with Juan Bernabe-Moreno, Director of IBM Resarch for Europe, UK and Ireland.https://newsroom.ibm.com/2025-08-20-ibm-and-nasa-release-groundbreaking-open-source-ai-model-on-hugging-face-to-predict-solar-weather-and-help-protect-critical-technology#:~:text=By%20releasing%20Surya%20on%20Hugging,for%20their%20regions%20and%20industriesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A new partnership between Globalstar, a satellite company, and the U.S. Army, looks to test and improve satellite technology that can be used for secret and secure communication in military operations. Specifically, they want to see how well new low-visibility satellite devices work in difficult environments where traditional communication systems might not be available or reliable. To find out more about this endeavor, I spoke with Henry Orejuela, head of Government Sales and Business Development for Globalstar.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
There is certainly a lot of hardware falling in Low Earth Orbit at the moment. So much so that many are looking at leveraging new technologies for ways to decommission satellites, or even simply move objects out of the way to ensure there are no disastrous collisions. One new company that has taken on this challenge, Kall Morris Inc., who say they've recently successfully completed the first commercial capture of an unprepared object in space. To learn more about the tech behind the milestone, I spoke with Troy Morris who is Co-Founder and CEO of Kall Morris Inc.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As advancements are made in space, so to are they made in the nuclear armament fields. Maintaining global nuclear security you could say is one of the most important jobs for our international leaders, but with the two areas becoming more and more intertwined, it might help to have those in the nuclear security field learn more about space. That's what the Secure World Foundation is hoping to accomplish with it's new initiative. In partnership with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), it recently announced a two year effort hoping to explore the growing intersection of space and nuclear security in order to strengthen cross-sector understanding and enhance strategic stability. To find out more, I had the pleasure of talking to Victoria Samson, who is Chief Director of Space Security and Stability at the SWF.https://www.swfound.org/space-nuclear-initiativeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Contained within the plans to slash government spending, NOAA, that is the National Oceanic and Administrative Administration's, particularly its Office of Space Commerce and its TraCCS system, is one of the targets. That's a problem for the many organizations in the commercial space industry who've come to rely on it. That's why a coalition of space industry associations have all come together to implore Congress to continue funding the program. One of those members, Audrey Schaffer, VP of Strategy and Policy at Slingshot Aerospace, told me more about this initiative.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Space enthusiasts and hopefully listeners of this show know the term LEO, or low Earth orbit gets tossed around a lot, but what about VLEO, that's very low Earth orbit. Well you may begin hearing that phrase more and more. Orion Space Solutions announced the successful completion of a test readiness review (TRR) for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Ouija program VLEO mission. It's slated to launch this summer and could open up the potential for more activity in that space. For an explainer about this program and VLEO information overall, I talked with Chad Fish, President and CEO of Orion Space Solutions.https://orion.arcfield.com/press-releases/orion-space-solutions-prepares-for-historical-vleo-darpa-ouija-program-mission-launchSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Budget cuts seem to be the name of the game for this Congress, and NASA and other U.S. space exploration plans. Though things remain in the air and there are some opponents to it, the 2026 budget proposal from the Trump administration calls for steeper cuts than many expected. For a breakdown of that proposal, I spoke with Maria Lily Shaw, Senior Consultant at Novaspace, a consulting firm that operates within the space sector. https://nova.space/in-the-loop/nasa-2026-budget-proposal-the-impact-on-the-prospects-for-space-exploration/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Radiation hardening, is the process of making electrical components resistant to high levels of radiation. It's an important part of developing space equipment obviously. Doing it however requires the proper tools and facilities, and there's a new one out there. Auburn University's Applied Research Institute has recently been given a contract through the Missile Defense Agency to create a new "cutting-edge" rad hardening facility. To find out more I had the chance to speak with the executive director for the Auburn's Applied Research Institute, Jonathan Pettus.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
It seems like a strange thing to wonder, but I was curious of the role that science and research plays in military space operations, particularly for the U.S. Space Force. I found the perfect person to help with that question. Dr. Stacie Williams is Chief Science Officer, who was able to lay out to me the focus of her role and why STEM is still one of THE most important aspects of U.S. space dominance. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Starting today at an unlikely place, the U.S. Army. With the branch recently celebrating its 250th anniversary, it's also entering a new chapter, one that involves more space activity. In fact, it's creating a new military occupational specialty for enlisted personnel supporting Army space operations – the 40D, Space Operations Specialist. To find out more about it and other plans of actions the branch is looking towards, I spoke with Brig. Gen. Donald Brooks, who is Deputy Commanding General for Operations for Army Space and Missile Defense Command.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Back in March, the ASPIRE ONE Lunar Record successfully landed on the moon. It was a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services within the Artemis program. The experiment involves putting a digital record of life here on Earth, on the moon. Think of it as a time capsule for anyone to possibly find in the future and see what life was like here during this time. A fascinating idea to say the least, that involved a lot of philosophical thinking during the creation process. To learn more about it, I got the chance to speak with Anamaria Berea, an associate professor at George Mason University.https://www.gmu.edu/news/2025-03/mason-scientist-orchestrates-moon-based-message-bottle-future-generationsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
There's almost too much data for humans to consider when making decisions now during space missions. Operators can become bogged down in analyzing all the avenues of information at their disposal. Enter artificial intelligence and machine learning. The application here could help make those decisions for them, especially as missions take place further and further away from the Earth itself. For more on this area of interest, I had the chance to speak with Victoria Da-Poian, a Lead Data Scientist at NASA contractor Tyto Athene.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
New research from Wokelo, a Gen-AI-powered investment research platform, reveals that the space economy and commercialized space tech are quietly becoming investor hot spots, with funding rounds accelerating and valuations soaring. It exceeded $3 billion in funding in 2021 and continues to attract investors, even from characters you may not have seen venture off into this area before. To explain, I spoke with Siddhant Masson, Co-founder and CEO at Wokelo.https://insights.wokelo.ai/unobvious-sectors-that-will-skyrocket-in-2025-a-data-driven-deep-dive/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Now in it's 5th year of existence, the U.S. Space Force continues to make advancements and investments in defense network connectivity and joint space operation. The availability of data gathered in space has grown exponentially during that time period as well. In order to be able to access it and maintain operational capabilities, it requires a lot of interoperability. One company working on that with the Space Force is Sev1Tech, where my guest, Michael Fry, is general manager of its air and space force division. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Cloud cover can be a disruptor for satellites trying to get a good view of Earth, no matter how big your constellation is. One company though is executing a workaround. It launched a new satellite on a SpaceX transporter this past winter, with the capability of seeing through the clouds and darkness, using advanced radar technology. That company is ICEYE, and it actually starting using this technology back in 2015 to to monitor hazardous ice features such as pack ice. It's now though going to help governments monitor global events and natural disasters. To find out more, we welcomed to the program Eric Jensen, who is CEO of ICEYE US.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
For the second year in a row, the Space Beach Law Lab kicks off this week right off the coast of Long Beach, California. It will feature dozens of space law experts, provided needed insights. Since we all know, as more money pours in to the commercial space industry, that means a need for more legal experts. To learn more about the event I had the pleasure of talking to Drea Bernardi who is a founding partner of Space Beach Law Lab.https://www.spacelawlab.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The non-profit organization Universities Space Research Association recently welcomed in a new leader. Dr. Elsayed Talaat is now serving as the organization's President and CEO. You've probably heard that acronym brought up on this program before, because it has served as a great catalyst for research projects and educational initiatives within the space community. and therefor, a good source for interesting radio segments. That turned out to be the case with Dr. Talaat, who I got the chance to speak with to find out a little more about his background, and what he hopes to achieve in this new role.https://www.usra.edu/people/dr-elsayed-talaat/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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