The Aerospace Corporation is an independent, nonprofit corporation operating the only Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) for the space enterprise. They perform objective technical analyses and assessments for a variety of government, civil, and commercial customers.

On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Sam Wilson, a systems director for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corporation and is known for his work in defense space policy, national security, and space commerce.

Sam recently published a budget brief titled 'FY 2025 Defense Space Budget: Continued Emphasis on Proliferation Under a More Constrained Top-Line'.

"You're seeing a lot of commercial companies now providing some of the same services you used to see reserved for only government missions," Wilson said. "And I think that's interesting, and we'll see what that looks like in the future."

This year’s request includes funding for new proliferated networks of communications satellites and increasing attention on commercial satellite communications. With more limited growth, the presidential budget request reflects trade-offs and priorities for DOD’s space activity.