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The Elara Edge

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31 episodes

4 days ago

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...

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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...

Show more...

News Commentary

Episodes (20/31)

The Elara Edge

From GSSAP to RG-XX, Space Force Bringing “Solution Diversity” to Space Domain Awareness

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...

6 days ago

46 minutes

The Elara Edge

Orbital Watch to Enable Sharing of Classified Threat Information

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 ...

1 month ago

34 minutes

The Elara Edge

The Universal Need for Space Expertise: A Global Strategic Imperative

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 ...

2 months ago

46 minutes

The Elara Edge

CCA Testing Kickstarts Next Generation of Air Dominance

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...

3 months ago

27 minutes

The Elara Edge

Defining “Counterspace” in the Theory on Competitive Endurance

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...

4 months ago

46 minutes

The Elara Edge

NASA’s CLPS Program Carries National Security Implications

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...

5 months ago

38 minutes

The Elara Edge

TraCSS Delivers Space Situational Awareness to Spacecraft Operators

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-...

6 months ago

33 minutes

The Elara Edge

The Rise of Commercial Space in Christian Davenport’s “The Space Barons”

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...

6 months ago

45 minutes

The Elara Edge

SPAR Institute Begins Latest Effort to Develop Nuclear Propulsion for Space

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...

7 months ago

48 minutes

The Elara Edge

Department of Defense Budget Must Realign to Space-Based Threats

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...

8 months ago

43 minutes

The Elara Edge

Quantum Technologies to Reinforce Position, Navigation and Timing Capability

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...

9 months ago

38 minutes

The Elara Edge

Defense Civilian Training Corps, Certificate Programs Emerge to Develop Space Workforce

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...

10 months ago

37 minutes

The Elara Edge

Defense Science Board Offers Commercial Pathway to Integrated Deterrence

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 not...

11 months ago

33 minutes

The Elara Edge

2024 Election Presents Promise and Peril for PPBE Reform to Deliver Space Superiority

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 ...

1 year ago

39 minutes

The Elara Edge

Space Force, DOD Initiate New Partnerships to Enhance Mission Readiness

It's been one year since Chief of Space Operations, General B. Chance Saltzman, announced the United States Space Force was creating “Integrated Mission Deltas,” or IMDs, as part of the service's Line of Effort #3 – Partner to Win edict. The new IMD model serves as a primary example of how the Space Force is leveraging partnerships internally to enhance readiness within specific space mission areas.But the military's newest service is also leveraging partnerships externally, as well. The Spac...

1 year ago

35 minutes

The Elara Edge

STRATFI and TACFI Programs Catalyze Funding to Overcome Valley of Death

SpaceWERX, the space innovation arm of AFWERX, recently announced the nine recipients of its first funding opportunity specifically tailored to bring space capabilities across the ‘Valley of Death,’ or the difficult transition of scaling a high-potential capability into a formal program of record. The funding opportunity comes through two programs: the Strategic Funding Increase or (STRATFI) and the Tactical Funding Increase or (TACFI). STRATFI and TACFI are designed to accelerate fundin...

1 year ago

31 minutes

The Elara Edge

Classification Policy Changes to Strengthen Allied Partnerships in Space

When Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks signed a memo to initiate changes in the Department of Defense’s (DOD) classification policy for space programs, the move marked a tangible moment in the push to adapt traditional classification policies for a modern space era. Historically, high classification thresholds for space-based capabilities were designed to protect Cold War-era secrets. But as the DOD has sought to extend Allied partnerships into the space domain, through programs like...

1 year ago

25 minutes

The Elara Edge

Space Domain Awareness Demands New “Operational Intelligence” Requirement

From satellite imagery to G.P.S.-guided navigation, intelligence gathered from space has long facilitated military operations. But after space was declared a warfighting domain, intelligence agencies are now shifting their focus to supporting operations in space. For the United States Space Force, this shift is exemplified by the evolving mission concept known as SSA - or Space Situational Awareness - which prioritized identifying and tracking space-based objects as an operational task....

1 year ago

19 minutes

The Elara Edge

White Paper Ushers in New Era of Thought Leadership for Space Community

Considered the ‘backbone’ of space operations, the Satellite Control Network (SCN) is the network of ground system antennas that enable command and control communications between operators on Earth and the Department of Defense (DOD) satellites on-orbit. But an increasingly populated space environment, coupled with chronic under-funding and advancing satellite technology, is overextending the SCN’s capacity to support national security space needs. Now, Elara Nova is leveraging its platform t...

1 year ago

19 minutes

The Elara Edge

Adversaries’ Launch Cadence Highlights Need for Assured Access to Space

At the start of 2024, the United States’ adversaries projected an ambitious launch cadence for putting space assets into orbit: China has planned 100 launches, while Russia has planned over 40 launches of its own. Due to what is often blurred lines between military, civil and commercial space programs for these nation-states, the true nature of these launches can be difficult to ascertain. Meanwhile, through its own National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, the United States has planned ...

1 year ago

26 minutes