In week five of the Catalyst Accelerator’s International Space Domain Awareness cohort, a heavy emphasis was placed on the legalities of doing business with the United States Government. Two full days of instruction had the companies discussing the legal barriers that exist when setting up a US businesses entity and learning about US restrictions on export controls.  Jack Shelton and Bailey Reichelt of Aegis Trade Law joined the cohort with presentations in the morning and one-on-ones in the afternoon.  Tuesday’s session focused on how to set up business in the US, while Wednesday’s session focused on ITAR and EAR regulations.  “The Catalyst Space Domain Awareness cohort really impressed us,” stated Bailey. “They drilled down into some difficult legal concepts and kept us on our toes. We [Jack and Bailey] were extremely impressed by each company’s technological solutions and business acumen. Catalyst did a great job in selecting this cohort. Their passion, intelligence, and eagerness for learning will certainly take them far.”

In addition to learning about legal issues, the cohort heard from Ms. Charlie Jacka, the Program Manager for the leading Research and Development team for Hybrid Architecture within the US Government. Her program is a part of the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate.  Ms. Jacka shared valuable information regarding the US’s work in hybrid data movement.  Wing Commander Rex Harrison of the Royal Australian Air Force also joined the cohort to share the history of Australia’s entrance into the space race and its current mission concerning space domain awareness.

Ms. Mo Kanwischer of Momentum Business Consulting assisted the cohort participants with  developing their value propositions and start preparing their pitches for Demo Day. “Working side-by-side with these innovative international space technology companies is exhilarating. Their strategies are intertwined with global space domain awareness needs and requirements making it a natural fit for the ‘good guys’ to collaborate and dominate the space regime,” Mo stated.  Mr. Joseph Marney of defyDESIGN also joined the Accelerator to assist in pulling together the collaborative deliverable the companies have been working on since Week One. Joseph will tie results of this collaborative effort into the cohort’s Demo Day video.

Finally, the Catalyst Accelerator team had the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Chris Benson, a former Air Force officer who co-founded AFWERX and recently cofounded Istari, a startup focused on digital engineering. “Thank you very much to the Catalyst Campus team for hosting me,” Chris shared.  “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking technical aspects with the eight cohort companies.  I am very excited about the possibilities of increasing our ability to compete alongside our partners and allies through the burgeoning space of INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE INNOVATION.”