“A team is a group of people with different abilities, talents, experience, and backgrounds who have come together for a shared purpose. Despite their individual differences, that common goal provides the thread that defines them as a team.”
It was another wonderful week for the Catalyst Accelerator’s International Space Domain Awareness (SDA) cohort. Because there are seven companies from outside of the United States within the International SDA cohort, they spent two weeks in Colorado Springs and will travel back home for two weeks before their next visit back to Colorado in September. The Catalyst Accelerator team feels so delighted to have spent the last two weeks with such an incredible group of individuals and we look forward to reuniting with them in September.
Sixteen subject matter experts donated their time to speak with the cohort during week two. One of these experts included Jeremiah Starr from the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN). Jeremiah provided a wonderful overview of NSIN. He expressed, “While our nations are separated geographically from our allies, America shares a unified belief in both freedom and democracy. Modernization and innovation efforts will ensure our warfighters are able to survive and thrive on the modern battlefield. Humanity First! Humanity Always!”.
The cohort then listened and participated in a “Defense 100” panel. Members on this panel included Wing Commander Richard Harrison representing the Australian Air Force, Capt Jake Singleton and Lt Hanson Finley representing the United States Space Force, Sqn Ldr Neal Henley, United Kingdom Space Command Liaison Officer and Flt Lt Neil Gibbons, United Kingdom Space Command’s Lead for Industry Engagement. Each panel member discussed the various structures of their countries’ defense units and where the space vertical falls within each of them. They also explained the proper etiquette when interacting with military officers and government officials within each of their countries.
On Tuesday, Joe Gerber, JCO Lead Integration, taught the cohort about Desired Learning Outcomes (DLO). This was truly one of the highlights of week two for the cohort members. When asked if Joe could provide any advice to the cohort, he said, “If I had any advice for a new small business in the Catalyst Accelerator, this is the moment for you to lean forward, collaborate with your other cohort members and realize that ‘next innovation’ in space domain awareness (SDA). The SACT will present the opportunity to show the world it can be done.” Afterwards, Mo Kanwischer spent time with each of the members to discuss their value proposition. She later explained, “It’s exciting to work with the eight companies selected to participate in the space domain awareness accelerator. Seven of these companies are based outside the US, and I’m thrilled with their dedication to the program and their tech solutions to support the need for domain awareness in space. We know that collaboration is the key to success both for government and commercial needs and these companies have embraced the opportunity to learn and connect with the organizations and individuals brought forth through the accelerator. At the same time, we are working on the commercialization aspects of their products so that they can be presented with emphasis on the problems they solve, especially for the US Air Force and US Space Force.”
The Catalyst Accelerator has established Implementation Partners for this particular cohort. Saber Astronautics (Saber) is one of the companies selected to be an Implementation Partner for the Catalyst Accelerator supporting the common goals of greater international space domain awareness and management. Dr. Jason Held, CEO of Saber Astronautics, met with the cohort at the end of the week to explain the mission of Saber. Saber will be uplifting Australian space domain suppliers and helping introduce other country’s space startups to the Australian market through their Responsive Space Operations CenterTM (RSOC) program which has mission control sites located in Adelaide and Boulder. With operations in both the United States and Australia, Saber Astronautics is a natural Implementation Partner for the Catalyst Accelerator, allowing for mutually beneficial exchange between the US Space Force (USSF) and Australian markets. Dr. Held mentioned, “It was a pleasure to work with the international cohort– we were impressed with the breadth and quality of offering from the international community which we see as high value opportunities for US DoD. Events like these offer great potential for Five-Eyes and Allied partner integration, the conversations were practical ‘no-kidding how do we get our data onto the high side’ and everyone from supplier to shooter are committed to making it happen. For the cohort members our advice is to work together and collaborate early, and Saber Astro is happy to support to make that happen.”
Thank you to each of the subject matter experts who donated their time to speak with the International Space Domain Awareness cohort and answer their questions. The Catalyst Accelerator team is looking forward to what the next on-week has in store!
Author: Kate Menendez, Catalyst Accelerator Marketing Specialist
