Space Resiliency: Leveraging Commercial Innovation to Advance the Mission

August 8, 2023 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Virtual

On August 8, INSA hosted an online discussion, "Space Resiliency: Leveraging Commercial Innovation to Advance the Mission," with Frank Avila, Acting Director, Commercial Operations, NGA;  Jeremy Leader, Acting Deputy Director, Space Systems Command, Commercial Space Office, U.S. Space Force; Pete Muend, Director, Commercial Systems Program Office, NRO; and moderator Bishop Garrison, Vice President for Policy, INSA.

 

(L-R: Bishop Garrison, INSA; Jeremy Leader, USSF; Frank Avila, NGA; Pete Muend, NRO)

The program kicked off with a discussion on ways the government provides information to the commercial sector and fine-tuning responses and investigation procedures in anomalies. All speakers stressed the need for cutting down barriers of entry for smaller industry partners to secure government contract vehicles, noting how this would support collaborative efforts and allow for more accurate and rapid solutions to challenges facing the space landscape.

It was emphasized that a lower barrier of entry for smaller industry partners would allow contractual partnerships to expand, leveraging growth for industry and government capabilities. The discussion also covered how government can leverage commercial growth, with the group emphasizing the importance of being open-minded to the purpose of purchased technologies and pursuing new ways to use the same tools.

In closing, all panelists highlighted the value of industry partnership and the “unity of effort and transparency across the GEOINT enterprise.”