WHERE SHOULD WE, U.S.A., FOCUS OUR EFFORTS FOR DEFENSIVE SPACE DEVELOPMENT?
BETTER FUTURES: THE FUTURE OF SPACE
26th September 10:00 AM PST
Transcript of comments here:
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There are four main divisions of ‘space’: Academic, Civil, Commercial, and Defense. These roles are in evidence by looking at the membership of the White House’s National Space Council.
Focusing on the defense sector, currently, there is an important debate within the US Space Force, the larger Department of Defense, and various members of US Congress – all of whom support certain budgetary, policy, strategy, tactical goals.
The debate focuses on an appropriate concept borrowed from the Navy “Blue Water versus Brown Water?” So, what does that mean?
While oversimplifying here, in general, the Blue Water Navy is the big ships like aircraft carriers who ‘force project’ capabilities hundreds of miles in all directions – while safely operating from the deep blue sea. Brown Water Navy operates in the littoral zones – near-shore – to support (or attack) cities, ports, commerce, and communications. When needed, the US Marine Corps operates in this Brown Water environment.
This “Blue vs. Brown” argument has been clumsily and inaccurately inserted into the Space Force conversation. In space, this artificial argument looks like this: Brown is ‘near-shore’ to Earth and encompasses local orbits; Blue is ‘farther’ and contains cislunar space, the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids.
Our necessary conversation of “BvB” is far more nuanced than a simple ‘us vs. them’ equation – and space professionals know it.
LiftPort’s series “Better Futures: The Future of Space” is the first-of-its-kind public conversation to explore and examine the essential details of this topic. The results of discussions like these – at the Pentagon, in classified briefings – will have ripple effects across all sectors: Academic, Civil, Commercial, and Defense. As a necessary outcome, these conversations will also ripple out into the broader ‘space’ community worldwide.
Please join us. The Better Future awaits.
Focusing on the defense sector, currently, there is an important debate within the US Space Force, the larger Department of Defense, and various members of US Congress – all of whom support certain budgetary, policy, strategy, tactical goals.
The debate focuses on an appropriate concept borrowed from the Navy “Blue Water versus Brown Water?” So, what does that mean?
While oversimplifying here, in general, the Blue Water Navy is the big ships like aircraft carriers who ‘force project’ capabilities hundreds of miles in all directions – while safely operating from the deep blue sea. Brown Water Navy operates in the littoral zones – near-shore – to support (or attack) cities, ports, commerce, and communications. When needed, the US Marine Corps operates in this Brown Water environment.
This “Blue vs. Brown” argument has been clumsily and inaccurately inserted into the Space Force conversation. In space, this artificial argument looks like this: Brown is ‘near-shore’ to Earth and encompasses local orbits; Blue is ‘farther’ and contains cislunar space, the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids.
Our necessary conversation of “BvB” is far more nuanced than a simple ‘us vs. them’ equation – and space professionals know it.
LiftPort’s series “Better Futures: The Future of Space” is the first-of-its-kind public conversation to explore and examine the essential details of this topic. The results of discussions like these – at the Pentagon, in classified briefings – will have ripple effects across all sectors: Academic, Civil, Commercial, and Defense. As a necessary outcome, these conversations will also ripple out into the broader ‘space’ community worldwide.
Please join us. The Better Future awaits.
Event Schedule
Main Event 75 min |
Introduction - 10 Min
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Q & A 45 min |
Panel Discussion - 10 Min
Q & A - 30 Min Concluding Remarks – 5 Min *Speakers will respond to questions of the registered participants!
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Speakers
Steve Kwast
M.P.P., Lt Gen(ret) |
Steve Kwast is the Chief Global Officer and President for Genesis Systems, a company dedicated to solving the global water problem. He is a retired Air Force General who has spent his lifetime understanding the art of peaceful International affairs and national security strategies. He was raised in a remote African tribe and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in Astronautical Engineering. He has a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and was the University President for the Air Force’s University (Air University) in Montgomery Alabama. |
Juan De Dalmau
Ph.D. |
Juan de Dalmau was selected President of the International Space University (ISU) and took office in September 2018. He brings a multidisciplinary background in mechanical engineering, business administration, space studies, and languages, as well as over 35 years of international management experience in engineering, operations, technology development, education and communications. He has worked in the private sector, in university and in space agencies. He attended ISU’s Space Studies Program (SSP) in 1989 thanks to a joint scholarship from the French Space Agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA). He retired from ESA in July 2018. |
Bruce Cahan
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Bruce Cahan is a Lecturer in Stanford University’s Department of Management Science & Engineering (MS&E), an Instructor in at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (known as the d.school), a CodeX Fellow at Stanford’s Center for Legal Informatics, a Stanford mediaX Distinguished Scholar, a Faculty Fellow with Stanford’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice and Affiliated Faculty with Stanford’s Graduate School of Business’ Corporation and Society Initiative.
Bruce researches, teaches, designs and applies new theories for creating financial and insurance marketplaces that improve transparency, fairness and regional quality of life systems. Bruce’s courses at Stanford include: Sustainable Banking (CEE 244A), Understanding the Buy Side of Wall Street (MS&E 449), Ethics of Finance and Financial Engineering (MS&E 148) and Redesigning Finance (d.school) Bruce is also CEO and co-founder of Urban Logic, a nonprofit that harnesses finance and technology to change how corporate and government systems think, act and feel. He is an Ashoka Fellow social investment entrepreneur. Bruce’s current projects at Urban Logic range from creating a commodities exchange for outer space (the Space Commodities Exchange), to establishing a bridge between the formal and informal economies of developed and developing countries. |
Joshua P. Carlson
M. Eng., MSc. |
Joshua P. Carlson is the author of Spacepower Ascendant, a book independently published through Kindle Publishing and available through Amazon . It was the culmination of nearly twelve months of dedicated research and evaluation of both the US’ and China’s view of the space domain – and the ongoing strategic conflict there.
He serves in both the Army and Air Force in different capacities, serving at LA Air Force Base for nearly ten years and the California Army National Guard for fifteen. He has also deployed with the Army to the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in 2018 and attended the Air Command and Staff College through the Air Force, graduating in 2020. He is currently working on a new book with an as-yet unpublished author that is targeted for next year. The new book will examine similarities in all dimensions, what missions need to be emphasized in various phases of space development, and examine the space domain to provide recommendations on USSF development. Additionally, has been invited to speak on a few shows, including the US Space Force Association. He looks forward to continuing to advocate for a more holistic look at space and looking toward expansion/exploitation of space resources for national and global benefit. He continues to serve in both the USAF and Army, and currently lives in Texas with his wife and three children. His views expressed are his own and do not represent the USAF, US Army, US Space Force or any other US Government entity. https://www.spacepowerascendant.org/ |
Brad Townsend
Ph.D., P.E. |
Brad Townsend, Ph.D., P.E. is currently a space policy and strategy advisor on the Joint Staff which advises the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on military matters. He is the author of Security and Stability in the New Space Age: The Orbital Security Dilemma (Routledge Press, 2020). Available on Amazon.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point he branched Armor and was assigned to the 1st Squadron 7th Cavalry that same year. While assigned to 1-7 CAV he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II where he served as a tank and scout platoon leader. Upon return, he served as the Executive Officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Troop 1-7 CAV and later 6-9 CAV. Following completion of the Armor Captains Career Course and Cavalry Leader Course at Ft. Knox, he attended the Air Force Institute of Technology where he received a MS in Astronautical Engineering. Designated an Army Space officer in 2006 he was assigned to the 1st Space Brigade where he deployed twice, once as a Space Control Operations Officer to the Combined Air and Space Operations Center at Al Udeid, Qatar, and again as the Commander of the Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS) CENTCOM. Upon completion of command, he was selected for duty in the NASA Astronaut Office in Houston where he served in a variety of roles in support of operations on board the International Space Station. After leaving NASA, he served as an instructor and deputy course director at the National Security Space Institute (NSSI) before selection as the S3 (Operations Officer) for the 1st Space Battalion. In 2016, he attended the Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. While there, he was selected for the Air University PhD program and the Army Strategic Policy Planning Program Goodpaster Fellowship. Following graduation, he deployed to Afghanistan serving in the Resolute Support HQ CJ5 as a future planner where he conceived and led the effort to create the Afghan National Army Territorial Force. Upon returning from Afghanistan, he completed his PhD at Air University and is currently assigned to the Joint Staff as a space policy and strategy advisor. |
Michael Mealling
MBA |
Michael co-founded Masten Space Systems, was CTO of Seraph Group (a seed stage VC fund), is the CEO of the Waypaver Foundation, and the President of the Moon Society. He has helped build several startups over the years ranging from telecom consulting to social media. His experience building companies and teams from scratch, raising money for those companies, and investing in similar companies has given Michael a view both the successes and failures at every stage of building sustainable companies. He received an MBA from Georgia Tech in 2011. http://starbridgevc.com/ |
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