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 Atomics respectively, will eventually be down-selected to one platform, they are expected to be a force multiplier for the warfighter by bringing a futuristic vision of manned-unmanned teaming to air warfare. 

In this episode of "The Elara Edge," Lt Gen (Ret) David "Abu" Nahom breaks down the rapid development of the United States Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and the significance of manned-unmanned teaming in bringing about the next generation of air dominance. 

As the Executive Director of Elara Nova's new Aeronautics and Mission Systems sector, Gen Nahom will oversee an expansion of Elara Nova's consulting expertise into air domain technologies such as the CCA program. Prior to his current role, Gen Nahom's 36-year Air Force career culminated with roles such as Commander, Alaskan Command; Alaskan NORAD Region; and Eleventh Air Force.

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 restrictive classification policies.  

But now, adversaries have recognized that space capabilities are both a strategic advantage - and potential vulnerability - for the United States military. This emerging threat is driving an imperative to both understand and define how counterspace capabilities can preserve the space domain the global economy has come to rely on. 

In this episode of "The Elara Edge," Elara Nova partners Col (Ret) Stu Pettis and Col (Ret) Dave Morrow describe the types of counterspace threats the Space Force must prepare for and emphasize the role of counterspace campaigning in Gen Saltzman's "Theory on Competitive Endurance." Both Col Pettis and Col Morrow are graduates of the United States Air Force Weapons School.

Col Pettis served for 29 years in the United States Air Force supporting space operations and serving on the Secretary of the Air Force’s Space Force Planning Team, where he oversaw the establishment of the military’s newest service. Col Morrow served for 24 years in the United States Air Force before retiring as the Director of Testing and Evaluation for the United States Space Force. 

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 commercial space companies since the CLPS program’s inception in 2018, but also highlights the role commercial partners will serve in a new “space race,” that carries both civil and national security implications. 

In this episode of "The Elara Edge," Elara Nova partner Lt Gen (Ret) Bill Liquori breaks down the recent achievements of the CLPS program, as well as the civil and national security implications these achievements carry. Gen Liquori previously served as the first Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Analysis at the United States Space Force, and currently serves on several space-related advisory boards - including the Space Force Association, True Anomaly, and Intuitive Machines. 

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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-3 (SPD-3) during the first Trump administration, which declared the need for U.S. leadership in establishing a space traffic system to mitigate the risk of on-orbit collisions through a coordinated data-sharing effort between the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Commerce. This joint effort produced a new program, the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), which late last year achieved initial operating capability in cataloging assets on-orbit and delivering space situational awareness (SSA) to spacecraft operators. 

In this episode of "The Elara Edge: Expert Insights on Space Security," Elara Nova partner Col (Ret) Charlie McGillis, former director of intelligence at 14th Air Force (Space), describes how TraCSS has emerged as a leading solution for space traffic coordination in an increasingly congested and contested domain, and enables a foundation for future space capabilities and mission areas that serve both economic and national security purposes. McGillis currently serves as a member of the TraCSS Independent Review Board and is also the Vice President, Public Sector, at The Provenance Chain Network.

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 Christian’s 2018 book: “The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos.” "The Space Barons" catalogues the rise of today’s commercial space industry, through the lens of the billionaires who founded - and funded - their own space companies at its outset.

But the conversation won’t stop there, as Christian shares a few teasers from his forthcoming book: “Rocket Dreams: Musk, Bezos, and the Inside Story of the New, Trillion-Dollar Space Race.” The new book, “Rocket Dreams,” is set to be released in the fall of 2025 and picks back up where “The Space Barons” concluded seven years ago.

"The Elara Epilogues," is presented by "The Elara Edge" Expert Insights on Space Security."

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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,” among other capabilities. 

In this episode of, “The Elara Edge: Expert Insights on Space Security,” Elara Nova partners Donna Dickey, an aerospace engineer with decades of experience at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Dr. Brad Tousley, former director of the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA, and Dr. Tom Cooley, former chief scientist at AFRL, explore the past, present, and future of nuclear propulsion in space.

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 and even the Department of Defense's (DOD) traditional approach to building its budget, are compromising the very purpose for which the Space Force was founded.

In this episode of, “The Elara Edge: Expert Insights on Space Security,” Gen (Ret) John Hyten, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Senior Principal Advisor at Elara Nova: The Space Consultancy, and Lt Gen (Ret) Nina Armagno, the first Director of Staff at the United States Space Force and Executive Director of International Partnerships at Elara Nova, discuss the challenges and solutions to effectively resourcing the Space Force through the DOD budget. 

This episode follows an Opinion Editorial, co-written by Gen Hyten and Gen Armagno and recently published by SpaceNews, in which they argue the time is now for reallocating resources away from outdated legacy programs and toward the space-based threat. 

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 space, specifically to reinforce the Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) mission.  

In this episode of, “The Elara Edge: Expert Insights on Space Security,” Founding Partner Maj Gen (Ret) Kim Crider and partner Lt Gen (Ret) Harry Raduege identify quantum sensor technologies and reinforce why the QED-C’s 2024 report called for greater research and development efforts to apply these emerging technologies to the United States Space Force’s Precision, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) mission.

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 government is initiating partnerships with academia from the top down, grassroots efforts like certificate programs at engineering schools are preparing to engage the Space Force from the bottom up. All together, these initiatives demonstrate how the Space Force can engage academic institutions to foster the workforce it needs among its civilian employees, active-duty Guardians and industry partners. 

In this episode of, “The Elara Edge: Expert Insights on Space Security,” Elara Nova partner Dr. B.T. Cesul provides insight into DCTC and other alternative education programs that are emerging to cultivate the space workforce of the future. 

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.

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 planned in advance, but rather occurred organically at the onset of the invasion.

Now, the DOD wants to apply the lessons learned in Ukraine to capitalize on similar opportunities to integrate commercial space capabilities into their own military requirements.

In this episode of, “The Elara Edge: Expert Insights on Space Security,” Mike Dickey, Founding Partner at Elara Nova: The Space Consultancy, joins Dr. Brad Tousley, a partner at Elara Nova and member of the Defense Science Board (DSB), to explore the DSB's "Final Report on Commercial Space System Access and Integrity," which offers a pathway toward integrating commercial space capabilities into military planning and requirements. 

"The Elara Edge" is hosted by Scott King and produced by Regia Multimedia Services. The full story can be found on Elara Nova's Insights page here. Music was produced by Patrick Watkins of PW Audio.