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Spacepower Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Bill
Spacepower is a strategic podcast from the Space Force Association exploring the leaders, ideas, and operations shaping the space domain. Hosted by SFA Founder Bill “Hippie” Woolf, the show features conversations with senior military leaders, policymakers, and industry experts on deterrence, maneuver, technology, and the evolving role of space in national security. Episodes include in-depth interviews and solo analysis breaking down the trends defining the future of spacepower.
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- Yesterday55 min
What the School That Trains Space Warfighters Has Built, and What Comes Next
Space has been a contested domain for years. The doctrine, the training, and the culture needed to fight and win in it have been built, mostly quietly, at a squadron at Nellis Air Force Base. Most people who care about the Space Force have never heard of it. Most of the people shaping how space warfare is conducted today came through it.This year, the 328th Weapons Squadron turns 30. Three decades after the Space Division was stood up at the Air Force Weapons School in 1996, the institution that started by teaching fighter pilots how to integrate space support into their missions now graduates the tactical and operational leaders who will contest the domain against peer adversaries. The transformation is real. And according to the officer commanding the 328th right now, it's far from finished.In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Lt. Col. Brian "Knuckles" Peterson, Commander of the 328th Weapons Squadron, to talk about what the space weapons officer community has built, where it's going, and what the next 30 years demand.In this conversation, Lt. Col. Peterson discusses:Why the 328th is a domain WIC, not a platform WIC, and why that distinction changes everything about how space warfighters are trainedWhat it means to graduate 450 weapons officers over 30 years in a service that still needs to double in sizeHow the course evolved from space support integration to full orbital warfare and EW combined arms, and why that shift wasn't just curriculum, it was cultureThe debrief culture that distinguishes weapons officers: why failure is designed into the course, and what that teaches about decision-making under real-world pressureThe feedback loop between operators, testers, and acquirers, and why building the widget before figuring out how to fight it is one of the Space Force's cardinal sinsWhat it looks like when a Guardian truly understands the joint force, and why that connection is the foundation of everything the 328th producesWhy the school is expanding: a new building, an intelligence course, a cyber course, and what that signals about where the Space Force is headingWhat the 30th anniversary Reblu is actually for, and why reconnecting 450 graduates matters as much as the classified combat updates on day oneWhat the 328th needs to keep producing to ensure the Space Force wins the fights that are comingThe Space Force of 2045 is being built right now at Nellis. The 328th turns 30 this month and the celebration isn't just about what's been accomplished. It's about what the weapons officer community owes the joint force in the next three decades.Hosted by Bill Woolf Produced by Ty HollidayGuest: Lt. Col. Brian "Knuckles" Peterson, Commander, 328th Weapons Squadron, Space Delta 1, Space Training and Readiness Command Lt. Col. Peterson commands the Space Force's weapons school at Nellis Air Force Base — the institution responsible for producing the Space Force's tactical and operational warfighting experts. He brings a background in missile warning, three combat deployments, and time in the Space Force's futures division to the role.Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/ Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- 1 weeks ago17 min
The Space Force Trains Guardians. Delta 13 Teaches Them Why They Fight.
Most people who know the Space Force exists assume it trains operators. People who know how to run satellites, track threats, and execute missions. What fewer people understand is that operating a system and understanding why that system matters are two entirely different things. One is a skill. The other is the foundation of a warfighter.Space is no longer a peaceful backstop for GPS and weather. It's a contested domain, one that underpins every instrument of American power, from diplomacy to the economy to combat operations. The Space Force didn't just need people who could do the job. It needed people who could explain why the job exists in the first place, and then teach that to the entire joint force, allied partners, and eventually the American public.In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Col. Alison Gonzalez, Commander of Space Delta 13, the Space Force's dedicated education command under Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), to explore why building a force of strategic thinkers is just as important as building a force of trained operators.Why the Space Force separated education from training — and what's lost when you collapse the twoWhat Delta 13 actually does: the three pillars of professional military education, continuing education, and partnership educationHow Delta 13 educates beyond Guardians — including the joint force, international allies, industry, and academiaWhy Col. Gonzalez believes seamless integration across all those partners is the long-term vision — and what stands in the wayThe role universities like Texas A&M, Arizona State, and Purdue play in developing Guardian leadersHow industry partnerships give Guardians real operational problem sets to solve — and bring solutions back to the forceThe story behind Col. Gonzalez becoming one of the first Guardians to wear and publicly demonstrate the Space Force service dress uniformHow she went from satellite operator to commanding one of STARCOM's deltas — and what she'd tell any Guardian trying to rise through the ranksWhy less than 10% of Americans know the Space Force exists — and what SFA and Delta 13 can do together to change thatEducation is the why behind everything the Space Force does. Without it, you have operators. With it, you have Guardians who understand what they're protecting and why it's worth fighting for.Hosted by Bill WoolfProduced by Ty HollidayAV by RedwireProduction Support by Emily Honhart and Omar MahmoudCol. Alison R. Gonzalez Commander, Space Delta 13, Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) Col. Gonzalez assumed command of Delta 13 in July 2025, taking charge of the Space Force's education enterprise headquartered at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Her career spans satellite operations, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Space Defense Center, and Headquarters U.S. Space Force, where she served as Director of Staff for the Office of the Chief of Human Capital prior to taking command.Learn more about Space Delta 13: https://www.starcom.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Units/Space-Delta-13-Education/Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- 2 weeks ago50 min
CMSSF Bentivegna: The Space Force Needs to Double, and Here's Exactly How It Happens
The Space Force needs to double in size. That's not a talking point, it's a legislative ask, a budgetary argument, and a warfighting requirement all at once.In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, CMSSF John Bentivegna, to break down exactly what it would take to grow the Space Force from roughly 11,000 to 25,000 Guardians by 2031, and why the threat environment leaves no room for delay.Most people hear the headline and assume it is a budget conversation. It's much more specific than that. Congress controls how many people each military service can have. That ceiling is set in the National Defense Authorization Act every year. Raising it requires requirements, justification, infrastructure, and a pipeline, and the Space Force is building all of it simultaneously.In this conversation, CMSSF Bentivegna discusses:Why end strength growth starts with requirements, not headcount, and what China's on-orbit capabilities have to do with that mathHow the Space Force's enlisted-led operator model works, and why it's the right design for a warfighting domainWhat a Guardian on console actually does, and how officers, NCOs, and civilians each fit into an operations floorThe World-Class Master Sergeant initiative and why developing elite E-7s is the key to scaling quality without diluting itWhere the next 10,000 Guardians actually come from, recruits, cross-service transfers, ROTC, OTS, and the Personnel Management ActWhat SPAFORGEN is, why you can't train for high-intensity conflict while running daily operations, and how that tension drives force sizingGuardian Arena, what it is, what it tests, and why it's becoming the cultural centerpiece of the serviceThe Space Force was built for this moment. The question is whether it will be built big enough, fast enough, to meet it.Hosted by Bill WoolfProduced by Ty HollidayGuest: Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, CMSSF John Bentivegna The senior enlisted leader of the United States Space Force, responsible for the health, welfare, development, and utilization of all enlisted Guardians.Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- 3 weeks ago31 min
The Lab Behind the Force: How Military Research Becomes Space Warfighting Capability
Most people have never heard of the Air Force Research Laboratory. The Space Force couldn't exist without it.Dr. Andy Williams has been at AFRL since 2003, long enough to watch the space domain go from what he calls a "relatively benign environment" to a fully contested warfighting domain. He now serves as AFRL's Deputy Technology Executive Officer for Space: the single point of contact between the lab and the U.S. Space Force, responsible for making sure the science that starts on a whiteboard at Kirtland actually ends up in a Guardian's hands.He's the conductor. And in this conversation, recorded live on the Redwire Stage at the 41st Space Symposium, he and SFA Founder Bill Woolf trace the full pipeline, from basic research to operational capability, and don't flinch on where it breaks.In this episode:Why Dr. Williams says space is now more important to the joint fight than air — and what that demands from a research labWhat the "conductor" role actually looks like day to day, coordinating across AFRL's directorates at the seams, and where the baton gets dropped most oftenHow a service still defining itself translates operational gaps into concrete research priorities — and why the only model that works treats S&T, acquisition, and operators as one teamWhat always gets cut first in a resource-constrained environment, and why that's a problem that compounds like debtThe ROSA story: three attempts, a decade of basic research, new materials no one planned to develop — and what it teaches about what it actually takes to get a technology across the finish line for the Space ForceWhy science and technology is exactly like a retirement account — and what decades of cuts have cost the service that's supposed to be the most technologically advanced in the worldDynamic space operations: the capability Dr. Williams believes could be decisive in future conflict, why the U.S. isn't leading it, and what he means when he says the Space Force needs velocity — not just speedRecorded at the Redwire Stage at the 41st Space Symposium. Hosted by Bill WoolfProduced by Ty HollidayAV by RedwireProduction Support by Omar Mahmoud & Emily HonhartDr. Andrew "Andy" Williams is the Deputy Technology Executive Officer for Space at the Air Force Research Laboratory. He serves as AFRL's primary point of contact for the U.S. Space Force, integrating and executing the lab's space science and technology investment strategy and leading engagement across DoD, the Intelligence Community, NASA, industry, and academia. He has been at AFRL since 2003.Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Learn more about AFRL: https://www.afrl.af.mil/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- 3 weeks ago57 min
The China Space Problem: What Congress Knows, What Americans Don't, and What Happens If We Lose
What happens to the American economy, not just the American military, if China wins the space race?In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Randy Schriver, Chair of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and Mike Kuiken, its Vice Chair, joined by co-host Dillon "Brick" Cox, Chair of SFA's National Spacepower Center Committee. Together they work through one of the most important questions in national security that most Americans aren't asking: what does contested space actually cost us?The Commission's 2025 Annual Report to Congress was approved unanimously by all twelve commissioners, six Republicans, six Democrats. In a Washington where almost nothing gets bipartisan agreement, that consensus is the story.Randy Schriver served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. He describes returning to government, getting his clearances back, and walking into his first briefing: "My mind exploded." General Saltzman called China's space advancement "mind-boggling." That's not a phrase you hear from a four-star general.Mike Kuiken spent nearly 23 years in the U.S. Senate, over a decade on the Armed Services Committee and then as Senate Majority Leader Schumer's National Security Advisor. He led the legislative strategy to pass the CHIPS Act.In this conversation, Randy, Mike, and Brick discuss:Why China's space advancement exceeded even experienced Pentagon officials' expectationsThe carrier battle group problem: how China went from intermittent tracking to persistent targeting of U.S. forces transiting the PacificWhat breaks first for ordinary Americans: GPS, telecommunications, financial timing, the power gridWhy China's military-civil fusion means there is no such thing as a Chinese civilian space programThe CHIPS Act parallel: are we making the same mistake in space that we made in semiconductors?Why the Space Force has a visibility problem no other service faces, and why that makes building legislative support nearly impossibleWhat it would take to make a Fortune 500 CEO truly understand 48 hours without GPSThe one thing Randy and Mike would tell a lawmaker who wants to do the right thing but doesn't know where to startHosted by Bill Woolf Co-hosted by Dillon "Brick" Cox Produced by Ty HollidayRandy Schriver, Chair, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Previously served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.Mike Kuiken, Vice Chair, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Nearly 23 years in the U.S. Senate, including over a decade on the Armed Services Committee and as Senate Majority Leader Schumer's National Security Advisor. Led the legislative strategy to pass the CHIPS and Science Act.Read the 2025 Annual Report to Congress: https://www.uscc.gov/annual-report/2025-annual-report-congressLearn more about SFA's National Spacepower Center: https://ussfa.org/national-space-center/Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- 4 weeks ago25 min
Can America Build Fast Enough to Win in Space?
The best technology doesn't matter if you can't build enough of it.That's the industrial base challenge facing national security space right now, and it's the central argument Matt Magaña made during a conversation at the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.Magaña is the President of Defense and National Security at Voyager Technologies and a board member of the Space Force Association. He's spent his career on both sides of the defense acquisition equation: managing billion-dollar portfolios at Raytheon, leading high-rate small satellite production at Blue Canyon Technologies, and now building the infrastructure to scale mission-ready systems at volume.In this episode, he and SFA Founder Bill Woolf discuss:- Why manufacturing capacity, not technology, is now the defining variable in space superiority- The two supply chain choke points keeping defense leaders up at night: electronics and propulsion- What Golden Dome demands from the industrial base, and why no single company can deliver it alone- How acquisition reform is shifting the government-industry relationship from vendor to partner- What the "minimum viable product" concept actually means for how industry responds to requirements- Why transparency from the government side is the single most important thing for small companies right now- What Space Force Guardians should understand about their relationship with commercial industry- How to build a company capable of inserting technology at the speed relevance demandsRecorded at the Redwire Stage at the 41st Space Symposium.Hosted by Bill WoolfProduced by Ty HollidayAV By RedwireProduction Support by Emily Honhart and Omar MahmoudMatt Magaña is President of Defense and National Security at Voyager Technologies. He previously served as President and CEO of Blue Canyon Technologies and held executive roles at Raytheon overseeing billion-dollar portfolios in electronic warfare, space control, and missile defense.Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- May 6, 202639 min
Beyond the Artemis Accords: The Case for a Space Treaty Organization
The Artemis Accords brought dozens of nations together around shared principles, but principles without structure aren't policy. In a domain where commerce, exploration, and national security increasingly overlap, non-binding norms aren't enough. And the window to act is narrowing.In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Dr. Eric Sundby, CEO of TerraSpace, SFA Board Member, and now the first maritime space officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, to make the case for something more formal: a Space Treaty Organization.Drawing on his PhD dissertation, published op-eds, and direct experience working across the civil, commercial, and national security space sectors, Sundby argues that the United States needs to move from bilateral handshakes to binding multilateral frameworks, before China and Russia fill the vacuum.This conversation covers:Why the Artemis Accords are a critical first step, and why they aren't enoughWhat a Space Treaty Organization would actually do (and what it would not look like)The Wolf Amendment, ILRSCO, and the legal contradictions already undermining U.S. space cooperationWhy SEATO failed and NATO succeeded, and what that means for space governanceHow China's strategy on Earth (artificial islands, territorial claims, debt diplomacy) maps directly onto its posture in spaceThe commercial angle: how TerraSpace's critical minerals work depends on clearer property rights and reduced regulatory frictionWhy inaction at this point in history equals ceding groundReal-life Starfleet, and why the values we carry into space matter as much as the capabilitiesFrom the South China Sea to the lunar surface, the patterns are already clear. The question is whether the United States and its allies will build the framework that keeps the space domain free, or wait until the other side has already poured the sand.Hosted by Bill WoolfProduced by Ty HollidayGuest: Dr. Eric Sundby, CEO, TerraSpace | SFA Board Member | U.S. Navy Reserve (Maritime Space Officer)Dr. Sundby holds a PhD focused on space governance and international cooperation frameworks and is the author of the op-ed "America Needs a Space Alliance."Read Dr. Sundby's Op Ed: https://spacenews.com/america-needs-a-space-alliance/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
- Apr 28, 202634 min
Our Space Future Depends on What We Teach Kids Today
What does it take to turn today's elementary school students into tomorrow's space workforce?In this episode of the Spacepower Podcast, SFA Founder and host Bill Woolf sits down with Col. Eric Zarybniski, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access at Space Systems Command, and Dr. Emily Zarybniski, a 2026 Space Foundation International Teacher Liaison, to explore one of the most critical, and often overlooked challenges in maintaining space superiority: education.Every Guardian, every engineer, every mission planner who will defend and expand America's presence in space started somewhere. A teacher who made it click. A concept that sparked curiosity. A moment when space stopped being abstract and became possible.The pipeline from K-12 classrooms to national security capability is longer than most people realize, and more fragile. Today's students touch space 50 times a day through GPS, streaming video, weather apps, and communication networks. But most have no idea how deeply connected they are to the domain, or that careers in space exist beyond astronauts.In this conversation, Col. and Dr. Zarybniski discuss:Why K-12 space education is a matter of national security, not just workforce developmentWhat gets students genuinely excited about space careers (hint: it starts with Diet Coke and Mentos)The critical difference between STEM and STEAM—and why artists, designers, and creative thinkers belong in the space enterpriseHow to reach students before they've decided "space isn't for me" or "I'm not good at math"What it's like to explain quantum physics on neighborhood walks and thermodynamics at the dinner tableWhy the Space Foundation's International Teacher Liaison Program matters for building the next generationHow military families balance launching rockets to orbit and teaching kids who will one day design themThe reality of being a Guardian in 2026, and why more people still ask "Is the Space Force real?"What parents and educators can do right now to inspire the space-native generationFrom classroom experiments to mission director decisions at Cape Canaveral, this episode connects the dots between inspiring young minds and delivering combat-ready space capabilities. Because the Space Force of 2040 is sitting in fourth grade classrooms right now.Hosted by Bill WoolfProduced by Ty HollidayGuests:Col. Eric Zarybniski, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Space Access, Space Systems CommandHe leads the acquisition, development, and operation of the $13.5 billion National Security Space Launch programs, delivering critical payloads to orbit from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg.Dr. Emily Zarybniski, 2026 Space Foundation International Teacher LiaisonShe is one of 38 elite educators selected globally to inspire the next generation of space professionals through hands-on STEAM education in elementary and middle school classrooms.Learn more about Space Systems Command: https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Learn more about the U.S. Space Force: https://www.spaceforce.mil/Join SFA: https://ussfa.org/Subscribe for more conversations on spacepower, national security, and the future of the space domain.
About Spacepower Podcast
Spacepower is a strategic podcast from the Space Force Association exploring the leaders, ideas, and operations shaping the space domain. Hosted by SFA Founder Bill “Hippie” Woolf, the show features conversations with senior military leaders, policymakers, and industry experts on deterrence, maneuver, technology, and the evolving role of space in national security. Episodes include in-depth interviews and solo analysis breaking down the trends defining the future of spacepower.
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