An Evening with Kellie Gerardi | Thought Leader Series

A premier aerospace R&D forum exploring the science, technologies, and capabilities transforming aerospace. The 2027 theme, “Resilience in a Changing World,” focuses on adaptation and innovation across aerospace, defense, and the broader engineering enterprise. Featured speakers include Tim Costa, Vice President and General Manager for Industrial and Computational Engineering at NVIDIA; Kerri Phillips, Technical Director for Missiles at Hanwha Defense USA; Will Roper, Founder and CEO of Istari Digital; and Brig. Gen. Douglas P. Wickert, USAF, Commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

SpaceCom, in collaboration with NASA, focuses on commercialization, procurement, investment, partnerships, and business growth across the space economy. Its tracks cover infrastructure, manufacturing, mobility, market demand, investment trends, procurement priorities, lunar and cislunar initiatives, emerging technologies, commercial low Earth orbit destinations, AI, and autonomy. Program themes include Artemis cadence and architecture, supply-chain readiness, workforce and industrial execution, lunar infrastructure, robotics, human systems, commercial space stations, nuclear power and propulsion, science missions, orbital manufacturing, and space traffic management. Sessions address space-infrastructure co-investment, manufacturing bottlenecks, commercial procurement and scale, policy and governance, spacecraft servicing, cybersecurity, AI-enabled operations, lunar resource systems, and commercial investment. Headline keynotes include invited NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and retired NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson.

The 2027 forum theme, “Resilience in a Changing World,” examines tools, approaches, and breakthroughs intended to strengthen resilience across aerospace, defense, and the broader engineering enterprise amid rapid technological and global change. The program combines technical sessions focused on research and technologies addressing specific problems with plenary and Forum 360 sessions on issues affecting aerospace. It serves civil, commercial, and national security sectors and connects academic, industry, and government professionals. Featured speakers include James Kenyon, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate; Daniel Hettema, Director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; and Sha-Chelle Devlin Manning, Chief of Commercial Strategy at DARPA.

SpaceCom, in collaboration with NASA, brings together government priorities, commercial capability, and industry innovation around procurement, investment, partnerships, business development, and technology commercialization. The program is organized across the SpaceCom: Keynotes, ADVANCE, DISCOVER, EXPLORE, INNOVATE, and TINA Talks streams. Topics include Artemis cadence and architecture; launch logistics and high-cadence access to space; commercial-government co-investment; commercial space stations; spacecraft servicing and lifecycle economics; supply-chain, manufacturing, and infrastructure bottlenecks; workforce and industrial execution; nuclear power and propulsion; cislunar mobility; international partnerships; space traffic management; cybersecurity; AI-enabled mission control; orbital manufacturing and repair; lunar resource utilization; space-resource law; and intellectual-property rights for space-based innovations. Named sessions include “SpaceCom Day 1 Opening Keynotes,” “Invite-Only Executive Forum: From Orbit to Outcome: Why Space Has Become Enterprise Infrastructure,” “Launch Is Logistics: Scaling High-Cadence Access to Space,” “Commercial-Government Co-Investment: How Space Infrastructure Gets Funded,” “Moon Joy! Lessons from the Artemis II Journey,” “The Case for Commercial Space Stations: Innovation Needs Customers,” “Service, Refuel, or Replace? The New Economics of Spacecraft Lifecycles,” “Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Hidden Infrastructure Bottlenecks,” “Policy, Law, and Governance for the New Space Age,” “Powering the Next Frontier: Nuclear Power and Propulsion,” “Mission Control, Rewritten: When AI Agents Move from Advice to Action,” and “Building the Moon Base.”

The half-day program examines space systems’ role in critical infrastructure resilience and the secure adoption of AI. Topics include protecting space-based communications, navigation, timing, and data services; applying zero-trust principles across spacecraft, ground systems, networks, users, and mission partners; and how Golden Dome for America may affect cybersecurity requirements, acquisition priorities, and resilient space architectures. The AI security theme covers AI-enabled threat detection and response across space, ground, and user segments, including human oversight; risks across AI models, training data, software, infrastructure, and vendors; and workforce readiness to deploy, govern, and defend AI-enabled systems. Government briefings, expert panels, and dedicated roundtables are planned.

The week combines the SATELLITE Conference, GovMilSpace, a peer-evaluated Tech Seminar, an executive Inner Circle program, and an exhibit hall. Topics include satellite finance, M&A and market structure; 5G non-terrestrial networks and the road to 6G; direct-to-device connectivity; AI in satellite operations; software-defined networks; sovereign networks; launch economics; and ground-segment modernization. GovMilSpace addresses acquisition and commercial integration, resilient architectures, GEOINT, PNT, defense constellation services, optical communications, and the space industrial base. The Tech Seminar covers ground architecture, spectrum, propulsion, AI, and in-space operations, with white papers accompanying its technical sessions. The program also includes discussions of satellite manufacturing costs and supply-chain pressures, spectrum policy ahead of WRC-27, satellite-network security and interference testing, and orbital logistics. Some Inner Circle briefings and roundtables are exclusive to that executive program.

The summit presents an integrated, three-track program connecting aviation, advanced air mobility, space, and defense through shared priorities in supply chains, testbeds, capital, and workforce. Tracks are Flightline (Advanced Air Mobility & Aviation), Orbitline (Space & Space-Enabled Services), and Frontline (Defense, Dual-Use & Manufacturing). Sessions address Arizona entry points into U.S. and allied aerospace ecosystems; corridors, ranges, manufacturing capacity, and emerging spaceports for pilots and multi-domain experiments; intersections of aerospace with microelectronics, biosciences, AI, and advanced manufacturing; and converting strategy into pilots, partnerships, commitments, mission briefs, and Global Aerospace Commitments for 2030.

The program addresses Executive Order implementation, the FAA Reauthorization Act, secure supply chains and the FCC Covered List, aircraft certification, and airspace coordination. Featured officials include Steven Haines, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry & Analysis; Congresswoman Dina Titus; and Senator Peter Welch. Sessions examine NASA’s plans for future air transportation; federal agency UAS operations and procurement; FAA EIPP progress; state and local pathways for advanced air mobility; vertiports, corridors, grid integration, and spectrum allocation; large-UAS operational approvals; collision avoidance and detect-and-avoid; FCC enforcement; automated flight rules; retail and commercial drone markets; and the policy agenda for drones and AAM. Further program topics include counter-UAS policy for major events, Part 146 certification, industry responses to NPRM 2209, air traffic control investment, coordination between first-responder and commercial drone operations, UAS supply-chain security and domestic manufacturing, cellular integration and spectrum access, U.S. export opportunities, EU certifications and cybersecurity regulations, and state, local, and tribal drone operations.

The series is designed to inspire and empower the next generation of community leaders through keynote presentations and interactive discussions about leaders’ real-world challenges and triumphs. Topics include navigating corporate transformations, spearheading industry disruptions, fostering visionary thinking, and cultivating resilient teams. Terrence “Lee” Reaviel, Jr. is President & Founder of Stratagem Solutions, Inc. He has nearly 20 years of experience supporting Army Aviation acquisition programs and has provided acquisition management and strategic planning support to Army Aviation and Missile project and product offices.