9th Prague Space Security Conference

Nicholas Merrick is the United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic where he has led the United States Embassy in Prague since October 20, 2025. He presented his credentials to the President of the Czech Republic on October 23, 2025.

Ambassador Merrick was the Founder and President of Mt. Vernon Investments. Among many other transactions, Mt. Vernon Investments was one of the earliest investors in Truth Social and worked closely with the company through its public listing in 2024.

Before founding Mt. Vernon Investments, he worked in the telecommunications industry, where, as Chief Financial Officer of Telco Communications Group, Inc., he helped orchestrate the sale of Telco to Excel Communications.  He then served as Chief Financial Officer and on the Board of Directors of Excel Communications, where he played a pivotal role in the merger of Excel with Teleglobe, Inc.

As Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System, he worked to stabilize a distressed pension fund and secure a living wage adjustment for police and firefighters.  Ambassador Merrick has also been a part-time high school teacher at Cistercian Preparatory School in Dallas, Texas.

In 1985, Ambassador Merrick received his Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia, which he attended on a full football scholarship, and he earned a Master in Business Administration from Harvard University in 1990. He is joined by his wife Leslie in Prague and looks forward to visits by his children and grandchildren.

Maj. Gen. Brian Sidari is Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence at United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Washington D.C. In this capacity, he serves as the Senior Intelligence Officer to the Chief of Space Operations and is responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Space Operations for intelligence policy, oversight, and guidance of Space Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. He exercises overall responsibility for the Space Force Intelligence Community Element, which is the 18th member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Additionally, he serves as Chief, Service Cryptologic Component with delegated authorities from the Director of the National Security Agency and Head of USSF’s Geospatial Intelligence Element.

Maj. Gen. Sidari commissioned through Reserve Officer Training Corps from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. He has held numerous operational and staff tours, featuring joint and combined service in multiple theaters. He transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Space Force in June 2021.

Prior to this assignment, Maj. Gen. Sidari served as the Director of Intelligence, United States Space Command, Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado.

Major General Michael Traut is Commander of German Space Command. Born in Tübingen on 18th December 1964, Major General Traut is married and has two daughters.

He joined the Bundeswehr as a conscript in 1983 and received his initial officer training at German Air Force Officer School in Fürstenfeldbruck. He studied computer science at the Bundeswehr University Munich and was assigned to numerous postings, first as system administrator and programmer and later within NATO’s Integrated Air Defence System as aircraft controller. He later obtained all tactical air battle management operational qualifications.

Major General Traut served in numerous senior functions in German Air Force and Joint Support Service Headquarters as well as within German Ministry of Defence. He took command of Operational Air Wing Mazar-e-Sharif/Afghanistan in 2007 and served as Commandant of the German Air Force Officer School between 2016 and 2020. In 2021, he became Director of National Air Operations until 2023, simultaneously taking command of the emerging German Space Command.

Major General Traut is a graduate from Bundeswehr Command and Staff College Hamburg, Joint Services Command and Staff College Bracknell and Royal College of Defence Studies London.

Air Marshal (09) Paul “Godders” Godfrey is the Assistant Chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships, United States Space Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In this role, he is responsible for integrating allies and partners with the Space Force’s capability development strategy.

Godfrey joined the Royal Air Force in 1991 and has been a fighter pilot for most of his career. A Weapons Instructor on the Harrier and one of the first operational pilots on the Eurofighter Typhoon, he has flown on numerous operations and exercises with the RAF and undertook an exchange tour on the F-16 Fighting Falcon with the United States Air Force. He was also privileged to be a Spitfire and Hurricane pilot on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Staff roles have included Typhoon requirements management at Defence Equipment and Support in Bristol, capability management and acquisition at the Ministry of Defence and F-35 operational programme management, leading the entry into service of the F-35B for the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. He was also Head of Carrier Enabled Power Projection, integrating F-35B fighters and Crowsnest helicopters with Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. In 2020 Paul was Director of the 609th Air Operations Centre in Al Udeid, responsible for the planning and employment of coalition air and space power across the Middle East.

Godfrey has commanded as a Flight Commander on F-16 and Typhoon Squadrons, Officer Commanding Operations Wing at RAF Coningsby, a Typhoon Base Commander at RAF Lossiemouth and was the inaugural Commander of U.K. Space Command 2021-2024.

Rear Admiral Sébastien Goinère, born on May 10, 1974, is married with three children. A graduate of the École Centrale de Nantes, he joined the Navy in 1999 after serving as a watch officer on an aviso during his national service.

Colonel Frank Brooks is the Acting Director of Space International Affairs for the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In this capacity he assists the Director in her role as principal space advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Space Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, SAF principals, and SAF/IA leadership and teams on matters related to space-related security cooperation functions spanning international agreements, and politico-military matters related to foreign military sales of space systems and education programs.

Colonel Brooks has deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Prior to his current assignment, Colonel Brooks deployed to Al Udied AB, Qatar as the Deputy Commander, Space Forces – Central, the U.S. Space Force service component supporting U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) responsible for operational command and control of terrestrial space forces in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.

Colonel Tomohiro Okuda is a Counsellor at the National Space Policy Secretariat (NSPS), Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, where he contributes to the formulation and coordination of national space policy and space security initiatives across the government.

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) officer, he was commissioned in 2001 and began his career in operational meteorology, specializing in weather forecasting. He has held assignments in defense policy, force planning, and the development of air and space capabilities at the Air Staff Office and the Joint Staff Office.

He commanded the Chitose Weather Squadron and served as an Aide-de-Camp to senior JASDF leadership, gaining experience at both operational and strategic levels. He has contributed to the advancement of Japan’s air and space power through doctrine development at the Air and Space Studies Institute and through space policy and capability planning within the Air Staff Office.

Colonel Okuda holds a Doctor of Science degree from the National Defense Academy of Japan and is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Joint Staff College.

Dr. Scott Pace is the Director of the Space Policy Institute and a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Dr. Pace rejoined the faculty of the Elliott School in January 2021 after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council from 2017-2020. From 2005-2008, he served as the Associate Administrator for Program Analysis and Evaluation at NASA. Prior to NASA, Dr. Pace was the Assistant Director for Space and Aeronautics in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). From 1993-2000, Dr. Pace worked for the RAND Corporation’s Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI). From 1990 to 1993, he served as the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Office of Space Commerce, in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce.

Dr. Pace received the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold and Silver Stars from the Government of Japan in 2021, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Group Achievement Award in 2020, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2008, the US Department of State’s Group Superior Honor Award (GPS Interagency Team) in 2005, and the NASA Group Achievement Award (Columbia Accident Rapid Reaction Team) in 2004. He has served as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 2009, 2011-2017, and 2022-2024.

Zachary Justin Mottl is the fourth‑generation owner and President of Atlas Tool Works, a precision manufacturer serving defense, aerospace, medical, telecom, and industrial markets. A national advocate for U.S. manufacturing, he has appeared in media, published on industrial policy, and testified before Congress multiple times.

Zach serves as Chairman of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nationally recognized bipartisan organization cited by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg for its analysis on U.S. trade and industrial policy. CPA’s work has informed policy discussions referenced by both the Trump and Biden administrations. His past leadership roles include service on the Cybersecurity Steering Committee at MxD, the Illinois Military Economic Development Committee, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Board, the IMEC Board, and the U.S. Manufacturing Council at the Department of Commerce under the International Trade Administration. A former elected official, Zach served as a Trustee and Acting Mayor of the Village of Burr Ridge. He earned his BBA, Cum Laude, from Benedictine University.

Paul Graziani is COMSPOC Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer. For the 33 years before COMSPOC’s inception, Paul championed the use of commercial software in the national security and space industries as co-founder and CEO of Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI).

Paul serves as the Chairman of the Board for OneSky, an unmanned aerial systems traffic management company. He is also a director of Passur Aerospace. He is a director emeritus of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is also on the Board of Directors for URSA Space Systems.  Paul is a former board of governor’s member for the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and previously served on the board of the Civil Air Patrol Foundation. After fulfilling a board tenure with The Space Foundation, Paul was elected to the honorary position of Life Director.

Paul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from LaSalle College but quickly pivoted his career to software, launching into satellite mission planning systems with General Electric’s Space Division in 1980. Paul has been happily married to his wife, Shirley, for 39 years and is the proud father of three great children: Kristin, Kevin, and Lauren.  As of 2025, Paul became a proud grandfather to Gray Paul, born to his oldest daughter, Kristin and husband, Grant.

Paul is a serial early adopter of all technology, an avid woodworker, and a sports car enthusiast.

Yuka Kobayashi (LL.B Kyoto, M.Phil., D.Phil. Oxon) is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in China and International Politics at SOAS, University of London. She is also the co-editor of China Quarterly. 

 
She was the inaugural British Academy Global Innovation Fellow (2024-2026) seconded to the German Council for Foreign Relations (DGAP), and has held visiting appointments at the World Trade Organization (Visiting Scholar) and Nankai University, China (Visiting Research Professor). Prior to joining SOAS, she was a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. After receiving a LL.B. (specialization in Public International Law) from Kyoto University, she studied Mandarin and Chinese International Politics at Nankai University and then obtained her M.Phil. and D.Phil. at the University of Oxford. Her research interests include International Relations of China, International Law, Connectivity (digital, space), Trade and Investment (Belt and Road Initiative/WTO/FDI), Human Rights and Climate Change/Energy.

 
She has advised various governments, think-tanks and international organisations on these subjects. She was appointed specialist advisor on China for the UK government (2021), and joined the advisory board for Stiftung Asienhaus (Germany, 2020-2022).

Peter Marquez, Head of Policy for Global Security, Government, & Aerospace, oversees and coordinates global strategic policy activities for Amazon Web Services. Peter served at the White House in three Administrations. Peter was the Space Policy Director for Presidents Bush and Obama at the National Security Council and the Senior Advisor in the National Space Council during President Trump’s first term. In these roles, Peter was responsible for the writing, implementation, and coordination of the U.S. national space policies, authoring the two consecutive U.S. National Space Policies in 2010 and 2020 – guiding the U.S. space program for the past 15-years. In addition, he also had responsibilities for special programs, defense intelligence, missile defense, and other strategic capabilities. Peter worked with foreign governments to; establish their own space agencies, assist in the writing of national space policies, create interagency processes to execute national security activities, and development of other key strategic national security programs.

In industry, Peter was the Managing Partner of Andart Global, U.S., the Vice President of Global Engagement for Planetary Resources, and the Vice President for Strategy at Orbital Sciences Corporation. Peter served for over a decade in the Pentagon in requirements, acquisition, operations, and policy roles for the Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense and also served as the Director of Special Programs for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Peter is a graduate of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, an inductee of the Space Camp Hall of Fame, a board member of the Japan Institute for Space & Security, a board member of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, an advisor for the Japan Institute for CyberSpace Studies, and a 2024 recipient of the Japan Minister of Foreign Affairs Commendation.

Dr. Deganit Paikowsky specializes in the intersection of global politics, strategy, and technological domains, with a focus on space, cyber, and emerging technologies. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she leads the Techno-Strategic Research Lab. Dr. Paikowsky is also a Non-resident Scholar at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. Her work bridges academic research and practical policy experience. She has played a key role in shaping space policies in Israel, including serving as Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) on behalf of the Israel Space Agency. Dr. Paikowsky is the author of The Power of the Space Club (2017) and other significant publications on space policy, security, and governance.

Roger W. Robinson Jr. was formerly Senior Director of International Economic Affairs at the Reagan National Security Council, where he was the principal architect of the secret economic and financial strategy for the take-down of the Soviet Union. He later served as Chairman of the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission for the bulk of 2001-2006. Prior to his government service, Mr. Robinson was a Vice President in the International Department of the Chase Manhattan Bank with responsibility for Chase’s loan portfolios in the USSR, Central/Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia. He also served as a personal staff assistant to then-Chase Chairman David Rockefeller for some three years. Mr. Robinson is currently Chairman and Co-Founder of the Prague Security Studies Institute in the Czech Republic. He served for seven years on the Board of Visitors of the Sanford School of Public Policy at his alma mater Duke University and has an MA in International Affairs from the Elliott School of George Washington University. Mr. Robinson has regularly testified before Senate and House hearings and has appeared regularly in print and broadcast media outlets for over four decades, primarily on the subjects of financial intelligence and warfighting with respect to China, Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Peter L. Hays is a Fellow at the Prague Security Studies Institute, Space Advisor for the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, and Senior Associate with the Aerospace Security and Missile Defense Projects at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has been an Adjunct Professor with the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University for over 20 years and taught for six years at Marine Corps University’s School of Advanced Warfighting. Previous service included 20 years as a defense contractor in the Pentagon and Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and 25 years as an Air Force officer where he transported nuclear weapons worldwide as a C-141 pilot, and taught at the USAF Academy, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and National Defense University. Hays earned a Ph.D. at the Fletcher School and was a 1979 Honor Graduate of the USAF Academy. Major publications include The Handbook of Space Security (2020), Toward a Theory of Spacepower (2011), and Space and Security (2011).

Dr. Kazuto Suzuki is Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan.  He graduated from the Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England. He has worked in the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris, France as assistant researcher and the Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008 and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He currently serves many advisory committees of the government of Japan, inter alia, the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade. He is also a full member of the International Academy of Astronautics, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and a Visiting Fellow at The Japan Institute of International Affairs. His research focuses on the conjunction of science/technology and international relations; subjects including economic security, space policy, sanctions, non-proliferation, and export control. His recent work includes Space and International Politics (2011), in Japanese, awarded Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities), Policy Logics and Institutions of European Space Collaboration (2003), A Global Map of Resources and the Economy, in Japanese, (2024); as editing work includes The Regulatory Power of the EU in Japanese (2012), Economic security and technological advantage (2023) in Japanese, and many others.

Carissa Bryce Christensen is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of BryceTech, LLC, based in Alexandria, VA. She previously co-founded defense contractor The Tauri Group, acquired by LMI in 2019, and quantum computing software firm QxBranch, acquired by Rigetti Computing in 2019. She is an active tech investor and has served on several early-stage boards.

Ms. Christensen is an internationally recognized expert on the satellite and space industry, known for rigorous analysis and innovative, data-driven strategy. She is a Senior Advisor to the annual US Space Force Schriever Wargame. She serves on the Senior Advisory Council of the Aerospace Corporation Center for Space Policy and Strategy, serves on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space, and chairs the US board of the UN-affiliated Space Generation Advisory Council. She is a founding member of the Future Space Leaders Foundation and chairs its Advisory Board. Ms. Christensen previously served on the National Research Council Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable, which advises NASA, and served on the Space Committee of the Defense Innovation Board.

Ms. Christensen is a Harvard Business School Entrepreneur-in-Residence. She guest lectures at universities including Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. She has testified before Congress and Parliament committees on the space industry. She publishes extensively, is often cited by major media outlets, and has appeared in commercial space documentaries by The Financial Times, Bloomberg and HBO.

Ms. Christensen is a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School, where she specialized in science and technology policy. She attended the London School of Economics and was a Douglass Scholar at Rutgers University. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Ms. Christensen was named 2023 Executive of the Year (Up to $75M) at the Greater Washington GovCon Awards.

Hermann Ludwig Moeller is the Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, the European Think Tank on Space, promoting European Space Policy globally. ESPI is developing approaches to European Space Policy and is providing recommendations to European decision makers and institutions. Prior to joining ESPI, he held leading positions at ESA in the creation of EU Copernicus and in the preparation of the EU Secure Connectivity initiative as Head of Telecommunications Strategy, Programme and Transformation Office and as Head of Copernicus Space Segment Office. In these functions, Mr. Moeller has been operating with high level leadership in a complex multi-stakeholder policy environment with national space agencies, member states and delegations in public-private partnerships with industry, at EU level and EUMETSAT.

Prior to that he held the ESA Douglas Marsh Fellow at NASA and contributed to the creation of the European Internet backbone. He acquired early professional experience at the European Patent Office HQ and Siemens HQ.

Mr. Moeller holds a master degree in telecommunications, following studies at Technical University Darmstadt and Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Télécommunications (ENST) – Télécom Paris.

He is of German nationality with working experience in Germany, Italy, the USA, The Netherlands, France and Austria, is married and father of four children.

Dean Cheng is currently a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and a non-resident fellow with the George Washington University Space Policy Institute. He was recently a senior advisor to the China program at the US Institute of Peace. In 2022, he retired after 13 years with the Heritage Foundation, where he was a senior research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs, and wrote on various aspects of Chinese foreign and defense policy.

Prior to joining the Heritage Foundation, he worked at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and as an analyst with the US Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment.

He is the author of Cyber Dragon: Inside China’s Information Warfare and Cyber Operations (NY: Praeger Publishing, 2016), and China and the New Moon Race (Washington, DC: George Washington University Space Policy Institute, January 2025), and has written extensively on Chinese views of deterrence, Chinese views of space power, and Chinese mobilization, and contributed to a number of volumes on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

He has testified before Congress numerous times, and spoken at the National Space Symposium, the US National Defense University, the USSTRATCOM Deterrence Symposium, Harvard, and MIT.

Mr. Daughtridge has been with Kratos since 1999, and in the satellite and aerospace industry since 1986. In his current position, Mr. Daughtridge leads Kratos’ satellite ground segment technology research and development efforts.  Prior to his current role, he held several senior management positions, including SVP & GM of the Integral Systems Products Group, SVP & GM of the Integral Systems Commercial Group, as well as Program Manager of several major commercial programs. Mr. Daughtridge serves as the Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Digital Intermediate Frequency Interoperability (DIFI) Consortium. In this leadership role, he guides the consortium’s mission to advance interoperability and drive the maturation of digital IF standards across space and ground segment networks. Mr. Daughtridge holds a Bachelor of Science from Lafayette College.

Dr. Pascal Faucher is a graduate from SUPAERO (1997) and holds a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from the University Paul Sabatier (2001) along with an Executive MBA from ESCP Business School (2007). His experience includes more than 23 years of various positions at the French Space Agency (CNES) in Paris. For the last 15 years, he has been a programme manager in defense and security, focusing on space security, space situational awareness, space traffic, space debris, space weather, and planetary defense. Dr. Faucher chairs several committees, including the EU SST Steering Committee (2017, re-elected in 2019, 2022 and 2025), the IAF Space Security Committee (2021, re-elected in 2024), and co-chairs the EU Industry and Start-ups Forum on STM (2022). He is a French delegate to the PB-SSA of ESA (2012), Admin Board of EUSPA (2021), EU STM Main Group (2023), IADC Steering Group (2012), SMPAG (2014) and UN COPUOS WG LTS (2012) among others. In France, he chairs the National Coordination Group on Space Weather (GCME). He is a member of the French Steering Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (GEIPAN).

Justin Bernier is a managing partner of 6DI, an open source financial intelligence company operating where global markets intersect national security. Bernier is also CEO of National Security Index, sponsor of a NASDAQ-listed exchange-traded fund that offers exposure to emerging markets without foreign threat actors. Bernier is a founding partner at All Source Investment Management, a financial advisory firm focused on private equity and other alternative investments. He was previously a Portfolio Manager and Alternatives Investment Director at Morgan Stanley. Earlier in his career, he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives, managing national security initiatives for the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment. A former U.S. Navy Reserve officer, Bernier has served at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Asia/Pacific Regional Center and at the Joint Intelligence Operations Center-Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Today he is a Senior Fellow supporting PSSI’s Economic and Financial Statecraft Program as well as an Advisor to the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Bernier holds an MBA from Yale, an MA in International Relations from Georgetown University, and an MPP in International Security & Economic Policy from the University of Maryland. His BA is from Fordham University in New York City. He resides in Virginia with his wife, Jennie, and their four children.

Masami Onoda was appointed as Director of JAXA’s International Relations and Research Department in July 2024. In this position, she oversees JAXA’s international partnerships and research to inform the Japanese government on global space activities worldwide. Prior to this, she served as Director of JAXA Washington D.C. Office from 2018-2024, representing the agency across the Americas. Throughout her tenure in D.C., she supported the development of U.S.-Japan space cooperation, from Japan’s participation in the Artemis Program in 2019 to the signing of the Pressurized Rover Implementing Arrangement in April 2024, when the two heads of state announced the lunar landing opportunities by Japanese astronauts. Dr. Onoda has held several international positions, including roles at the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, Austria. She also worked with small and medium-sized enterprises in a small satellite technology transfer project while operating the JAXA office in Osaka, Japan.

Mr. O’Connell brings over four decades of experience in the U.S. government, in research organizations, and as an entrepreneur and business leader to this position. Today, he runs Space Economy Rising, a Washington, D.C. advisory firm to help companies and investors understand strategy, finance, and regulation of the space economy. He was the former Director, Office of Space Commerce during the first Trump Administration. Mr. O’Connell has researched and written extensively on the policy, security, and global market issues related to the commercialization of remote sensing. Aside from numerous articles and op-eds, he was co-author of Commercial Observation Satellites: at the Leading Edge of Global Transparency (2000). He served as the Executive Secretary and Staff Director of the NIMA Commission (1999-2000). He was a member, and later Chair, of NOAA’s federal advisory committee on remote sensing from 2002-2016. Previously, Mr. O’Connell served as the CEO of Innovative Analytics and Training, a Washington, D.C. professional services firm focused on analysis and decision support for U.S. government and commercial clients. During this time, he also served as a senior consultant to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and as an independent advisor to the Director, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Mr. O’Connell’s background also includes extensive experience in national security and intelligence matters, including assignments in the Department of Defense, Department of State, National Security Council, and the Office of the Vice President. He spent a decade conducting and managing research in these areas at the RAND Corporation, including as the first director of RAND’s Intelligence Policy Center. Finally, Mr. O’Connell has taught and lectured extensively at universities and research organizations, including Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, George Washington University, MIT, and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Dr. John P. Stopher is a Senior Fellow supporting PSSI’s Space Security Program. He previously served as the Principal Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force for Space and was responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force for establishing a Space Force as well as governance, planning, policy, strategy, development, and execution across the defense space portfolio and integration with the National Security Space Enterprise. He was also the lead for international space relations and interdepartmental and interagency matters.

Prior to joining the Air Force in 2017, Dr. Stopher was the President of 377 Omega, a national security space and intelligence community technology, policy, and programs-focused consulting company. From 1998 until 2007, John served on the U.S. House of Representatives, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as Budget Director, Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, and Program Monitor for the National Reconnaissance Office and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. John also worked at SeiCorp, TASC, and Eastman Kodak as an engineer on national space programs.

He earned his PhD in electrical engineering from the University at Buffalo. His research was sponsored by the Strategic Defense Initiative in the area of advanced pulsed power for space systems and taught courses in electromagnetic theory, probability and statistics, electric circuits, and physical electronics laboratory.

Holmes Liao, currently a senior advisor at the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), has pursued a dual-track career spanning defense analysis and engineering leadership. He is a seasoned engineering executive with more than 36 years of professional experience across the U.S. and Asian defense and aerospace sectors.

In addition to his industry career, he previously served as an adjunct fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Taiwan Research Institute, established under the direction of Taiwan’s former President Lee Teng-hui. He was also a distinguished adjunct faculty member at Taiwan’s War College and has published extensively on Taiwan’s defense and security affairs, most recently in Space News, National Defense, and The Hill.

He can be reached at holmes.liao@hotmail.com.

Clayton Swope is the deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, Swope led national security and cybersecurity public policy for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. While at Amazon, he also worked on cloud policy issues. Prior to his time at Amazon, Swope served as a senior adviser on national security, space, foreign affairs, and technology policy issues for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also worked for more than 14 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, serving largely in the Directorate of Science and Technology. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Odysseas Christofi is the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of ECAPS AB, where he leads the company’s overall strategy, international expansion, and industrial partnerships. Under his leadership, ECAPS is advancing high-performance propulsion technologies that enable critical mobility capabilities for next-generation space and defense systems across Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the United States.

He is the co-founder and owner of Oak Universe, an industrial investment platform focused on scaling advanced technologies and strategic capabilities. Through Oak Universe, he has been involved in the acquisition and industrial development of ECAPS, supporting its international positioning and growth.

An international executive, he brings experience across the space, defense, energy, and heavy industrial sectors. He has led cross-border industrial initiatives and partnerships across Europe and Asia, with a focus on building global industrial footprints and positioning advanced technologies as enablers of sovereign and strategic capabilities.

Kohei TAYA joined IHI in September 2005 and started career at System Design Group of Space Development Department. He charged in GX launch vehicle system development and then LOX/Methane Propulsion system development mainly. He also took a part in some conceptual design projects of the future space systems and products.

Dr. John Huth is a highly successful defense intelligence senior executive, bringing over 40 years of leadership in both government and industry. He excels in intelligence operations, capability development, and technical collection across diverse domains. Well-known for setting strategic direction and driving impactful results, John has demonstrated expertise in fiscal management, personnel oversight, and cross-organizational execution. His collaborative approach and exceptional communication skills have led to successful resource negotiations at the Department and IC levels.

From 2022 to 2025, John served as Chief of DIA’s Office of Space and Counterspace, overseeing the collection and analysis of foreign space and counterspace capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions. Previously, he advised the Director and Deputy Director of DIA as the Defense Intelligence Officer on all intelligence matters related to space and counterspace.

John holds a Doctorate in Computational Science from George Mason University, a Master’s in Physics from the University of Massachusetts, and a Bachelor’s in Astronomy from Penn State. He completed 28 years as a US Army Military Intelligence Officer, specializing in technical collection and all-source analysis, and spent 15 years in industry managing defense and intelligence programs. Dr. Huth pioneered groundbreaking advancements in space and intelligence with enduring impact on both fields.

Daniel Hilgert is the Head of the Space Section in NATO’s Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments Division. He oversees NATO’s strategic engagement with the commercial space sector and identifies defence investment opportunities for the Alliance through multinational cooperation projects. His work focuses on helping NATO Allies and industries improve the interoperability of space technologies.

Jan Jireš works as consultant to the leading Czech defence manufacturers on  defence-industrial policies, regulation and EU affairs. He is also Senior Adviser at  the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He served as the Director  General for Defence Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Defence of the Czech  Republic from July 2022 to July 2025. Prior to this role, he spent five years in  Brussels, where he served as Head of the Defence Section at the Permanent  Delegation of the Czech Republic to NATO and at the Permanent Representation to the EU. From 2014 to 2017, he served as Director for Defence Policy at the  Ministry of Defence. Between 2004 and 2014, he lectured on international  relations and security studies at Charles University, and at the CEVRO Institute in Prague.