EPISODE SUMMARY
Today, Pathfinder unveils an industry exclusive. An influential trio – Major General (Ret.) Kim Crider, Eddie Papczun, and Mike Dickey – veterans of A&D, have come together to launch Elara Nova, a consulting firm meticulously crafted to cater to the ever-expanding space industry. With illustrious careers under their belts, these three have held distinguished positions in the Air Force and Space Force (Kim was the Chief Technology Innovation Officer and Mike was Chief Architect) and later ventured into space and defense consulting.
EPISODE NOTES
Today, Pathfinder unveils an industry exclusive. An influential trio – Major General (Ret.) Kim Crider, Eddie Papczun, and Mike Dickey – veterans of A&D, have come together to launch Elara Nova, a consulting firm meticulously crafted to cater to the ever-expanding space industry. With illustrious careers under their belts, these three have held distinguished positions in the Air Force and Space Force (Kim was the Chief Technology Innovation Officer and Mike was Chief Architect) and later ventured into space and defense consulting.
Recognizing a critical void in the market not being met by major consulting organizations, Crider, Papczun, and Dickey have forged a comprehensive and cohesive consulting powerhouse. Their vision: bolster the space industry, fortify national security, and aid companies in cultivating international alliances.
Kim and Eddie join us to discuss:
- The origins of Elara Nova
- Why a space-focused consultancy?
- Range of services and target clients
- Importance of data for a company’s space strategy
- Navigating private vs government funding
- “A pacing threat in China”
- And much more…
And much more…
Our episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/
• Chapters •
00:00 Introduction and SpiderOak Ad
01:32 Introducing Kim & Eddie
01:50 The start of a new business venture
05:32 Origins of Elara Nova
06:20 The Avengers of the Space Industry
11:19 Why Elara Nova and why now?
22:42 Kim’s background as Chief Technology Innovation Officer of the USSF
27:02 How important is data to a company’s space strategy?
35:20 SpiderOak Ad Break
36:08 Focusing on government vs commercial customers
40:10 How should startups navigate funding and government capital?
45:10 DoD vs NASA space budget
48:50 US lead vs China
53:54 NASA prediction
54:55 Elon prediction
55:57 The first to the Moon
59:10 How to get in touch with Elara Nova