Former DoD space acquisition chief Frank Calvelli has joined the board of True Anomaly to help the startup ensure it’s well positioned to sell to national security customers.
Calvelli, who left the Pentagon last month during the switch to the new administration, said he was drawn to work with True Anomaly because of a few key factors, including the versatility of the company’s Jackal platform, the early focus on ground software, and the startup culture.
“I really like the speed the company is going at,” he told Payload. “And I really like their approach.”
Jackal’s mission: True Anomaly’s Jackal—a maneuverable spacecraft designed to conduct space domain awareness missions—is already working with the Pentagon on the military’s VICTUS HAZE demo, which will see Jackal conduct a rendezvous and proximity operations mission with another spacecraft built by Rocket Lab. The mission is expected to launch in 2025.
Calvelli said he’s a “big fan” of Jackal, in part because it can operate in many different orbits from LEO to cislunar.
Entry point: Calvelli said he sees lots of room for nontraditional commercial companies like True Anomaly to begin working with the national security and intel agencies.
“There’s a space renaissance going on right now,” he said. “The focus we had when I was in the job at the Pentagon was to build smaller systems. When you build smaller systems, not only do you go faster, but you also are able to work with a whole other sea of companies out there….Space is in a really great time right now to get things done and take advantage of this incredible industrial base.”
What’s next: True Anomaly most recently tested Jackal in orbit in December, after it launched on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-2 rideshare flight. Their next mission could come as early as May, Calvelli said, highlighting their quick turnaround time.
