In today’s Pathfinder podcast, host Mo Islam chats with cofounder and CEO of True Anomaly, Even Rogers. Before founding True Anomaly, Even held a number of different space jobs, including Air Force space operations officer, where he helped lay the foundation for the establishment of the Space Force. While serving, he witnessed a shift within the space community from focusing on counterinsurgency operations to addressing vulnerabilities and threats in space systems amid the rise of China.

True Anomaly develops spacecraft and software solutions to make space a protected harbor for the US and its allies. They are focusing on offering: operational testing, responsive operations, and space domain awareness.

Even and Mo talk about the story behind True Anomaly, deterrence in space, and transitioning from the military to Silicon Valley. They also discuss:

True Anomaly’s product suite
Striking the right balance of former military personnel and engineers
Jackal’s demo mission this fall
Why VC investors are backing defense companies
Security and data integrity in space

And much more…

This 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 - Intro and ad

01:50 - Even's journey from the military to Silicon Valley

08:48 - True Anomaly overview

12:12 - How did you pick your initial team?

13:34 - Product overview and roadmap

16:18 - Upcoming demo mission

19:07 - Current and future clients

21:43 - Key metric: cost per maneuver

25:24 - Autonomy and AI

28:20 - Security and data integrity

30:00 - SpiderOak ad break

30:48 - DoD's focus: "tactical and responsive"

33:36 - Vertical integration of True Anomaly

34:23 - Team construction and bridging skill gaps

38:25 - What has changed in the VC market for space startups?

44:37 - Deterrence theory in space

48:52 - Other veteran owned space companies

49:56 - Why Denver?

• Show notes •

True Anomaly's website — https://www.trueanomaly.space/

True Anomaly's socials — https://twitter.com/The_TrueAnomaly

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.

Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Revolutionizing Space Security, with Even Rogers (True Anomaly)

Valley of Depth