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Mr. Carella has held technical and business leadership roles at organizations ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Prior to joining Benchmark Space Systems, Mr. Carella contributed to the commercialization of several technologies including health monitoring, advanced structures, and power and propulsion innovations for EVTOL and broader aerospace markets. Following several years in mechanical engineering roles, he led prognostic vehicle health and military aftermarket business for United Technologies Corporation, where he successfully introduced innovative technologies to both commercial and military markets. Mr. Carella has led M&A transactions, regulatory steering committees, and has contributed to industry organizations across aerospace and energy technology segments. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and an MBA from Clarkson University.

Mr. Dave Cavossa is President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), officially joining in June 2024.  Cavossa is a long-time space and satellite industry executive working at the intersection of commercial space, government affairs, and government services. Cavossa also was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug in 2015 and started his own tech startup in the golf industry which he built, funded and sold recently to a competitor before moving back into Space industry.  In addition to building his own Space 2.0 Consulting LLC, Dave was most recently lead for the U.S. government business at Agility Beyond Space (ABS) – a GEO FSS Satellite operator based in Dubai.

Cavossa likes to think he has seen the space industry from every perspective – government employee, sales and business development executive, operations manager, P&L owner, startup founder, consultant, and now 2 x time trade association leader.  Throughout his career in the space and satellite industry, Cavossa has held various leadership and staff-level roles.  At the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) he served for 6 years as Executive Director and Chair of the Board.  He also served in various executive roles with multiple satellite/defense contractors including Harris Corporation, CapRock Government Solutions, and Arrowhead Global Solutions.  Cavossa also began his career in 2001 at NASA Headquarters in D.C., as an intern, working in the Legislative Affairs and International Relations offices. Cavossa was a Space Policy Fellow and holds a Master’s Degree in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from The George Washington University Space Policy Institute. Cavossa completed an Exec Certificate Program in Business and Strategic Marketing from Northwestern University. He also obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, Astronomy, and Political Science from Wheaton College, in Massachusetts.

Erik Daehler is the Vice President of Orbital Systems and Services for the Sierra Space Corporation.  In this capacity, he is responsible for the development, production and innovation of satellite products and services for the Applications Team at Sierra Space. He brings 23 years of aerospace and defense experience, with a broad background in program management, business development and product innovation.

Prior to joining Sierra Space, Mr. Daehler was Senior Director of the Protected Communications Mission Area in Lockheed Martin’s Military Space organization. He was responsible for the development of next-generation satellite communications (satcom) product offerings, technology solutions, satellite design and system architectures for the United States Space Force, US Navy and Space Development Agency. Prior to that role he was the Director of Product Innovation for Boeing, where he led development of new satellite platforms for Boeing Space, including the first of a kind 702SP all-electric, dual-stacked satellite and the 502 Phoenix remote sensing and servicing satellites.

Mr. Daehler has a background in physics and space systems engineering with applications in communication, space protection, re-entry vehicles and remote sensing. This mission experience shaped his strategies for new technology development at Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  Mr. Daehler led commercial business development and the protected communications mission at Lockheed Martin Space as well as research and development for Boeing’s unmanned satellite systems, worked as a chief system architect and systems engineering manager on large-scale satellite and network systems for commercial and government customers.

Mr. Daehler entered aerospace at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in 2000 where he performed calibrations of space and aircraft-based earth observation systems.  In 2002, he transitioned to Boeing to develop next-generation space systems including the X-37B reusable space plane.  In 2016, Mr. Daehler returned to Lockheed Martin to grow the commercial and military communications and remote sensing businesses.

Mr. Daehler was educated in Europe at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands where he received his Master’s degree in Space Systems Engineering in 2006.  He also received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from The Colorado College in 1998.

Lars Hoffman is Vice President, National Security Sales for Blue Origin.

As Vice President, National Security Sales, Lars is responsible for helping Blue Origin deliver critical capabilities to the United States Government to support a diverse and growing set of civil and national security requirements.

Before joining Blue Origin, Lars was Senior Vice President at Rocket Lab where he helped build Rocket Lab from a private startup to a publicly traded end-to-end space company. From 2014 to 2018, Lars was an executive at SpaceX, directly supporting the National Security Space community. Prior to joining industry, Lars completed a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, as a U-2 reconnaissance pilot, a test pilot, and in senior leadership roles at The Pentagon.

Lars holds advanced engineering degrees from the United States Air Force Academy, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, and U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Lars also earned national security degrees from MIT, Air University, and National Defense University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA.

Rob Long serves as Space Florida’s president and CEO, leading the state’s aerospace finance and development authority to advance the aerospace industry and solidify the state as the premier global and interplanetary capital for aerospace commerce. He is a proven leader with more than 25 years of experience overseeing large organizations across the aerospace spectrum from launch operations and mobility to logistics and spaceport operations. Long has spent his career improving and enhancing the transportation to, from, and in space, managing complex aerospace programs, leveraging innovative technologies to improve both government and private sector outcomes, and developing new business models and operating concepts to create value for the commercial aerospace industry.

Long has nearly two decades of experience crafting defense industrial, aerospace,  and fiscal policy and strategies, which included key roles advising the Defense Department’s Chief Technology Officer and senior Defense Department space leaders. He has a long track record of building partnerships across and within government & industry toward mutually beneficial outcomes.

Long most recently served as the Commander for Space Launch Delta 30 and Western Launch and Test Range, Vandenberg Space Force Base. In this role he managed $8.4 billion in assets, a $280 million annual budget, installations spanning more than 118,000 acres, and oversaw 11,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel.

Long received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington, earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and has master’s degree from the College of Naval Command and Staff, the School for Advanced Air and Space Studies and the Eisenhower School. He retired as a colonel from the United States Space Force in July 2023.

Jim Bridenstine served as the 13th Administrator of NASA, where he was responsible for managing NASA’s 70,000-person workforce and $23 billion annual budget.  Under his leadership, NASA reestablished an American human spaceflight program, which was lost after the retirement of the Space Shuttles in 2011.  He also created NASA’s Artemis program to establish the first permanent presence on the Moon with commercial and international partners.

Before being appointed as NASA Administrator, Jim served in the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma’s First Congressional District from 2013 to 2018.  He was a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee where he chaired the Subcommittee on the Environment.

Prior to Congress, Jim served as a pilot in the United States Navy acquiring 1900 flight hours and 333 landings on an aircraft carrier.  He flew combat missions in Afghanistan (2002) and Iraq (2003) off the USS Abraham Lincoln, where he earned an Air Medal and Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”.  Originally an E-2C Hawkeye pilot, he transitioned to the F-18 Hornet and flew as an aggressor (Red Air) at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, the parent command to TOPGUN.

Jim currently serves as the Managing Partner of The Artemis Group, a strategic consulting firm. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Viasat, Inc., the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation, and he Chairs the Board of Advisors for Voyager Space.

Jim earned a triple major from Rice University in Economics, Business, and Psychology and an MBA from Cornell University.

Bradley W. Smith is the Director of Launch Services within the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He is responsible for providing strategic guidance, policy direction, and oversight to NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), which manages the agency’s commercial launch service efforts placing high value scientific, weather and communication satellites, and other robotic payloads, into space for NASA and the nation’s civil sector. Additionally, he manages the agency’s Flight Planning Board, ensuring timely authority to proceed is given to launch service acquisitions as well as ensuring NASA missions are deconflicted prior to going to the launch range for approval. Prior to his current position, he served as LSP’s chief of staff, reporting directly to the program manager where he was responsible for LSP’s commercial launch vehicle acquisition strategy and led the program’s integration into NASA’s Artemis campaign.

His previous experience includes serving as directorate lead counsel to the Assistant Associate of NASA’s former Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, where he was responsible for the provision of policy and legal advice to the entire directorate, working on matters as diverse as heading up strategic sourcing initiatives, aiding in the negotiation of Soyuz seats with Roscosmos, developing policy for NASA’s purchase of the Electron launch vehicle, and developing NASA’s acquisition strategy for the agency’s Deep Space Gateway. He also served as program counsel to LSP for over seven years. Bradley began his NASA career in 2009 with the Office of the Chief Counsel at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

He has received numerous achievement and performance awards throughout his career, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Silver Achievement Medal, and numerous Honor Awards. He holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology from the University of Georgia as well as a Juris Doctor with an emphasis in space policy from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Maj. Gen. Dennis O. Bythewood is Special Assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.

Maj. Gen. Bythewood entered the Air Force via the Reserve Officers Training Corps in 1992 upon graduating from the University of Vermont and transferred to the Space Force in 2021. He has commanded space operations at the squadron and group level and as a Joint Task Force commander. He has led acquisitions as a Materiel Leader, two-time System Program Director, and Program Executive Officer.

Prior to his current position, Maj. Gen. Bythewood was the Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Forces – Space, U.S. Command, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

Mr. Mark D. Bontrager is the Technical Director, Launch and Range Operations, Space Systems
Command, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Space Systems Command Launch and Range Operations provides policy, guidance, and resources
for all US Space Force launch and range operations including integration of operational priorities, system readiness, manifesting, and mission partner support across the Department of Defense and the interagency.

Mr. Bontrager serves as the senior civilian advisor to the Director, Launch and Range Operations on
matters relating to legislative authorities, policy, launch and range operations, resources, and
contracts.

Mr. Bontrager entered the Air Force in 1987, where he served in a broad range of operational,
joint staff, policy, and command positions, including launch operations with the Delta II launch
vehicle and command of the 45th Mission Support Group, which provided critical support to
military, civil, and commercial space launch missions. He served as Vice President for
Spaceport Operations with Space Florida and led the development of Florida’s first Spaceport
System Plan, which resulted in over $1.5B of state and industry investment in Florida’s
spaceports at Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville and the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on the Space
Coast. Mr. Bontrager returned to federal service in January 2022.

Colonel Mark A. Shoemaker is the Commander, Space Launch Delta 30 and Western Launch and Test Range, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. He commands spacelift and range operations in support of national and combatant commander requirements and supports operational and developmental missile system testing for the Department of Defense. He is responsible for $8.4B in assets, a $280M annual budget, installations spanning more than 118,000 and over 11,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel.
Colonel Shoemaker commissioned in December 1996 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Iowa State University as a Distinguished Graduate, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He entered Active Duty in February 1997. His career includes various technical, programmatic, and operational assignments, including multiple positions in space acquisition and as a squadron operations officer and squadron commander in space launch. He has headquarters staff experience with duties in the Directorate for Space Acquisition on the Air Staff, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the staff of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Chief of Staff for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Information and Integration Portfolio Management) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense of Acquisition and Sustainment. Most recently, he was the Vice Commander for Space Launch Delta 45.

Brigadier General Kristin L. Panzenhagen is quad hatted as Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Assured Access to Space; Commander, Space Launch Delta (SLD) 45; Director of the Eastern Range; and Director of Launch and Range Operations, Space Systems Command (SSC/S3). She also serves as the Space Force University Partnership Program
Co-Champion for Purdue University. As PEO, she is responsible for organizing, training and equipping 22,000 government and contractor personnel at SLD 45 at Patrick Space Force Base (SFB) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (SFS), SLD 30 at Vandenberg SFB, and the Assured Access Directorate at Los Angeles and Kirtland Air Force Bases. She leads the acquisition, integration, development, production, operation, and sustainment of the $13.5B National Security Space Launch Program, Rocket System Launch Program, and Launch and Test Range System Program. She is responsible for base infrastructure for more than 15,000 military, civilians, contractors, and dependents at Patrick SFB, Cape Canaveral SFS, and Ascension Island. She also leads the safe and secure payload processing and launching of U.S. government and commercial satellites from Cape Canaveral SFS. As the U.S. Space Force Director of the Eastern Range–a 15-million-square-mile area with approximately 90 launches in 2023 on Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Atlas V, Delta IV Heavy, U.S. Navy’s Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile, and Astra Rocket 3–she is the final approval authority for all launches, landings, and DoD testing to include Kennedy Space Center satellites and human spaceflight. As Director of Launch and Range Operations, she provides policy guidance and resources for the Space Force’s $30B Eastern and Western Range space launch, ballistic missile test and hypersonic support range portfolios. General Panzenhagen entered the Air Force as a Distinguished Graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Purdue University in 2000.