Building Space Together: Inside the U.S. Space Force’s Push for Commercial Collaboration | The Pair Program Ep80

In this episode of The Pair Program, host Tim Winkler is joined by Holly Bertrand, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of ExoAnalytic Solutions; Dan Ceperley, Chief Operating Officer and Founder of LeoLabs; and Lt. Col. Tim Trimailo, Director of the Commercial Space Office at Space Systems Command. Together, they unpack how the U.S. Space Force is partnering with leading commercial innovators to build a more resilient and responsive space architecture. From rapidly evolving threats to breakthrough sensing and radar technologies, this conversation reveals how government and industry can move faster, collaborate smarter, and rethink acquisition to stay ahead in orbit.

What we cover in this episode:

• Why Space Force is shifting to “buy before build”
• How commercial SDA, radar, and sensing capabilities are accelerating innovation
• Real examples of proximity ops, maneuvering satellites, and emerging threats
• New pathways for startups to work with DoD (Front Door, CASR, SpaceWERX)
• The biggest challenges in trust, data integration, and rapid acquisition
• What the future of government–commercial collaboration must look like

About Holly Bertrand: Holly is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of ExoAnalytic Solutions, leading internal operations, financial strategy, and overall corporate execution. She helped establish the company’s core infrastructure and oversees Contracts, Facilities, Finance & Accounting, Security, and Program Management. Holly holds a B.S. and M.S. in Physics from Brigham Young University.

About Dan Ceperley: Dan is the Chief Operating Officer and a Founder of LeoLabs, leading engineering teams behind the company’s global radar network and real-time orbital intelligence platform. He previously worked at SRI International supporting DARPA and Air Force Space Command programs, and holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley.

About Lt. Col. Tim Trimailo: Tim is Director of the Commercial Space Office (COMSO) at Space Systems Command, where he leads the integration of commercial capabilities across U.S. Space Force missions. His background includes overseeing SDA’s Missile Tracking Layer, pLEO prototyping, and earlier roles in SATCOM operations and NRO analytic programs.

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