Orbit to Operations: Bridging Government and Industry in Defense Innovation | The Pair Program Ep71

The Pair Program

Orbit to Operations: Bridging Government and Industry in Defense Innovation | The Pair Program Ep71

On this week’s Pair Program, hosts Tim Winkler and Mike Gruen sit down with Topher Haddad, Co-founder/CEO of Albedo, and Arthur Grijalva, Director of SpaceWERX. They discuss how startups and the U.S. Space Force are working together to advance space innovation, touching on Albedo’s Clarity-1 satellite launch and the role of SpaceWERX’s STRATFI program in bridging commercial and defense priorities.

Key topics covered:

• How the STRATFI program accelerates dual-use innovation
• Albedo’s Clarity-1 launch and VLEO breakthroughs
• Challenges of securing government funding and partnerships
• The role of commercial viability in defense innovation
• Advice for founders entering the defense-tech ecosystem

About Topher Haddad: Topher is the Co-founder/CEO of Albedo, a company pioneering very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites. Albedo’s first satellite, Clarity-1, demonstrates imagery resolution once reserved for aircraft or billion-dollar government systems. Previously, Topher was an engineer at Lockheed Martin working on national security space programs.

About Arthur F. Grijalva: Arthur is the Director of SpaceWERX, where he leads strategy and innovation programs for the U.S. Space Force. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he has held leadership roles in program management and test/evaluation across space control, satellite systems, responsive space, and advanced technology initiatives.

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