Cold Star Project

"Supercharging the DEFENSE Innovation Game for an Unrivaled Advantage!"

with guest Mike Brown

The Cold Star Project - Season 4, Episode 20

Hosted, Directed, and Produced by Jason Kanigan

War On the Rocks article:

https://warontherocks.com/2023/09/revisiting-the-hedge-strategy-with-renewed-urgency/

Fast Follower Strategy paper:

https://coldstarproject.com/fastfollower

This video contains clips from the following co...

"Meet the MASTERMINDS Behind 2025's Most Epic Space Piracy Book!"

With guests Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor

The Cold Star Project - Season 3, Episode 23

Hosted, Directed, and Produced by Jason Kanigan

The Book: Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit published by John Wiley & Sons, 2025

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Space+Pir...

Get the book on Amazon (non-affiliate link):https://www.amazon.com/dp/13...

Past Defense Innovation Unit Director, visiting Scholar at Stanford, former large tech company CEO, and current venture capitalist Mike Brown is this interview guest on the Cold Star Project. Host Jason Kanigan asks Mike about the role of commercial technology in Great Power competition. We discuss:

• what "commercial technology" is (not just silicon chips)

• the organizing principle of commercial tech devel...

US Navy Commander and defense contractor Tim Anderson returns to the Cold Star Project to give an update on what he's seen in the space industry over the past six months. This interview has a different format than usual. Host Jason Kanigan and Tim have a relaxed conversation about talent acquisition and collaboration, quantum computing, AI for space, launch systems, and a lot more. The big takeaway? That conversations in the sp...

"Recovering aerospace engineer" Rand Simberg is on the Cold Star Project to discuss three space industry issues. With host Jason Kanigan, Rand elaborates on:

1. Overvaluing "safety first" in the space industry, and his book, Safe Is Not An Option
2. Building codes for orbital, cislunar, and BEO facilities (which do not exist yet
3. The uniqueness and benefits of equatorial LEO.

USEFUL LINKS:

Safe...

Paul Rulkens is frequently hired by organizations looking to install or improve their high performance culture. Examples are KPMG, Nestle, Uber, Siemens, and Mercedes Benz. But what does this mean in practical terms? What are these leaders bringing Paul Rulkens in to do? Jason Kanigan of the Cold Star Project continues the conversation with Paul about what it takes to have a high performance culture. USEFUL LINKS: Paul Rulkens w...

ZC Institute founder Greg Hodgin is the guest this time on the Cold Star Project. Dr. Hodgin is assembling a tech development consortium comprised of space industry labs and researchers. How has he done it? Where does the funding come from? Host Jason Kanigan asks Dr. Hodgin:

• How did you get into the space industry?
• What is your long term vision and how did you arrive at it?
• Can you share strategic vs tactical conside...

Michelle Hanlon, PhD, is a well-known space lawyer. With Jason Kanigan, host of the Cold Star Project, she discusses initiatives in space law that have happened over the past couple of years. We address these questions:

• What in your opinion are the major updates in space law in the past several years? How do they impact the industry? (Artemis Accords, Lux/UAE, Space Resource Utilization topics)
• You’ve written that the UN wa...

Fellow copywriter John Caprani joins Jason Kanigan on the Cold Star Project. Their topic: Methods by which the social media content you post can be an advertisement for your skills. When does this work? When does it not? John and Jason dig into the answers. Questions covered include:

• Who is this for?

• Why is using content as an advertisement for your skills important?
• Where does it lead?
• What does the process...

Robert Twiggs and Matt Craft, through Twiggs Space Labs, have run pilot Space and STEM / STEAM training programs for kids through the state of Virginia. Bob Twiggs is known as the "Father of the CubSat" for his co-development of the CubeSat standard. As they expand to serve the rest of the United States, Bob and Matt appear on the Cold Star Project to share their practices and vision.

Host Jason Kanigan asks Bob and ...

Sales Performance Team founder Nicholas Loise returns to the Cold Star Project. He was President of Glazer Kennedy Inner Circle - GKIC/Magnetic Marketing, involved with GKIC 8 years; Owner of a Direct Response Agency and Outsourced Sales Leader Company; Adjunct Professor of Marketing, North Park University; MBA from North Park; VP Sales & Marketing Provena Mercy Medical Center 9 yrs, a $156 Million division. With host and fel...

Jacob Meyer, PhD, is VP of Technology at ATSP Innovations. He has experience with SBIRs and the struggles of creating commercial products from them. Host Jason Kanigan of the Cold Star Project discusses these challenges with Dr. Meyer. USEFUL LINKS: ATSP Innovations website: https://www.atspinnovations.com/ OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/ Talk to Cold Star: h...

Dr. Paul van Susante of Michigan Technological University, a past guest (link below), returns to the Cold Star Project. We're discussing his participation in a number of investigative projects and NASA challenges related to powering our first projects on the Moon. Host Jason Kanigan asks Paul about the:

• LuSTR grant
• NASA Watts on the Moon centennial challenge phase I, where they won the $100k grand prize for scenario...

Did you know there are people with a specific skill set who can jumpstart your business? Copywriters like Jon Reyes and Jason Kanigan have the knowledge and experience to grow your business fast. Jon Reyes has been a copywriter for many years and worked for some of the top personal development names. With fellow copywriter and Cold Star Project host Jason Kanigan, Jon discusses: * working with the major factor of Compliance in co...

Bill Conley was a DARPA Program Manager, then the US Department of Defense's expert on electronic warfare for four years, and is now Chief Technology Officer at Mercury Systems. Our topic is a comparison of the 19th Century's Concert of Europe vs Modern Day's communication and methods of deterrence. Cold Star Project host Jason Kanigan asks Bill Conley:

• What is effective communication, especially in context of...

President and CEO of Orbital Assembly Rhonda Stevenson is our guest this time on the Cold Star Project. With host Jason Kanigan she discusses the challenges of building a truly commercial space company. We cover the capabilities of Orbital Asembly, as well as Rhonda's personal efforts to build consortiums and attract customers to the space industry.  

USEFUL LINKS:  

Orbital Assembly website: https://orbitalasse...

Sales trainer Wes Schaeffer is back on the Cold Star Project, and our topic is his free 12 Weeks To Peak sales accountability program. Host Jason Kanigan participated in 2022 Q4's version and 12 Weeks To Peak has been re-released for 2023. The two sales trainers share elements and results of this free accountability program for founders and salespeople. Come along with us and find out if it's right for you!  

USEFUL L...

Past Chief Software Officer of the US Space Force and Air Force Nic Chaillan is back on the Cold Star Project. Over the past year, Nic has developed his own learning platform, Learn With Nic. He has also hosted his own show, In The Nic Of Time. Host Jason Kanigan asks Nic:

• What have you learned in running your own show, In The Nic Of Time?
• What have you learned about the general state of software security in the US from...