The Morning Brief Space as Strategy: America, India, and the New Transnational Frontier
Feb 12, 2026
Eric Stallmer, Executive VP at Voyager Space and a decorated U.S. combat veteran, discusses commercializing low Earth orbit and the plan for Starlab as the ISS successor. He covers how smaller firms now win big defense work, growing India-US space ties, and the role of private capital and AI in shaping orbital research and infrastructure.
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Commercialization Rewrote Space Rules
- Space shifted from a government-only domain to a commercial-first ecosystem driven by cost, speed, and risk-sharing.
- Governments increasingly rely on private companies for launch, cargo, and services to save money and accelerate capability.
Agile Firms Win Big Contracts
- Small and mid-sized firms now win large government contracts by leveraging niche technical strengths and fixed-price bids.
- Contracting changes and core competencies let agile firms displace legacy primes on major programs.
Payload Experts Can Become Primes
- Replacing ISS opens a competitive field where companies with payload expertise can lead station programs.
- Specialized firms like NanoRacks can scale from payload integrators to prime contractors.