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May 30, 2020.

On behalf of Stellar Solutions, I want to congratulate SpaceX and NASA for making history with the first launch of astronauts by a private company as part of the Commercial Crew Program, as well as ending the gap in U.S. capability we’ve had since 2011. This mission demonstrates that public-private partnerships can deliver in this new era, and what an exciting time!

At Stellar, we will use this moment as energizing fuel for our own date with destiny a few years from now (as we support various aspects of Artemis), and for our ongoing quest to make a difference for our customers and community every day.  

We congratulate and thank NASA and SpaceX for setting such a great example with their valiant efforts to guide our explorers, empower our economy, elevate our country, and inspire our future in space.

About the Author: Michael S. Lencioni is the Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Solutions, Inc.

May 30, 2020.

A defense thought leadership piece written by Stellar Solutions Advisors was featured in the Early Bird Brief by Defense News/Military Times editors.

Here is the full article by Doug Fraser, Frank Gorenc and John Shapland: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/05/13/rolling_back_iran_in_iraq_115285.html .

May 27, 2020.

“We will build new ships to carry man forward into the universe, to gain a new foothold on the moon, and to prepare for new journeys to worlds beyond our own.” — President George H.W. Bush

Wednesday’s planned NASA/SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch of astronauts to the International Space Station is making news, and there’s a lot to be excited about. Although the last such launch from American soil happened nearly a decade ago, some still might find any act of space exploration commonplace since humanity has been doing it for nearly 60 years. Nothing could be further from the truth!

We are now converging on a complete reimagining of the business of space that could hold limitless options for where we will go, how we will get there, and “who will that be” as famously said by astronaut Jim Lovell at the end of Apollo 13.  NASA’s most recent overarching strategic plan defines a robust partnership and commercialization approach that leverages private sector innovation to implement new, efficient, and effective missions and ultimately bolster national capabilities and competitiveness. We are seeing results from the agency’s Commercial Crew Program that embody this vision.

After numerous milestones seized and barriers broken along the way, industry partner SpaceX has marched toward its finest hour with a tenacity reminiscent of early days in our pursuit of the stars. And many have joined the journey – some directly and others as observers, competitors, and fans alike. As with the incredible Apollo missions before, the giant leaps made today will touch every person in the world. Together we all will marvel at the profound meaning of each triumph as individuals, communities and nations.

Moments like this pave the way to the future – for those steadily working on other aspects of the integrated exploration enterprise, for entrepreneurial innovators seeking the next wave of opportunity in the space economy, for the next generation of scientists and engineers, and for countless girls around the globe waiting to see a woman set foot on the surface of the Moon.

This mission reminds us of what is possible working from the ground up, and what it takes to perform feats of technology that transcend requirements and expectations. The commercial world views these efforts with hope, like Olympians cheering teammates to gold and from those victories drawing the final inspiration for their own contests to come. Because excellence in action firms our belief in ourselves—as said by Robert H. Goddard, transforming the dream of yesterday and the hope of today to the reality of tomorrow.

At Stellar Solutions, we celebrate this launch as both a turning point for the next era of humans in space and a compelling validation of NASA’s refocused approach to R&D and public-private cooperation in spaceflight. The process being demonstrated so vividly right now is providing other benefits too–stirring the aspirations of the public and the resolve of those tasked to deliver the critical technologies and capabilities that will take humans back to the Moon and more. This achievement will crack open the door to the cosmos for the entire aerospace industry. Our company continues working diligently to help our civil and defense customers meet critical needs on Earth and in space, and soon it will be our turn, our responsibility and our privilege to push that door even wider.

It has truly been an honor to witness and contribute to one of society’s greatest challenges. Bush 41 said that we would build new ships–and how! This week, far more than the station crew will know in their hearts that the Crew Dragon, carrying precious cargo, promise, and future possibilities, has arrived.

About the Author: Michael S. Lencioni is the Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Solutions, Inc.

May 9, 2020.

“We are providing the most exciting possible answer to the age-old question of whether life, as we know it on Earth, can exist on the Moon and the planets. The answer is yes. Men working together with modern science and technology can extend the domain of terrestrial life throughout the solar system.”

-Thomas 0. Paine, NASA Administrator

It is a truly exciting moment in one of the greatest adventures in the history of civilization: human spaceflight. After celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing last year, we are now poised to set even greater milestones for humans in space. NASA recently announced that the agency’s Commercial Crew Program partner SpaceX will launch astronauts to the International Space Station at the end of this month, the first liftoff of crew from the United States since 2011. Over the past several years, industry partners in the U.S. have been diligently designing, testing, and refining new launch systems to protect and deliver crews and materials across new horizons.

Since its earliest days, the space program has been the benchmark for innovation, technology development, and national prestige—fueling countless business sectors along the way. This is one of the reasons why human space exploration has become part of the DNA of Stellar Solutions. Founder and Board Chair Celeste Ford worked for many years supporting the Space Shuttle Program and applied those compelling experiences and lessons to the groundwork of this company. Our cadre of expert engineers and extended pool of advisors learned their craft through support of programs and contracts across the gamut of spaceflight, even going back to the Service and Command Modules for Apollo. 

Right now, we are part of a new space community that is leveraging more than forty years of unique experience gained from learning to fly, breaking the bond of our planet, journeying into space, orbiting and landing on the Moon, and living and working in orbit around Earth. Beginning in 2004, the national focus transitioned from flying space shuttles and sustaining the space station to the development of the next generation of vehicles for crew exploration and launch—and Stellar Solutions has played a key part of this evolution at every stage through our civil programs.

A recent and important example is Artemis, the new NASA program to send the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024. This multifaceted effort includes NASA’s powerful new Space Launch System that will take astronauts into space aboard the Orion crew spacecraft, where they will dock at the Gateway outpost in lunar orbit and journey to the surface of the Moon using a human landing system. The Stellar Solutions team has provided ongoing systems engineering, project management, acquisition support, and outreach support directly to NASA and prime contractor partners like Lockheed Martin on nearly all components of Artemis. In March, the Orion Artemis I Crew and Service Module completed four months of extensive and successful thermal vacuum and electromagnetic testing at the Plum Brook Station in Ohio that were planned and supported by our team.

True innovation and lasting implementation are dependent on determining impactful and achievable advancements, getting the right experts and organizations involved (which can be a broad spectrum), and then pursuing a rigorous, stepwise course of development, testing, evaluation and analysis.   The gap in operational capability in the U.S. enabled a laser focus on the development of these new technologies and has been a driver to an unprecedented engagement of commercial stakeholders. We are seeing the fruits of this long-term strategy across the board, and I am inspired by the progress being made every day.

As the final flight test, this month’s Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission will validate the SpaceX crew transportation system and help usher in the next era of exploration. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are scheduled to lift off on a Falcon 9 rocket aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 27 in Florida, for an extended visit to the space station.  We wish the best of luck to the crew, and send our congratulations and thanks to both NASA and SpaceX for this tremendous step on the path to flying again, toward the ultimate goal of extending humanity’s presence to the Moon and eventually on to Mars.

About the Author: Michael S. Lencioni is the Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Solutions, Inc.

February 28, 2020.

Launching Stellar Solutions and Delivering Historic Innovation for Our First Customer

January 1995 marked the beginning of a truly “stellar” journey that continues today. At that time, I had gained a lot of experience in a variety of technical areas as both an aerospace engineer and a technology manager, through 17 years of supporting satellite programs for large aerospace companies. But as I was promoted to roles of increasing responsibility, I began to find some of the work lacking a certain purpose and I missed the direct interaction with the customers. Being a parent factored in as well, to be honest: if you’re going to be away from family at work, it had better be for something important.

I wanted to refocus and create an elite cadre of like-minded superstars as part of a lean and mean organization. This was the “starter dough” needed for me to leave my industry job at age 39 and launch something of my own,  Stellar Solutions.

This company was built on my belief that the right talented scientists and engineers can solve any problem, which is why they should be treated as the company’s most important asset.  My corporate vision is based on this commitment to satisfying customers’ critical needs while realizing employee dream jobs. When looking back, maybe some might say I was blazing trails as a woman entrepreneur–but at the time I had my head down and was just working on the project.

Established as an aerospace engineering services firm that contracts with commercial businesses and government agencies like NASA and the Department of Defense, we opened our doors in February 1995 and quickly grew from just one to five employees. Each person added something special, and now 25 years later this continues to be our secret sauce.

The “star” of Stellar Solutions was devised from the start to symbolize five sectors of business—commercial, defense, intelligence, civil and international, among which we intended  to “cross boundaries” creatively in pursuit of  the best solutions for our clients. With our unique approaches to staffing, client focus, and culture, we put something in place that was built to last. The newly founded company’s first customer was satellite company Space Imaging Inc., which had been formed just the year before with financial backing of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Raytheon Systems Company, Mitsubishi and Hyundai.

In what will become a defining trend for Stellar Solutions, we were at the forefront of the fledgling space-based imaging industry in Colorado, supporting one of the two main players racing to commercialize the technology of spy satellites. Space Imaging, which eventually became part of DigitalGlobe, named its satellite system IKONOS, from the Greek eikōn, for “image”. Not only was Space Imaging our first customer and partner, the contract became our first renewal in August 1995! In 2011, the Space Technology Hall of Fame recognized DigitlGlobe for its pioneering work in adapting Earth-imaging satellite technology for commercial use.

The geospatial imagery analytics market grew to an estimated $3.75 Billion in 2017, with DigitalGlobe identified as a major market player in December 2019. Geospatial technologies that depend on these imagery services, like global positioning system (GPS), remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) have truly transformed our society and knowledge-base as well as our ability to secure, protect and defend our way of life.

As I reflect on these 25 years, I am so happy with everything our Stellar Team has achieved together. I still get inspired just thinking about our stellar employees,  the stellar customers we work for, the critical challenges being solved for the important projects we’re supporting, and our incredible culture of great people coming together to tackle these vital challenges with positive spirit and camaraderie. From our very first customer and a single employee in 1995 to dozens of partners and nearly 200 employees supporting a diverse portfolio in 2020, every project receiving our expertise and services over the past two decades has shown long-term global impact. I couldn’t be prouder, and I am convinced that our framework and legacy of success will not only carry on for another 25 years but last “to infinity and beyond”.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. – Lao Tzu

There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. – Jim Lovell

About the Author:
Celeste Ford is Founder and Board Chair of Stellar Solutions.