The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and other failed missions led NASA to rethink how it fostered leadership and culture.

Now, NSW-based Crazy Might Work is using an ultra-modern version of the same program, based on the current space program, to share those learnings with other organisations and leadership teams.

In this special episode recorded at the Australian Space Summit & Exhibition, Paul Hawkins, the company’s chief combobulator, talks to host Adam Thorn about the firm’s origins in Antarctica, whether leaders are born or made and how NASA became the Best Place to Work in federal government for the eleventh year in a row.

This week, the third annual Australian Space Summit & Exhibition took place at the ICC in Sydney.

Now a two-day event, headliners included senior figures from the US Space Force, Virgin Galactic, and the new head of Australia’s Space Command.

In this special episode, recorded during the event, Space Connect’s Adam Thorn and Defence Connect’s Liam Garman and Stephen Kuper discuss the key takeaways from the summit.

Space Connect has just announced that the Under Secretary of the US Air Force, Kristyn E. Jones, will headline this month’s Australian Space Summit and Exhibition.

Jones is one of the most senior figures involved in the US Space Force and oversees the entire US Air Force’s annual budget of more than $205 billion.

As part of her role, she also directs the US Air Force’s strategy and policy development, weapons acquisition and technology investments while being the principal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall.

In this episode, Defence Connect’s senior analyst, Stephen Kuper, chats about the significance of her appearance, and what local industry can learn at the event.