Hosted by Congressional, Government & Space Industry veterans Tom Culligan and Clayton Swope, Just Another Space Podcast provides an informative and entertaining look at the politics, policy, funding and industry issues and players in space markets. Featuring weekly guests from across government and industry.

Co-Host & Producer: Clayton Swope

Clayton Swope is the deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, Swope led national security and cybersecurity public policy for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. While at Amazon, he also worked on cloud policy issues. Prior to his time at Amazon, Swope served as a senior adviser on national security, space, foreign affairs, and technology policy issues for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also worked for more than 14 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, serving largely in the Directorate of Science and Technology. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Co-Host & Producer: Tom Culligan

Tom Culligan brings 20 years of Capitol Hill and aerospace industry experience to launch Ascent Public Policy & Strategic Communications, LLC.  Ascent is also a member of the Strategic Aerospace Alliance, a network of independent consulting firms with deep aerospace expertise to help clients navigate complex political and regulatory landscapes, advocacy campaigns and strengthen business and government customer relationships.

Prior to launching Ascent, Culligan led government relations for Collins Aerospace’s Civil and Commercial programs, with a focus on the company’s FAA, NASA, and Department of Energy programs. He also led advocacy for all of RTX’s civil and defense spectrum as well as acquisition policy and intellectual property rights. 

From 2018-2022, Culligan was responsible for Boeing’s government relations on NASA programs, where he successfully worked with Congress to extend the International Space Station until 2030, managed oversight following the Starliner missions, and increased funding and authorization language to develop the Space Launch System (SLS) and the NASA-Boeing X-66 Transonic Truss Brace Wing (TTBW) Flight Demonstrator, a public-private partnership aimed at testing a next-generation single-aisle aircraft design.

Before joining Boeing and RTX, Culligan served as Vice President and later President of the Brimley Group, a boutique lobbying firm in Washington, DC, where he represented a range of aerospace clients, including the Virginia Space Flight Authority, Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, AMRO, Bigelow Aerospace and the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration.  He played a critical role in advocating for NASA’s Artemis Program, working with industry giants such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman to secure funding for deep space exploration initiatives.

Culligan began his career on Capitol Hill, working as a legislative assistant for Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, before moving to the office of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who served as Chairman of both the House Transportation-HUD (THUD) and Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittees, which fund NASA, FAA, NOAA, and federal science agencies. He served as Wolf’s Legislative Director and Associate Staff to the CJS subcommittee where he played a key role in shaping U.S. space and aeronautics funding priorities, as well as leading efforts on R&D investments.