A Space Talent Spotlight Series Interview with Zach Morley, Wharton Business School MBA Candidate, US Space Force, Air Force Space Command, US Air Force.
What is your background?
Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, during childhood, I explored every minute of Star Trek with my grandpa, but never conceptualized that I would work in the space industry. However, one day, I ventured to the United States Air Force website and it said something along the lines of “Largest Space Organization in the World,” and the possibilities started flowing. After that moment, and a quick reflection on how my values aligned with the career, I was all in and passionately pursued a career in the USAF.
I spent most of my career in Los Angeles, working in space acquisitions. At first, I was involved in founding the Space Enterprise Consortium and the Tetra program. Next, I was lucky to get the chance to lead a dynamic Space Weather and Satellite Threat Warning and Response program. We tackled sensor development, commercial payload hosting, national security satellite sensor integration, multi-level data architectures, and software development for exploitation and operator assistance. I then headed to Las Vegas for extended temporary duty to be the Air Force Space Command representative to the first AFWERX MAJCOM Technology Integration Detachment.
This was a pivotal moment as I was involved with every major command and was able to dive deeper into all-domain, hypersonic, agile basing, spacecraft resiliency, and many more efforts that are now center-stage. After a scarring amount of time in Las Vegas, I went back to Los Angeles to work in the Space Superiority Directorate, and later in the Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) office. After working to stand up the Space Defense branch, I had the chance to lead the Integrated Command and Control (IC2) program. This really exposed me to groundbreaking national programs at the forefront of software development and geopolitical space competition.
Then, I was fortunately accepted to The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I am currently in my fourth and final semester of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, finishing up a broad range of business studies with a focus in strategic management and finance. During my free time, I have had the chance to continue working in the space industry through several great private sector roles and I am also actively engaged in the one-of-a-kind community, serving as Captain of a Wharton Hockey team, a seasoned member of Pub, and as the CFO of the Wharton Aerospace and Defense organization.
What have been your top career accomplishments so far?
I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career to work with the best teams, under some of the best leaders, on some of the most exciting programs, within a historical time period where risk posture, technology advancement, and operational priority drastically changed. My top career accomplishment was the progress we made when I was the program manager of the Integrated Command and Control program, Jupiter, which may now have a different name. However, we took an exciting step forward in operational command and control for space and built out a revolutionary Special Access Program software factory and environment to integrate all of our high-level capabilities for the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) to carry out space superiority and protect and defend missions in coordination with all-domain and theater requirements.
Another top career accomplishment was when we took the sensor development and threat warning program from infancy to a proliferated architecture. We integrated 30+ sensors onto a commercial constellation and developed two new upgraded sensor variants for integration onto several USAF and partner satellites, while integrating them all via a multi-level security data architecture for exploitation by our deployed software applications. It was an all-star AFRL and Aerospace team that was getting after the threat and trying to aid operators in anomaly attribution. We were Collier Trophy nominees, but couldn’t quite beat a novel fighter jet improvement.
However, some of the best memories are still from the stand up of the USSF - evolving the Four Horseman to the Program Integration Council, reforming Special Access Program security, and building relationships between the Space Defense Branch and other organizations such as the RCOs, IC, MDA, and USSPACECOM.
What were the critical steps/choices that helped you get ahead?
Four factors have been key to my progress:
What part of your education had the most impact on your career?
There are several parts of my education, formal and on-the-job, that impacted my career - there is always something to learn, especially within teams and the space industry. However, I believe the largest impact from my education is yet to come. The education at The Wharton School really has surpassed my expectations, plus the dynamics of the private sector are much more different than I expected. In addition, my summer and continued experience with Voyager Space Holdings in Corporate Development and Strategy has been particularly enlightening, offering valuable insights into fundraising, deal making, M&A, and various space projects as exhilarating as space station development.
What about your career have you enjoyed the most and least?
Within the military, I’ve had a unique amount of autonomy in my roles, with trust and great leadership allowing me to go forth and run programs, solve problems, and carve a path to win. In particular, during my last assignment, within the Space Defense Branch, I was part of a small high-powered team who created so many sparks and willed progress in order to change America’s space superiority posture.
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The least enjoyable part, although necessary, has been navigating the complex bureaucratic challenges between government organizations, industry participants, and other stakeholders that constrained progress because of the unwillingness of individuals and organizations to fail, pivot, or iterate. We beat these challenges, but it took a lot of effort that could have been spent elsewhere.
Where do you see the most promising career opportunities in the future?
I’ll constrict my answer to the space industry, but I think our space future is rife with opportunities, especially in areas where space technology intersects with terrestrial industries. I’m fond of in-space research and development and manufacturing - not for in-space application, but for terrestrial industries. Additionally, I’m bullish on cis-lunar lagrange point expansion - the national appeal of various lunar locations is not equal and certain areas may become contested.
On the military side, I still think there is a lot we have to do to improve space domain awareness and dynamic space operations. The proliferation and diversification of satellite constellations and the innovative changes to their designs is just getting started – we will need more and they will need to be replenished at a semi-predictable cadence. This will require new supply chains, improved subsystems, innovative payloads - the whole spectrum. In addition, this is great power competition - nuclear power/propulsion, advanced cyber capabilities, mature in-space Servicing, advanced spaceports, and more will be required as we move past 2026 and into the future. Funding will flow to space to ensure that the joint force can win a terrestrial conflict for our national interests and to save as many lives as possible.
What advice/resources would you share with the next generation?
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I’m currently finishing my studies and investigating various opportunities across the Northeast to start this summer (send a note if you have something interesting!)
