As Space Launch Delta 30 enters its third year, digital innovation and transformation remains at the forefront of operations. The National Security Space Institute (NSSI) recently introduced a new training opportunity to personnel known as the Space Design and Innovation 101 course (SDI 101) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., designed to align with the installation’s overall mission.
This intricate course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the theory and practice of systemic design within the context of space security and defense applications.
Spearheading this new, meticulously designed course is Ben Zweibelson, Strategic Innovation Group director. Zweibelson explained what his intentions were when shaping the course’s design and setup.
“My goal when creating this opportunity was for the students to understand the concepts, philosophies and processes of framing and reframing using systemic design toward a complex space security challenge,” Zweibelson said. “I also wanted it to emphasize the importance of teamwork and collaboration. In order to be successful, the students must work together to develop and implement innovative solutions.”
Spanning across the globe, SDI 101 has had three prior group iterations of this course, the fourth being at Vandenberg. Instructors Jim Wetzel, Aubrey Poe, Brett Bourne, and Allie Morgan joined forces from all across the world to teach personnel about cultivating the best of the best ideas to gain future systemic advantage. Vandenberg members worked together in groups throughout the five-day course, learning everything from design inquiry to organizational transformation.
Allie Morgan, SDI 101 instructor, spoke on her excitement toward bringing this course to Vandenberg.
“I think the SDI 101 course came to Vandenberg at the perfect time, as the innovation movement across the base is gaining momentum and the installation will most likely look completely different in the near future in the best way possible,” Morgan said. “Vandenberg is the place to be for talented guardians, and I trust the steadfast commitment to improving our units will shine through, especially with their newfound knowledge and ideas on long term spaceport innovation.”
SDI 101 is an essential part of Vandenberg’s commitment to spaceport advancement. With Vandenberg hosting this course and many others like it, it is pushing the installation several steps closer maintaining the spaceport’s position as a global leader in space innovation.