The DownLink Podcast

Space Money: Lunar Excitement And SpaceX’s “Crazy Pants” Valuation Artemis II is on its way to the Moon — the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years. Private credit is flashing warning signs, and SpaceX just filed for the largest IPO in history. The numbers, as one guest puts it, are "crazy pants." Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

At SatShow 2026 many government and business leaders admired the “incredibly dynamic” changes and the new challenges in the marketplace and investing. But what do they need to do to compete and thrive in it? Laura Winter speaks with Frank Backes, President, Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space-ISAC), former CEO, Capella Space, just recent President, IonQ Quantum Infrastructure.

It’s “Advocacy Season” on Capitol Hill. The 30th “March Storm” — organized by the Alliance for Space Development — seeks better terms for space start-ups and venture capital investors ahead of the SPaceX IPO. Laura Winter speaks with Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, who is also the author of three books, the latest of which is “Space Shock: 18 Threats That Will Define Space Power”; and Aaron Oesterle, Policy Director at the Space Frontier Foundation.

Three years after the U.S. Space Force established the West Scholars program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the Pentagon is killing this highly tailored and unique space-minded Senior Professional Military Education fellowship, along with other graduate-level opportunities at 21 other universities and think tanks. Laura Winter speaks with Joel Mozer, the first United States Space Force Director of Science, Technology and Research; and Lamont Colucci, Director of Concordia University’s National Security and Space Center, and the United States Space Force’s inaugural Director of Doctrine Development.

The wake of the U.S.-led bombing campaign of Iran - Operation Epic Fury - has rattled markets around the world and inspired some public equity investors to adjust their positions and to more critically assess space companies with a speculative return on investment. Laura Winter speaks with Lou Whiteman, a space investor and a Motley Fool stock analyst covering aerospace and defense. d96efi5C1HZHLj1w3HtQ

Paris-based Skynopy’s virtual Ground Station As A Service promises of faster data speeds and a network of partner ground stations has earned it contracts with AWS, Eutelsat, Airbus, and the French Defense Innovation Agency’s Aerospace Lab. Laura Winter speaks with Pierre Bertrand, co-Founder and CEO of Skynopy.

While the Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs is unconstitutional, experts warn that the administration has other means to extract from American businesses and consumers what would amount to import taxes. Space businesses are not immune, but they do have opportunities to shield their bottom lines. Laura Winter speaks with Bailey Reichelt, Founder and Attorney at Aegis Law; and Nick Baker, Managing Director of Transfer Pricing practice, and co-Lead of the Trade and Customs practice at Kroll.

This week U.S. President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak about how to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. This episode explores recent space-related developments in Israel, Iran, and more generally the rest of the Middle-Eastern region. Laura Winter speaks with Lawrence Rubin, co-director of the Georgia Tech DC Program and an associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.

Space Money: The Space Force Budget And A New Leader by The DownLink

Australia and the United States have been close allies for more than seven decades, but with the old rules-based world order disappearing, Australia needs to shape and fund its national defense and space ambitions to fit the times. Laura Winter speaks with Malcolm Davis, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who focuses on space policy, security, strategy, and capability development.

While President Donald Trump cites the Golden Dome missile defense shield program as the reason for seeking sovereignty over Greenland, congressional appropriators complain they have too little knowledge on the program’s progress. It’s been 12 months since the presidential executive order kicked-off the Golden Dome effort. Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Washington, D.C.’s favorite defense budget Yoda.

Traders and investors are feeling whipsawed this week, but those who hold notes in space companies are seemingly immune. Space companies, especially infrastructure business cases, are seeing steady and huge gains in value. Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

Ground stations, built by proxies of China’s People's Liberation Army and Russia’s Roscosmos, can be found across Latin America, including three on Venezuelan military bases. Recent operations in and around Venezuela demonstrate that these strategically important adversarial space assets are now in the cross-hairs of the Trump Corollary. Laura Winter speaks with Namrata Goswami, Professor of Space Security, Schriever and West Space Scholars Program, Johns Hopkins University, and co-Author of the book “Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space”.

President Donald Trump issued a course-setting presidential executive order on Thursday that looks more like the national space strategy for which many, in and out of government and across a myriad of space-related sectors, have been waiting. Laura Winter speaks with Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, who is also the author of three books, the latest of which is “Space Shock: 18 Threats That Will Define Space Power”.

At the Space Force Association’s Space Power Conference, major announcements were few, but there were clues pointing to imminent strategic developments. Laura Winter speaks with U.S. Space Force Col. (ret.) Charles Galbreath, Director and Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE).

The CEO of Muon Space predicts that artificial intelligence coupled with laser communications “ could ultimately become entirely transformative on blowing open things like the earth observation market.” Laura Winter speaks with Jonny Dyer, CEO and co-Founder of Muon Space.

This week German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s cabinet approved a whole-of-government strategy to be ready for war in space. This announcement and strategy comes just 55 days after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Germany is going to spend roughly $41 billion dollars to develop offensive and defensive on-orbit capabilities. Laura Winter speaks with Torsten Kriening, CEO and Publisher of SpaceWatch.Global, and host of the Space Cafe podcast.

The Department of Defense roll-out of the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program has far-ranging implications for the defense industrial base, including the space sector, that includes all prime contractors and sub-contractors. Laura Winter speaks with US Air Force Retired Col. Steven Shirley, the Executive Director of the National Defense ISAC, and former Executive Director of the DoD Cyber Crime Center (DC3).

While the U.S. government remains shut and the NASADQ is getting hammered, Chad Anderson of Space Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests exclusively in space-based technologies, says the space market “has fundamentally matured”. Laura Winter speaks with Chad Anderson, CEO, Founder, and Managing Partner of Space Capital.

This week’s guest says, “ The purpose of science and technology research, in the military, is to make the fight unfair.” So what’s standing in our way? Laura Winter speaks with Richard Joseph, the 36th Air Force Chief Scientist, who has a CV that includes the Strategic Defense Initiative, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and NASA.

Could pre-positioning mission-critical cargo in Low Earth Orbit, to be summoned and sent to a place and time of the U.S. military’s choosing, in under an hour, solve logistical bottlenecks in times of need? Inversion Space and its investors are betting on it. Laura Winter speaks with Justin Fiaschetti, Inversion Space’s Co-Founder and CEO.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to spend €35B, or $41B, on space assets and technologies, including satellites with active defense capabilities. This is huge. Laura Winter speaks with Antje Nötzold, a Senior Researcher at the University of the Federal Armed Forces; and Torsten Kriening, CEO and Publisher of SpaceWatch.Global, and host of Space Cafe podcast.

Space investing is enjoying “positive sentiment”, with many publicly traded space stocks enjoying higher valuations. What’s behind these financial and economic trends and where are the weak points? Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

There’s no Golden Dome requirements shopping list yet, but with an expected $40 billion for FY 2026 the U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations is thinking about how to spend now for the fight tonight and what will be needed by 2040. Appearing in this episode from the Air, Space, Cyber conference are Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, Commander, Space Systems Command Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant. Laura Winter breaks it down with Todd Harrison, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Representatives from Australia’s burgeoning quantum technology sector are making the rounds, meeting with venture capitalists, U.S. companies, as well as state and federal government officials. Among the subjects discussed are defense, space, and opportunity. Laura Winter speaks with Martin O’Connor, COO, QuantX Labs; Jim Rabeau, CEO and Co-Founder, Deteqt; and Daniel Hunter, Partnership Development Manager, Quantum Australia.

Nigeria, the most populous African nation, has the continent’s third largest standing military and fourth largest economy. The West African nation operates four sovereign satellites and has ambitions to become a space economy leader and space technology exporter. Laura Winter speaks with Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. (NIGCOMSAT) CEO and Managing Director Jane Egerton-Idehen.

Artificial Intelligence will be necessary for Golden Dome, or Next Generation Missile Defense, to work, but how, and for what exactly? And what about the humans? Laura Winter speaks with Alexander Kott, an early AI researcher and the Chief Scientist of the Army Research Laboratory from 2016 to 2023.

When then presidential candidate Donald Trump made a promise to create a Space National Guard, he received a standing ovation. Now 12 months later, that promise is broken, with far reaching and costly effects. Laura Winter speaks with National Guard Association President Maj. Gen. (ret.) Frank McGinn; and Director of Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Colorado, Brig. Gen. Michael Bruno, who is the National Guard Association’s Task Force Space Chair.

It’s one of the biggest contracts that Space Systems Command has awarded that you haven’t heard about - the $4 billion Space Force Range Contract awarded to Amentum. The price tag is big because so is this operations and commercial customer-facing job, which should grow along with the increasing cadence of space launch. Laura Winter speaks with Randy Lycans, Amentum’s Senior Vice President and Program Director for Space Force Range Contract (SFRC)

What does the Golden Dome and the plus-up in money for the Space Force and other defense-related space systems tell us about the Trump Administration’s national defense strategy? And is it sustainable? Laura Winter speaks with Peter Garretson, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, and co-author of the book “The Next Space Race: A Blueprint for American Primacy”; and Sam Wilson, Director, Strategy and Program Support, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, at The Aerospace Corporation. Wilson’s report, “FY 2026 Defense Space Budget: Emergence of Golden Dome”, can be found here: https://csps.aerospace.org/papers/fy-2026-defense-space-budget-emergence-golden-dome

This week the U.S. Space Force concluded its largest service-wide exercise that also included officers from Allied and Partner nations in leadership positions. Lessons from the exercise will be used to better inform the implementation of the Space Force’s new International Partnership Strategy. Laura Winter speaks with Air Marshal Paul “Godders” Godfrey, the Assistant Chief of Space Operations for Future Concepts and Partnerships, and the highest-ranking non-U.S. officer serving in the Space Force. He was the Director of the 609th Air Operations Centre in Al Udeid before becoming the inaugural Commander of U.K. Space Command.

Now that the U.S. Senate has confirmed Lt. Shawn Bratton’s fourth star and his nomination to become the next U.S. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations, there will be a new Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs and Requirements. And that’s an opportunity to drag the Space Force out of the Feudal Age into the 21st Century’s Space Age. Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA and Defense Department budget diviner.

According to the Space Foundation the Global Space Economy grew by 7.8% to reach a valuation of $613 billion dollars in 2024. What’s behind the new big number? Laura Winter speaks with Lesley Conn, the Space Foundation’s Director of Research and Digital Programming

While the White House and Congress wrangle over NASA’s budget and the fate of the Space Launch System, China is unwavering in laying the foundation for its expansion into the space domain, including on the moon. Laura Winter speaks with Josh Carslon, author of the book, “Spacepower Ascendant: Space Development Theory and a New Space Strategy”.

With Wall Street indices at new highs, plus a roughly $40B FY2026 budget for the U.S. Space Force, and the tens of billions the Trump Administration wants to spend on the missile defense program "Golden Dome," is it time to pop the champagne? Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink Podcast regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

The Trump Administration’s 2026 budget for the U.S. Space Force, counting the Big Beautiful Bill’s funding, comes to about $40 billion dollars. Does this unorthodox, difficult to follow, bifurcated legislative process make this bump “ a one-time sugar high?” Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA and Defense Department budget diviner; and Sam Wilson, Director, Strategy and Program Support, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, at The Aerospace Corporation.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said that in preparation for Operation Midnight Hammer, two Defense Threat Reduction Agency analysts studied activities at the Fordo Uranium Enrichment Plant for 15 years by pouring over imagery. That was satellite imagery, which is now at risk of being cut according to the White House’s FY2026 budget request for the National Reconnaissance Office. Laura Winter speaks with Susanne Hake, General Manager of Maxar Intelligence’s U.S. Government business; Hector Falcon, Watch Center Director at the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space-ISAC); and Clint Clark, Vice President of First Impressions at ExoAnalytic Solutions.

As Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for additions to the 2021 AUKUS Agreement that would strengthen the security pact in the space domain, Australian space companies began a tour of the United States to find partners and investors. Laura Winter speaks with Steven Marshall, South Australia’s former Premier, now President of the American Australian Association; Jeremey Hallett Chairman of Southern Launch, and Chairman of Australia’s Space Industry Association; and Matt Tetlow, Founder & CEO of Inovor Technologies.

Elon Musk regrets “some” of his recent posts about U.S. President Donald Trump. Phew! But their relationship’s rapid unscheduled disassembly, or RUD, reveals how vulnerable civil and national security missions, even the “Golden Dome” program, are to the dramatic vagaries of this relationship. Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA and Defense Department budget diviner.

The Trump-Musk “bromance” break-up is clearly visible on the world stage and worrying many about just how far and how deep the fallout will be for space and defense. What’s not-so-visible, are the aggressive tactics and techniques - lawsuits, loans, proxies and pirates - that fall-below the threshold of “acts of war”. That’s “gray warfare” in the space domain. How would you know it if you saw it? Laura Winter speaks with Dean Cheng, a sought after China-U.S. relations expert, and non-resident Fellow at both the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and the George Washington University Space Policy Institute; and also from GWU, retired Navy Cmdr. John "Patsy" Klein, who recently authored the book, “Fight for the Final Frontier: Irregular Warfare in Space.”

This week’s episode details what happened when the CEO of a European-US space company bought into a shareholder fight involving two Chinese government-backed entities, that are deeply involved with the Thousand Sails mega-constellation - China’s answer to Starlink. This is a deep dive into lawfare in the space domain, a growing costly concern for the U.S. and its Allies. Laura Winter speaks with Declan Ganley, CEO of Rivada Space Networks; and Dean Cheng, a sought after China-U.S. relations expert, and non-resident Fellow at both the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and the George Washington University Space Policy Institute.

The $318 million IonQ purchase deal to acquire Capella Space is bringing together two worlds in a high-stakes bid to radically change satellite-to-satellite and satellite-to-ground communications and computing at the edge. At least that's what the CEOs are saying. Are they right? Also, up top in this episode is a space threats update. Laura Winter speaks with Niccolo de Masi, IonQ’s President and CEO; Frank Backes, CEO of Capella Space; and Hector Falcon, the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center’s Watch Center Director.