This week the U.S. Air Force celebrated its birthday, marking 75 years since it gained its hard-won independence from the U.S. Army. This independence remains not only about who is in command of who, but perhaps more importantly it is also about identity and culture. What lessons can the newest branch of the military, the U.S. Space Force, take from the Air Force experience to launch itself into an independent trajectory? To get the answers, Laura Winter is joined by Michael Hankins, Curator for U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Brian Laslie, Command Historian and Associate Professor Department of History, United States Air Force Academy; and M.V. “Coyote” Smith, Associate Professor, Strategic Space Studies, Department of Space Power, United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College.

Air Culture Eating Space For Breakfast

SpaceX, Raytheon, And How Not To Land In Space Force CSO’s “Frozen Middle”
This week’s episode is coming out of Space Symposium, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With much of the civil, commercial, and military space leadership in attendance, U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman put commercial space leaders on notice: embrace speed, risk, and technological difficulty or be relegated to the “frozen middle.” Laura Winter speaks with Dave Broadbent, President of Raytheon’s Space & C2 division, and Casey DeRaad, NewSpace New Mexico’s CEO, who was in Boca Chica, Texas for the test launch of Elon Musk’s Starship-Super Heavy launch system.

SpaceX, Raytheon, And How Not To Land In Space Force CSO’s “Frozen Middle”

Space Money: Has Investor Passion Left The Building?

This episode on Space Money is the 2024 year opener. It examines just what business and investment trends and events from 2023 are carrying over into the new year, and what to expect for space business and the space economy in 2024. Laura Winter speaks with Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; George Pullen, Chief Economist at Milky Way Economy; and Jesse Klempner, a McKinsey & Company Partner.

Space Money: Has Investor Passion Left The Building?

SPACE TECH: Is NASA Surrendering The Promise of Space-Based Solar Power to China, ESA, Britain And Japan? 

Jeers and scorn greeted NASA’s “Space-Based Solar Power” report, which if taken at face value, experts argue, could strategically disadvantage U.S. efforts to deliver cheap renewable energy, while competitors in the sector move forward.  While the document confirms that Space-Based Solar Power is technologically attainable and would deliver electricity at a fraction of the cost to consumers, this episode’s guests say NASA’s assumptions are wildly out of date, do not take into account the current state of space technology, and ignore commonly-held industrial economic principles. Laura Winter speaks with John Mankins, a former NASA physicist, now President of Artemis Innovation Management Solutions, who designed the Solar Power Satellite concept, Alpha – Mark 3; Peter Garretson, an American Foreign Policy Council Senior Fellow, coauthor of the book “Scramble for the Skies The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space”; and Ed Tate, Co-Founder and CTO of Virtus Solis, a U.S Space-Based Solar Power company.

SPACE TECH: Is NASA Surrendering The Promise of Space-Based Solar Power to China, ESA, And Japan?

Space Money: "For Those Who Can Execute, The Opportunity Is Massive"

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Board Chair, said borrowing rates are going to stay right where they are. Most Department of Defense space budgets are shrinking in real terms due to inflation. So what will it take to get venture capitalists to invest in new space tech? Laura Winter speaks with Chad Anderson, Managing Partner at Space Capital, host of “The Space Capital Podcast”, and book author, who says "for those who can execute, the opportunity is massive and they are going to win".

Space Money: "For Those Who Can Execute, The Opportunity Is Massive"

Space Competition: How To Better De-Risk Adversarial Threats To Space Systems’ Value

This episode was recorded before a live audience at the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center’s Value of Space Summit, convened in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The discussion focuses on threat trends, the lack of insurance cover for certain types of attacks; and how to better secure the value of space systems. Laura Winter speaks with Chris Kunstadter, President at Triton Space; Tomas Peña, Chief Technologist for Cyber Operations at L3Harris Technologies; and Sam Visner, the Space-ISAC Chairman.

Space Competition: How To Better De-Risk Adversarial Threats To Space Systems’ Value

Space Money: Q3 Take - “Money Doesn’t Care”
The Fed lending rate reduction was nice, but is it enough pressure on investors to empty their money market accounts and invest in space companies, even if it’s answering a defense-related demand signal? Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars, Chris Quilty, Founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Chief Economist at Milky Way Economy.

Space Money: Q3 Take - “Money Doesn’t Care”

Space Money: Report - DoD At Risk of Losing New Commercial Space Suppliers And Capabilities

The Department of Commerce has just released some interesting economic indicators that lean positive, and there are expectations that the Federal Reserve Board will again lower interest rates. Despite this good news, it may be some time before new venture capital invests in space technology, leaving some companies that have capabilities the Department of Defense wants, starved for cash and at risk. Laura Winter speaks with Sam Wilson, Director, Strategy and Program Support, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, The Aerospace Corporation; and Sarah Georgin, former Project Lead, Strategic Foresight Team, The Aerospace Corporation.

Space Money: Report - DoD At Risk of Losing New Commercial Space Suppliers And Capabilities

Space Money: The Game Of Space-Based Risk In a Time Of Market Fragility 
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The space insurance market is fragile, with claims, totalling billions of dollars, outpacing premium revenues. Yet, insurance companies are expanding their coverage and others are getting into this game of space-based risk. Laura Winter speaks with the four-decade space insurance market veteran Chris Kunstadter, President of Triton Space.



Space Money: The Game Of Space-Based Risk In a Time Of Market Fragility

Space Competition: China Launches Broadband Competitor Network To SpaceX’s Starlink

Aiming to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, China just launched the first tranche of its broadband Gouwang constellation, and the Department of Defense this week submitted its annual report on the P.R.C.’s military and security developments to Congress. To understand what Beijing has accomplished in space in the past 12 months and what to expect in 2025, Laura Winter speaks with Namrata Goswami, an independent scholar on space policy and great power politics and co-Author of the book “Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space”. But first, Winter gets a year-end update on the Space Force Association’s activities from the organization’s Founder, CEO, and President, Bill “Hippie” Woolf. 

Space Competition: China Launches Broadband Competitor Network To SpaceX’s Starlink

Almost all national economic signals are looking good as the nation prepares for a presidential transition to a more “space-minded” administration under Donald Trump. As the incoming president established the U.S. Space Force five years ago, the belief is he could double that service branch’s budget to solidify his legacy and infuse cash into the U.S.-based space economy. Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.


Space Money: Great Expectations For Trump Administration 2.0

This week President Donald Trump issued an executive order called “The Iron Dome For America”, which calls for a space-based missile shield. This order is expected to have huge ramifications for arms control in space, technology development, and the U.S. Space Force, should the U.S. Congress fund what would be a technically challenging and expensive program. Laura Winter speaks with Joel Mozer, who retired from a decades-long career in government service after serving as the first United States Space Force Director of Science, Technology and Research; and 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”, but after a special Space Threat update from Hector Falcon, Watch Center Director, Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Space Power: Trump’s New “Star Wars” Executive Order

The Department of Defense has less than six weeks to submit a plan for how it will build and launch the “Iron Dome for America”, President Donald Trump’s concept of a mostly space-based missile defense shield. The DOD is reaching out to industry for ideas, but what should the technology priorities be? Laura Winter speaks with Roger Lenard, a NASA and DOD consultant, and a Strategic Defense Initiative veteran, who led the classified Timber Wind Nuclear Rocket program, and the Lightweight Exoatmospheric Projectile (LEAP) program; and 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”.

Space Tech: What Tech Is Required To Make Trump’s “Iron Dome” Work In 685 Days?

In the next seven days there will be two attempts by commercial space companies to land on the moon, tariffs slapped on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, and U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a speech to a joint session of congress. While Europe reels over the Oval Office incident with the Ukraine's head of state, what’s the view from the Indo Pacific of Trump’s policies? Laura Winter speaks with Namrata Goswami, an independent scholar on space policy and great power politics and co-author of the book “Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space”; and Malcolm Davis, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute focusing on space policy, security, strategy, and capability development.

Space Competition: Indo-Pacific Unclear on What To Make of Trump’s Space and Security Policies

It doesn’t take much mass, just a fleck of paint, to punch a hole into a satellite or an intercontinental ballistic missile. This week’s guest thinks the technology for an AI-controlled space-based kill vehicle, that is also small and lean enough to make room for the fuel needed for speed, is close at hand if the Department of Defense wishes to seize it. Laura Winter speaks with Arno Ledebuhr, a physicist, who worked on the Strategic Defense Initiative’s space-based ballistic missile defense system Brilliant Pebbles, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under Lowell Wood and Edward Teller.

Space Power: Size Matters - A Star Wars Physicist's Take On Golden Dome

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is proposing to leverage €800 billion to rebuild Europe’s defense industrial base, and seed new defense capability development, including space capabilities. In the justification paper, even the words “space warfare” were used. To understand what this all means for space and defense in Europe, Laura Winter speaks with Antje Nötzold, Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics at Chemnitz University of Technology; Lina Pohl, Research Fellow at European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) seconded by German Space Agency (DLR).

Space Competition: European Commission Urges EU To Spend Big On Defense And Space

The second quarter has opened with U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs, causing Wall Street to suffer its worst days in years. The U.S.-based space economy does not have immunity from the Trump Administration’s trade policies or the markets. Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

Space Money: Trump’s Wild “Liberation Day” Ride Has Arrived!

While the 40th Space Symposium’s theme was “Building Partnerships to Secure our Future”, everyone in Colorado Springs, Colorado was talking about building President Trump’s Next Generation Missile Defense Shield, a.k.a.: “Golden Dome For America.” This week’s guest cautions us that you cannot have a space-based missile defense shield without the ground segment. Laura Winter speaks with Mark Henrie, Divisional Vice President, Amentum Missile Defense Group, and Deputy Program Manager, Integrated Research & Development Enterprise Solution.


Space Tech: Don’t Forget The Ground!

This week the U.S. Space Force let a linguistic genie out of the bottle. The newest service branch published a 22-page guide for planners called “Space Warfighting”, that ditches soft elocution and takes up words like “destroy”, “terrestrial strike”, and “counterattack”. What does this mean for culture; training and education; research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E); acquisition; and the Space Force’s place in the Joint Force? In addition to a roundtable discussion with Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs and Requirements, Laura Winter speaks with Charles Galbreath, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence.


Space Power: Space Force Is Using Fighting Words!

Want to think beyond 2045? There’s a process for that called Strategic Foresight. According to a new U.S. Space Force Report, the newest service branch needs to employ it. Laura Winter speaks with two of the report’s leading authors, Joel Mozer, who is best known for being the first United States Space Force Director of Science, Technology and Research; and David Hardy, former Associate Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space. You can read their report here: https://ihubcolorado.org/beyond-the-tipping-point/.

Space Power: Look Beyond “The Tips Of Your Skis”

Is there really sunshine in the Space Sector? April was a rough month for businesses, consumers, and public equities traders, all tenderized by the blows of uncertain trade policies. The DownLlink Podcast’s regular guest and space economist says the Space Sector is different and should be fine. Is he right? Laura Winter speaks with George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.


Space Money: Pullen’s Analysis - Don’t Freak. “Take A Deep Breath.”

This week planet Earth is seeing two re-entries of man-made objects: first the uncontrolled, possibly life-threatening, Soviet-era Kosmos 482; and second, the W-3 - an example of the very controlled, defense and in some cases possibly life-extending, business case that is Varda Space Industries. Laura Winter speaks with Delian Asparouhov, Varda Space Industries’ co-Founder and President, and Partner at Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund; and Muk Pandian, Varda’s Director of Strategic Partnerships and Advanced Concepts. 


Space Tech: A Soft Touchdown Closes Varda’s Business Case

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.

Space Money: IonQ & Capella CEOs on the $318m Deal, Plans & Vision

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.

Space Money: A Fighting Irishman Walks Into A Boardroom With The PRC

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.”

Space Competition: Lawsuits, Loans, Proxies And Pirates

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.

Space Power: The Problem With The Trump-Musk RUD That Wasn’t

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.


Space Competition: Down Under Companies, Leaders Target US Space & Defense Market

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.

Space Power: Commercial Satellite Imagery For Intelligence & Operations Is At Risk

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. 


Space Power: Space Force ‘26 Budget: “ A One-Time Sugar High”

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.

Space Money: Defense Budget, Markets, and Champagne

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”.

Space Competition: Amid US Budget Woes, China Pushes Expansion

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

Space Money: $613B - What’s Behind the Big New Number?

From the Defense & Aerospace Report... This is The DownLink Podcast, hosted by Laura Winter.  From the intersection of space, business, and defense... Not just what's over the horizon, but what's happening above it.

The DownLink Podcast is 2023 and 2024 Defense Media Award-winner.

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