The DownLink

09/06/2023

"When we're thinking about getting off-world and we're talking about the way space, economic activity will take off, we should think about it in the same way we think about early explorers and early settlers and how those economic engines set up." - George Pullen

Listen now (45 mins) | Building A Secure Cis-Lunar Economy - What’s It Going To Take?

08/21/2023

UPDATE 8/20/2023: 's mission has failed, as reported by TASS
"Preliminary analysis results suggest that a deviation between the actual and calculated parameters of the propulsion maneuver led the Luna-25 spacecraft to enter an undesignated orbit and it ceased to exist following a collision with the surface of the ," Roscosmos stated.

Listen to Namrata Goswami and Pavel Luzin explain the why this matters, what's still at stake for India's mission still en-route to the Moon's South Pole, right here on The DownLink Podcast!

Listen now (49 mins) | India And Russia Are About To Attempt Separate Lunar Landings, Revealing A Fracturing Relationship

08/14/2023

This Space Experiment Will Underpin Off-World Ambition. It will affect space commerce, space defense, and if our species holds tight to audacious ambition, human habitats on the and Mars!

My guest this week is Purdue University Mechanical Engineering's Prof. Issam Mudawar, who was gracious enough to explain his experiment and the challenges of off-world environmental control for humans and machines, and how we can do it for less money, less weight, and more efficiently.

I just love cool space !!!

Listen now (34 mins) | This Space Experiment Will Underpin Off-World Ambition, Commerce, and Colonization

01/19/2023

Learn more about the alternative, greener fuels and who's positioned if and when a ban on hydrazine is put in place. Listen to the full episode here: https://apple.co/3HqqlU5

01/19/2023

An interesting play from OPEC's largest oil producer.

The UK and Saudi Arabia governments yesterday (Thursday 12 January) discussed ambitious plans for collaboration in space and innovation.

01/18/2023

There’s No Need To Be So Toxic!
This week’s episode is not a finger-pointing whining vintage. It is a look at alternative satellite thruster fuels that won’t act like a blender with your kidneys, are efficient in terms of density versus power, and could actually save satellite manufacturers money. So why isn’t everyone using these alternative fuels? They’re new-ish, and the scary stuff isn’t banned… Yet.
🎙️Chris Carella, Executive Vice President For Business Development, Benchmark Space Systems
🎙️Jeroen Wink, Co-Founder, Dawn Aerospace
🎙️Sammy Graham, Propulsion Chemist and Propulsion Engineer, Benchmark Space Systems

Listen to this episode from The DownLink on Spotify. There’s No Need To Be So Toxic! This week’s episode is about a potentially disruptive group of thruster technologies that are already being used by space agencies and on U.S. Space Force, DARPA, and other Department of Defense space missions. ...

12/21/2022

12/19/2022

Happy Birthday, Space Force: It's gonna take some more grit!
To be fair, a lot has been accomplished over the past 12 months, but there is a lot more yet to do to make the service branch truly independent and fit for purpose.
Listen to:
🎙️ Peter Garretson - Senior Fellow in Defense Studies, American Foreign Policy Council, Author
🎙️ Christopher Stone, Senior Fellow, Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
🎙️ Stephen R. Melvin, PMP - Space operator and policy expert

This week is the U.S. Space Force’s third birthday. While a lot has been accomplished over the past 12 months, there is a lot more yet to do to make the service branch truly independent and first for purpose. This episode’s guests also reveal what they think were the biggest developments for spa...

12/12/2022

Defense primes with offerings in the space sector buckle up. The upstarts coming, and they're prepared to engage with acquisitions chiefs at the classification level of their choice, with all deliverables made possible right here in the U.S.A.

NEW!!! Episode: Rocket Lab, SpaceX & .

Listen to:
🎙️ Peter Beck, Founder & CEO at Rocket Lab
🎙️ Christopher Stone, Senior Fellow, Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
🎙️ Caleb Henry, Senior Analyst, Quilty Analytics

The DownLink is a Defense & Aerospace Report podcast.

Defense primes with offerings in the space sector buckle up. The upstarts coming, prepared. Rocket Lab and SpaceX have just established defense business lines organized to offer U.S.-based end-to-end white-glove space services to the Department of Defense with a proven competitive rate card. Laura W...

12/12/2022

Defense primes with offerings in the space sector buckle up. The upstarts coming, and they're prepared to engage with acquisitions chiefs at the classification level of their choice, with all deliverables made possible right here in the U.S.A.

NEW!!! Episode: Rocket Lab, SpaceX & .

Listen to:
🎙️ Peter Beck, Founder & CEO at Rocket Lab
🎙️ Christopher Stone, Senior Fellow, Space Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
🎙️ Caleb Henry, Senior Analyst, Quilty Analytics

The DownLink is a Defense & Aerospace Report podcast.

Defense primes with offerings in the space sector buckle up. The upstarts coming, prepared. Rocket Lab and SpaceX have just established defense business lines organized to offer U.S.-based end-to-end white-glove space services to the Department of Defense with a proven competitive rate card. Laura W...

11/21/2022

🎙️ NEW 👉 Russian Sanctions Target U.S. Space & Milley’s “Various Technical Means”
This week’s podcast is all about The Bear and .
Listen to:
👉 Jim Townsend - Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO, Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
👉 Bruce McClintock, Brigadier General USAF (ret.), former U.S. Defense Attaché to Russia, and Lead for RAND Corporation's Space Enterprise Initiative
👉 M.V. "Coyote" Smith, Colonel USAF (ret.), Associate Professors of Space Power, USAF Air Command and Staff College

The DownLink is a Defense & Aerospace Report

This week’s podcast is all about the Bear and space. Laura Winter speaks with former U.S. Defense Attaché to Russia, Brig. Gen. Bruce McClintock USAF (Ret.) about Russia’s move to place personal sanctions on a number of commercial space sector leaders. But first, just how did the Biden Administ...

09/12/2022

🎙️NEW Episode!!!
, , Weapons Systems &
"The board considered US response options to the potential development of such capabilities by any adversary."
👉 Peter Garretson - American Foreign Policy Council, Sr. Fellow & co-author of the book "Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space"
👉 Chris Stone - Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Sr. Fellow, author of the book "Reversing the Tao: A Framework for Credible Space Deterrence"

Listen to this episode from The DownLink on Spotify. The Pentagon on Friday released a readout of a close-hold classified meeting of the Defense Policy Board that illustrates a growing concern that China and Russia are likely developing weapons systems for the space domain that “could impact U.S. ...