The DownLink Podcast

Space Power: #Trump 2.0 May Attempt Human #Mars Landing, Establish Department of the Space Force Space policymakers from President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration debated what may be in store for the civil and defense space sectors, including sending humans to Mars instead of the moon, and establishing a Department of the Space Force. Laura Winter speaks with Douglas Loverro, President, Loverro Consulting, LLC, former #NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for Space Policy, and deep experience with defense space programs, classified and unclassified. Hey there, Listeners! If you enjoy The DownLink Podcast, please rate it and share. If you do, that will make it easier for others to to find this award-winning podcast. Thank you, Laura

Space Power: President-Elect Trump Expected To Supercharge U.S. Space Ambitions This week President Donald Trump, with the help of billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk, became the 47th President-Elect of the United States, for a second non-consecutive term. Space power advocates believe Trump, with the added influence of Musk by his side, will speed-up mission timelines that include the moon and Mars, and put monetary and political capital to work to establish and secure an American-led space economy. Laura winter speaks with the former Chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Pennsylvania Rep. (ret.) Robert Walker, now Founder and CEO of MoonWalker Associates; U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) Steve Kwast; now Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of SpaceBilt; and Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration and United States Department of Defense budget diviner.

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 United States Department of Defense wants, starved for cash and at risk. Laura Winter speaks with Robert (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.

"Over 25 percent of the attacks targeting some of these #space sector entities were against manufacturers, suppliers, and solutions that are linked to the actual space sector." - Hector Falcon, Space and Cyber Intelligence Integrator, Space-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) Space Competition: Threats and Trends A Year After October 7th In the year since Hamas launched its brutal attack in Israel, tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as technologies, and security alliances have evolved in the space domain of operations. 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 Hector Falcon, Space and Cyber Intelligence Integrator, Space-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space-ISAC).

Problem with YouTube If you are listening to The DownLink Podcast on YouTube, the latest episode, "Space Power: A National Guardsman’s View On Why A Pentagon Plan Is A “Lose-Lose Proposal”, has not posted. After some investigation, it has become clear that since Sunday, October 20, 2024, #YouTube has been experiencing technical issues, irregardless of where a podcast feed originates. If you are a YouTube user, you can hear the latest episode of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Pandora. YouTube has sent an automated email, but it does not correctly characterize the issue. It is unclear at this time whether YouTube is aware and if it is, what it is doing to rectify this problem and when that platform will be in working order. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Laura Winter Editor & Host

Space Power: A National Guardsman’s View On Why A Pentagon Plan Is A “Lose-Lose Proposal” Last week Air Force Gen. Steven Nordhaus assumed responsibility as the 30th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, inheriting a politically thorny issue: a piece of legislation that, if passed into law, would transfer Air National Guard #space units into the United States Space Force. This episode is about why some, possibly upwards of 80 percent, of the men and women who make up these units will not join the Space Force, which could leave the branch short of some critical capabilities. Laura Winter speaks with Lt. Col. Andrew Gold, Director of Strategic Plans, Colorado Air National Guard, and a space operator, who recently finished a deployment to Africa commanding the 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron.

?? ?? The DownLink Podcast is a WINNER!!! ?? ?? Best Cyber Security Submission!!! This award was was made possible by the generosity of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Other finalists included: Gerrard Cowan - Jane’s International Defence Review Andrea Neves - Antena 1 Portugal Mark Pomerleau - DefenseScoop Lee Willet - European Security & Defence Thomas Withington – European Security & Defence The award was given for a four-part podcast series, posted in February, detailing how Russia's invasion of Ukraine kicked off with a cyber attack on U.S.-owned space systems: The United States has deftly used Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to solidify alliances and reawaken idle supply chains, but not to advance cybersecurity policy and actions for commercial space systems, upon which the U.S. military and NATO rely to defend the nation and Europe. The Kremlin started its war in Ukraine with a simple, but masterful and far-reaching, cyberattack on a U.S.-owned space system. This four-part series looks at why that first salvo matters for today and beyond; current and future cyberattacks on space systems; and how the policy gaps weaken national security and deterrence. This four episode series started with "Space Money: When Nation States Target The Commercial Space Sector" (https://lnkd.in/es__ruj6) Thank you to: Viasat Nick Saunders, Chief Cybersecurity and Data Officer, Global Space Networks; Dan Bleier, PR and Communications Lead, Government Systems; Space ISAC Samuel Visner, Chair, Board of Directors Erin M. Miller, Executive Director Hector Falcon, Space and Cyber SME Red Balloon Security, Inc. Ang Cui, PhD, Founder, CEO & Chief Scientist Himanshu Kalra (he/him), COO And... Frank Backes, CEO, Capella Space Gregory Falco, LEED AP, Aerospace Security & Autonomy Asst. Prof, Cornell University Namrata Goswami, Independent Scholar, Professor, co-Author of "Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space" Sean S. Costigan PhD, Managing Director, Resilience Strategy, Red Sift The DownLink Podcast is a production of the Defense & Aerospace Report.

Space Tech: Talking To The Far Side of the #Moon On the Moon China’s ahead in the race to stake claims for lunar resources by the not-so-simple fact that it can communicate with its equipment on the far side, near the south pole. This week’s episode is about how ispace-U.S.’s Mission 3 could change the state of the race and establish the very communications network that will be necessary to create a lunar economy and secure it. Laura Winter speaks with Tyler Mundt, Mission Director, ispace-U.S.; Marchel Holle, U.S. Government Relations Lead, ispace-U.S.; Greg Johnson, Director of Business Development, SSC - Swedish Space Corporation; and George Pullen, Chief Economist, MilkyWayEconomy.

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 MilkyWayEconomy.

#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 LLC; Dr. Tomás Pe?a, Chief Technologist for Cyber Operations at L3Harris Technologies; and Samuel Visner, the Space ISAC Chairman.