Navigating the Impact of Reputation on Space Industry Dynamics

Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble.

Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Tim wrote about Donald Trump’s NASA budget and Jared Isaacman’s confirmation hearing.
• The Wall Street Journal wrote about Elon Musk’s plans to get NASA to refocus on Mars.
• Trump’s proposed budget aims to cut NASA’s science budget by 47% as part of a larger 24% cut to the agency’s top-line funding.
• SpaceX’s Starship rocket is running into serious problems.

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