Manifest Space with Morgan Brennan

Once the stuff of science fiction, moon mining is getting government backing. Seattle-based startup Interlune—a previous guest of the podcast— came out of stealth last year. Its mission: to harvest resources from the moon. Now, they’re ready to announce their first customers. The Department of Energy has purchased three liters of lunar-extracted helium-3 for a delivery by 2029. A nuclear energy byproduct, Helium-3 is useful for cryogenics, medical equipment and fusion power—but its scarcity comes with a hefty price tag at $20 million per kilogram. Interlune CEO Rob Meyerosn joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the massive opportunity in moon mining.

True Anomaly has just raised $260 million in a Series C funding round. The company, which develops spacecraft that can maneuver each other in orbit, will use the capital to ramp up production and support future missions. Co-founder & CEO Even Rogers joins Morgan Brennan to discuss securing and defending space.

April has been one of the stock market’s most tumultuous months ever. While defense and aerospace haven’t been entirely immune—as government spending on initiatives like space security rises, those boasting government contracts have proven to be safe havens for investors. Andrew Chanin, the co-founder & CEO of ProcureAM, is one of the minds behind the first-ever ETF fully dedicated to space stocks. He joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the investing landscape, the space economy, and where he sees opportunity in the volatility.

Parth Trivedi, CEO and co-founder of Skylo, reveals his insights on the burgeoning space-based communications market. He explains how Skylo's technology connects cell phones to satellites using standard cellular chipsets, bypassing the need for specialized hardware. The conversation shifts to the rising demand for satellite connectivity across industries like automotive and IoT, and how collaborations with tech giants enhance mobile experiences. Trivedi also highlights the competition with Starlink and Amazon in shaping the future of connectivity.

After an eight day spaceflight turned into a 286-day space odyssey, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on Earth. The “stranded” NASA astronauts flew home in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, instead of the Boeing Starliner which carried them to the I.S.S. last June. Williams and Wilmore join Morgan Brennan to discuss the return to Earth, Boeing Starliner and the future of human spaceflight.

The U.S. Space Force has tapped Rocket Lab and startup Stoke Space to join the National Security Space Launch program as part of NSSL’s Phase 3 Lane 1 category. For Rocket Lab, it represents a big opportunity for its new Neutron rocket, a medium-lift vehicle under development. Founder & CEO Peter Beck joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the new award, the timeline for Neutron, and Rocket Lab’s company outlook.

Apex Space, a satellite manufacturing startup is celebrating on year of its satellite on orbit this month. Founded in 2022, the startup’s goal is to ease the production process of off-the-shelf satellite buses that help customers shift risk and money from making spacecraft to focusing on the missions they want to conduct. A member of Anduril Technologies’ “Super Friends” establishing a new American industrial base, the company secured as $46 million U.S. Space Force contract last month. CEO Ian Cinnamon joins Morgan Brennan to celebrate the milestone, challenges within the spacecraft supply chain, and how Trump 2.0 will tackle space policy.

Planet Labs marked its first quarter of profitability by adjusted EBITDA. The satellite imagery and earth observation data company saw its backlog surge in the fiscal fourth quarter by 115%. Co-founder, Chair & CEO Will Marshall joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the quarter and why he sees the company as being at an inflection point.

Andy Lowery, CEO of Epirus, leads a company at the forefront of electronic warfare specializing in drone disruption. He discusses the recent $250 million funding round aimed at scaling production and the urgent need for rapid innovation in defense tech. The conversation highlights the shift from service-oriented defense solutions to product innovation, emphasizing strategic military applications of their groundbreaking electromagnetic defenses. Lowery also delves into challenges posed by supply chain issues and trade wars impacting critical components.

Firefly Aerospace has made history with its commercial lunar lander Blue Ghost making a soft landing over the weekend—the second private operation to ever do so, and the first to do it without complications. The mission involved five payloads collected valuable data. CEO Jason Kim joins Morgan Brennan to discuss Blue Ghost’s successful soft landing, the company’s upcoming plans to launch its Alpha rocket and potentially launching lunar missions to Mars.