Manifest Space with Morgan Brennan

This Valentine’s Day, Intuitive Machines will become the latest to attempt to launch and land the first commercial lander on the moon. The company is contracted for the mission by NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, following private held startup Astrobotic’s failed attempt under the same program last month. The SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch the Nova-C lunar lander into space the same day as the company’s one-year anniversary of its public debut. CEO Steve Altemus joins Morgan Brenna ahead of the mission to discuss what’s at stake with the IM-1 mission and outlook for the lunar economy.

For the first time ever, Hawaiian Airlines is rolling out WiFi services to passengers. Partnering with SpaceX, the airline will equip its first Airbus A-321 with free Starlink Internet service for passengers to use. In a rare interview, Starlink VP of Business Operations Chad Gibbs joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the rollout of Hawaiian Airline’s offering, a milestone for Elon Musk’s space startup and the broader market opportunity for the fast-growing satellite service.

For the first time ever, Hawaiian Airlines is rolling out WiFi services to passengers. Partnering with SpaceX, the airline will equip its first Airbus A-321 with free Starlink Internet service for passengers to use. On this episode, Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram joins Morgan Brennan to discusses the rollout, the decision to partner with SpaceX in April 2022, and how Hawaiian’s pending acquisition of Alaska Airlines will affect the company’s broadband ambitions.

Patriotism is cool again in the tech world, but venture capitalists are on the hunt for the next promising space & defense name to develop tech for the U.S. government. Andreessen Horowitz’s new thesis is American Dynamism, or investing in companies advancing U.S. interests including national security and space. General Partner David Ulevitch joins Morgan Brennan to discuss where he's seeing opportunity in the space economy...and where he's not.

Space has transformed from a peacetime domain to a military one, spurring space startups to target warfighting demand. The niche of defense tech and national security space startups is gaining investor interest, with True Anomaly a recent benefactor. CEO Even Rogers joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the $100M Series B funding round it closed in December and his outlook for the first of its satellite launches later this year.

NASA, in addition to its space exploration, has been instrumental in the innovation and development of air travel. Announcing a new partnership with Archer Aviation, the space agency & aircraft-maker will develop high-performance battery cells for electric aircraft -and potentially spacecraft. Archer Aviation CEO Adam Goldstein joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the partnership.

John Deere is partnering with SpaceX to use Starlink, its space-based internet service to elevate its digital solutions. The heavy-equipment heavyweight has invested billions of dollars to develop digital products & services for farmers. Starlink will connect agriculture machines to internet in remote, low-connectivity areas. CTO Jahmy Hindman joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the terms of the deal, working with SpaceX and the industry-first deal.

In this engaging conversation, Alex Greenberg, Co-founder and COO of Loft Orbital, shares insights from the cutting-edge company specializing in space infrastructure as a service. He explains how Loft Orbital is revolutionizing access to space by allowing businesses to run applications and gather data without hefty investments in hardware. They discuss their unique 'mission as a service' model, collaborations with tech giants like Microsoft, and the intense demand for real-time satellite data. Greenberg also outlines the competitive landscape in the satellite industry.

In its maiden flight, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur lifted off from Cape Canaveral in its first-ever flight and launched the U.S.’s first lunar landing attempt since the Apollo era. For ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, this was a pivotal mission—and the beginning of a new era for the company in a rapidly shifting launch environment. ULA CEO Tory Bruno joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the maiden mission, the company’s plan for Vulcan, and reports of ULA being on the sale block.

The upcoming liftoff of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket is historic for a number of reasons: the first flight of the megarocket will also carry a payload aiming for the first-ever private moon landing. The Peregrine lunar lander was manufactured by Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based robotics company founded in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon scientists. Aiming to be the “Moon company and more,” Astrobotic’s first mission will carry 20 payloads, including 5 from NASA’S Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. On this episode, Morgan Brennan sits down with Astrobotic Technology CEO John Thornton ahead of the historic launch.