The DownLink Podcast

This episode comes to you from SatShow’25 in Washington, D.C., where European space companies say the uncertainty of the Trump Administration’s economic and security policies are creating a golden opportunity for their businesses and technology development. Laura Winter speaks with Declan Ganley, CEO Rivada; Ed Tate, CTO, VIrtus Solis; Martin Soltau, co-Founder and co-CEO, Space Solar.

The Trump administration’s 25% tariffs and counter trade restrictions have kicked in, slapping small and medium sized space businesses with an economic shock that will be felt through the entire supply chain. There are solutions to lessen the pain from prime contractors and even the federal government if you know where to look. Laura winter speaks with Bailey Reichelt, , Founding Partner, Aegis Law, and Member of the Board of Directors, Association Of Commercial Space Professionals; Megan Moloney, Associate Director, Defense and Security, Guidehouse, and co-chair of the Space-ISAC Supply Chain Working Group; and Brian Joyal, CEO, Veridiam, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer providing critical components and assemblies to space sector prime contractors.

In the next seven days there will be two attempts by commercial space companies to land on the moon, tariffs slapped on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, and U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver a speech to a joint session of congress. While Europe reels over the Oval Office incident with the Ukraine's head of state, what’s the view from the Indo Pacific of Trump’s policies? 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 Malcolm Davis, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute focusing on space policy, security, strategy, and capability development.

Mass firings or the threat of them hang over national space-related agencies and are expected to expand to the Department of Defense, while a report outlining just how to develop and deploy President Donald Trump’s mostly space-based missile shield is being drafted. Critical questions about policy, funding, and who in the DoD will ultimately be responsible for this grand program remain unanswered. Laura Winter speaks with Doug Loverro, President, Loverro Consulting, LLC, former NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for Space Policy; and Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA and Defense Department budget diviner.

The Department of Defense has less than six weeks to submit a plan for how it will build and launch the “Iron Dome for America”, President Donald Trump’s concept of a mostly space-based missile defense shield. The DOD is reaching out to industry for ideas, but what should the technology priorities be? Laura Winter speaks with Roger Lenard, a NASA and DOD consultant, and a Strategic Defense Initiative veteran, who led the classified Timber Wind Nuclear Rocket program, and the Lightweight Exoatmospheric Projectile (LEAP) program; and Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, and co-Author of the book “The Next Space Race: A Blueprint for American Primacy”.

This week, while goods from Canada and Mexico received a month-long reprieve from a 25% tariff, Chinese goods have been slapped with an additional 10% import duty, or tax. Because the policy contains no carve-outs for the minerals or rare earths critical to space systems, space companies may need to brace for a serious bite on their budgets and business plans. Laura Winter speaks with Bryan Zetlen, Launch and Payloads Operations Manager, Virtus Solis Technologies, Lecturer, and Engineer with deep experience at NASA, the Federal Communications Commission, Boeing, and Rand; and Bailey Reichelt, Founding Partner, Aegis Law, and Member of the Board of Directors, Association Of Commercial Space Professionals.

This week President Donald Trump issued an executive order called “The Iron Dome For America”, which calls for a space-based missile shield. This order is expected to have huge ramifications for arms control in space, technology development, and the U.S. Space Force, should the U.S. Congress fund what would be a technically challenging and expensive program. Laura Winter speaks with Joel Mozer, who retired from a decades-long career in government service after serving as the first United States Space Force Director of Science, Technology and Research; and Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, and co-Author of the book “The Next Space Race: A Blueprint for American Primacy”, but after a special Space Threat update from Hector Falcon, Watch Center Director, Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

While the flurry of executive orders coming from the newly installed Trump Administration is unsettling folks near and abroad, the first U.S. Space Force Chief Scientist wants us to focus on what is strategic: Avoiding technology surprise. Laura Winter speaks with Joel Mozer, who retired from a decades-long career in government service after serving as the first United States Space Force Director of Science, Technology and Research.

President-elect Donald Trump has just named as his Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, who has a deep background in space and defense. What will he need to succeed from the incoming administration and Congress? Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA and Defense Department budget diviner; and Sarah Mineiro, Founder & CEO, Tanagra Enterprises, Senior Associate, Aerospace Security Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and self-described “Hill Rat”.

Almost all national economic signals are looking good as the nation prepares for a presidential transition to a more “space-minded” administration under Donald Trump. As the incoming president established the U.S. Space Force five years ago, the belief is he could double that service branch’s budget to solidify his legacy and infuse cash into the U.S.-based space economy. Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.