Traders and investors are feeling whipsawed this week, but those who hold notes in space companies are seemingly immune. Space companies, especially infrastructure business cases, are seeing steady and huge gains in value. Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

At the Space Force Association’s Space Power Conference, major announcements were few, but there were clues pointing to imminent strategic developments. Laura Winter speaks with U.S. Space Force Col. (ret.) Charles Galbreath, Director and Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence (MI-SPACE).

President Donald Trump issued a course-setting presidential executive order on Thursday that looks more like the national space strategy for which many, in and out of government and across a myriad of space-related sectors, have been waiting. Laura Winter speaks with Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, who is also the author of three books, the latest of which is “Space Shock: 18 Threats That Will Define Space Power”.

While the U.S. government remains shut and the NASADQ is getting hammered, Chad Anderson of Space Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests exclusively in space-based technologies, says the space market “has fundamentally matured”. Laura Winter speaks with Chad Anderson, CEO, Founder, and Managing Partner of Space Capital.

The Department of Defense roll-out of the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program has far-ranging implications for the defense industrial base, including the space sector, that includes all prime contractors and sub-contractors. Laura Winter speaks with US Air Force Retired Col. Steven Shirley, the Executive Director of the National Defense ISAC, and former Executive Director of the DoD Cyber Crime Center (DC3).

This week’s guest says, “ The purpose of science and technology research, in the military, is to make the fight unfair.” So what’s standing in our way? Laura Winter speaks with Richard Joseph, the 36th Air Force Chief Scientist, who has a CV that includes the Strategic Defense Initiative, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and NASA.

Could pre-positioning mission-critical cargo in Low Earth Orbit, to be summoned and sent to a place and time of the U.S. military’s choosing, in under an hour, solve logistical bottlenecks in times of need? Inversion Space and its investors are betting on it. Laura Winter speaks with Justin Fiaschetti, Inversion Space’s Co-Founder and CEO.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to spend €35B, or $41B, on space assets and technologies, including satellites with active defense capabilities. This is huge. Laura Winter speaks with Antje Nötzold, a Senior Researcher at the University of the Federal Armed Forces; and Torsten Kriening, CEO and Publisher of SpaceWatch.Global, and host of Space Cafe podcast.

There’s no Golden Dome requirements shopping list yet, but with an expected $40 billion for FY 2026 the U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations is thinking about how to spend now for the fight tonight and what will be needed by 2040. Appearing in this episode from the Air, Space, Cyber conference are Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, Commander, Space Systems Command Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant. Laura Winter breaks it down with Todd Harrison, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Representatives from Australia’s burgeoning quantum technology sector are making the rounds, meeting with venture capitalists, U.S. companies, as well as state and federal government officials. Among the subjects discussed are defense, space, and opportunity. Laura Winter speaks with Martin O’Connor, COO, QuantX Labs; Jim Rabeau, CEO and Co-Founder, Deteqt; and Daniel Hunter, Partnership Development Manager, Quantum Australia.