The wake of the U.S.-led bombing campaign of Iran – Operation Epic Fury – has rattled markets around the world and inspired some public equity investors to adjust their positions and to more critically assess space companies with a speculative return on investment. Laura Winter speaks with Lou Whiteman, a space investor and a Motley Fool stock analyst covering aerospace and defense.

Finally, the U.S. Congress passed and U.S. President Donald Trump signed off on the U.S. Space Force’s $26 billion 2026 budget. And, the Space Force Association has a new CEO. Laura Winter speaks with U-S Air Force Brigadier General (Ret.) Damon Feltman, CEO, Space Force Association (SFA), who was the Mobilization Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs, Requirements, and Analysis; and with Steve Jordan Tomaszewski, Vice President of Space Systems at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).

Australia and the United States have been close allies for more than seven decades, but with the old rules-based world order disappearing, Australia needs to shape and fund its national defense and space ambitions to fit the times. Laura Winter speaks with Malcolm Davis, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, who focuses on space policy, security, strategy, and capability development.

While President Donald Trump cites the Golden Dome missile defense shield program as the reason for seeking sovereignty over Greenland, congressional appropriators complain they have too little knowledge on the program’s progress. It’s been 12 months since the presidential executive order kicked-off the Golden Dome effort. Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Washington, D.C.’s favorite defense budget Yoda.

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).