The Downlink

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The Downlink [Apr 21, 25] Space Power: Space Force Is Using Fighting Words!

This week the U.S. Space Force let a linguistic genie out of the bottle. The newest service branch published a 22-page guide for planners called “Space Warfighting”, that ditches soft elocution and takes up words like “destroy”, “terrestrial strike”, and “counterattack”. What does this mean for culture; training and education; research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E); acquisition; and the Space Force’s place in the Joint Force? In addition to a roundtable discussion with Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs and Requirements, Laura Winter speaks with Charles Galbreath, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence.

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The Downlink [Apr 13, 25] Space Tech: Don’t Forget The Ground!

While the 40th Space Symposium’s theme was “Building Partnerships to Secure our Future”, everyone in Colorado Springs, Colorado was talking about building President Trump’s Next Generation Missile Defense Shield, a.k.a.: “Golden Dome For America.” This week’s guest cautions us that you cannot have a space-based missile defense shield without the ground segment. Laura Winter speaks with Mark Henrie, Divisional Vice President, Amentum Missile Defense Group, and Deputy Program Manager, Integrated Research & Development Enterprise Solution.

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The Downlink [Apr 06, 25] Space Money: Trump’s Wild “Independence Day” Ride Has Arrived!

The second quarter has opened with U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Independence Day” tariffs, causing Wall Street to suffer its worst days in years. The U.S.-based space economy does not have immunity from the Trump Administration’s trade policies or the markets. Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.

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The Downlink [Mar 30, 25] Space Competition: European Commission Urges EU To Spend Big On Defense And Space

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is proposing to leverage €800 billion to rebuild Europe’s defense industrial base, and seed new defense capability development, including space capabilities. In the justification paper, even the words “space warfare” were used. To understand what this all means for space and defense in Europe, Laura Winter speaks with Antje Nötzold, lecturer and research associate at the Chair of International Politics at Chemnitz University of Technology; Lina Pohl, Research Fellow at European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) seconded by German Space Agency (DLR).

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The Downlink [Mar 23, 25] Space Power: Size Matters – A Star Wars Physicist’s Take On Golden Dome

It doesn’t take much mass, just a fleck of paint, to punch a hole into a satellite or an intercontinental ballistic missile. This week’s guest thinks the technology for an AI-controlled space-based kill vehicle, that is also small and lean enough to make room for the fuel needed for speed, is close at hand if the Department of Defense wishes to seize it. Laura Winter speaks with Arno Ledebuhr, a physicist, who worked on the Strategic Defense Initiative’s space-based ballistic missile defense system Brilliant Pebbles, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under Lowell Wood and Edward Teller.

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The Downlink [Mar 16, 25] Space Tech: U.S. Uncertainty CreateS Opportunity For Europe’s Space Sector

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.

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The Downlink [Mar 09, 25] Space Money: Tariffs and Scarcity Equal Economic Shock

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.

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The Downlink [Mar 02, 25] Space Tech: Space Competition: Indo-Pacific Unclear on What To Make of Trump’s Space and Security Policies

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 Donld 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”; Malcolm Davis, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute focusing on space policy, security, strategy, and capability development.

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The Downlink [Feb 21, 25] Space Power: Eggs Prices Vs. Trump’s Iron Dome

Mass firings hit 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.

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The Downlink [Feb 16, 25] Space Tech: What Tech Is Required To Make Trump’s “Iron Dome” Work In 685 Days?

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”.

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