The SpaceX IPO didn’t create the appetite for space investment — it revealed it. Laura Winter speaks with Kevin O’Connell, Founder and CEO, Space Economy Rising; former Director, Office of Space Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce.

SpaceX went public on June 12, 2026, in the largest IPO in history, valuing the rocket, satellite broadband communications, and AI company at $1.77 trillion. Laura Winter speaks with Chris Quilty, Founder and CEO of Quilty Space, George Pullen, Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy, and Lou Whiteman, stock analyst at The Motley Fool.

“Without rockets, nothing is going to happen.” In the five years since Taiwan’s Space Development Act, that island has started to build-out satellite constellations, a launch site, and has just received its first-ever invitation from NASA to contribute directly to the Artemis lunar program. Deterrence and remaining independent from the PRC is also a driver. Laura Winter speaks with Dr. Wu Jong-Shinn, Director General, Taiwan Space Agency (TASA).

Citing China’s possible mission to send Taikonauts around the moon, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told AIAA’s ASCEND conference attendees that the launch cadence to the moon must increase. Laura Winter speaks with Clay Mowry, CEO of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and immediate past president of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

Space-based solar power promises clean, dependable energy beamed from orbit to Earth — but does the business case close? That debate starts here. Laura Winter speaks with George Pullen, Chief Space Economist, Milky Way Economy; Martin Soltau, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Space Solar; and Richard Winslade, Chief Financial Officer, Space Solar.

Russian satellites recently maneuvered to within three meters of each other in low Earth orbit — a stark reminder that space is a warfighting domain and that the race to build resilient satellite constellations has never been more urgent. Lockheed Martin subsidiary Terran Orbital is building the satellite buses for the Space Development Agency’s missile-tracking architecture — one tranche at a time. Laura Winter speaks with Peter Krauss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Terran Orbital.

The White House has nominated Lieutenant General Doug Schiess to become the third U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations. This nomination comes at a critical juncture, as allies race to develop sovereign space capabilities to reduce — or altogether avoid — dependence on the United States and its commercial service providers. Laura Winter speaks with Pacôme Révillon, CEO of Novaspace.

The Trump Administration is asking Congress to more than double the Space Force budget — but with billions flowing to classified programs and a missile defense shield still under development, the real question is whether this is a strategy or a very expensive bet. Laura Winter speaks with Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, and much respected NASA and Defense Department budget diviner; and Sam Wilson, Director, Strategy and Program Support, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, at The Aerospace Corporation.

The U.S. Space Force revealed what it thinks could be the threats, where those threats are located, and what it will need by 2040. The revelations will not only serve the service branch, but should guide C-suites, entrepreneurs, investors, and technologists for years to come. Laura Winter speaks with Joel Mozer, the first Chief Scientist of the U.S. Space Force; and Peter Garretson, Senior Fellow in Defense Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council and author of three books on space power, the latest of which is “Space Shock: 18 Threats That Will Define Space Power.”

Artemis II is on its way to the Moon — the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years. Private credit is flashing warning signs, and SpaceX just filed for the largest IPO in history. The numbers, as one guest puts it, are “crazy pants.” Laura Winter speaks with The DownLink regulars Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space; and George Pullen, Partner and Chief Economist at MilkyWayEconomy.