Space Minds

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss talks with Dr. Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo about what he calls "almost a watershed year" for the Space Development Agency. Sandhoo breaks down SDA’s major technical breakthroughs in 2025—ranging from successful hypersonic missile tracking in low Earth orbit to demonstrating space-based Link 16 tactical communications and completing the first-ever optical...

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss moderates a timely panel discussion at the Spacepower conference on how commercial space capabilities are reshaping national security, civil space, and military decision-making. Joined by Luke Fischer (CEO and co-founder, SkyFi), Bob Pavelko (Intuitive Machines), and Bradley Cheetham (CEO and co-founder, Advanced Space), the conversation explores wha...

In this episode of Space Minds, host Sandra Erwin sits down with former NASA astronaut and Space Force leader Brig. Gen. Nick Hague for a wide-ranging conversation on how the U.S. Space Force is shaping its culture, training Guardians, and preparing for future conflict in space. Hague reflects on his journey from the International Space Station to the Pentagon, where he now helps oversee operation...

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss sits down with Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, one of the U.S. Space Force’s most influential acquisition leaders and recipient of the SpaceNews Icon Award for Military Space Achievement. Purdy discusses how 2025 is shaping up to be a defining year for Space Systems Command (SSC) and why this past year represented a major shift toward the “ground game”—soft...

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss sits down with Matt Magaña, president of space, defense and national Security at Voyager Technologies, to explore one of the most consequential national security space stories of 2025: Golden Dome. Magaña lays out why this initiative represents a major inflection point for U.S. missile defense, requiring a truly integrated system-of-systems approach...

In this episode of Space Minds, former NASA commercial space division chief Phil McAlister sits down with host David Ariosto for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of human spaceflight, NASA’s internal culture, and the explosive growth of the commercial space sector. McAlister spent nearly 20 years inside NASA, helping spearhead programs like Commercial Crew and COTS, which paved the way...

In this episode of Space Minds, Senior Staff Writer Jeff Foust moderates a panel at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, the next installment of the Center’s Discovery Series. The panel brings together leaders from Astrobotic, Apex, Johns Hopkins APL and Stoke Space to explore how ideas once confined to the pages of science fiction are rapidly becoming reality. From commercial lunar land...

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss sits down with Marshall Smith, CEO of Starlab Space for a fireside chat at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, the next installment of the Center’s Discovery Series. In the fireside chat, they explored how today’s commercial space pioneers are turning concepts once rooted in science fiction into operational reality. Smith reflects on his p...

In this episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Jim Bridenstine, former NASA Administrator and U.S. Congressman, who oversaw the launch of the Artemis program—America’s renewed effort to return astronauts to the Moon. Now Managing Partner of the Artemis Group, Bridenstine discusses the intersection of politics, policy, and innovation shaping the modern space race. From government sh...

In this episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Max Haot, CEO of Vast, the ambitious aerospace company based in Long Beach, California, one of a very few companies working diligently towards the first commercial space station. Just days after the successful launch of Vast’s pathfinder mission, Haot shares what it was like to see their Haven demo spacecraft come to life in orbit — fr...

In this episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Doug Hendrix, co-founder and CEO of ExoAnalytic Solutions — a company born from three physicists’ passion for solving hard problems in space. Hendrix shares how ExoAnalytic grew from missile defense algorithms to building a global telescope network that tracks thousands of objects in orbit, providing vital insights into space debris, c...

In this episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Terry Hart, former NASA astronaut and mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger. Hart reflects on the triumphs of early shuttle missions, the lessons of the Challenger tragedy, and how those experiences shape today’s commercial space era led by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Now a professor at Lehigh University, Hart s...

On this episode of Space Minds, SpaceNews China correspondent Andrew Jones joins host Mike Gruss to unpack China’s year‑end sprint in space: expected tests tied to Long March 10 and a new crew spacecraft, up to eight maiden commercial launches from firms like Landspace and Space Pioneer alongside CASC’s Long March‑12A, and the state‑backed funding push behind national mega‑constellations. He also...

In this week’s episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss speaks with Robert Lightfoot, president, space at Lockheed Martin and former NASA associate administrator. Lightfoot takes us inside the company’s large space portfolio — from building weather and GPS satellites to advancing missile defense and next-generation interceptors. He shares how Lockheed is adapting to faster, more agile ways of worki...

This week’s episode guest is Steve Kitay — former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, former head of Microsoft’s space initiatives, and now Senior Vice President for Space Defense at True Anomaly. The conversations takes us inside a rapidly shifting orbital landscape, where national security, commercial innovation, and geopolitical competition collide. From China’s accelerating...

In this week's episode of Space Minds SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Julien Lamamy, Managing Director of ispace Europe from the World Space Business Week in Paris. Julien shares how the company is developing cost-efficient lunar exploration — from testing and launching its first rover to preparing MAGPIE, a groundbreaking European mission to study hydrogen on the Moon. We discuss how “new...

In this episode, SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Pacome Revillon, CEO of Novaspace. They discuss the accelerating race in direct-to-device satellite communications, the surge in defense spending and dual-use technologies, and the growing role of sovereignty in global space strategies. Revillon also shares insights on consolidation trends within the industry, the future of AI in space applic...

In this episode, SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Brian O'Toole, CEO of BlackSky. The conversation dives into BlackSky’s latest contract win with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the growing role of AI in geospatial intelligence, and the race to deliver near real-time imagery from space. O’Toole also shares insights on sovereign space capabilities, commercial opportunities beyond...

In this episode, SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Peter Cannito, CEO of Redwire. They discuss the future of the European space market, Redwire’s expanding footprint, and the growing intersection of space and defense technology. From strategic acquisitions in Europe to investments in autonomy and software, Cannito outlines how Redwire is positioning itself as a nimble, mid-sized player bridgi...

In this episode, SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Mina Mitry, CEO of Kepler Communications. They discuss Kepler’s groundbreaking optical communications test — the first ever to connect an aircraft and a spacecraft via laser link. Mitry explains why this milestone matters for defense, border monitoring, and the future of real-time data transfer. The conversation also explores Kepler’s role in...

In this episode, SpaceNews editor Mike Gruss talks with Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency. They discuss Europe’s case for greater investment in space, the growing role of defense and security in ESA’s agenda, and the ambitious budget negotiations ahead of November’s ministerial conference. From dual-use technologies to new launch competition and commercial partnership...

Space Minds host Mike Gruss is joined by SpaceNews senior writer Jeff Foust to break down the surprising appointment of Sean Duffy as NASA’s Acting Administrator. From his unexpected dual role as Secretary of Transportation to his growing influence on the Artemis program, nuclear power on the Moon, and NASA’s embattled budget, Duffy has quickly become a central—if unconventional—figure in U.S. spa...

In this week’s episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Riley Duren, CEO of Carbon Mapper and veteran of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Duren discusses how his nonprofit is harnessing cutting-edge satellite technology to track methane and carbon dioxide emissions—the “super pollutants” driving climate change. He explains Carbon Mapper’s mission to make greenhouse gas data visible...

Space Minds host David Ariosto speaks with Will Bruey, CEO and co-founder of Varda Space Industries. Varda is pushing the boundaries of drug development by leveraging microgravity to create new formulations not possible on Earth, bringing them back through its own reentry vehicles. In our conversation, Bruey explains why the economics of launch and manufacturing have finally made this business via...

Space Minds speaks with Al Tadros of Redwire, to explore the future of space infrastructure. From the growing role of private investment in orbit to breakthroughs in bioprinting and pharmaceuticals in microgravity, Tadros explains why this is one of the most exciting times in the history of space. He also discusses the balance between civil, commercial, and national security missions, and how comp...