Space Minds

This week SpaceNews is at the SmallSat Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss speaks with Gabe Zimmerman, Director, In-Space at Ursa Major. The conversation revolves around the small satellite industry’s evolving priorities, from balancing cost and reliability to overcoming persistent supply chain challenges. Zimmerman highlights the growing emphasis on...

This week SpaceNews is at the SmallSat Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss speaks with Todd Master, Chief Operating Officer of Umbra, about the evolving small satellite market, supply chain challenges, and the company’s expansion from SAR data services into satellite components. Master discusses shifting investment trends in the space industry, the i...

This week SpaceNews is at the SmallSat Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss speaks with Tom Walkinshaw, founder and CEO of Alba Orbital, a Scotland-based manufacturer specializing in pocket-sized satellites known as PocketQubes. Their discussion covers the growth of the small satellite sector, trends in satellite miniaturization, challenges of launch...

This week SpaceNews is at the SmallSat Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss speaks with Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited and a professor at the Surrey Space Institute of the University of Surrey. They discuss the growth of the small satellite industry from its first meeting in 1987 of just a few...

In this episode of Space Minds, host Jeff Foust moderates the panel "Evolution of Multi-Mission Orbital Vehicles" recorded live on July 24 at the AIAA Ascend conference. The Panelists include:- Colonel Owen Stephens, Director of Contracting, Space Rapid Capabilities Office, U.S. Space Force- Seth Lacy, Senior Scientist for Space Mobility and Precision Maneuver, AFRL, U.S. Space Force- Michael Cree...

n this week’s episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss speaks with SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer and Business Intelligence Manager Jason Rainbow about the white paper, Understanding the SpaceX-Era Economy, released from our new product brand SpaceNews Intelligence. The conversation kicks off with a deep dive into SpaceX’s overwhelming dominance in the launch market and explores how the company’s re...

In this bonus edition of Space Minds, host David Ariosto moderates the panel "Mission to Market: The Evolution of CLPS" at the AIAA Ascend conference. The panelists include: - Tim Crain, Chief Technology Officer, Intuitive Machines- Tyler Mundt, Executive Vice President, Engineering, ispace US- Thierry Klein, President, Bell Labs Solutions Research, Nokia Bell Labs.

In this bonus edition of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Robyn Gatens, NASA's Director for the International Space Station, live at the AIAA Ascend conference in Las Vegas on the status of the International Space Station, its planned decommissioning by 2030 and the expected follow-on commercial space stations.

In this week’s special episode of Space Minds coming to you a day early, host Mike Gruss speaks with Heather Pringle, CEO of the Space Foundation on the just released Space Report 2025 Q2 edition and the top three takeaways including the news that the global space economy hit a new record in 2024.They discuss the remarkable 7.8% annual growth rate, the rise of commercial space, and how key develop...

In this week’s episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss is joined by Matthew Weinzierl, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research at Harvard Business School, and Brendan Rosseau, Strategy Manager, New Glenn at Blue Origin, for a deep dive into the forces reshaping the global space economy as outlined in their book Space to Grow. Drawing from their new book Space to Gr...

In this week’s episode of Space Minds, award-winning science fiction author and physicist David Brin joins host David Ariosto for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of space, science, and humanity. From self-replicating probes and quantum sensing to moving Earth’s orbit and the true role of science fiction, Brin offers bold ideas grounded in decades of speculative thought and hard science....

In this week’s episode of Space Minds David Ariosto sits down Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute who explains why the Red Planet may hold answers about extraterrestrial life as well as our own origins. Our conversation explores the potential for life on Mars, the implications of exoplanet discoveries, and how AI is transforming our understanding of habitabilit...

In this week’s episode of Space Minds David Ariosto sits down with Chris Stott, Chair and CEO of Lonestar Data Holdings who explains how lunar storage could be humanity's best defense against a digital catastrophe. The discussions delves into the company’s efforts to establish data infrastructure beyond Earth, including the deployment of early-stage hardware and software in lunar orbit. Our conver...

In this week's episode of Space Minds, we explore how microgravity accelerates aging—and guest Dr. Nadia Maroouf shares her insights on the phenomenon and what she’s doing to help protect astronauts. Dr. Maroouf is a clinical scientist and analog astronaut. From simulating life on Mars at the Mars Desert Research Station to exploring healthcare technologies for astronauts, Dr. Maroouf shares h...

In this week's episode of Space Minds Retired Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw explains what it was like building a new military branch, the risks of commercial integration and the race to protect U.S. satellites in orbit. General Shaw shares some of the history on the formation of the Space Force and its cultural shift away from the Air Force, to the growing influence of commercial players like Spa...

In this week's episode of Space Minds Ashley Johnson, President and CFO of Planet, explains the company's ambitious goal to make global change visible, accessible and actionable. From imaging every point on the planet daily to leveraging AI and hyperspectral data, Ashley unpacks Planet’s mission to make global change visible, accessible, and actionable. She dives into the company's unique ability...

This is a bonus edition of Space Minds by SpaceNews. This week we’re at the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis where we’ll post episodes Monday through Wednesday. Our guest today is Devin Brande, Director, Commercial Operations, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He sits down with Chief Content and Strategy Officer Mike Gruss to break down the latest news and...

This is a bonus edition of Space Minds by SpaceNews. This week we’re at the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis where we’ll post episodes Monday through Wednesday. Our guest today is Keith Masback, Principal Consultant of Plum Run, LLC. He sits down with Chief Content and Strategy Officer Mike Gruss to break down the latest news and insights from the event.

This is a bonus edition of Space Minds by SpaceNews. This week we’re at the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis where we’ll post episodes Monday through Wednesday. Our guest today is Robert Cardillo, president of the Cardillo Group. He sits down with Chief Content and Strategy Officer Mike Gruss to break down the latest news and insights from the event.

This is a bonus edition of Space Minds by SpaceNews. This week we’re at the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis where we’ll record post episodes Monday through Wednesday. Our guest today is Ronda Schrenk, CEO of the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. She sits down with Chief Content and Strategy Officer Mike Gruss, to break down the latest news and insights from...

In this week's episode of Space Minds Mamta Patel Nagaraja - NASA's former associate chief scientist-offers an insider's look at how science priorities are set, what gets cut and what the future holds for research aboard the ISS and beyond. In our conversation with Nagaraja she reflects on her time at the agency, her unexpected layoff, and the broader implications of the current shift in the U.S....

In this week's episode of Space Minds, former Navy captain, shuttle astronaut, and current president of the Space Operating Group at ASRC Federal, Scooter Altman, reflects on his remarkable career—from performing stunts in Top Gun to commanding space missions—and shares his insights on why Mars represents humanity's next great leap. In the conversation Altman begins by sharing his experience perfo...

In this week's episode of Space Minds, Bhavya Lal, the former acting Chief Technologist at NASA explains how nuclear power could unlock humanity's next giant leap in space. Our interview with Bhavya Lal, a prominent voice in space policy, delves deeply into the conversation around nuclear power in space. It begins with a historical overview, citing projects like Orion and NERVA from the 19...

In this week's episode of Space Minds, Lori Garver, former NASA Deputy Administrator sits down with host David Ariosto. Garver describes what drives spaceflight-and what that means for the agency's shifting priorities. In this conversation Garver delves into the evolving landscape of U.S. space policy, particularly against the backdrop of political dynamics, commercialization, and shifting...

In this week's episode of Space Minds, Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society sits down with host David Ariosto. The conversation starts with Bill's journey but quickly pivots to the proposed science budget cuts at NASA.In this conversation, Bill Nye reflects on the current state of space exploration, describing it as the most exciting period since the Apollo era due to the surge in rocket...