Manifest Space with Morgan Brennan

As the number of spacecraft has skyrocketed, so has the risk of collision. Morpheus Space, a space mobility startup, is looking to change the model around maneuvering satellites. CEO Daniel Bock joins Morgan Brennan to break down the one-stop satellite services shop—and building a subscription model to do so. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information abo...

Terran Orbital, a small satellite maker which went public in a SPAC deal in early 2022, received an unsolicited takeover offer from supplier and investor Lockheed Martin last Friday. The defense prime already owns 28% of the company and now wants to buy the company in a deal valued just under $600 million—significantly below the market valuation when the company first went public at $1.8 billion....

Lunar services company Intuitive Machines made history as the first company to successfully land a private spacecraft on the moon. After a wild ride involving a nailbiter of a slightly titled, but soft landing—the spacecraft Odysseus went to sleep as lunar night sets in and is bound to freeze key components. Co-founder & CEO Steve Altemus joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the technical challenges, t...

As commercial space makes its mark on the moon, spacecrafts’ power sources are coming under scrutiny. Solar powered spacecraft freeze upon sunset—but the problem may become obsolete in several years as more nuclear-powered alternatives come to market. Zeno Power co-founder & CEO Tyler Bernstein joins CNBC’s Morgan Brennan to discuss repurposing nuclear waste for fuel, the role of nuclear power in...

As launch costs have dropped and orbital activity rises, the government is taking on more responsibility to keep pace. The NOAA, the Commerce Department’s arm to oversee commercial remote sensing, has expanded dramatically since taking over non-military space tracking from the Department of Defense. NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce Director Richard DalBello joins Morgan Brennan to discuss regulator...

This Valentine’s Day, Intuitive Machines will become the latest to attempt to launch and land the first commercial lander on the moon. The company is contracted for the mission by NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, following private held startup Astrobotic’s failed attempt under the same program last month. The SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch the Nova-C lunar lander...

For the first time ever, Hawaiian Airlines is rolling out WiFi services to passengers. Partnering with SpaceX, the airline will equip its first Airbus A-321 with free Starlink Internet service for passengers to use. In a rare interview, Starlink VP of Business Operations Chad Gibbs joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the rollout of Hawaiian Airline’s offering, a milestone for Elon Musk’s space startup...

For the first time ever, Hawaiian Airlines is rolling out WiFi services to passengers. Partnering with SpaceX, the airline will equip its first Airbus A-321 with free Starlink Internet service for passengers to use. On this episode, Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram joins Morgan Brennan to discusses the rollout, the decision to partner with SpaceX in April 2022, and how Hawaiian’s pending acquisi...

Patriotism is cool again in the tech world, but venture capitalists are on the hunt for the next promising space & defense name to develop tech for the U.S. government. Andreessen Horowitz’s new thesis is American Dynamism, or investing in companies advancing U.S. interests including national security and space. General Partner David Ulevitch joins Morgan Brennan to discuss where he's seeing oppor...

Space has transformed from a peacetime domain to a military one, spurring space startups to target warfighting demand. The niche of defense tech and national security space startups is gaining investor interest, with True Anomaly a recent benefactor. CEO Even Rogers joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the $100M Series B funding round it closed in December and his outlook for the first of its satellite...

NASA, in addition to its space exploration, has been instrumental in the innovation and development of air travel. Announcing a new partnership with Archer Aviation, the space agency & aircraft-maker will develop high-performance battery cells for electric aircraft -and potentially spacecraft. Archer Aviation CEO Adam Goldstein joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the partnership. Hosted by Simplecast,...

John Deere is partnering with SpaceX to use Starlink, its space-based internet service to elevate its digital solutions. The heavy-equipment heavyweight has invested billions of dollars to develop digital products & services for farmers. Starlink will connect agriculture machines to internet in remote, low-connectivity areas. CTO Jahmy Hindman joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the terms of the deal,...

What if you could get access to space to run applications or collect data without building your own hardware or launching a spacecraft to orbit? Loft Orbital is setting out to provide space infrastructure as a service, running some of its satellites currently in orbit and aiming to conduct “virtual missions.” Loft Orbital Co-Founder & COO Alex Greenberg joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the company’...

In its maiden flight, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur lifted off from Cape Canaveral in its first-ever flight and launched the U.S.’s first lunar landing attempt since the Apollo era. For ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, this was a pivotal mission—and the beginning of a new era for the company in a rapidly shifting launch environment. ULA CEO Tory Bruno joins Morgan...

The upcoming liftoff of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket is historic for a number of reasons: the first flight of the megarocket will also carry a payload aiming for the first-ever private moon landing. The Peregrine lunar lander was manufactured by Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based robotics company founded in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon scientists. Aiming to be the “Moon company and more,” Astrobotic’s first...

As commercial space has taken off in the 21st century, so too has popular interest in. As demand for talent rises, advocacy organizations like the Aerospace Industries Association are focused on converting that interest into a bigger talent pipeline. CEO Eric Fanning joins Morgan Brennan from the Reagan National Defense Forum to discuss space policy, national security concerns, and education. Host...

Stratolaunch’s giant airplane conducted its first-ever captive-carry flight with a fueled hypersonic test vehicle. The 12th flight for the company’s Roc launch platform, the mission brings the startup closer to the first powered flight of the Talon-A. CEO Zach Krevor joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the recent milestone, hypersonic flight’s total addressable market and the acquisition of the now-de...

Venture capital is creeping back into the space sector, with Ursa Major raising $138 million in Series D and D-1 rounds. Capital from the likes of RTX Ventures, BlackRock, Explorer 1 Fund & more will help the rocket propulsion startup to produce engines for rocket launches, hypersonic vehicles – and enable expansion into a new defense-focused market. Founder & CEO Joe Laurienti joins Morgan Brenna...

With geopolitical tensions strained, Morgan Brennan sits down with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall from the Reagan National Defense Forum to discuss AI on the battlefield, the race to secure space & more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Massimino, serving as a NASA astronaut until 2014, has a slew of accomplishments: the first human to tweet from space, the last astronaut to work inside the Hubble Telescope and the speculated inspiration for George Clooney’s role in “Gravity.” He’s now out with a book, titled Moonshot, with the greatest lessons learned from his experiences. Massimino joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the book...

While space is awe-inspiring and technologically groundbreaking, is it investable? Venture capitalist Tess Hatch, who has invested in space startups like Rocket Lab and Spire Global, is pausing her commercial space investments and setting sights on a related industry: defense tech. She joins Morgan Brennan to make the case for the strategic pivot and venture outlook. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWi...

Commercial space regulation law is on the House of Representatives’ docket — but what needs to be regulated? The White House and House Science, Space and Technology Committee have both unveiled their proposals for simplifying government oversight of the commercial space sector; with two different takes on how to approach the space. Morgan Brennan sits down with Caryn Schenewerk, former SpaceX & Re...

After a complex mission failure involving its Electron rocket in mid-September, Rocket Lab now expects to resume launches as soon as the end of November. An launch by year-end is pivotal for the company as it looks ahead to 22 Electron missions on the manifest in 2024. Morgan Brennan sits down with co-founder & CEO Peter Beck to discuss the upcoming mission cadence, the latest on Neutron, space sy...

After striking a partnership with satellite communications company Iridium, Qualcomm has backed out of the deal. Scrapping its SnapDragon satellite plans, Qualcomm noted in a statement that smartphone makers have “indicated a preference towards standards-based solutions” for satellite-to-phone connectivity. Iridium CEO Matt Desch joins Morgan Brennan to share his insights, the next steps for Iridi...

Iridium Communications is celebrating 25 years since its first entrance into commercial service. Since emerging from a Motorola research lab in the 1980s, going through bankruptcy in 1999 & expanding service into satellite, what’s next for the company? CEO Matt Desch, chief executive at the company for nearly 18 years, joins Morgan Brennan to discuss the evolution of the satellite communications i...