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Space, Aerospace & Defense Technology podcasts

Satellites, launch systems, aerospace, Earth observation, defense technology, and dual-use systems.

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Top 10 Space, Aerospace & Defense Technology Podcasts of 2026

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Planetary Radio1 hr 1 min

Hayabusa2 flies by asteroid Torifune

JAXA's Hayabusa2 flew within 400 meters (1,300 feet) of asteroid Torifune on July 5 and confirmed that it's a contact binary, two lobes stuck together. Paul Abell, NASA's Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration at Johnson Space Center, walks us through the findings on the asteroid, what they mean for planetary defense, and what's ahead as the spacecraft cruises toward its next target. Then Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society, digs into Hayabusa2's history of firing things at asteroids.

The Space Policy Show45 min

Ep. 174: Go Army Space

The US Army recently announced a Space Operations Branch, but space is not new to ground-based operations. So what is new? What do ground forces use space for, and how does is fit into the joint force that includes the US Space Force? What are future forward training and technology developments the US Army is looking at? In this episode, Senior Policy Analyst and former soldier, David Geye (CSPS), talks to US Army’s Col. Joseph Mroszczyk , Director, Transformation Integration Directorate for Space Superiority (TID-SS) within the Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence and national president of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA). Available by video or podcast. The Space Policy Show is produced by The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy. It is a virtual series covering a broad set of topics that span across the space enterprise. CSPS brings together experts from within Aerospace, the government, academia, business, nonprofits, and the national labs. The show and their podcasts are an opportunity to learn about and to stay engaged with the larger space policy community.

Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast35 min

Space Weapons Declassified, Gucci F-16s And More—What To Know About AFA

Editors discuss the news from last week's AFA gathering, addressing the Air Force secretary's bombshell weapons-in-space disclosure, new aircraft weapons concepts on show and so much more. Thank you to our sponsor, GE Aerospace . GE Aerospace is uniquely positioned to support its defense customers, providing reliable, high performance military engines and systems for air and sea. Building on more than a century of innovation, GE Aerospace continues to mobilize a new era of growth, balancing the current needs of the industry with the advanced capabilities needed for the future. For more information,

The Aerospace Advantage46 min

The Readiness Challenge: Can AI Help? — Ep. 308

Episode Summary: Readiness is one of the biggest challenges facing the Air Force as Airmen strive to meet surging demand with an aircraft inventory that is old and small. Service leaders have prioritized boosting readiness, which involves buying more spare parts, qualifying more suppliers, retaining more seasoned maintainers, and continue to buy new aircraft. To be truly successful, we also need to master the various readiness data sets so that we can better understand when, how, and why aircraft are facing issues…while also gaining better insights about what fixes will deliver the best results. We chat with Melissa Sutherland, executive vice president and airpower market lead at Booz Allen, to learn more about how AI might help crack this challenge.

This Week in Space58 min

TWiS 228: What's a HOTOL? - Britain in Space

In the 1980s, as the US space shuttle was just starting operations, the UK embarked on an ambitious project called HOTOL—short for Horizontal Take Off and Landing, a radical, air-breathing spaceplane design. Poilitical and funding shifts in the UK ultimately derailed the project, despite the promising technologies it pioneered. The idea was later restarted as Skylon, with key individuals and refined technologies at its core. This project, too, struggled, ultimately shuttering in 2024. Despite this, the promise of rapid, reusable spaceplanes that can launch and land at airports is still coveted by many cointries, and efforts continue. Join Rob Coppinger, author of the definitive book on the topic and editor of the UK's "Spaceflight" magazine, as he tells this fasincating story.

Off-Nominal1 hr 1 min

257 - Can You Fix Our RV? (with Nick Cialdella)

Jake and Anthony are joined by Nick Cialdella, CTO of Varda Space Industries, to talk about manufacturing pharmaceuticals in space, the reentry technology that brings them back to Earth, Varda’s hypersonic testbed, and the business case for making things in orbit. Topics Off-Nominal - YouTube Episode 257 - Can You Fix Our RV?

Aerospace & Defense Technology27 min

From NASA Lab to Everyday Life: A Tech Briefs 50th Anniversary Special

Over five decades, Tech Briefs has helped tell countless stories of NASA technology transfer, highlighting how discoveries made for space exploration find new life in products and applications here on Earth. This special episode focuses on a remarkable example of tech transfer: a treadmill technology that began as a solution forexercising in reduced-gravity environments and has since helped people recover from injury, improve athletic performance, and maintain mobility as they age. SAE Media Group’s Editorial Director Chitra Sethi speaks with Tom Allen and Sean Whalen, founders of Boost Treadmills . Boost Treadmills was founded in 2017 and prior to starting Boost, they each played key roles in the creation of AlterG®. As Tech Briefs celebrates its 50th anniversary, we're reflecting on five decades of stories just like this one in its special 50th anniversary issue. It's both a look back at how far we've come and a look ahead at the technologies that will define the next generation of innovation. Read the Tech Briefs 50th Anniversary Special Edition.

The Space Show1 hr 28 min

The Space Show Presents A Wide Open Wisdom Team Discussion, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2026

Open Lines, Sept. 8, 2026 The Space Show held an Open Lines discussion on September 8th, with David, John Junt, Joe Pistreto, Marshall Martin, and Dr. Charles Lurio participating. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, starting with a focus on Dr. Eric Weinstein, his criticisms of modern physics and peer review, and his visionary ideas about space and time. The group also talked extensively about SpaceX’s Starship developments, including an upcoming test flight and plans for a new launch site in Louisiana. Other topics included the Artemis program’s timeline and challenges, the political documentary about Elon Musk premiering at the Venice Film Festival, and the ongoing debate about space property rights. The participants also briefly touched on the Roman telescope launch and the concept of black triangle UFOs. In more detail, our Wisdom Team discussed several topics during their Open Lines show. First up was our conversation regarding Dr. Eric Weinstein, a mathematician and physicist who has been critical of string theory and peer review processes in physics. John explained Weinstein’s views on physics, including his concept of geometric unity and multi-dimensional time, while David expressed concerns about conducting an interview with Weinstein due to his limited mathematical background. Briefly, we mentioned two upcoming programs. The Space Show Wisdom Team discussed potentially inviting Eric Weinstein to appear on a space show, with David expressing interest in having him as a guest despite concerns about the technical complexity of the discussion. Joe and Marshall shared insights into the challenges of communicating with highly theoretical mathematicians and physicists, noting the significant intellectual gap between experts and the general public. The group agreed that Weinstein’s appearance would likely generate more views and that David would invite him to be a guest on The Space Show. We went on to talk about the upcoming Starship test flight, which is planned to launch next week, possibly as early as Monday. The payload will include 20 Version 3 Starlink satellites with a total mass of 37 tons, similar to the Apollo Command Service Module and Lunar Module combined. The flight will not attempt to catch either stage at Starbase in Texas, as SpaceX wants to achieve two precision ocean landings first before attempting landing there. Marshall noted that SpaceX currently has a launch window of five days, 21 minutes, 21 hours, and 28 minutes for September 15th, though the date keeps changing frequently. The group discussed SpaceX’s plans for launch towers, clarifying that the baseline is now 12 launch pads rather than 10, with capacity to potentially launch 30 Starships per day. Joe explained that SpaceX is operating as a Neocloud provider, selling AI compute capacity to companies like Google and Anthropic, while also developing StarMind for satellite data centers in different orbits from Starlink. The conversation also touched on Stoke’s recent billion-dollar funding announcement and a new documentary about Elon Musk debuting at the Venice Film Festival. The group discussed a new documentary about Elon Musk that is expected to be critical of him, particularly focusing on his political support for Trump and his role in the 2020 election. They agreed that the film would likely generate negative reactions from the left but might not significantly impact public opinion. The conversation then shifted to NASA’s Artemis program, where they discussed challenges with pressure suits for lunar operations, noting that Axiom Space is developing the suits with some capability down scoping to meet deadlines. The group discussed SpaceX’s timeline for returning to flight, with Charles noting they are still aiming for a launch before the end of the year, potentially with their Blue Moon lunar lander. The conversation then shifted to NASA’s Artemis program, with Joe mentioning that NASA officially targets May or June 2028 for the first crewed moon landing. The discussion concluded with an in-depth conversation about the technical challenges of landing at the moon’s South Pole, including lighting and terrain considerations that affect landing calculations, with Charles explaining the 18.5-year lunar orbit cycle that impacts these calculations. The group discussed lunar exploration missions, focusing on terrain mapping and lander capabilities. Joseph explained that previous orbiters including Lunar Prospector and Chinese satellites had provided good maps of target areas, while Marshall noted that Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander still plans to deploy a rover despite NASA canceling its original mission. The conversation then shifted to political pressure regarding President Trump’s goal of putting humans on the moon before his term ends, with Marshall suggesting Trump would follow Elon Musk’s approach of setting ambitious deadlines, though Joe believed safety would prevent rushing an unsafe mission and predicted that Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander would be more likely to be selected for Artemis IV than SpaceX’s Starship due to its proximity to the Artemis III mission. The group discussed the limitations of the current ICPS stage on SLS, which lacks sufficient delta-v for lunar missions, leading to discussions about Block 2 and 2A upgrades. The conversation then shifted to space property rights, with David asking Charles about the current status of this topic after 25 years. Charles indicated that while space property rights remain a discussion topic, there hasn’t been a definitive resolution, and he suspects it will evolve based on future space activities and usage patterns. Joe mentioned that the Artemis Accords might have influenced the landscape regarding space property rights. The group discussed space property rights and jurisdictional challenges in space exploration. Marshall explained that safety zones around spacecrafts and satellites could establish de facto property rights in space, particularly for nuclear reactors on the moon. The discussion included speculation about potential resource discoveries in space, including the Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid and the possibility of finding water or valuable minerals. The conversation concluded with updates about the Roman telescope project, which was launched nine months early and under budget, and plans for upcoming shows including one about artificial gravity and space stations with Jules Ross for Sunday, Sept. 13.

Valley of Depth1 hr 10 min

Launch is Not Solved Yet, with Andy Lapsa (CEO, Stoke Space)

Stoke Space was founded around a simple but radical belief: launch is not solved until rockets are fully and rapidly reusable. That thesis is now getting much bigger. Stoke has raised another $1 billion, bringing total capital raised to $2.3 billion, and is unveiling a new 15-ton-class version of Nova designed to be fully reusable. In his first sit-down interview following the announcement, Andy Lapsa joins Valley of Depth from Stoke Space’s headquarters outside Seattle. We got an exclusive first look at the company’s new plans before the news was made public, sitting down with Andy to unpack the $1 billion fundraise, the new 15-ton Nova, why Stoke is making such an aggressive bet on full reuse, and why he believes launch capacity could become one of the biggest constraints on the growth of the space economy. We also cover: What the new $1 billion financing enables Why launch remains unsolved despite SpaceX’s success Why full reuse may matter as much for reliability as it does for cost How Stoke plans to manufacture Pathfinder while developing the larger Nova simultaneously Why payload-agnostic launch could become increasingly valuable as launch providers vertically integrate The long-term opportunities in downmass, in-space manufacturing, compute, and deep-space transportation What Stoke needs to prove across its first three orbital flights …and much more. • Chapters • 00:00 – Trailer 01:04 – New developments at Stoke 02:16 – The Nova product family 02:55 – Nova block 2 08:19 – Meeting with Jared Isaacman 09:48 – Where Stoke is going to be investing their newly raised $1b of capital 12:12 – Stoke's future production capacity 13:44 – Was this the last private funding round for Stoke? 14:33 – What Andy wanted Stoke to be in 2019 when he founded Stoke 22:47 – The marginal drop with rapid reuse 23:46 – Why are rockets still so hard? 26:17 – Why build a full-flow staged combustion for your first stage? 29:14 – Technical hurdles that are left to solve 31:17 – Second stage 35:05 – Stoke's Metallic alloy based heat shield vs ceramic heat shield 38:01 – The doors that Stoke's heat shield will open 39:51 – The state of the launch industry. Are we screwed in the short term? 45:31 – From launch abundance to panic 46:39 – Had Andy ever thought about redesigning a rocket? 49:00 – Payload agnostic 51:36 – New application layer for Stoke's block 2 59:07 – Andy's advice to new players in the rocket space 1:01:20 – What Keeps Andy up at night? 1:02:29 – What happens after Block 2's mission success? 1:06:31 – When should we expect the first flight of the Block 2? 1:06:57 – In the movie about Stoke, who plays Andy? 1:07:54 – What does Andy do for fun? We sit down with founders, investors, government officials, scientists, and military leaders to understand what they’re building, why it matters, and where these industries are headed. From new companies and breakthrough technologies to capital, policy, and geopolitics, Valley of Depth goes deep on the forces shaping the future.

Main Engine Cut Off36 min

T+339: Starbase Louisiana, the Falcon Fade, and the Next Wave of Launch Vehicles

SpaceX officially announced Starbase Louisiana, and I break down why the site fits Starship’s launch, landing, and orbital architecture so perfectly. I also look at the transition from Falcon to Starship, and the new launch vehicles on the verge of debut. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Warren, Matt from Built, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Natasha Tsakos, Lee, Donald, David, Matt, Joonas, Russell, Steve, Frank, Will and Lars from Agile, The Astrogators at SEE, Josh from Impulse, Fred, Joel, Kris, Pat, Joakim, Miles O’Brien, Stealth Julian, Jan, Ryan, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters . Topics SpaceX Launches New Era of Commercial Spaceflight with $100 Billion Louisiana Campus - Louisiana Economic Development SpaceX intends to invest up to $100 billion in massive Louisiana spaceport - Ars Technica Episode 245 - Polar Bears and Penguins (with Jonathan Goff and Mike Loucks) - Off-Nominal AAS Paper Review: RAAN Agnostic 3-Burn Departure Methodology for Deep Space Missions from LEO Depots (Part 1 of 2) | Selenian Boondocks AAS Paper Review: Practical Methodologies For Low Delta-V Penalty, On-Time Departures To Arbitrary Interplanetary Destinations From A Medium-Inclination Low-Earth Orbit Depot | Selenian Boondocks An Updated Propellant Depot Taxonomy Part V: Human Spaceflight Fixed Depots (Low-Orbit) | Selenian Boondocks SpaceX on X: Ship 40 Reaches Christmas Island Ship 40 arrives at Christmas Island, Plans Return to Starbase - NASASpaceflight SpaceX on X: Ship 41 Single-Engine Static Fire Ship 41 Completes Engine Testing Ahead of Flight 14 - NASASpaceflight Satellite operators are in panic mode due to a worsening launch crisis - Ars Technica Nova payload module, second stage, and Andromeda engine fit check - Stoke Space First three flight-one Zenith engines ready for acceptance testing - Stoke Space Rocket Lab Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results: Posts Record Revenue and Record Backlog, Guides To Another Record Revenue Quarter in Q3 2026 - Rocket Lab Rocket Lab Unveils GHOST Deployable Launch System to Enable Responsive Space Missions Worldwide - Rocket Lab Firefly Aerospace Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results With Record Revenue Of $117.7 Million, Up 659% Year-Over-Year - Firefly Aerospace Tank problem delays first RFA launch - SpaceNews Relativity Space engine integration milestone for Terran R first stage - NASASpaceflight The Show Like the show?