Morgan Brennan speaks with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman about the next phase of American space exploration and the urgency behind returning to the moon. They discuss the Artemis program, the challenges of cost, speed, and execution, and how a new competitive landscape is reshaping NASA’s priorities.
The conversation covers the role of public-private partnerships, the rise of commercial space companies, and the need to rebuild core capabilities within NASA. Isaacman also outlines how the agency is shifting toward faster iteration, clearer demand signals for industry, and a more focused strategy to compete in what he describes as a new space race.
Resources:
Follow Jared Isaacman on X: https://twitter.com/rookisaacman
Follow Morgan Brennan on X: https://twitter.com/MorganLBrennan
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube
Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This week, NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis II, a mission that will send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. But this comes at a time when the space agency is facing some pretty big funding challenges, as well as growing competition with private players like SpaceX. In this episode, we speak with Alexander MacDonald, who served as NASA's first chief economist and is now a senior associate at the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS. We talk about why the space agency had economists, how space exploration is funded, and how NASA measures its own economic impact. Please note, this episode was recorded March 10.
Read more:Nasdaq Speeds Up Index Entry for SpaceX, Large IPOs With New Rule SpaceX Knocks Boeing From Dominant Role in NASA Moon Mission
Only http://Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots
Subscribe to the Odd Lots NewsletterJoin the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
(0:00) David Friedberg welcomes Jared Isaacman
(1:10) Jared's background: billion-dollar founder, pilot, commercial astronaut
(7:15) Relationship with Elon Musk, road to becoming a commercial astronaut
(16:37) Becoming Trump's nominee to lead NASA, the major issues at NASA and his plan to fix things
(31:52) Breaking down NASA's proposed budget cuts, the space race against China, private vs public space industry
(48:31) The truth behind Jared's nomination being withdrawn by President Trump
Follow Jared:
https://x.com/rookisaacman
Follow the besties:
https://x.com/chamath
https://x.com/Jason
https://x.com/DavidSacks
https://x.com/friedberg
Follow on X:
https://x.com/theallinpod
Follow on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod
Follow on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@theallinpod
Follow on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod
Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://x.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://x.com/TheZachEffect
Referenced in the show:
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114605559474286180
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pv01sSq44w
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1439412791815950336
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJmUUtr2SI
At this year's TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, President and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation Steve Isakowitz and Agency Chief Technologist at NASA A.C. Charanya Charania took the stage to discuss a literal moonshot: how to build a thriving lunar ecosystem. Today on Equity, we’re taking you behind the scenes of TechCrunch Disrupt once again, this time with Devin Coldewey at the helm.
For those keeping track, Devin’s kept the Equity podcast crew up to date on space startups over the past few months, including Starfish Space’s $29 million round and, more recently, SpaceX’s second commercial deal for the Starship lunar lander with Lunar Outpost.
Listen to the full conversation to hear Devin and Steve Isakowitz discuss:
What the path ahead looks like for space startups
The shift away from government-dominated space programs to a more commercial landscape
And what’s in store for Aerospace Corporation in 2025.
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and we’ll be back on Friday for a special episode from our sister podcast, Found.
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.
Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
From artificial limbs to memory foam, many inventions have emerged from our quest to understand the cosmos.
In this episode we explore cosmic history, space's impact on technology, and the enduring human fascination with space exploration. To take us on this journey is astrophysicist John Mather, a Nobel Prize winner for his work on the COBE satellite and a key figure in the James Webb Space Telescope project.
Prepare to be intrigued and left with a sense of wonder about the universe's influence on our world.
Topics Covered:
00:00 – Innovations through the pursuit of space
03:52– John’s early life
06:44 – Proving The Big Bang Theory
13:30 – The mysteries of quantum mechanics
15:10 – Leading the James Webb Telescope
17:12 – Images from James Webb
20:32 – Are we alone?
24:20 – New telescopes
25:18 – Engineering in space for earth
29:31 – What would you like to see solved in your lifetime?
32:24 – What came before The Big Bang?
25:04 – Misconceptions about space
37:17 – Can humans be a multiplanetary species?
38:20 - Private vs public spending in space
40:24 – What’s the future of space exploration?
Resources:
COBE satellite imagery: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/cobe_20th.html
Images from the James Webb Telescope: https://webbtelescope.org/images
Exoplanet transmission spectrum: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/032/01G72VSFW756JW5SXWV1HYMQK4
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube
Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Woody Hoburg, a member of NASA’s Expedition 69 crew, joined Pieter Abbeel to discuss his life and work currently aboard the International Space Station.
Subscribe to the Robot Brains Podcast today | Visit therobotbrains.ai and follow us on YouTube at TheRobotBrainsPodcast and Twitter at @pabbeel.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After a historic 355 days in orbit, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Vande Hei discuss conducting experiments in space, the impact of extended spaceflight on humans, and the spiciness of space chili peppers.
This is a paid advertisement from IBM.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week Marques and Andrew discuss the Nothing Phone (1) now that the full review is finally out! Then David chats with Dr. Stefanie Milam from NASA as she walks us through the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope! If you haven't had a chance to check them out yet we recommend doing so ASAP as they're stunning. Then we wrap it all up with a few trivia questions. Hope you enjoy!
Links:
Nothing Phone review: https://bit.ly/3Rya2aC
James Webb website: https://webb.nasa.gov/
Twitters:
https://twitter.com/wvfrm
https://twitter.com/mkbhd
https://twitter.com/andymanganelli
https://twitter.com/adamlukas17
https://twitter.com/EllisRovin
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/wvfrmpodcast/
Shop the merch:
shop.mkbhd.com
Join the Discord:
https://discord.gg/mkbhd
Music by 20syl:
https://bit.ly/2S53xlC
Waveform is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ronald Marrero is a software developer working on NASA’s Artemis program, which aims at landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. How Ron got here is a fascinating story, starting at UCF and winding its way through the Florida Space Institute, working with NASA’s Swamp Works team, and building an open source excavation robot.
On this episode Ron tells us how it all went down and shares what he learned along the way.
Join the discussion
Changelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!
Sponsors:
DigitalOcean – The simplest cloud platform for developers and teams Whether you’re running one virtual machine or ten thousand, makes managing your infrastructure too easy. Get started for free with a $50 credit. Learn more at do.co/changelog.
GitPrime – GitPrime helps software teams accelerate their velocity and release products faster by turning historical git data into easy to understand insights and reports. Ship faster because you know more. Not because you’re rushing. Learn more at gitprime.com/changelog.
Beginning Machine Learning with TensorFlow.js – Get an introduction to the world of Machine Learning with Javascript and TensorFlow.js. This is a three-week course covering an introduction to Machine Learning models, tensors, and the TensorFlow.js framework. Use the code CHANGELOG to get $100 till the end of 2019.
Square – The Square developer team just launched their new developer YouTube channel. Head to youtube.com/squaredev or search for “Square Developer” on YouTube to learn more and subscribe.
Featuring:
Ronald Marrero – GitHub, LinkedIn, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Show Notes:
Introducing the EZ-RASSOR
EZ-RASSOR on GitHub
ROS.org
What I learned working with NASA on a robotics project
NASA Artemis program
The Space Robotics Challenge
Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!
Dava Newman is the Apollo Program professor of AeroAstro at MIT and the former Deputy Administrator of NASA and has been a principal investigator on four spaceflight missions. Her research interests are in aerospace biomedical engineering, investigating human performance in varying gravity environments. She has developed a space activity suit, namely the BioSuit, which would provide pressure through compression directly on the skin via the suit’s textile weave, patterning, and materials rather than with pressurized gas.
This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts or support it on Patreon.
This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it, use code LexPodcast. You get $10 and $10 is donated to FIRST, one of my favorite nonprofit organizations that inspires young minds through robotics and STEM education.
Here’s the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
00:00 – Introduction
03:11 – Circumnavigating the globe by boat
05:11 – Exploration
07:17 – Life on Mars
11:07 – Intelligent life in the universe
12:25 – Advanced propulsion technology
13:32 – The Moon and NASA’s Artemis program
19:17 – SpaceX
21:45 – Science on a CubeSat
23:45 – Reusable rockets
25:23 – Spacesuit of the future
32:01 – AI in Space
35:31 – Interplanetary species
36:57 – Future of space exploration
Long before we had rocket scientists, the idea of spaceflight traveled from mind to mind across generations. With great visuals, author and NASA economist Alexander MacDonald shows how 300 years of sci-fi tales -- from Edgar Allan Poe to Jules Verne to H.G. Wells and beyond -- sparked a culture of space exploration. A fascinating look at how stories become reality, featuring a goose machine sent to the Moon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
An aerospace engineer who worked for NASA for over 40 years, Dr. Christine Darden is one of the mathematicians that the book and movie Hidden Figures was based on. Darden eventually would lead the sonic boom team, going on to become the first African-American woman in senior management at NASA.
In this intimate conversation with a16z’s general partner Jeff Jordan, held at the SF Jazz Center, Darden shares with Jordan how she first fell in love with geometry and math; the effect that Sputnik had on our culture (and her); and what it was like to work at NASA in the 1960s. And finally, Darden shares with us all the secrets of the sonic boom.
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube
Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
David and Katie chat with NASA Scientist Skip Owens about how he uses his Mac to put rovers on Mars.
Thanks to MPU listener Jigar Talati for assistance with the shownotes this week!
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
1PasswordHave you ever forgotten a password? Now you don't have to worry about that anymore.
The Omni GroupWe're passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad.
lynda.com Learn software, business and creative skills.
Backblaze
Backup your data. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated.
Guest Starring:
Skip Owens
Links and Show Notes:
Links for this episode:
Skip Owens (@skipowens) | Twitter
1WaySwim
NASA
NASA - Launch Services
NASA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Slide rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The slide rule, also known colloquially in the United States as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer.
Robert H. Goddard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which he successfully launched on March 16, 1926.
Mars rover - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Why the Mars rover has a measly 2MP camera - CNET
OmniFocus - The Omni Group
Mind map - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
iThoughtsX
iThoughtsX Mac App Store Link
iThoughts (iOS) — toketaWare
iThoughts HD iTunes Link
OmniGraffle - The Omni Group
Paperless — MacSparky
Notebook 4 | Circus Ponies Software
Interface control document - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An interface control drawing or interface control document (ICD) in systems engineering and software engineering, describes the interface or interfaces between subsystems or to a system or subsystem.
Day One | A simple and elegant journal for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Day One Mac App Store Link
Day One iTunes Link
TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time
White paper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide helping readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.
Confluence - Team Collaboration Software | Atlassian
Microsoft SharePoint | Try or Buy SharePoint products and plans
Amazon.com: The Martian: A Novel eBook: Andy Weir: Kindle Store
Apple - iBooks Author
Simple | Online Banking With Automatic Budgeting & Savings
Quicken® 2015 for Mac - Mac Financial Software
iBank 5 | Mac personal finance software, money management and small business applications for OS X
Paprika Recipe Manager for iPad, iPhone, Mac, Android, and Windows.
More Power Users: Ad-free episodes with regular bonus segments