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 opportunity in the space economy...and where he's not.

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 launches later this year.

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.

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, working with SpaceX and the industry-first 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’s business model, computing services from space, and its plug-and-play approach to space.

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 Brennan to discuss the maiden mission, the company’s plan for Vulcan, and reports of ULA being on the sale block.

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 mission will carry 20 payloads, including 5 from NASA’S Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. On this episode, Morgan Brennan sits down with Astrobotic Technology CEO John Thornton ahead of the historic launch.

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.

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-defunct Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 aircraft.

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 Brennan to discuss defense tech, the case for 3-D printed rocket engines, and more from the Reagan National Defense Forum.