This week, it’s all about space!

Recently, ASPI hosted international military, industry and academic experts for a series of events focused on space and national security. In this podcast, we are delighted to be joined by special guests Jeffrey Becker, Janice Starzyk, Dr Namrata Goswami and Dr Kevin Pollpeter for conversations on this critical domain.

Dr Malcolm Davis speaks to Dr Namrata Goswami and Dr Kevin Pollpeter about China’s space capabilities and ambitions in space. They discuss China’s space industry, China’s lunar program and the potential for China to accelerate its lunar plans.

Bec Shrimpton speaks to Virgin Orbit’s Janice Starzyk and Bret Perry about the history of Virgin Orbit and the company’s ambitions. They discuss opportunities for government and industry collaboration on space, including in the area of national security and defence, and how Virgin Orbit is supporting spacefaring nations.

Bec is also joined by futurist Jeffrey Becker for a conversation on space futures and why futures thinking is an important tool for policymakers. They discuss the role of technology in warfare and the military implications of different technological developments, and the importance of the space domain in military strategy.

Guests (in order of appearance):

Dr Malcolm Davis: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/malcolm-davis

Dr Namrata Goswami: https://twitter.com/namygoswami

Dr Kevin Pollpeter: https://www.cna.org/experts/Pollpeter_K

Bec Shrimpton: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/bec-shrimpton

Janice Starzyk: https://twitter.com/janicestarzyk

Bret Perry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-perry-11bb01b0/

Jeffrey Becker: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/jeffrey-becker

Music: "Eclipse 6" by Michikawa - via the Tribe of Noise: https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/artists/show/24793/10247