Voyager Technologies founder, CEO and chairman Dylan Taylor joins John "Slick" Baum for the first episode of The Voyager Podcast: a conversation about leadership, exploration, purpose and the future of human spaceflight.

Dylan reflects on growing up in Moscow, Idaho, the influence of his father’s engineering career, and the early experiences that shaped his curiosity about the world. He traces his path from engineering studies and a Swiss electronics company to the University of Chicago, global business leadership, public-company operations and ultimately a deeper question: What difference am I making?

That question led him back to a lifelong fascination with space. Dylan shares how he became involved in the commercial space industry, how he met Matthew Kuta, and how Voyager evolved from an early investment platform into an operating company built for the next era of space and defense technology.

The conversation also explores Voyager’s role in commercial space infrastructure, including Bishop Airlock, Starlab, low Earth orbit, lunar commerce and the company’s three-L strategy: LEO, lunar and Lagrange. Dylan and Slick also discuss Vista, Voyager’s research-flywheel concept connecting universities, industry, microgravity research and future missions across LEO, the Moon and deep space.

Topics Covered

•  Dylan Taylor’s childhood in Idaho 
•  Growing up around engineering, international students and outdoor adventure 
•  The problem-solving value of an engineering education 
•  Early career lessons from a Swiss electronics company 
•  Business school at the University of Chicago 
•  Public-company leadership, capital access and growth strategy 
•  The Aconcagua climb and the leadership value of turning back 
•  Purpose, ambition and the search for meaningful work 
•  How Dylan entered the commercial space industry 
•  The formation and operating vision behind Voyager Technologies 
•  Bishop Airlock and commercial infrastructure on the International Space Station 
•  Starlab and the future of commercial space stations 
•  Voyager’s three-L strategy: low Earth orbit, lunar and Lagrange 
•  Lunar commerce, moon regolith, dust mitigation, power, mobility and habitation 
•  Vista and the future of university-led space research 
•  Inspiring the next generation of explorers, researchers and astronauts 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to the first episode of The Voyager Podcast
00:41 Dylan Taylor’s origin story: Idaho, family and early influences
04:20 Engineering, critical thinking and becoming a technologist
05:47 Early career at a Swiss electronics company
07:54 University of Chicago, business school and a major career pivot
10:35 Public-company leadership, IPOs and capital strategy
12:30 Adventure, endurance and Aconcagua
15:07 Risk, ambition and the decision to turn around
17:57 Mindset: remembering the good shots
19:00 From corporate success to purpose and space
20:45 The Last Lecture and rediscovering a childhood passion
21:30 Early-stage space investing and pattern recognition
22:30 Meeting Matthew Kuta and forming Voyager
23:28 Voyager’s evolution from “holding company” perception to operating-company vision
24:00 Defense, national security and commercial space innovation
25:06 ISS mission management, Bishop Airlock and commercial space infrastructure
26:13 Starlab and Voyager’s three-L strategy
27:50 Lunar commerce: power, mobility, habitation and moon regolith
30:14 Vista and the global research flywheel
32:00 Research, international collaboration and inspiring the next generation
32:54 “Space is the place”

Space and defense are converging faster than ever. New missions, new threats, new technologies, and new partnerships are reshaping what it takes to build, launch, protect, and sustain critical capabilities for the U.S. and its allies.

The Voyager Podcast goes inside that transformation.

Hosted by Voyager’s Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, John “Slick” Baum, each episode features direct conversations with the executives, engineers, astronauts, warfighters, policymakers, and entrepreneurs defining the future of aerospace and national defense.

These are not scripted panels or surface-level talking points. They are candid discussions with people carrying real responsibility across propulsion, energetics, advanced electronics, mission management, commercial space operations, national security, and exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Guests include Voyager leaders and external voices from across NASA, the Department of Defense, allied partner nations, the commercial space sector, and the broader aerospace and defense industrial base.

Expect sharp perspectives on national security, the space economy, industrial capacity, commercial space stations, lunar infrastructure, deep-space missions, and the hard engineering required to turn complexity into capability.

The Voyager Podcast is for those building, funding, deploying, and defending the systems that move missions forward.

New episodes drop regularly on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.