Live from Austin, with Dan Goldin (Former NASA Administrator)

Pathfinder

This week, we're going live from Austin, TX, at Payload’s inaugural event, “The Ultimate High Ground: The Role of Space in National Security,” held during SXSW. Our episode features a fireside chat with Dan Goldin, the longest-serving NASA Administrator, from April 1992 to November 2001. Dan is known for leading NASA’s resurgence during one of its most challenging periods following the Cold War. His tenure was characterized by the philosophy of "faster, better, cheaper," which established the foundation for the modern space industry.

We spend a considerable amount of time discussing Dan’s contributions outside NASA, including his tenure at TRW and his efforts at Cerberus, a leading private equity firm that is now heavily involved in aerospace and defense. Additionally, we explore:

• The next Sputnik moment
• Technology transfer between NASA and the DoD
• The challenges of the space industry today
• The opportunity in the space national security market

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Introduction

01:44 - Military and intelligence programs at TRW

03:49 - Potential unforeseen gaps in technology

06:35 - 1958 Space Act

10:17 - Life at Cerberus

14:12 - Common missteps from startups today

17:35 - Do startups understand physics?

19:29 - Overcrowding in parts of the market

21:18 - Where the opportunity is today

26:12 - National security…more than just weapons

28:54 - Directed energy

33:33 - What question is not being asked more often

35:19 - Cislunar space

38:24 - When will we land on the Moon?

38:50 - Are we underestimating or overestimating China's capabilities?

39:21 - When will we land on Mars?

• Show notes •

Dan’s’ socials — https://twitter.com/dansgoldin

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing five media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday

4) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays

5) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays

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