PODCAST: Australia's history and future within the space sector, Robert Brand, ThunderStruck Aerospace

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Robert Brand, ThunderStruck Aerospace

With developments in place that will see Australia build and develop its own space agency, the Defence Connect Podcast again analyses how this will impact the defence sector and the opportunities that it presents to us as a country.

With developments in place that will see Australia build and develop its own space agency, the Defence Connect Podcast again analyses how this will impact the defence sector and the opportunities that it presents to us as a country.


In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, manager and CTO of PlusComms and head of ThunderStruck Aerospace Robert Brand joins host Phil Tarrant to discuss both Australia’s history in the space sector and unpack what we can expect to see in the future, including the work that he is currently involved in, which will aid telecommunications within Australia and offer multiple applications within defence industry.

Brand will discuss his extensive career, which has seen him involved in the industry since the age of 17 across everything from the launch of Apollo 11 to the STS-1, share how a project that he was working on with his nine-year-old son now sees him aiding developments of technology to be used on Mars, and share his concerns with the way in which Elon Musk’s SpaceX is currently approaching the industry.

Enjoy the podcast,

The Defence Connect team

 

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Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: THE PROGRESS REPORT: Leadership, mentorship and life at sea – Commander Melanie Lennard on 17 years in the Royal Australian Navy
Episode 10: PODCAST: Australia’s munitions manufacturing push at Land Forces 2026, with NIOA Group’s Robert Nioa
Episode 9: PODCAST: EOS showcases new interceptor and layered drone defence at Land Forces 2026, with Lee Kormany
Episode 8: CONTESTED GROUND: The information advantage – how AI is reshaping influence, competition and power
Episode 7: PODCAST: Next-generation equipment at Land Forces 2026, with Aquaterro’s Graeme Bulte
Episode 6: SPOTLIGHT: Defence electronics supply chains, counterfeit components and shortages
Episode 5: PODCAST: AUKUS, China and Australia’s defence industrial future, with former prime minister Scott Morrison
Episode 4: CONTESTED GROUND: When AI goes rogue – the emerging threat Australia isn’t ready for
Episode 3: PODCAST: Frontier AI, cyber warfare, and defending Australia’s military networks, with Wendi Whitmore and Tom Scully
Episode 2: PODCAST: Australia’s 2026 Intergenerational Report and national security implications, with Phillip Tarrant and Robert Dougherty