Dan Hart, the former leader of Virgin Orbit, joins Ben Gamble on the Astro Ben Podcast to look back on a career that spans NASA, defense work and private spaceflight, and to share where he is focused now.
He talks about the lessons from Virgin Orbit's setbacks, including the launch failure in Cornwall, the shift toward private-sector spaceflight and the idea of air launch. Dan also discusses his current work on space policy.
If you follow the launch industry, the new space economy or space policy, this is a candid conversation with someone who has been inside the industry through its changes.
What you will hear in this episode
Dan Hart's career from NASA and defense work to leading Virgin Orbit
Lessons from the company's setbacks, including the Cornwall launch failure
The shift to private-sector spaceflight and air launch
His current work on space policy
Guest links: Dan Hart on LinkedIn, Dan Hart on X, the National Academy of Sciences, the Atlantic Council, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope.
Listen to the episode on Libsyn, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. Also hear John Abbott on the UK space sector and Anatolii Papulov of NewOrbit, or browse the Astro Ben Podcast page.
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