Brenden Swanik is building Voyager by day, and telling the industry’s story by night.
First steps: He began at Nanoracks (now part of Voyager Technologies, $VOYG) in 2023, spending two years as a mission manager overseeing satellite deployments and experiments from the ISS.
His missions included leading operations for the cubesat deployer program, managing 30+ satellite customers and serving as the technical bridge between NASA, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Firefly Aerospace, the Canadian Space Agency, and universities around the world.
Swanik later transitioned into the role of revenue operations manager at Voyager, supporting the chief of staff on initiatives across its growing portfolio as it navigates life as a newly public company. “If I had a real title,” he joked, “it would be director of side quests.”
Chasing Space pod: Last year, he launched Chasing Space, a podcast designed to make the industry more accessible. “I didn’t think there was a medium out there to get a holistic gauge of what’s going on in the space industry, in a digestible way,” he said.
The every-other-week show reaches listeners in 75 countries, and has featured voices ranging from NASA economists to startup founders. One listener even credited the show with sparking the start of a funding round, Swanik said.
The podcast has also become a platform for early-career advice, with each episode closing on guidance for the next generation entering aerospace. Beyond the office chair, Swanik has been recognized as an International Astronautical Federation Emerging Space Leader, and regularly volunteers with the Space Generation Advisory Council.
