Fresh out of college and looking for work, Steve Nixon picked up the phone book and called the US Secretary of Defence. Flash forwards a few redirected calls, he landed his first job as an aircraft program budget analyst at the Pentagon 🛩️ Seven years on, he set his sights on a role at Congress for the US House Committee on Appropriations, where he became immersed in the world of space 🚀 All thanks to that initial phone call, Steve went on to be named one of the top 10 most influential people in space. He later became the founder of IARPA (the US Intelligence Community's version of DARPA), President of the SmallSat Alliance, CEO of specialized security company Koandah, a technology strategy consultant, and board member and advisor for multiple companies 📡🛰️ In this episode, we explore the incredible details of Steve’s space career journey, as well as the power of curiosity, people and storytelling in the space industry 🎙️