Dodging Debris, with Tony Frazier (CEO of LeoLabs)

This week’s Pathfinder pod features Tony Frazier, LeoLab’s newly appointed CEO, to discuss the critical role the company plays in building a living map of orbital activity for space operations. With over $120M of private capital raised, LeoLabs has continued to expand its global network of ground-based radars, currently cataloging over 22,000 objects in LEO. Tony shares his journey from a 13-year career at Maxar to joining LeoLabs, driven by his belief in the company's mission to enhance space safety and security.

We explore Tony's background, including his experience managing billion-dollar P&L operations at Maxar and his involvement with Iridium, which shaped his understanding of the risks posed by debris. We also discuss:

• The founding story of LeoLabs
• The unique advantages of ground-based radar network compared to other tracking methods
• The exponential growth in orbital objects
• Scaling a radar system to meet the demands of a rapidly proliferating LEO environment
• The future of space traffic management and the impact of regulation

And much, much more…
 

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

00:33 - What is LeoLabs?

01:34 - Where is LeoLabs based and how long have they been around?

02:42 - How did Tony end up at Leo Labs?

04:26 - The mission

08:04 - Why LeoLabs hired Tony?

09:55 - How important is debris and traffic management?

13:52 - The Kessler Syndrome

15:48 - LeoLabs' architecture

23:08 - Competitor differentiation

25:29 - Advantages of a space-based architecture

28:14 - Scaling

30:09 - 3rd-party data integration

32:12 - Current demand for situational awareness and future predictions

35:06 - Market catalysts

39:38 - How LeoLabs makes money

41:41 - Data tracking for the lowest tier subscription

44:26 - Government vs commercial bookings

44:59 - What makes LeoLabs attractive to investors?

48:16 - Is the goal to become a public company?

49:26 - Killer asteroids

50:07 - Favorite space-related media

• Show notes •

LeoLab’s website — https://leolabs.space/

LeoLab’s socials — https://twitter.com/LeoLabs_Space

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:

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