Valley of Depth

 Today’s episode takes us to the bleeding edge of Earth observation, where one startup aims to bring what it claims is a step change in multispectral data to the commercial markets.Our guest, Awais Ahmed, is the CEO and cofounder of Pixxel. The Indian-American startup, which is building a health monitor for Earth, has raised $32M+ to build a 36-satellite constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites.Today’s episode is brought to you by Spaced Ventures, which recently launched an effort to open an investment round into SpaceX. The space investment portal has received over $38M million in pledges from 2,200 investors.*SNEAK PEEK*What prompted Awais and co-founder/CTO Kshitij Khandelwal to start the company (hint: the origin story is a running theme in recent Pathfinder episodes)Comparisons between multispectral and hyperspectral data collectionCapturing 200+ bands at five-meter resolution and a 24-hour revisit rate“It’s early days” for space commercialization in India, but the sector has a bright futureThe tech tailwinds powering the startup, along with its key initial use cases and market verticalsThe startup’s views on launch and how Pixxel selects rockets for its satellites’ trips to spaceWe unpack Pixxel’s long-term vision for mapping the solar system*CHAPTERS*(03:16) What are you putting on orbit?(06:48) Hyperspectral introduction(10:55) Space products for companies(12:26) Origin story of Pixxel(18:46) The stresses of launching a payload(24:25) How India is a competitive advantage for Pixxel(28:07) Technology tailwinds + Pixxel’s tech stack(39:08) End users + use cases for this technology(43:12) Hyperspectral vs. synthetic aperture radar(46:52) A *massively* high concentration of commercial, rather than government, customers(49:09) How to pick a launch provider + getting to final destination, space tugs, etc.(52:10) Pixxel’s long-term vision for mapping the solar system*SHOW NOTES*Pixxel website: https://www.pixxel.space/Awais’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/awaisahmednaPayload’s Pixxel coverage: https://payloadspace.com/pixxel-series-a/Pixxel’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixxelspace/https://www.pixxel.space/visionhttps://www.pixxel.space/technology*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand, and while we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish: 1) 🚀 Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, every Monday to Friday morning2) 🧑🏼‍🚀 Pathfinder, this podcast, on Tuesday mornings3) 🌌 ...and 💫Parallax!💫 on Thursday afternoons.Parallax is our new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comSubscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about Payload at www.payloadspace.com

Andy is the CEO and cofounder of Stoke Space, a startup that aims to build 100% reusable rockets. The startup raised a $9.1M seed round in 2020, graduated from Y Combinator's Winter 2021 batch, and then announced a $65M Series A in December. All the while, Stoke has been moving quickly to build a completely new kind of rocket.Today’s episode is sponsored by Spaced Ventures, which recently launched an effort to open an investment round into SpaceX. The space investment portal has received over $38M million in pledges from 2,150+ investors. Find out more at https://www.spacedventures.com/*CHAPTERS* 01:57 — Andy's resume, from Cornell to Blue Origin and beyond 06:54 — Leaving Blue and thinking through what's next 08:36 — Thesis, team, & track record 12:06 — An engineering challenge, not a science problem 15:52 — Escaping Earth's gravity well is no small feat 18:36 — $$$ 22:18 — Analogy from the high seas and 200 years ago 24:02 — What Stoke is doing differently ... and @ 24:55 the unsolved problem 28:38 — The most novel part to Stoke's approach 33:24 — Speed, vertical integration, and tightly coupled systems 37:21 — The test stand in Moses Lake, Washington 39:44 — Fundraising, from the seed round to a $65M Series A 40:15 — Sustainability 52:45 — Testing + developing a reusable second stage 1:00:49 — Stoke in a post-Starship world 1:04:05 — Who will the customers be?*SHOW NOTES* Stoke Space’s website: https://www.stokespace.com/ Stoke Space’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/stoke_space Andy’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndyLapsa Ryan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyandoofyPayload’s Stoke Space coverage: https://payloadspace.com/stoke-series-a/ *ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand, and while we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, every Monday to Friday morning2) Pathfinder, this podcast, on Tuesday mornings 3) ...and 💫Parallax!💫 on Thursday afternoons.Parallax is our new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comSubscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about us at https://payloadspace.com/

Today is Opposite Day at Pathfinder. Rather than interview someone, Ryan himself is sitting down in the hot seat to take an hour’s worth of questions. Our guest host is cofounder Mo Islam. Though he’s Ryan’s coworker, he’s also his boss and a fair, unsparing interviewer.Pathfinder #0021 is brought to you by Spaced Ventures, the planet’s first space investment portal. Spaced Ventures recently launched an effort to open an investment round into SpaceX, and as of this writing, has received $36.6M+ in pledges from more than 2,050 investors.Okay, here we go…Today’s guest is Ryan Duffy, the managing editor of Payload and host of Pathfinder. Our discussion with Ryan peels back the curtain to offer an inside look into how the ever-growing Payload newsroom operates.*SNEAK PEEK*Launching the daily Payload newsletter and what we’ve learned one year inRyan’s experience creating Morning Brew’s second productDigital media startups and newsletter-first distribution modelsEvolving from curation to original reporting and analysisPopular narratives vs. what’s actually happening in the space industryWho we write for at Payload and how we see our audienceRyan launders the best insights and talking points from previous Pathfinder alumniHype cycles in space and other emerging technology-dominant industriesWhat’s next for Payload 👀👀👀…there’s plenty of range in this conversation, from running a mile every day for 1,000+ days in a row, to getting hit by a car, to wanting to be a garbage man rather than an astronaut as a child (hence the thumbnail). We hope you enjoy the convo and learn something new about Payload.*SHOW NOTES*Mo's Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsmoislamRyan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryandoofy*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand, and while we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, every Monday to Friday morning 2) Pathfinder, this podcast, on Tuesday mornings 3) ...and 💫Parallax!💫 on Thursday afternoons. Parallax is our brand-spanking new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comSubscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about Payload at www.payloadspace.com

About Epsilon3: The startup has developed an operating system (OS) for space missions. The streamlined software tool helps space companies keep tabs on complex engineering, testing, and operational procedures. Epsilon3’s customers include Inversion, Orbit Fab, Virgin Galactic, Firefly, Stoke, Stratolaunch, and Privateer, among other companies.And more about our guest : Laura began her space career at Northrop Grumman, before moving on to SpaceX, where she helped put the US back in the human spaceflight biz. She worked on the Dragon ops team and was on the console for the spacecraft’s first flight, its first mission to the ISS, and subsequent commercial crew programs. She also worked on the F9 and Dragon Recovery teams.*CHAPTERS* 0:00 — Intro 3:06 — Putting the US back in the human spaceflight business 5:12 — Other highlights from Laura's time as a SpaceX'er 7:43 — The state of play in space mission management 10:07 — Why are space missions managed and tracked on pen, paper, Word, and Excel? 15:23 — Quantifying Epsilon3's effectiveness 19:16 — Building industry tools that everybody needs 21:53 — The beauty of elegant software tools 25:13 — When you got started, was it a non-obvious or counterintuitive bet to think the space industry was big enough to support its own software startup? 28:28 — A discussion of Epsilon3's customer base 31:36 — Meme cameo 35:12 — Going through Y Combinator 38:43 — Growing with current users and acquiring new customers 49:15 — Where the Epsilon3 name cames from*SHOW NOTES*Epsilon3’s Website: https://www.epsilon3.io/Laura's Twitter: https://twitter.com/llcrabbieEpsilon3’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/epsilon3inc/Ryan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryandoofy*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand, and while we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, every Monday to Friday morning 2) Pathfinder, this podcast, on Tuesday mornings 3) ...and 💫Parallax!💫 on Thursday afternoons.Parallax is our brand-spanking new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comSubscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about Payload at www.payloadspace.com

Astra's first launch of NASA’s TROPICS satellites ended in failure this summer. Shortly thereafter, Astra scrapped all flights for 2022 and accelerated its pivot to a larger, more capable launcher. As it moves customer payloads to the Rocket 4.0 manifest, Astra says it will launch scientific spacecraft for NASA that are comparable to TROPICS payloads.All the while, shares of Astra have been in free-fall: $ASTR is -90% YTD. Chris still sounded a confident tone, saying the company has the cash to get to Rocket 4.0. Plus, “we have a tremendous number of assets sitting behind me that we've been using our balance sheet to fund,” Chris told us.*CHAPTERS* 0:00 - Intro 5:40 - Astra's garage origins and what's changed in the last five years 9:43 - Falcon 9 → Falcon 9 .... and how Astra is responding to market demand in launch 12:40 - What’s the delta in "the three Cs" as Astra moves from 3.0 to 4.0? 16:39 - Chris dives into what’s needed for launching 4.0 19:10 - How has Astra’s willingness to fail early and iterate helped them get to where they are today? 26:10 - An evolving approach to manufacturing, production, and launch operations 28:18 - The customer profile and civil, commercial, and military space split for Rocket 4.0 31:47 - Take the Payload/SpiderOak space cyber survey 33:38 - IR with institutions and retail investors 37:46 - Ryan shares a Payload reader’s question (and concerns) about Astra's future 40:27 - Could a sale be in the cards? 44:32 - Where will Astra be 12 months from now? 49:43 - Hottest take, or most contrarian view, on space*SHOW NOTES* Astra’s website: https://astra.com/ Chris’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kemp Astra’s investor updates: https://investor.astra.com/static-files/6492bebb-0313-4b4b-a52a-da29428239d9 | https://investor.astra.com/news-releases/news-release-details/astra-announces-spacecraft-engine-contract-airbus-oneweb Astra’s Keynote Day: https://astra.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Astra-Spacetech-Day-Keynote-2022.pdf *ABOUT US* Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand, and while we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish:1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, every Monday to Friday morning2) Pathfinder, this podcast, on Tuesday mornings3) ...and 💫Parallax!💫 on Thursday afternoons. Parallax is our new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comSubscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more at www.payloadspace.com

The startup is promising the world, and then some, with two products to its name: Spacetime & Tightbeam. We bring Aalyria CTO Brian Barritt on the show this week to dig into the startup's vision.*CHAPTERS*0:00 — Live intro0:34 — Aalyria has just emerged from stealth4:17 — Brian's background9:03 — Spacetime & Tightbeam14:00 — Demoing the laser18:41 — Air to ground, space to ground, ground to ground20:15 — Acquiring Alphabet's tech & going independent 24:14 — Why now? 30:31 — Potential deep space applications 33:35 — What's derisked? And what's not?38:40 — Commercial viability 43:29 — End of show Qs ... including the one we've all been dying to know Is Aalyria worried about aliens piggybacking off of its laser beams?*SHOW NOTES*Brian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/brianbarritt?lang=enAalyria's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AalyriaTechCompany website: https://www.aalyria.com/ (head here for more on Spacetime & Tightbeam)Ryan's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryandoofy*DESCRIPTIONS*Spacetime description: "Spacetime is a software platform for orchestrating networks of ground stations, aircraft, satellites, ships, and urban meshes. It optimizes and continually evolves the antenna link scheduling, network traffic routing, and spectrum resources — responding in realtime to changing network requirements. Spacetime operates networks across land, sea, air, and space, at any altitude or orbit type, supports all radio frequency bands and optical wavelengths, and it is designed for interoperability with legacy, hybrid space, 5G NTN and FutureG network architectures."Tightbeam description: "Tightbeam is the world's most advanced coherent light free space optics technology. At rates faster than any other solutions available today and covering greater distances than previously imagined, it moves data intact through the atmosphere and weather, and offers connectivity where no supporting infrastructure exists. Tightbeam radically improves satellite communications, Wi-Fi on planes and ships, and cellular connectivity everywhere."*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand, and while we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish:1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, every Monday to Friday morning2) Pathfinder, this podcast, on Tuesday mornings3) ...and 💫Parallax!💫 on Thursday afternoons.Parallax is our brand-spanking new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comAnd subscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about Payload at www.payloadspace.com

In this week's episode, and our second dispatch from back-to-back space conferences in Paris, Ryan sits down with Redwire CEO and Chairman Peter Cannito, followed by an interview with Al Tadros, Redwire's chief technology officer. Redwire is a full-stack space infrastructure company based in Jacksonville, Florida, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange ($RDW).The first half of the podcast features our conversation with Peter, who is also an operating partner at AE Industrial Partners. The space-focused private equity player has more than $3 billion in assets under management and hatched Redwire in late 2020 by merging Adcole Space and Deep Space Systems, and has also backed Firefly, Sierra, and other big space names. With Peter, we discuss Redwire's M&A strategy, business roadmap, growth markets, investing in space, AE's central role in the space ecosystem, and the geopolitics of space. Peter has spent 25+ years in the defense, tech, and government contracting sectors, and was formerly the CEO of Polaris Alpha. He holds a bachelor's from U Delaware, an MBA from Maryland, and served as an officer in the US Marines.The second half of today's episode features our conversation with Al, who makes strategic investments that support Redwire’s customer base, advance technology development, and further commercialization. Al has nearly three decades of experience as an aerospace executive and has straddled both business and technical leadership functions, which makes his perspective particularly unique and valuable. Prior to being named as CTO of Redwire earlier this year, Al was the company's chief growth officer and executive vice president of space infrastructure. Before Redwire, Al was VP of space infrastructure and and civil space at Maxar Technologies. Al holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in mechanical engineering from MIT.Today's episode of Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, an industry leader in cybersecurity. Check out SpiderOak’s space cyber whitepaper at spacecyber.com*CHAPTERS*0:00 - Intro 2:30 - Show begins with Peter4:49 - International expansion 7:08 - Square footage...correlated with company success? 9:07 - Operator + investor experience in space14:30 - Space macro discussion 17:44 - Taking Redwire public via SPAC, and why not all space SPACs are created equal 22:02 - Peter’s take on geopolitical trends shaping space, and a modern-day space race with China26:27 - Al joins + tells us about the Redwire CTO role 27:10 - His journey at Redwire and rising up the ranks 33:00 - Redwire's technology portfolio 35:07 - Robotics in space 38:47 - Flight-proven hardware, structures on the ISS, etc. 42:01 - Where is the European space sector headed?45:00 - The space industry always has room for more fresh talent, including folks in non-technical roles*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish Payload, our flagship newsletter, from Monday to Friday; Pathfinder, and Parallax. Parallax is our brand-spanking new weekly science newsletter for the space industry.Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comYou can subscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about Payload at payloadspace.com

Today's episode of Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, an industry leader in cybersecurity. Check out SpiderOak’s space cyber whitepaper at spacecyber.com*CHAPTERS*00:00 — Intro01:46 — The pre-Quilty Analytics days ... Caleb's winding journey from political science and astronomy to space reporting08:27 — What do space analysts do for a living?12:01 — SpaceX and T-Mobile teaming up and satellite-to-smartphone connectivity21:23 — Tracking newly SPAC'd or IPO'd space companies, vs. established mid/big-cap A&D stocks with large and $$$ space divisions28:22 — A shout-out to AST SpaceMobile's online fans and r/ASTSpaceMobile ... "Hi, Reddit and AST SpaceMobile subreddit, we're reading you."30:00 — Caleb's 🐐 description for what supports the satellite industry ... the-three legged stool36:59 — And don't forget the invisible stool ... cybersecurity, space situational awareness (SSA), and spectrum authorization47:22 — What was it like moderating the Amazon Project Kuiper announcement, aka the largest commercial launch procurement in history? Caleb interviewed CEOs of Blue Origin, Arianespace, and United Launch Alliance (ULA)48:33 — Where is the market tapped out? And where is there room to grow? 52:18 — The long-lasting effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the space industry. With the two space powerhouses at odds, "the split is literally tearing rockets in half and tearing satellites in half."*SHOW NOTES*Caleb's Twitter — https://twitter.com/CHenry_QACaleb's LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebahenry/Ryan's Twitter — https://twitter.com/RyandoofyQuilty — https://www.quiltyanalytics.com/Research/reports ($) — https://www.quiltyanalytics.com/research/industry-research/Diagrams — https://payloadspace.com/pathfinder-0016-featuring-caleb-henry/ Parallax —parallax.beehiiv.com*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we publish Payload, our flagship newsletter, from Monday to Friday; Pathfinder, and Parallax. Parallax is our brand-spanking new weekly science newsletter for the space industry. Subscribe now so you can say you were early by signing up at parallax.beehiiv.comYou can subscribe to our daily newsletter and find out more about Payload at payloadspace.com

Today's episode is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, an industry leader in space cybersecurity. Check them out at https://spideroak-ms.com/ and download the new NSR/SpiderOak sponsored whitepaper, titled “Space Cybersecurity – Current State and Future Needs,” at www.spacecyber.com*SNEAK PEEK*For starters, we get a status report on what Aquarian’s been up to over the last six months. But there’s plenty more on tap, such as: How Kelly landed at Aquarian, with a serial entrepreneur background and non-space resumeNASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) and new opportunities with today’s technologyGoing to market with CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) rovers and landersWhat a lunar Wi-Fi network will look like and its first applicationsThe capital required for the initial network buildoutIs Kelly worried about aliens free-loading on Aquarian’s Wi-Fi?…and more! Come for the above topics, stay for ever-so-brief discussions of yoga and astrology (Ryan’s totally unbiased opinion: Aquarians rule).Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we send newsletters and publish podcasts. Subscribe to our flagship industry-leading daily newsletter at payloadspace.com*CHAPTERS*0:00 - Introduction2:32 - Kelly’s love for space began when she grew up on a farm and was able to look up at the stars6:49 - “Farm girl turned yoga entrepreneur turned space CEO.” The transformation that brought Kelly to the space industry11:08 - Kelly’s take on joining Aquarian13:24 - What problems is Aquarian setting out to solve? How are they approaching these issues?18:14 - Aquarian’s launch strategy for their communications networks and the growing lunar economy24:36 - What will Aquarian’s constellation look like? Kelly discusses the need to bring reliable service to Aquarian’s customers29:11 - Eating the humble pie: how Kelly went about fundraising and pitching in the first round34:46 - Space camps and mentorship37:42 - Are there common backgrounds in the technical team at Aquarian?41:33 - The logistics of being a space startup distributed across the US45:14 - Kelly’s hottest take, or most contrarian view, of space46:40 - Who are Kelly’s role models in the space industry? Will Kelly go to space one day?51:33 - The concern for extraterrestrial life and having advanced network systems in space*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we send newsletters and publish podcasts. Subscribe to our flagship industry-leading daily newsletter at payloadspace.com

Our guest is Barry Matsumori, a space industry veteran who’s held exec roles at SpaceX, Virgin Orbit, and most recently, was CEO of BridgeComm. Barry’s now the COO of Impulse Space, which was started by SpaceX founding team member Tom Mueller.Impulse is just a year old and it has only ~40 employees, making it all the more surprising when Impulse and Relativity said they’d partner to launch the first commercial Mars mission in the next available window (late 2024). We grill Barry on the specifics of the mission, and though it feels highly ambitious, it’s safe to say that you don’t want to bet against these teams.Today's episode is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, an industry leader in space cybersecurity. Check them out at https://spideroak-ms.com/ and download the new NSR/SpiderOak sponsored whitepaper, titled “Space Cybersecurity – Current State and Future Needs,” at www.spacecyber.com*CHAPTERS*0:00 - Introduction2:43 -Explaining what it was like to work for Qualcomm, a semiconductor company specializing in silicon chips used in mobile phones5:20 - Barry’s unorthodox approach to higher education, starting with an undergraduate business degree and then pursuing a postgrad degree in engineering9:05 - Defining new space11:20 - The bread and butter of Impulse Space… finding ways to build infrastructure that allows space to become an enterprise13:37 - Impulse Space aims to be a “last-mile” space transportation player. What does that mean and what does it look like?17:56 - Discussion of Imulse’s development cycles and vertical integration19:35 - Where does the startup recruit from? What does its headcount look like?20:35 - Relativity and Space are working together to do what?!25:10 - What still needs to happen or fall into place to make the Mars window in 2024?31:16 - Orbital infrastructure is a prerequisite for more space commercialization (materials processing, pharma development, semiconductor manufacturing, etc.)36:20 - How using LEO as a parking could usher in a more sustainable phase of space exploration (and return trips to Earth)40:28 - Pulling in fresh talent from other industries versus recruiting from space competitors44:07 - Pools of talent density around the US… From LA to Boston, and far beyond47:26 - If all goes to plan, what will Impulse look like in 2024? What other missions will it be working on?48:41 - Close of show … Star Wars or Star Trek? Are we alone? Will Barry go to space?*SHOW NOTES*Video referenced in episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuL7iYUNg6o&feature=emb_titleImpulse's website: https://www.impulsespace.com/Barry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-matsumori-35676/Mars mission details: https://www.impulsespace.com/marsQ+A with partner Relativity: https://payloadspace.com/qa-with-tim-ellis-on-relativitys-mars-mission/*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we send newsletters and publish podcasts. Subscribe to our flagship industry-leading daily newsletter at payloadspace.com