In today’s Pathfinder podcast, host Mo Islam chats with cofounder and CEO of True Anomaly, Even Rogers. Before founding True Anomaly, Even held a number of different space jobs, including Air Force space operations officer, where he helped lay the foundation for the establishment of the Space Force. While serving, he witnessed a shift within the space community from focusing on counterinsurgency operations to addressing vulnerabilities and threats in space systems amid the rise of China. True Anomaly develops spacecraft and software solutions to make space a protected harbor for the US and its allies. They are focusing on offering: operational testing, responsive operations, and space domain awareness. Even and Mo talk about the story behind True Anomaly, deterrence in space, and transitioning from the military to Silicon Valley. They also discuss: True Anomaly’s product suite Striking the right balance of former military personnel and engineers Jackal’s demo mission this fall Why VC investors are backing defense companies Security and data integrity in space And much more… This episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters • 00:00 - Intro and ad 01:50 - Even's journey from the military to Silicon Valley 08:48 - True Anomaly overview 12:12 - How did you pick your initial team? 13:34 - Product overview and roadmap 16:18 - Upcoming demo mission 19:07 - Current and future clients 21:43 - Key metric: cost per maneuver 25:24 - Autonomy and AI 28:20 - Security and data integrity 30:00 - SpiderOak ad break 30:48 - DoD's focus: "tactical and responsive" 33:36 - Vertical integration of True Anomaly 34:23 - Team construction and bridging skill gaps 38:25 - What has changed in the VC market for space startups? 44:37 - Deterrence theory in space 48:52 - Other veteran owned space companies 49:56 - Why Denver? • Show notes • True Anomaly's website — https://www.trueanomaly.space/True Anomaly's socials — https://twitter.com/The_TrueAnomaly 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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

You need to be paying attention to the space industry. Why? Because Payload Cofounder Ari Lewis has finally agreed to be a guest on Pathfinder. You’ve probably seen Ari in his natural habitat: flying around the country to events and conferences, sporting his trademark Payload baseball cap, helping companies understand why they need to partner with Payload. But today, the lifeblood of Payload’s sales engine sits down with fellow cofounder and Pathfinder host Mo Islam. Mo and Ari discuss the Payload origin story, scaling a media organization, and the future vision of the business. They also talk about: Challenges faced by the space industry today Parallels between the space and crypto industry How to build a strong media brand The Payload 10-Year VisionAnd much more…Our episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters •00:00 - Introduction 00:35 - SpiderOak Ad 01:13 - Introduction to Ari 01:37 - What finally made you decide to come on the show? 02:16 - Payload origin story 07:01 - How Ari got to Payload 09:02 - Crypto to space? 13:02 - What made Payload unique and allowed it to grow? 18:25 - How does Payload make money? 21:53 - Space industry challenges and how Payload can help 31:02 - How you view Twitter as a tool for the space industry 35:57 - SpiderOak Ad Break 36:45 - Will Payload expand beyond the space industry? 39:00 - Fundamentals of building a strong brand 45:53 - How Ari stays focused and motivated 47:37 - Hobbies outside of work 48:29 - Secret energy source? 50:23 - How does someone working at Payload ask for a raise? 51:39 - Favorite part about Payload or memory 54:40 - The Payload 10 Year Vision• Show notes •Ari's socials — https://twitter.com/amlewis4Mo'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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Today, Pathfinder unveils an industry exclusive. An influential trio – Major General (Ret.) Kim Crider, Eddie Papczun, and Mike Dickey – veterans of A&D, have come together to launch Elara Nova, a consulting firm meticulously crafted to cater to the ever-expanding space industry. With illustrious careers under their belts, these three have held distinguished positions in the Air Force and Space Force (Kim was the Chief Technology Innovation Officer and Mike was Chief Architect) and later ventured into space and defense consulting.Recognizing a critical void in the market not being met by major consulting organizations, Crider, Papczun, and Dickey have forged a comprehensive and cohesive consulting powerhouse. Their vision: bolster the space industry, fortify national security, and aid companies in cultivating international alliances.Kim and Eddie join us to discuss:The origins of Elara NovaWhy a space-focused consultancy?Range of services and target clientsImportance of data for a company’s space strategyNavigating private vs government funding“A pacing threat in China”And much more…And much more…Our episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters •00:00 Introduction and SpiderOak Ad01:32 Introducing Kim & Eddie01:50 The start of a new business venture05:32 Origins of Elara Nova06:20 The Avengers of the Space Industry11:19 Why Elara Nova and why now?22:42 Kim's background as Chief Technology Innovation Officer of the USSF27:02 How important is data to a company's space strategy?35:20 SpiderOak Ad Break36:08 Focusing on government vs commercial customers40:10 How should startups navigate funding and government capital?45:10 DoD vs NASA space budget48:50 US lead vs China53:54 NASA prediction54:55 Elon prediction55:57 The first to the Moon59:10 How to get in touch with Elara Nova• Show notes •Elara Nova — https://elaranova.com/Kim's Email: kim@elaranova.comEddie's Email: eddie@elaranova.comMo'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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

When Shey Sabripour moved to Austin, TX, more than a decade ago, he was immediately struck by the city's laid-back lifestyle and impressive talent pool (we imagine the Tex Mex didn’t hurt either). After spending a few years as CTO of local Texas startup Firefly Aerospace, Shey couldn’t resist the entrepreneurial itch any longer. Instead of following the commercial space industry flock to Los Angeles, Shey saw something special in Austin and decided it was the perfect breeding ground for his new company, CesiumAstro. For the uninitiated, Cesium builds high-throughput, software-defined phased array communication systems for airborne and in-space platforms. Today's Pathfinder podcast invites CEO Shey Sabripour to break down how phased array antennas work—and why they’re a game changer for satellites and spacecraft trying to communicate with each other and the ground. Shey joins us on the show to discuss: Cesium’s origin story A primer on phased array technology Why phased array antennas are the holy grail for satellites The importance of product design Why build in Austin, TX And much more…Today’s episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters •00:00 - Intro and SpiderOak Ad 01:09 - Shey's beginnings with the space industry 03:50 - Cesium and its mission 10:50 - A layman explaining phased array technology 16:47 - Use cases for phased arrays 20:33 - Shift in cost curve 22:37 - "Phase array antennas are satellites' holy grail" 23:47 - Cesium's core product offering 27:05 - Initial customer base 28:48 - Ad break 29:40 - Why start Cesium? 33:24 - The importance of phased array antennas 35:14 - Learnings from startups and aerospace primes 38:06 - Why build in Austin? 40:10 - How can founders building highly technical companies tell their story? 45:26 - Focusing on product design 47:58 - What else would you be building if not Cesium? 49:48 - What startup are you most excited about? 51:40 - An (unknown) underlying trend in space• Show notes •CesiumAstro — https://www.cesiumastro.com/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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Today, the Pathfinder podcast brings you a conversation with Kirk Konert, a partner at AE Industrial Partners (AEI) focusing primarily on space and defense. Kirk joined AEI in 2014 just as the firm was institutionalizing and scaling its investment offering. Before AEI, Kirk worked at Sun Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, and at Wells Fargo’s Industrials Group.AE Industrial Partners is a FL-based PE firm that focuses on aerospace, defense and government services. It launched its first fund in 2014 and has since grown to over $5.5B of assets under management (AUM).Kirk joins us on the show today to discuss:The history of AEI and the evolution of its strategyWhy private equity is a compelling tool in this marketWhat AEI looks for in an investmentPortfolio company synergiesFundraising predictions for the industryAnd much more…Today’s episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters •00:00 An introduction to Kirk and private equity03:22 History of AE and its evolution/strategy05:47 Kirk's career arc through joining AE09:41 AE's different investment strategies and how they interrelate13:20 Categorizing the space industry as an investment15:52 What do you look for in an investment?26:13 What drives success and failure of management teams29:56 SpiderOak Ad Break30:47 Fundraising prediction for the aerospace industry34:22 How does a founder with 12 months of runway navigate the market?35:59 Predicting when the market for IPOs will recover41:52 Geopolitical tailwinds for space companies45:16 Advice for a new investor looking to generate the most alpha47:38 What drive's AE's success?49:48 Starship prediction?• Show notes •AE Industrial Partners - https://www.aeroequity.com/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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Today, the Pathfinder podcast brings on its first sibling/cofounder duo. Before founding K2, CEO Karan spent a decade at Boston Consulting Group and helped lead Text IQ, an artificial intelligence company, through to a nine-figure exit. CTO Neel spent 6 years at SpaceX developing avionics systems for the Dragon spacecraft and then went on to become a senior electrical systems engineer at electric aircraft company Kittyhawk. Mo, Neel and Karan discuss K2's origin story, optimizing for mass-scale, a post-Starship world, and much more... Today’s episode is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters • 00:00 Intro 00:30 SpiderOak Ad 01:15 K2 Space overview 05:00 The problem K2 is looking to solve 06:34 A mass constraint vs mass abundant world 10:56 Other manufacturers optimizing for mass scale? 12:48 How the cost of JWST skyrocketed because of mass constraints 18:12 How is K2 going to drop costs? 22:04 Learnings from SpaceX 23:44 Sizing the demand-side of large-scale buses 26:03 SpiderOak Ad 26:51 Defense, commercial, and scientific use-cases 30:22 Customer traction 32:15 The future of large-scale buses in LEO 34:00 The K2 advisory board & team 38:45 Predicting the success of the first Starship launch 46:50 Starship launch costs 48:30 Where does the K2 name come from? 49:37 Favorite sci-fi book or movie? 51:55 Another space startup that really excites you 53:15 When do you think we'll land on Mars? • Show notes • K2 Space - https://www.k2space.com/ 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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Ian Cinnamon is the CEO and Co-founder of Apex Space, a startup manufacturing satellite buses in the 100-kilogram class that can support ~100 kgs of payload. It aims to sell Aries, its first product, into the commercial space market and support EO and communications missions. Apex says Aries will be available as an off-the-shelf platform that can be configured with specific subsystems to support certain customer needs.Ian previously was an Investor and Entrepreneur in Residence at Village Global. Prior to Village, Ian founded Synapse Technology, an AI security startup that exited to Palantir. Max Benassi, Apex’s other cofounder, formerly built vehicles at SpaceX and served as Astra’s director of engineeringToday’s episode is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. • A sneak peek •Ian and Mo talk about Apex’s origin story, the complexities of satellite bus manufacturing, and the size of Apex’s target market. They also discuss:The long-awaited history behind the Cinnamon family nameWhy the Apex team is best suited to tackle the satellite bus marketHow to successfully work with commercial vs. government customersThe importance of the SpaceX Transporter-10 missionThe geopolitical tailwinds supporting the space industryAnd much more…• Chapters •00:00:00 Intro + SpiderOak Ad 01:11:00 The Origin of the Cinnamons 03:31:06 Introduction to Apex 07:57:11 Difficulties of in-house bus development 09:52:02 Apex vs. Terran Orbital vs. York Space 13:19:19 Working with the government customer 18:08:16 Quantifying the satellite bus market 21:47:09 Refueling in LEO, is there a market? 25:31:11 Capital flows in launch vs bus manufacturing 28:32:04 Difficulties of bus manufacturing 30:38:01 SpiderOak Ad 31:17:03 SpaceX Transporter 10 Mission 32:21:16 The Apex Team 38:38:02 Ian’s background as an investor and operator 43:18:06 Geopolitics as a tailwind 46:23:09 Rapid Fire! (Mentors/figures, startups Ian is excited about, how to spend free time) 49:43:14 Outro• Show notes •Apex - https://www.apexspace.com/Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislamPayload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspacePathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL\_uY3GaNf67hP-i6TRWF2n06xMv1kdkZ6Pathfinder 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 15,000+ 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. We publish three properties:Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/)Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)Find out more about us at http://payloadspace.com/

Last Friday, Payload moderated the “Beyond LEO” panel at the MIT Sloan New Space Age Conference in Cambridge. Joining us were: Will Hovik, engineering lead @ Honeybee Robotics; Kevin Duda, senior space systems manager @ Draper Laboratory; Forrest Meyen, cofounder and CSO of Lunar Outpost; and Blair DeWitt, the founder and CEO of Lunar Station.Today's Pathfinder is brought to you by Kepler Communications, a company bringing the internet to space. Find out more at https://kepler.space/• A sneak peek •This discussion couldn’t have come at a better time. On Monday, ispace said its HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lander has entered orbit around the moon. And more “ships,” i.e., landers and rovers, are set to depart for the Moon in the coming months. Our Beyond LEO discussion centered around what comes next on, near, and around the Moon: robotic explorers, habitation modules, crewed missions, energy, lunar infrastructure, and in-situ resource utilization.What follows are some takeaways from the panel.$$$: Funding models changed drastically between Apollo and Artemis, and VCs can often miscalculate risk with lunar ventures. Duda estimated that NASA is paying an average of ~$1M per kilogram of payloads delivered to the lunar surface.The new approach: Embrace failure, iterate rapidly, and buy down risk by sending multiple ships.CLPS: The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is an on-ramp for NASA to support commercial players without taking over the mission. In theory this support could spur more innovation and commercial growth.NASA: The agency is undergoing an organizational change, as it shifts from being a fully integrated operator to a customer.Humans and machines: It’s not either-or. Striking a balance between automation and human presence is key as we return to the Moon, with robots carrying out preliminary groundwork and humans making high-level decisions and performing experiments on the surface.Beyond LEO and lunar: Mars remains the ultimate goal of space exploration, with the Moon serving as a stepping stone to deeper space missions.While our sights were set beyond LEO, the last decade in low Earth orbit offers lessons, both good and bad, for cislunar aspirants. LEO applications, such as satcom services or environmental monitoring, have thrived due to their direct impact on everyday life. NASA and cislunar players, it follows, should go to extra lengths to make the Moon relevant to the general public and explain how lunar exploration will benefit us back on Earth. “We don't really know what the lunar towns are gonna find,” DeWitt said, “but [they’ll] find something and it's gonna participate in helping us here on Earth."• Chapters •0:00 Intro & Kepler Ad 2:11 Panel Intro 7:36 Fundraising, capital formation, and partnerships 12:44 How important that those first ships are successful? 17:18 Role of NASA as a partner 22:01 What are some pivotal technologies that are going to be used on the lunar surface? 27:30 Automation vs crew exploration32:15 What are the priorities for future Artemis crews? 35:09 Positive takeaways from LEO 37:24 Kepler Ad break 38:12 Q&A• Show notes •MIT New Space Age — http://newspaceage.org/ Honeybee — https://www.honeybeerobotics.com/ Draper — https://www.draper.com/ Lunar Outpost — https://lunaroutpost.com/ Lunar Station — https://lunarstation.space/ CLPS — https://payloadspace.com/whos-who-lunar-landers-and-rovers/ Ryan's socials — https://twitter.com/Ryandoofy / https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfduffy/ Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_uY3GaNf67hP-i6TRWF2n06xMv1kdkZ6Pathfinder 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 15,000+ 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. We publish three properties:1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)Find out more about us at http://payloadspace.com/

Today, we’re bringing you a live podcast from South by Southwest that was recorded Tuesday at the SkyFi Summit. Pathfinder #0039 is brought to you by Kepler Communications, a company bringing the internet to space—find out more at www.kepler.spaceBear in mind that four guests at once is a new format for us, but the convo that follows is funny, fast-moving, and definitely worth your while. On-stage and speaking alongside Ryan were:  Luke Fischer, CEO of SkyFi,Gabe Dominocielo, cofounder and president of Umbra,Katie Betts, head of BD at Albedo,Will Edwards, CEO of Firehawk AerospaceFirst, some news: This week, SkyFi said it has officially onboarded Umbra and Satellogic as imagery providers on its platform.A sneak peekWe chatted all things Earth observation: pain points, market potential, SAR, the sales process, regulation, analytics, and more. Ryan asked each exec whether the "smartest people in the room" cast aside their business idea as "impossible," and what proving them wrong looks like.  Gabe opened up for the first time about Umbra’s bootstrapped origins and harped on the end-all, be-all in EO: unit economics.Luke highlighted SkyFi’s recent momentum with both imagery providers and consumers/end users of its platform, and spoke about the primacy of UX (user experience) for his company.Will brought 3D-printed rocket fuel as a prop, showed the audience Firehawk’s recent hot-fire test; and provided a state-of-play on rocket propulsion in the US.Katie shared more color on Albedo’s backstory, along with its go-to-market plan, and delivered the quote of the day: "We will be able to detect adult pigs from space, but not baby pigs.”Chapters00:00:00—Intro and Kepler Ad    00:02:07—Live panel begins     00:03:22—Will, his prop, and Firehawk's hot fire    00:04:40—Albedo00:05:55—Umbra00:07:13—SkyFi 00:08:39—The status quo in EO00:17:30—The smartest people in the room say it's impossible...chips on shoulders and proving the haters wrong    00:28:15—A word from Kepler 00:29:05—How do you decide who to partner with?  00:39:04—Predicting future products and capabilities    00:46:53—Q from social media: Could you product have found Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?    00:48:44—Audience Q: What are you doing around supplier diversity programs?    00:50:43—When will we get satellite imagery that's high-res and granular enough to see Bill Perkins wakesurfing on Lake Travis?00:52:34—Close of show • Show notes •Firehawk hot-fire: https://twitter.com/FirehawkAero/status/1630999186282872843?s=20SkyFi partnership with Umbra: https://twitter.com/SkyfiApp/status/1635692914821955584?s=20...and Satellogic: https://www.skyfi.com/blog/skyfi-announces-integration-with-satellogic-to-expand-earth-observation#mainSkyFi: https://www.skyfi.com/Umbra: https://umbra.space/Albedo: https://albedo.com/FIrehawk: https://firehawkaerospace.com/Payload: http://payloadspace.com/

Joe Laurienti is the CEO and cofounder of Ursa Major, a company that builds and sells propulsion products for A) launch, B) hypersonics, and C) in-space transportation. Joe cut his teeth at SpaceX and Blue Origin before setting out on his own and starting Ursa Major in 2015. The Colorado company raised $85M in December 2021 and started ramping engine production last year. It has two bigger, badder beasts in the works: Ripley, Hadley’s bigger sister, is 10X more powerful. Arroway, which is further out, is a 200,000-pound thrust, liquid oxygen and methane staged combustion engine. On today’s show, Joe and Ryan talk about the startup’s primary products; its origin story; and how big of a market Ursa Major believes it’s going after.Today’s episode is brought to you by Kepler Communications, a company bringing the internet to space. • Sneak peek •Joe joins Pathfinder with a surprise, and a space scoop: Ursa Major has struck a deal to supply Vector Launch with “several” propulsion systems, he tells Pathfinder. Ursa’s Hadley engines will power the main stage of the Vector-R launch vehicle in future demonstration missions. Vector is a seven-year-old startup that's raised more than $180M to date but had to declare bankruptcy in 2020. The thought-to-be-dead rocket developer is in fact not dead, and last October, tweeted a photo of its Vector-R, with strong “rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated” vibes. • Chapters •00:00:00 Intro and Ad00:02:02 Guest Intro00:03:30 What were you working on at SpaceX and Blue Origin?00:04:53 USC Rocket Propulsion Lab00:06:13 Origin story into entrepreneurship00:09:41 Story of the name Ursa Major00:11:36 Space SEO + skincare products00:12:12 How have your numbers changed in a year in terms of production?00:14:03 Hadley, Ripley, and Arroway00:15:00 Your engines, how they fit together, and their capabilities00:19:25 First methane fuled rocket?00:20:40 Technology stacks/methods driving your production00:23:51 Reason for existence00:30:05 Vector and Vector-R annoucnement00:32:15 Your contribution to the partnership00:33:52 How did the partnership start and where do you see it going?00:35:34 Commercial partnership with Phantom00:37:16 Other partners00:38:37 Recruitment from the big 2 and other recruiting targets00:42:24 Raising funds vs revenue generation00:44:22 Max Q: What reasons are there to be bullish on small launch?00:45:49 How many launch companies can have viable business models?00:47:25 how do you view the Aerojet Rocketdyne acquisition and what does it mean for Ursa? Is $4.7B a ceiling for a company building engines? How do you see Ursa becoming more valuable?00:49:18 Rapid fire q• Show notes •Landing page — https://www.ursamajor.com/Jobs — https://www.ursamajor.com/careersCulture — https://www.ursamajor.com/cultureArroway — https://payloadspace.com/ursa-major-unveils-arroway/April 2022 interview — https://payloadspace.com/ursa-major-scales/Twitter — https://twitter.com/ursamajortechLinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/company/ursamajortech/Ryan's socials — https://twitter.com/Ryandoofy / https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfduffy/Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace /  https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspacePathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_uY3GaNf67hP-i6TRWF2n06xMv1kdkZ6Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes• More info •This info is provided by Ursa Major. Find out more at ursamajor.com/engines. "Our engines are optimized to offer high performance, diverse capability, and unwavering reliability — all at a competitive price." The engines feature: Staged Combustion: High-performing engine cycle in a compact design, innovating technology to its limitReusability: Single engines capable of multi-mission use and extended duration applicationsThrust Vector Control: Precise gimbal maneuvering and controlActive throttle range: Allows for Max-Q throttling, g-limit throttling and mission-specific thrust profilesSingle-mission restarts: Allows for efficient orbit-changing burns, de-orbit burns, and Stage 1 recoveryCustom burn duration: Allows for flexibility in mission planning and total impulseHadley, Ursa Major's engine that's currently in production, has 5,000 lbf of thrust @ sea level, runs on lox and kerosene, and is designed for low Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, in-space propulsion, and hypersonics systems. Ripley, which is in development, has 50,000 lbf of thrust @ sea level, also runs on lox and kerosene, and is designed for LEO and GEO. Arroway, which is earlier in the R&D phase, has 200,000 lbf of thrust; runs on lox and methane; and is designed for medium and heavy boost launch vehicles.