By Payload
4.6
5252 ratings
The podcast currently has 113 episodes available.
This week on Pathfinder, we explore the future of 3D metal printing and manufacturing with Erik Palitsch and TJ Ronacher, co-founders of Freeform, a pioneering startup aiming to redefine industrial-scale additive manufacturing. Both SpaceX alumni, Erik and TJ share their journeys from leading projects on the Merlin and Raptor engines to co-founding Freeform, where they’re using high-power lasers and real-time process control to create a new era of rapid, scalable 3D printing.
We dive into how Freeform’s approach is addressing longstanding challenges in the additive industry, from quality control to production speed. Erik and TJ outline their vision for Freeform as a “manufacturing as a service” model, where clients can access high-quality printed parts without the steep learning curve and costs of traditional additive systems. We also discuss:
And much more…
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:35 - TJ's background
02:15 - Erik's time at SpaceX before Freeform
07:25 - How has materials in 3D printing changed in the past 10 years?
12:27 - Manufacturing as a service and the tech at Freeform
18:16 - 3D printing vs traditionally manufactured parts
23:11 - What is the tech that Freeform is building?
32:45 - True factory scale 3D printing
37:10 - Traction beyond space
38:06 - What Freeform is printing today
38:41 - Revenue and customers
41:53 - Manufacturing capability today and in the future
43:51 - Advice for investors looking to invest in 3D printing
49:18 - Future of 3D printing
54:24 - What will off-planet 3D printing look like?
57:08 - Favorite stories from SpaceX days
60:47 - Milestones to look out for
• Show notes •
Freeform’s website — https://freeform.co/
Freeform’s socials —https://x.com/freeform_future
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
In this week’s pod, we dive into the world of space-based solar power with Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood and now founder of Aetherflux, a new startup aiming to change how we think about energy from space. Baiju takes us on his personal journey from building a public company to tackling one of the most ambitious ideas in the space industry. Drawing on a lifelong passion for space—rooted in his father's work at NASA—Baiju reveals how Aetherflux plans to bring to life a 1970s sci-fi vision: harnessing solar power from space to solve Earth’s most pressing energy challenges.
Baiju shares the challenges and excitement of launching Aetherflux, and how his team is taking a modern approach to an old concept by using advanced laser technology and modular satellite networks. We also discuss:
And much more...
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - Robinhood to space
03:51 - A father's influence
06:54 - Why Aetherflux?
11:15 - Natural resources in space
12:18 - Why do we need solar power in space?
13:53 - Market and applications for space solar
19:53 - Lasers for power transmission
23:02 - Efficiency gain / loss with space solar
26:06 - Real time power delivery
29:21 - Why not nuclear?
31:37 - Space-based solar for space
32:28 - Safety and regulation
34:37 - Economics of space solar
38:06 - Constellations at scale
39:06 - Early revenue model
40:09 - Competitors
41:05 - Funding
44:05 - An Apple moment
48:19 - Aetherflux team, growth, and goals
49:26 - Space startups that Baiju is excited about
51:20 - Who would Baiju choose to play him in a movie?
• Show notes •
Aetherflux’s website — https://www.aetherflux.com/
Aetherflux’s socials — https://twitter.com/AetherfluxUSA
Baiju’s socials — https://twitter.com/BaijuBhatt
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
In this week’s Pathfinder pod, we bring in Karthik Gollapudi, CEO, and Austin Spiegel, CTO, of Sift, as they dive into the company's mission to build software tools for complex machines, with a focus on telemetry solutions. Sift’s platform enables end-to-end data ingestion, real-time analysis, and visualization, helping companies streamline the testing and operation of intricate hardware systems, such as spacecraft and rockets.
Karthik and Austin share the story behind Sift’s founding and highlight the key role telemetry plays in improving safety and efficiency for hardware engineers.
We also cover:
And much more...
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:31 - What is Sift building?
04:18 - Origins
07:30 - Austin at Riot Games
10:52 - Product walkthrough
13:19 - Why is data ingestion so difficult?
19:30 - What is a company doing if they're not using Sift?
22:05 - How do you make sure that there's no data loss?
24:50 - What does a user experience look like?
27:44 - What does the demand look like for real-time telemetry?
28:57 - Competition
29:43 - Revenue model
31:56 - How Sift's tools help their customers
36:46 - What's next for Sift?
39:04 - What keeps you up at night?
44:56 - Long-term view
45:54 - Companies to be excited for
• Show notes •
Sift’s website — siftstack.com/
Sift’s socials — https://x.com/SiftStack
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
In this week’s Pathfinder pod, Chiara Manfletti, CEO of Neuraspace and former President of the Portuguese National Space Agency, discusses the growing importance of space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management. Neuraspace is a Portuguese startup that is developing a software platform that provides satellite operators with risk assessments, maneuvering advice, and insights on space debris.
Chiara explains Neuraspace’s mission to tackle the challenges of space debris and why it's essential to develop better tools for managing space traffic. She also shares the story behind Neurospace’s founding, the company’s growth, and their innovative approach to automating satellite operations.
We also discuss:
And much more...
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - What is Neuraspace?
02:14 - The founding vision
04:07 - Is space debris an issue?
08:18 - Unnecessary maneuvers
09:40 - Neuraspace's ecosystem
11:17 - Neuraspace's ground-based hardware
12:36 - Challenges acquiring the right data amidst competition
14:17 - Value chain of space situational awareness
15:26 - Benefits of having a company focused on intelligence
17:40 - How Neuraspace predicts collision events
20:22 - Challenges integrating different sources of data
22:00 - Automation and level of control satellite operators
24:37 - Scaling
26:39 - Catalysts for satellite threat detection
28:24 - Primary customers
28:53 - Expectations of governments vs. commercial clients
30:05 - State of orbital debris globally and how Chiara thinks it'll change
31:12 - Competitors today
32:25 - Revenue model
33:36 - Work Neuraspace does with regulatory bodies
34:20 - Funding
36:07 - Long-term vision for Neuraspace
• Show notes •
Neuraspace’s website — https://www.neuraspace.com/
Neuraspace’s socials — https://x.com/neuraspace
Chiara’s socials — https://x.com/chiaramanfletti
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
The cost to build a mass scale propellant production system on the Moon? Much less than $100M according to Starpath cofounder and CEO Saurav Shroff. The LA-based startup is developing the infrastructure for lunar resource extraction—including a power plant, a fleet of rovers, and a processing plant.
In this episode, Saurav breaks down Starpath's approach to off-planet fuel production and how it can enable cost-effective and reusable space travel. He also shares his thoughts on the future of lunar and Martian colonization and how propellant production plays a pivotal role in making interplanetary travel economically viable.
We also discuss:
And much more…
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
01:25 - What is Startpath?
04:11 - How was Starpath founded?
07:28 - The team
08:55 - Starpath with and without SpaceX
13:20 - Mega scale propellant production
16:30 - What type of propellant is Starpath making?
20:15 - What is Starpath building?
24:56 - Why build this power system yourself and why not nuclear?
28:56 - Plant & Rover
35:35 - Plan for success
39:59 - Speculation on SpaceX's propellant production
43:49 - Who else is a potential customer?
45:49 - Revenue model
48:27 - Investors and common misconceptions
50:26 - Capital needs
51:43 - Competitors? China?
54:37 - First fuel production prediction
56:03 - 10-year vision
58:16 - Other businesses Saurav is excited about
1:00:17 - Which celebrity will play Saurav?
• Show notes •
Starpath’s website — https://starpath.space/
Starpath’s socials — https://twitter.com/StarpathSpace
Sarah’s socials — https://twitter.com/SauravShroff5
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
• 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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
This week on Pathfinder, we sit down with Lindsay Kaldon, NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project Manager, to explore NASA's plans for deploying small nuclear reactors on the Moon and Mars as part of the Artemis missions. Before her current role at NASA, Lindsay spent over a decade in the DoD, where she worked as an Air Force officer specializing in electronic warfare, keeping pilots safe at extreme altitudes. With a background in both electrical and nuclear engineering, Lindsay’s experience spans high-altitude spy planes, drones, and EMP defenses for Navy ships, giving her a unique perspective on technology in extreme environments.
In this episode, Lindsay walks us through NASA's efforts to deploy small nuclear reactors on the Moon as part of the Artemis missions and beyond. She also explains how her defense background prepared her for managing the technical and regulatory complexities of space nuclear power.
In addition, we cover:
And much more…
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Lindsey's role at NASA
01:07 - Power reactors in space and when the project started
08:05 - Highly enriched uranium
10:21 - Importance of NASA's long-term nuclear goals
13:53 - RPS vs FSP
16:44 - Lindsey's background
24:14 - Why not work in a nuclear sub?
29:54 - How does the team evolve in the next 5 years?
35:26 - Why should a company bid for phase 1 of NASA's plan to return to the Moon?
38:01 - Overall architecture of NASA's FSP needs
40:43 - Supply chain problems
44:12 - Technical challenges of nuclear in space
50:16 - Who regulates space nuclear?
52:11 - DOD & NASA
57:33 - Milestones to look out for
01:00:21 - The state of nuclear on Earth
• Show notes •
NASA FSP website — https://www.nasa.gov/tdm/fission-surface-power/
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
This week on Pathfinder, we welcome back Matt Gialich, cofounder and CEO of AstroForge, to discuss the company’s plans to mine platinum group metals from near-Earth asteroids and its recent Series A funding.
In this episode, Matt provides updates on AstroForge’s upcoming missions, the challenges of developing a cost-effective method for extracting and refining space resources, and how the company is addressing the technical complexities of deep space exploration. He also delves into the specifics of the $40 million Series A round, which will support AstroForge's next two missions, and how the company is balancing risk with innovation to lower costs.
In addition, we cover:
And much more…
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:48 - Matt's background and AstroForge
01:52 - Platinum group metals and why we need to mine them
04:14 - Beyond just platinum mining
08:27 - Bird scooters to JPL
11:40 - What makes space mining companies fail and who are AstroForge's current competitors?
15:37 - How large is the PGM market today?
18:34 - Developments at AstroForge since July 2023
21:46 - Plan for Mission 2
23:32 - How do you choose (and image) an asteroid?
27:19 - What does the architecture of the end system look like
28:13 - Materials processing
28:51 - Technical challenges
31:08 - Cost vs Risk
36:32 - State of space mining regulation and how it will evolve
38:25 - How other countries are viewing space mining
44:18 - Plans with Series A proceeds
45:03 - Common investor misconceptions
48:53 - Government contracts
50:10 - Long- term vision
51:20 - Are we ready for a killer asteroid?
53:49 - Who's playing Matt in the movie about AstroForge?
• Show notes •
AstroForge’s website — https://www.astroforge.com/
Matt’s socials — https://twitter.com/MattGialich
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
This week’s Pathfinder pod features Brian D’Erario, the man who keeps the lights on at Payload as the Director of Client Partnerships. Brian’s role is to bring in all the revenue that makes everything at Payload possible (no pressure, Brian!). With experience working with over 97 partners, Brian has been instrumental in shaping Payload's approach to brand awareness and lead generation.
Brian shares his journey from selling B2B hardware and software to government contractors, to his time at Morning Brew, and finally joining Payload to drive partnerships in the space sector. We explore Brian's background, including his work with various industries and his insights into the unique challenges of marketing within the space industry. We also discuss:
And much more…
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - What does Brian do at Payload?
01:51 - Brian's background
04:33 - Morning Brew
08:09 - Initial assessment of space marketing strategies
10:39 - Do space companies market themselves well?
12:27 - Marketing your product before you start selling
19:46 - Brand awareness vs lead generation
27:40 - When does it make sense for a startup to spend money on marketing?
31:44 - How can a startup develop a marketing plan for a product that competes against a prime competitor?
34:46 - Creating engaging B2B content
41:31 - Agency vs in-house
43:39 - Conference strategies
47:44 - The Marketing Playbook
52:53 - Brian’s publication
55:11 - Partnerships consultant
57:15 - From hockey to pickleball
• Show notes •
Brian’s Marketing Newsletter — https://payloadspace.com/marketing-deep-tech-newsletter/
Brian’s socials — https://twitter.com/derariob
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
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:
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
This week on Pathfinder, we welcome back Andy Lapsa, cofounder and CEO of Stoke Space. Stoke has made remarkable strides since Andy's last appearance on the show two years ago. They've grown to over 140 employees and developed innovative full-flow staged combustion cycle engines and reusable upper-stage prototypes. Andy shares his insights on the challenges and progress in creating fully reusable launch vehicles, emphasizing the importance of rapid reusability for reducing costs and increasing availability and reliability.
We dive into Andy's background, including his ten years of experience at Blue Origin and his decision to start Stoke Space to accelerate the pace of innovation. We also discuss:
And much more...
• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - What's changed since our last episode?
03:04 - Why Andy started Stoke?
07:09 - Andy's time at Blue Origin
09:14 - What makes Stoke different from other launch providers?
12:14 - Focusing on 2nd stage launch first
14:47 - Payload capacity
15:53 - Why has it taken so long for SpaceX to work on fully reusable launch capabilities?
18:36 - Is there a market for multiple launch providers?
21:32 - Growth in launch demand
29:04 - Value proposition for working with Stoke
30:25 - Getting to orbit
36:24 - Minimum viable success
37:59 - Product roadmap post-Nova
40:03 - Investor misconceptions about launch
42:21 - The factory is the product?
44:52 - Fusion
53:29 - What keeps Andy up at night?
54:47 - Funding
55:19 - Stoke's big vision
56:12 - Who plays Andy in the movie about Stoke?
• Show notes •
Stoke’s website — https://www.stokespace.com
Stoke’s socials — https://twitter.com/stoke_space
Andy’s socials — https://twitter.com/AndyLapsa
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:
1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern
2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)
3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays
4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays
You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/
The podcast currently has 113 episodes available.
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