Satellites are expensive and once launched, mostly untouchable.. That’s the problem Starfish Space is solving. The company is building Otter, a small, autonomous servicing vehicle capable of rendezvousing with, docking to, and moving other satellites in orbit.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Austin Link, co-founder of Starfish Space. Austin shares how a team of former Blue Origin engineers turned a bold idea into one of the most advanced orbital servicing programs in the world. We trace Starfish’s journey from recovering a tumbling spacecraft spinning 330 degrees per second, to preparing for the first commercial docking of an unprepared satellite in orbit.

We also discuss:

• How Starfish closed the business case for on-orbit servicing
• What it takes to autonomously dock with a satellite moving faster than a bullet
• The economics of life-extension and debris disposal
• Lessons from the Otter Pup missions
• The dual-use future of orbital servicing for defense and resilience
• The long-term vision for a logistics layer in space

…and more.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
00:59 – Starfish's mission
03:02 – Why is now the time to be building on orbit satellite servicing
04:44 – On orbit servicing with the rapid advancement of satellites
07:29 – Why leave Blue Origin to start Starfish?
09:18 – Convincing investors early on
11:22 – Results from Starfish's first few missions
13:40 – Why Starfish has fun with their names
15:43 – How the team de-tumbled the satellite
21:55 – Starfish's upcoming missions
25:37 – When will Starfish start selling their systems?
27:33 – Future business models and commercial vs government split
30:08 – How Starfish helps customers price their ROI
32:26 – Do regulations need to be placed in order for the market to thrive?
35:14 – How Starfish differs from competitors
36:29 – Current size of the satellite servicing market
37:25 – Starfish's key strength
40:19 – Insights on servicing from defense
42:51 – What changes will happen if satellite servicing becomes routine?
44:14 – Starfish's next phase in the business
45:05 – Starfish's North Star
46:19 – Overhyping the Kessler Syndrome
47:41 – What does Austin do besides working on Starfish?

• Show notes •

Starfish’s website — https://www.starfishspace.com/
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

Spacecraft carry all kinds of sensors, but rarely the one humans rely on most: video. Despite offering the richest insight per watt, gram, and dollar, cameras have been largely absent from orbit.That’s what TRL11 is out to change. The company is building radiation-tolerant optics, edge computers that process and compress video in real time, and ground software that turns footage into operational awareness.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Nicolaas Verheem, founder and CEO of TRL11. Nicolaas shares how his journey from pioneering wireless video at Teradek, work that won both technical Academy and Emmy Awards, led him to ask why space was still flying blind. We trace TRL11’s path from early in-orbit demos to commercial traction with operators and defense, and dig into how edge intelligence and video awareness could transform the space economy.

We also discuss:

• • Why video is the “missing sensor” in space
• • Lessons from TRL11’s first orbital missions
• The three core use cases: health monitoring, mission awareness, and mission enablement
• • How software, not hardware, creates a lasting moat in space video
• • The long-term vision of human-like awareness in space

…and more.

• Chapters •
01:03 – Nicol and Starwars and Startrek
03:10 – Nicol winning an Academy Award and an Emmy
04:14 – Nicol at Teradek
05:13 – How Teradek inspired Nicol's current company TRL11
06:30 – How video applies to the space industry
09:41 – Why do we need video and what problem does it solve?
12:56 – A ring camera for space
17:06 – The story behind the company name
19:32 – TRL11's current product offerings
21:43 – Showing the operator what matters on screen
24:53 – How do you build a space camera?
26:45 – What TRL11 has learned in their early orbit tests
29:06 – TRL11's primary first customers
32:25 – Making the case for investors
36:45 – Should every spacecraft have video onboard?
38:03 – The importance of video for inspiration
40:03 – Misunderstandings when it comes to video from partners, investors, and customers
41:10 – Lessons Nicol learned building a company in the space industry
42:42 – Fundraising at TRL11
44:26 – Legacy and product evolution

• Show notes •

TRL11’s website — https://www.trl11.com/

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

•  Payload: www.payloadspace.com 
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

Smallsats have defined the last decade of space, but their limitations are clear: low power, limited throughput, and fragile unit economics. K2 Space is betting on the opposite. The company is building mega class and giga class satellites, platforms measured in tons rather than kilograms, that deliver unprecedented power, capacity, and resilience. By vertically integrating 80 percent of their systems in house, K2 is cutting costs by an order of magnitude and making industrial scale spacecraft a reality.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Neel Kunjur, cofounder and CTO of K2 Space. Neel traces the journey from early Slack messages about the promise of MEO to a 160 person team building the largest commercial satellites ever attempted. He shares how K2 has reimagined subsystems like reaction wheels, high voltage power, and 20 kW propulsion to unlock entirely new mission architectures in MEO, GEO, and beyond.

We also discuss:

• Why MEO is such an underexplored orbital regime
• The engineering breakthroughs behind large reaction wheels and high voltage power systems
• How stackable satellites change constellation design
• The long term vision for space infrastructure, from in space compute to energy harvesting

…and more.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
00:56 – What's happened in the past two years since K2 has been on the pod
02:13 – The thesis behind K2
03:51 – What does Neel mean by aperture?
04:40 – Why do satellites need to grow in size and power?
06:59 – The rise in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) chatter
08:49 – Why did Neel leave SpaceX and start K2 with his brother?
12:04 – Building K2 for a post Starship world
14:10 – Current and future K2 offerings
15:32 – 20 Kilowatts vs a small LEO satellite
17:10 – Giga-scale satellite
18:40 – How K2 is able to deliver $15m satellite
21:13 – K2's innovations so far
23:01 – Engineering problems that larger satellite builders have to worry about
25:08 – K2's propulsion solution to get MEO
28:11 – Engineering for Starship's current MEO blindspot
29:18 – Neel's prediction on Starship's refueling rollout
30:14 – Innovation through simplicity
33:24 – How is K2 hiring the talent for their niche challenges
35:52 – How big is K2's team today
36:43 – Key takeaways from K2's first mission
38:22 – Mission Gravitas
39:59 – Orbit race
40:39 – Mission Gravitas: Commercial or DoD?
41:33 – K2's scaling plans
43:03 – Customized vs standardized
45:17 – Overspec'd by design
45:40 – Will K2's success spur more competition?
47:23 – Will satellites become robust, industrial hardware?
48:48 – What's enabled by these large platforms?
51:01 – The paradigm shift happening in engineering for space
52:42 – Will SpaceX own LEO?
55:05 – The name and branding behind K2

• Show notes •

K2’s website — http://www.k2space.com/

K2’s socials — https://x.com/K2SpaceCo

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

This episode is presented by L3Harris Technologies.

On this special edition of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Kristin Houston, President of Space Propulsion and Power Systems at L3Harris. Kristin leads the team responsible for propulsion and space power systems across Artemis and beyond, from the RS-25 main engines to the Gateway’s high-power electric propulsion system to Fission Surface Power (FSP) on the Moon. We dive into how Artemis II is shaping up, the role of SLS, and why nuclear power and propulsion may be the linchpin of America’s long-term space presence.

We also discuss:

• What Artemis II is designed to prove, and why precision on Artemis I mattered so much
• How Artemis ties directly into national security and the new lunar race with China
• FSP – what it is, why it matters, and why NASA is accelerating it now
• Nuclear propulsion: hype vs. physics, and how soon it could be operational
• Why maneuverability in space is becoming the next strategic advantage
• Golden Dome and how propulsion/power innovations fit into the architecture
• The propulsion milestone Kristin wants to see in the next 10 years

…and much more.

Check out this Valley of Depth on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
00:47 – Kristin's background
03:47 – Why are we going back to the Moon?
07:10 – State of the Artemis program
09:28 – L3Harris's involvement in Artemis
10:48 – What does success look like for Artemis 2?
12:38 – Orbital maneuvers and landing
14:35 – Lessons from Artemis I that's giving confidence into Artemis II
15:45 – Artemis II readiness, risk, and pacing
16:39 – What needs to go right in Artemis II
18:55 – The need for the SLS rocket
19:57 – The criticism of the SLS
22:28 – Could Starship and the SLS coexist?
24:33 – National security ROI for sustained Lunar operations
27:02 – Are we underestimating China?
27:40 – What if China gets to the Moon first?
31:13 – The question about power
34:59 – Minimum power requirements on the Moon
35:45 – Government's renewed focus on nuclear
36:57 – How far away are we from nuclear propulsion?
39:27 – Maneuverability in space
42:20 – Defense focused propulsion systems
42:57 – Golden Dome
46:11 – Propulsion milestones

• Show notes •

L3Harris’s website — https://www.l3harris.com/
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

Some environments are simply too harsh for traditional power sources. Solar panels fail in darkness, batteries die quickly, and diesel can’t reach. That’s where Zeno Power comes in. The company is pioneering nuclear batteries, compact systems that recycle radioactive waste into safe, reliable power for years at a time.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Tyler Bernstein, co-founder and CEO of Zeno Power. We trace the journey from a Vanderbilt classroom project to a venture-backed company with $70M in private capital, $60M+ in NASA and DoD contracts, and a working nuclear prototype. Tyler shares how Zeno is positioning itself to power critical frontier operations: autonomous systems on the seabed, satellites in orbit, and landers on the Moon.

We also discuss:

• How a nuclear battery works and why Strontium-90 is Zeno’s starting fuel
• What it takes to safely turn nuclear waste into usable power
• The use cases that only nuclear batteries can unlock
• The business model: selling units vs. power-as-a-service vs. revenue sharing
• Navigating the unique regulatory path for radioisotope systems
• The risks of scaling a nuclear startup

…and much more.

This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro & WSBW Ad
01:26 – Tyler's background and how he came to co-found Zeno Power
04:13 – Is it normal for Vanderbilt to support their students' ideas and startups?
05:11 – Key mentors/validators of Tyler's business
07:06 – Zeno's products and $70M fundraising
09:12 – What is a nuclear battery and how does it work?
12:40 – How Zeno is carefully handling Strontium-90
14:39 – Future use cases for Strontium-90
15:53 – Advantages of nuclear battery
18:09 – Energy limits and stacking
19:30 – DoD and commercial customers
21:20 – Future business model
22:52 – How does Tyler think about pricing?
24:31 – How does regulation look for nuclear batteries?
27:00 – Will there be meaningful change coming out of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)?
29:03 – Competition
31:25 – Turning nuclear waste into valuable power
34:12 – The future of nuclear waste disposal
37:47 – Biggest technical risks Zeno is combating
40:46 – Scaling the Stirling generator
41:49 – Zeno's testing infrastructure
43:08 – What keeps Tyler up at night
47:16 – Is Tyler optimistic about the future of energy in the US?
48:41 – Zeno's legacy in 20 years

• Show notes •

Zeno Power’s website — https://www.zenopower.com/
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

Continuous human presence in orbit has been a cornerstone of U.S. leadership in space for 25 years. But recent changes to NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) strategy have Pam Melroy—former NASA Deputy Administrator and shuttle commander—sounding the alarm. She warns that shifting to short-duration missions risks ceding leadership in LEO and undermining U.S. readiness for Mars, opening the door for China to take the mantle.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Pam to talk about the state of NASA, the future of space stations, and why requirements, the often overlooked backbone of program management, will determine whether the U.S. stays ahead. We trace her career from test pilot to shuttle commander to senior leadership at NASA, DARPA, and the FAA, and unpack what it means to build an architecture that actually holds together from LEO to Mars.

We also discuss:

• Why continuous presence in LEO is a national security and leadership issue
• How the CLD Phase 2 shift could reshape investor and partner confidence
• The role of SpaceX and Starship in the Moon–Mars roadmap
• What it takes to write requirements that don’t doom a program from the start
• Pam’s vision of LEO, the Moon, and Mars in 2045

…and much more.

This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
00:55 – WSBW Ad
01:21 – The key to Pam's success
03:32 – The state of NASA
05:01 – NASA in the next decade if we stay in our current trajectory
06:58 – Why is maintaining a human presence in LEO so important?
10:18 – The changing CLD Strategy
15:29 – Cost and impact of continuous vs 30-day missions
18:01 – NASA's requirements
23:50 – Disintegration of requirements
27:32 – Impact of the shift in CLD strategy
29:52 – Why go back to the Moon?
31:35 – Does the media understand the impact of landing on the Moon and Mars?
35:19 – Why do 30-day missions make sense
37:53 – Will China beat us back to the Moon?
41:41 – Cultural impact if China beats us to the Moon
45:17 – Does the Artemis program have the right architecture to succeed?
47:46 – Is NASA too dependent on SpaceX?
52:47 – How much should the U.S. be interested
56:02 – What did leading the space shuttle teach Pam about leadership?
57:54 – Inspiring the next generation of space exploration
58:46 – Prediction 20 years later
01:01:37 – Aliens?

• Show notes •

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
 

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

Logistics rarely makes headlines, but it wins or loses wars. Rune Technologies is betting that the future of contested sustainment won’t be built on warehouses and spreadsheets, but on software. The company recently raised a $24M Series A to accelerate that vision.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Rune co-founder and CEO David Tuttle to talk about how the company is reimagining military logistics from the ground up. We trace Rune’s path from early prototypes to today’s TyrOS platform, discuss the cultural inertia inside the Pentagon, and unpack what it means to build software that commanders can trust under fire.

We also get into:

• The founding story of Rune and the early technical unlocks
• Building TyrOS and winning adoption with frontline commands
• What it takes to design software soldiers actually want to use
• Why logistics is becoming a strategic lever in great power competition
• The long-term vision for software-defined sustainment

…and much more.

This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
01:02 – WSBW
01:27 – The story behind the name "Rune"
03:02 – What is Rune building?
04:34 – David's background and how he ended up founding Rune
08:10 – Why David and Peter Goldsborough had to make Rune exist
10:43 – Logistics in warfare
13:02 – How logistics are still being tracked today and why it’s outdated
17:05 – How TyrOS changes the logistics of the battlefield
21:56 – Operating in denied or degraded environments
24:54 – Who's using Rune's products right now and future scaling
29:20 – What has surprised David the most
31:08 – Pilot to program of record with the DoD
33:39 – Competitive landscape
36:01 – Will Rune stay in Defense?
37:30 – Will software like Rune's change military doctrine?
40:28 – Software making decisions in life-or-death scenarios
42:45 – Contrarian beliefs about defense tech
46:12 – Milestones to look out for at Rune
47:32 – What does the US military look like if Rune succeeds?
48:59 – What does David do for fun?
 

• Show notes •

Rune’s website — https://www.runetech.co/

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
 

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

Tommy Hendrix is Managing Partner at Decisive Point, a venture firm backing early-stage companies developing critical national security technologies. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we unpack what it really means to fund the future of national defense and how venture capital is becoming a tool of statecraft.

A former Green Beret turned investor, Tommy brings rare insight into the geopolitical stakes, bureaucratic hurdles, and human motivations behind the new national security startup wave. From combat deployments in Iraq to due diligence in D.C., he’s seen the full arc of how technology shapes power.

We get into Decisive Point’s playbook, from why it was built, to how it supports founders navigating the defense industrial complex. Tommy also shares lessons from working inside the machine, the firm’s approach to incubation, and how they decide when a startup can actually shift the deterrence equation.

We also dive into:

• The strategic case for funding early
• Why some military problems aren’t venture-scale
• What it takes to build “weapons-grade” startups
• The ethics of AI-enabled kill chains
• Private capital’s role in a new Cold War
• How the next great defense companies will be born

This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro
01:14 – From Green Beret into venture
04:02 – Deployments that have shaped Tommy's venture career
10:54 – What is broken in the US's current procurement process for defense tech?
14:51 – A future without humans in the kill chain
18:42 – What has changed with defense tech investors?
24:05 – How does Tommy pick the right companies to invest in?
28:57 – Tommy's work in nuclear
32:19 – How helping a portfolio company go through bankruptcy gave Decisive Point a new lens for investment strategies
34:49 – How does the firm make decisions
37:37 – Companies that were good for the nation but difficult to justify long-term venture
39:54 – Must-haves for the US to win the tech race
42:55 – Tech gaps that need more focus
47:00 – Qualities of a founder Tom is looking for
49:22 – What Tom carried over from his military career into his investing career
52:01 – The driving force behind Decisive Point

• Show notes •

Decisive Point’s website — https://www.decisivepoint.com/

Decisive Point’s socials — https://x.com/decisivepointvc

Tommy’s socials — https://x.com/thomasehendrix

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Regent cofounder and CEO Billy Thalheimer to explore a radical reimagining of coastal mobility, not with eVTOLs or hyperloops, but with high-speed electric seagliders that skim just above the water.

Part hydrofoil, part aircraft, and fully electric, Regent’s vehicles operate in the sweet spot between aviation and maritime. They’re fast enough to replace short-haul flights, regulated like boats, and increasingly viewed by the Pentagon as a new class of strategic asset.

Billy walks us through Regent’s founding story, from MIT aerodynamics to launching the world’s largest electric aircraft-by-another-name. We dive deep into the company’s dual-use strategy, its multibillion-dollar commercial backlog, and its early defense work with the U.S. Marine Corps.

We also get into:

• The technical magic behind “float, foil, fly”
• Why flying 10 feet above water solves big infrastructure problems
• Regent’s bet on maritime-first regulation
• How seagliders fit into Indo-Pacific logistics and contested environments
• The case for a new coastal transportation layer and why no one’s built it until now

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro
01:01 – Why Rhode Island?
03:15 – Startup community in Rhode Island
07:17 – Founding and origin behind Regent
12:10 – How things have changed since the ekranoplan
19:05 – How Regent's planes handle a rogue wave
20:52 – State of Regent's product build
24:35 – Who will be Regent's first operators?
26:11 – Regent's regulatory process as a maritime vessel
31:59 – What happens when the FAA decides to be involved?
36:02 – Commercial vs government use
38:15 – When did Regent start talking with the DoD?
43:34 – Scaling for dual use commercial vs military
46:34 – Raising $90m and common skeptical questions
49:39 – What does success for Regent look like?

• Show notes •

Regent’s website — https://www.regentcraft.com/
Regent’s socials — https://x.com/regentcraft
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com

In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Xcimer Energy’s cofounders, Conner Galloway and Alexander Valys, to unpack one of the boldest bets in fusion: resurrecting a Cold War-era laser technology to build the fastest, most scalable path to commercial fusion power.

Xcimer has raised over $100 million to bring its inertial confinement fusion system to life, starting with LPK, a high-powered prototype laser built in just four months, and progressing toward Vulcan, a full-scale, ignition-class reactor designed for the grid.

We also discuss:

• Why excimer lasers are making a comeback
• What Xcimer learned from building LPK in just four months
• The Phoenix-to-Vulcan roadmap for commercial fusion
• Lessons from NIF’s ignition milestone and its limits
• The case for fusion as infrastructure, not just science
• How Xcimer is positioning itself in a crowded fusion landscape

…and much, more.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro

01:24 – Payload Pro

02:06 – Recent changes in fusion

03:29 – Commercial fusion and perceptions on the tech

05:18 – Founding story of Xcimer

06:51 – Common approaches to fusion today

08:48 – Was the National Ignition Facility (NIF) the catalyst to start Xcimer?

12:22 – Convincing investors to invest $100m into Xcimer

13:34 – What is NIF's goal right now and can it produce electricity?

18:04 – Why hasn't the private sector solved the fusion problem?

20:25 – Xcimer progress report

23:07 – Xcimer's roadmap for the next bigger machine

24:41 – Coming up with Athena

25:33 – Addressing neutron damage

29:54 – The biggest unknown for Xcimer

32:29 – Who are Xcimer's first customers

35:03 – Cost per megawatt per hour to be competitive

37:23 – How much of Xcimer's supply chain is being verticalized

38:48 – Vaporizing a missile with a laser

41:27 – Other fusion companies Alex and Connor admire

44:28 – What inspires a founder or engineer to pursue less proven fusion methods?

47:28 – What drives Alex and Connor to keep on going?

49:02 – First commercial Xcimer fusion plant

• Show notes •

Xcimer’s website — https://xcimer.energy/

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/

Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/

Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com