Valley of Depth

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13:02 – How logistics are still being tracked today and why it’s outdated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

Mikkel Vestergaard isn’t a typical aerospace founder. Before building solar-powered stratospheric airships, he spent two decades in humanitarian innovation, distributing a billion malaria nets, co-creating the LifeStraw, and helping eradicate Guinea worm disease. Now, as CEO of Sceye, he’s applying that same ethos to aerospace.

In this conversation, Mikkel dives deep into the origins, design, and future of High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS). We explore why the stratosphere is emerging as a new layer of infrastructure, filling the gap between satellites and towers, and how Sceye’s helium-filled, solar-powered airships could reshape internet connectivity, earth observation, and national security.

We cover:

• Why Mikkel pivoted from global health to aerospace
• The engineering that makes persistent stratospheric flight possible
• How Sceye closes the “power loop” to stay aloft for months
• Commercial applications from telecom to methane detection
• Strategic partnerships with SoftBank, América Móvil, and Mawarid
• The defense potential of HAPS
• The business model behind “infrastructure as a service”
• What it takes to build investor conviction around a platform that feels left-field

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro

01:52 – Life before Sceye

02:51 – Work at Lifestraw

06:31 – What is Lifestraw?

07:50 – Making the pivot from global health to aerospace and working at Sceye

10:52 – HAPS or High-Altitude Platform Systems

12:25 – Why choose a balloon over a fixed wing aircraft?

14:04 – Types of payloads

16:06 – Not Hindenburg 2.0

16:48 – How Mikkel's earlier material science experience shaped Sceye's design decisions

18:09 – Pitching Sceye to investors

19:16 – Common misconceptions of stratospheric platforms

20:41 – What can HAPS do for the telecommunications industry?

25:03 – How many HAPS would we need to provide global coverage?

25:24 – Sceye's equity investor partners

26:00 – When Sceye will be fully commercialized

28:34 – Other use cases

31:33 – Advantages over satellites

32:34 – National security use cases

33:31 – The business model of HAPS

34:52 – Sceye's next iteration of customers

35:40 – How Sceye is building their team

36:56 – Manufacturing process and scaling

37:53 – Capital to scale

38:25 – What keeps Mikkel up at night

39:38 – What does success to Sceye look like
 

• Show notes •

SCEYE’s website — https://sceye.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

Julien Barber is an investor at Emerson Collective, a venture and policy firm founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, where he backs bold bets on decarbonization, infrastructure, and long-horizon climate technologies. Before becoming an investor, Julien researched fusion energy at MIT and co-founded a carbon-tech startup. 

In today’s episode, we go deep into Julien’s investing philosophy, Emerson’s unique model, and the hard tech categories he believes are most undercapitalized.

We cover:

• Why Emerson is structured for risk others can’t take
• Fusion, fission, and the evolving energy stack
• AI’s impact on power demand and hardware acceleration
• How to invest when the grid is the bottleneck
• Building conviction in hard tech when capital is scarce
• Public vs. private roles in scaling fusion
• What a 7-million-fold increase in energy density may actually look like

• Chapters •
00:00 – Intro

01:49 – From scientist to investor

04:37 – Why Julien chose fusion

08:57 – Investment process at Emerson

10:08 – The team at Emerson

12:15 – Is Emerson consensus-driven and why is it an LLC?

14:07 – Under-invested areas in climate & industrial tech

17:24 – Are AI valuations reasonable today?

18:59 – Bottlenecks in the grid

23:11 – AI energy consumption: hype or real concern?

27:10 – Bridging the energy gap

29:20 – Fusion’s role in the next decade

31:24 – Google & Commonwealth Fusion: serious commercial signal?

32:37 – Are we underinvesting in fusion?

39:12 – Who will reach commercial fusion first?

41:36 – 30-year future if fusion succeeds
 

• Show notes •

Emerson’s socials — https://x.com/emcollective

Emerson’s website — https://www.emersoncollective.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

Welcome to a special Tuesday-edition of Valley of Depth, powered by Integrate.

John Conafay spent years inside the space and defense worlds, from Spire to Astranis to the U.S. Air Force, and saw the same problem everywhere: complex programs were managed with spreadsheets, slide decks, and…crossed fingers.

So in 2022, he founded Integrate to fix it. What started as a scrappy startup with five engineers has since landed what he describes as one of the largest software contracts in Space Force history. We discuss:

• Why defense programs are still run on outdated, fragmented tools
• What Integrate actually does and how it’s different from Smartsheet or Microsoft Project
• How Conafay won a $25M Space Force contract
• The architecture choices behind real-time collaboration in classified environments
• Why internal tools and status quo software can’t scale with complexity

And much, much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro

01:57 – John's background

02:59 – What is Integrate?

04:02 – Pain points in complex project management

06:08 – John's interest in aerospace

10:01 – Core product at Integrate

11:20 – Why tools weren't implemented before

12:50 – DoD project management & efficiency loss

14:29 – Multiplayer coordination approach

16:19 – Hardest integration problem

17:40 – Security architecture

20:17 – Go-to-market & government entry

22:18 – $25M Space Force contract

26:14 – Future Space Force goals

27:59 – Government vs commercial customers

29:16 – Pricing

30:13 – Profitability, team, funding, scaling

32:23 – Ideal investor

33:20 – Competitors

34:50 – Competing with internal tools

36:01 – 10-year product vision

37:36 – Strategic risks in the next decade

39:42 – Hardest part of building Integrate

41:34 – Misconceptions about working with the DoD

42:55 – Advice for founders & younger self

43:53 – John in another life

• Show notes •

John’s socials — https://x.com/jconafay

Integrate’s socials —https://x.com/Integrate_co

Integrate’s website — https://integrate.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

Chris Kemp took Astra public in 2021 with a bold vision: low-cost rockets launching daily, bringing sovereign space access to every country on Earth. At its peak, the company was worth over $2 billion. Within two years, that valuation collapsed by 99%.

In this episode of Valley of Depth, we go inside one of the most dramatic flameouts and attempted comebacks in the commercial space era. We discuss:

• Why Astra’s SPAC-era promises didn’t survive contact with reality
• What really went wrong with Rocket 3 and how much of that falls on Kemp
• The decision to take the company private and buy it back for pennies on the dollar
• How Astra raised $80M, and its attempt to raise another $100M+
• The quiet success of its satellite propulsion business
• Rocket 4, and whether this time is actually different
• How Kemp is repositioning Astra as a mobile, defense-aligned launch platform

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro

01:53 – What's happened since 2022?

02:58 – What kept Astra going after test flight failures?

06:46 – Did Astra's engineering approach work against them?

08:15 – What Chris believes he got wrong

12:51 – Has Chris questioned his leadership at Astra?

14:37 – What would Chris have done differently?

16:34 – Taking Astra private & investor reactions

20:58 – What Chris saw more than anyone else

22:20 – Team and factory space at Astra

23:20 – Chris's philosophy on rocket building

25:54 – Rocket 4 vs Rocket 3

30:35 – Astra’s renewed business model

34:11 – Why is Rocket Lab valued at $16B?

36:21 – Engine business & customer trust

39:25 – NASA & Astra

39:49 – Post-privatization investment

45:18 – The team at Astra

47:08 – What went wrong with Astra's infamous flight

47:54 – Chris's evolving leadership style

50:05 – Chris's hardest moment at Astra

50:49 – Unfair criticisms of Chris

51:54 – What present Chris would tell past Chris

53:12 – What keeps Chris going

54:57 – Would Astra go public again?

57:51 – Astra milestones to watch

• Show notes •

Chris’ socials — https://x.com/Kemp

Astra’s socials —https://x.com/astra

Astra’s website — https://astra.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

Jeff Thornburg helped build Raptor at SpaceX. Now he’s building something new: a spacecraft designed for rapid maneuverability across orbits powered by solar thermal propulsion.

In this episode of Valley of Depth, we get into the technical, strategic, and commercial implications of in-space mobility and why it matters now. Topics include:

• The hardest parts of building a rocket engine (and why most startups get it wrong)
• The origins of the Raptor engine and lessons from SpaceX
• Why Portal is betting on solar thermal propulsion
• How Supernova enables fast, responsive movement across LEO, MEO, and GEO
• The case for refueling in orbit and designing without dependencies
• Why defense needs faster spacecraft and what commercial use cases follow
• How Thornburg sees Starship changing the economics of space

and much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro

01:44 – What drew Jeff to creating engines?

05:13 – Why is building rocket engines still so difficult?

11:50 – Jeff's time at SpaceX

17:52 – Stratolaunch and Commonwealth Fusion and why Jeff moved on

22:50 – Origin of Portal

25:25 – Commercial use case

27:00 – 5 year vision for Portal's architecture

32:01 – Pricing

34:52 – Solar thermal propulsion

38:14 – What comes after Portal's Supernova?

41:15 – Customer traction and Supernova flight

45:44 – Competition in solar thermal propulsion

49:20 – Fundraising prior to the first launch

51:18 – Portal in the next 10 years

54:53 – State of Starship

• Show notes •

Jeff’s socials — https://x.com/JeffThornburg

Antares’ socials — https://x.com/PortalSpaceSys

Antares’ website — https://www.portalsystems.space/

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 the wake of new executive orders elevating nuclear energy as a national security priority, there’s growing momentum—and urgency—behind advanced fission technologies. Few are better positioned to talk about this shift than Jordan Bramble, co-founder and CEO of Antares Nuclear, a startup building microreactors for defense and space.

In this episode of Valley of Depth, we explore the strategic, technical, and geopolitical dimensions driving the nuclear renaissance. We cover:

• Why microreactors are built for strategic energy and not just the grid

• The real story behind public support for nuclear energy

• How Antares plans to deploy sub-megawatt nuclear systems on U.S. military installations

• The challenges of fuel supply, regulation, and capital

• Why China is pulling ahead and what the U.S. must do to catch up

• Nuclear-powered space assets and propulsion

• Why Jordan believes venture-scale outcomes are coming to nuclear energy

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro
00:56 - Payload Pro
01:39 - State of fission
03:38 - Is renewed nuclear interest driven by political or environmental factors?
05:23 - Are small modular reactors (SMRs) going to replace large, conventional nuclear reactors?
07:31 - Is nuclear still a controversial topic?
09:27 - Cultural legacy of nuclear in media
11:49 - Antares and how Jordan got into nuclear
14:16 - What does 1 Megawatt mean?
15:53 - Game changing environments for Antares's SMR
19:30 - Terrestrial business model
20:39 - Nuclear fuel supply chain
21:35 - Current state and future prediction of fuel pipeline
23:42 - Safety in contested environments
26:49 - Hardest technical challenges
29:52 - What will it take to get to their first electron
31:23 - Competition
34:27 - US vs its adversaries
36:29 - Navigating regulatory guidelines
38:10 - Impact of Trump's Executive Orders
40:03 - NRC
41:12 - Are we living in a VC renaissance for nuclear?
44:05 - What drives Jordan to work on nuclear?
46:30 - For those afraid of nuclear

• Show notes •

Jordan’s socials — https://x.com/jordanbramble

Antares’ socials — https://x.com/AntaresNuclear

Antares’ website — https://boomsupersonic.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