Creating Constellations, with Tim Kienberger (LeoStella)

This week's Pathfinder podcast features Nate Hamet, cofounder and CEO of Quindar, a startup attempting to dramatically change satellite operations. Quindar's software suite simplifies satellite command and control, enhancing health, security, and connectivity management. 

With a rich background in satellite operations at notable companies like OneWeb and Orbital Effects, Nate's team uses their expertise to reduce human intervention and increase efficiency in satellite constellations. In addition, we discuss:

• Quindar’s origin story
• How mission management software simplifies satellite operations
• Fully autonomous satellite solutions
• The importance of space cybersecurity

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

01:22 - What is Quindar and what are you building?

03:14 - What is satellite command and control?

05:47 - Nate's background and how he started Quindar

10:04 - Why is cyber security important?

11:34 - How does the Mission Management Software simplify the operation of satellite constellations?

19:55 - Managing data

21:34 - How far away are we from fully autonomous solutions?

23:30 - How does Quindar make money?

25:08 - Use cases beyond space?

25:57 - Commercial and government traction

27:37 - What is Quindar's ideal customer?

29:14 - The onboarding experience

33:01 - Location and team

35:51 - KSAT integration

38:11 - Quindar's plan from recent funding

39:59 - What to look out for in the future

40:57 - The Star Trek vision

41:46 - What is Nate doing when he's not building Quindar?

• Show notes •

Quindar’s website — https://www.quindar.space/

Nate’ socials — https://twitter.com/NateHamet

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) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday

4) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays 

5) 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/

Did you ever think that solar power generation in space could be 10x cheaper, 20% more efficient, and extend operational life to over 50 years? Well, that’s what the Arizona-based startup Solestial believes it can achieve with its silicon cell technology. We bring in CEO and cofounder Stan Herasimenka for his first-ever podcast to discuss the unique challenges and differences between terrestrial and space solar cells, and the technological advancements his company is making to produce radiation-hardened, thin, and flexible solar cells for space use.

Stan and Mo also cover:

• Market potential for solar technology
• Reengineering long-established technology
• Solestial’s business model and scaling plans
• Future trends in space solar

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

00:36 - What are you building?

00:59 - What prompted Stan to start Solestial?

01:57 - Terrestrial vs extraterrestrial solar cells

05:10 - How long would a terrestrial solar cell last in space?

08:27 - Who are the main players?

11:02 - What is III-V?

12:25 - Supply/demand gap

16:03 - Core product offering

18:26 - What is the reason not to have a turnkey solution?

19:53 - Cost of activeness vs COTS

23:40 - Target cost of cells

24:30 - Why would a customer pay more for a premium solar cell?

27:37 - Self-curing radiation damage

30:52 - Perovskite cells

33:20 - Manufacturing and scaling

36:18 - Where is Solestial based?

37:01 - Customer traction

38:39 - Team makeup

40:18 - Financing plans?

41:51 - When will Solestial have their first array in space?

43:13 - What does Stan do when he's not talking about solar cells?

44:09 - Other companies Stan is excited about

• Show notes •

Solestial’s website — https://solestial.com/

Stan’s socials — https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-herasimenka-5932561b/

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) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday

4) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays 

5) 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 features Lori Garver, a pioneering force in the space industry known for her instrumental role in propelling NASA into the modern era of commercial spaceflight. The former Deputy Administrator of NASA joins us today to discuss how partnerships with private space firms helped to shift the landscape from government-dominated missions to a thriving commercial space sector. 

In addition, Lori and Mo discuss:

• NASA’s budget and priorities
• Timing of Artemis and Mars
• NASA as a Cold War instrument
• Much needed policy changes

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Introduction

01:00 - Commercial partnerships during Lori's tenure

05:55 - Why did you write your book?

08:29 - The COTs program

10:42 - Support for the Constellation program

12:44 - Is the SLS part of the future of Artemis?

15:40 - Feasibility of NASA's Artemis plan

19:00 - NASA’s CLPS program

22:40 - View on SpaceX's launch dominance

25:52 - Future of human spaceflight

27:05 - Does NASA risk losing relevance?

29:25 - How does great power competition affect NASA?

32:48 - Policies Lori is championing

34:14 - What prompted Lori to work in the industry?

38:40 - What Lori is working on today

45:33 - Viability of asteroid mining

49:18 - Lori's bets on next Moon/Mars landing

50:52 - What does Lori do for fun?

• Show notes •

Lori's book — https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Gravity-Quest-Transform-Launch/dp/1635767709

Lori’s socials — https://twitter.com/lori_garver

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) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday

4) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays 

5) 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/

San Francisco-based venture capital firm, Bessemer Venture Partners, is diving into defense technology, with Payload securing the first interview to discuss the firm's new strategy with Partner Tess Hatch. Despite the firm's historical successes with space companies such as Terra Bella (formerly Skybox), Spire, and Rocket Lab, they are cautiously awaiting a new technological catalyst before making further industry investments.

Meanwhile, Tess has turned her attention to the defense sector highlighted in the firm’s recent Bessemer's defense tech roadmap. She highlights AI/ML solutions and autonomous systems as critical investment areas, aiming to influence the future of national security significantly.

Tess joins us to recount her transition from an aspiring astronaut to a deep tech investor. In addition, Mo and Tess discuss:

• Bessemer’s early space thesis
• A breakdown of defense tech
• The concept of “dual use”
• Tech shaping the future of national security
• Challenges to defense investing

And much, much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

02:15 - Tess's career arc

04:06 - Tess’s transition from engineer to investor

06:27 - High capex in deep tech investing

09:04 - BVP’s investment strategy

15:59 - Space industry today and future predictions

18:37 - New investors in the space industry

21:07 - A third catalyst?

23:41 - Bessemer's defense tech roadmap

26:28 - How does Bessemer differentiate itself

28:11 - How do you define defense tech?

30:43 - Concept of dual use

32:21 - Reality of dual use

35:12 - Challenges of defense tech investing

38:41 - Future opportunity in national security

40:53 - Liquidity in defense tech

42:48 - Who should partner with Bessemer?

45:08 - Favorite war movie/book

• Show notes •

BVP’s Defense Tech Roadmap — https://www.bvp.com/atlas/roadmap-defense-tech

BVP’s socials — https://twitter.com/BessemerVP

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

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

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/)

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Our guest this week not only has a PhD in theoretical astrophysics but is also a pilot, musician, entrepreneur, language enthusiast, and a thought leader on how humanity can create a better future for itself.  No, we’re not constructing a dating profile, but describing Casey Handmer, the founder of Terraform Industries, a startup focused on scaling technologies to produce cheap natural gas with sunlight and air. 

Today, Casey joins us not to talk shop about his company's innovations but to share his vast knowledge on a subject he's deeply passionate about—Starship, Starlink, and the future of space exploration. Casey has been a prolific writer on these topics, sharing his insights and analyses on his blog since first discussing Starship in 2019. He has a very clear message: the industry significantly underestimates what Starship is capable of and the impact it will have on society at large.

Additionally, Mo and Casey chat:

• The Artemis program and NASA’s future
• The role of Starlink in society
• Mars exploration and humanity’s future
• Energy production beyond fossil fuels
• The future of science fiction

And much, much more…this is one of the most special discussions we've had, so don't miss it.

This episode is brought to you by Epsilon3, software for complex engineering, testing, and operational procedures. Learn more at https://www.epsilon3.io/

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro & Epsilon3 Ad

02:45 - Career arc and Terraform Industries

06:33 - Humanity will move beyond fossil fuels by 2040

09:33 - Everyone must read Casey’s blog

10:13 - Is Starship still misunderstood?

16:12 - In what ways does Starship challenge traditional design philosophies

19:33 - Launch capacity

22:25 - $10m launch costs

25:14 - Epsilon3 Ad Break

25:43 - HLS & why Artemis hasn't been redesigned

28:24 - Thoughts on Blue Moon

29:43 - Why does a non-Starship Artemis program not move the needle?

34:18 - Mars & NASA

36:47 - Is Mars a business?

37:55 - Startups building in this new regime

41:09 - Starship IFTs

42:36 - When will we see the first payload deploying Starship launch?

43:18 - Does the Starlink model work without Starship?

44:28 - Is the Falcon enough to replenish Starlink satellites?

45:24 - Will there be political support for a future with Starship?

52:05 - How will Starship affect the science fiction genre?

• Show notes •

Casey’s blog — https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/

Terraform’s website — https://terraformindustries.com/

Casey’s socials — https://twitter.com/CJHandmer

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

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

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/)

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Two weeks ago, we launched Payload Research, a new division within Payload dedicated to providing incisive, insight-driven analysis tailored for industry leaders and investors. Today, we welcome Jack Kuhr, the esteemed Research Director of Payload, to go under the hood of our new venture. We explore the motivations behind its inception and offer a glimpse into what the future holds. In addition, they discuss:

• The Starship Report: This is Payload Research's inaugural publication, offering comprehensive insights into SpaceX’s heavy lift launch vehicle
• SpaceX’s 2023 Financial Overview: An in-depth analysis of SpaceX's financial performance in 2023, including a detailed breakdown of its revenue and the methodology employed by our team

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

00:36 - Jack's history with Payload

04:14 - Why are we building Payload Research?

10:34 - The Starship Report

15:58 - When will we see Starship commercial payloads?

20:12 - Starship cost-analysis

27:35 - What is Starbase like?

30:13 - SpaceX’s 2023 financials

33:18 - Launch assumptions

34:52 - Starlink assumptions

39:38 - SpaceX’s Other revenue

42:44 - Payload's next research newsletter

43:18 - What should people expect from future Payload research editions?

44:50 - What is Jack looking forward to covering the most this year?

46:18 - How to sign up

• Show notes •

The Starship Report — https://payloadspace.com/starship-report/

Payload Research’s website — https://www.payloadspace.com/research

Jack’s socials —https://twitter.com/JackKuhr

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

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

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/)

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Our guest this week is Malory McLemore, the co-founder and CEO of Stell, an LA-based startup that is building workflow software to serve as the future data layer for hardware and industrials. Their platform enables complex, multi-company hardware development efforts to track engineering and compliance documentation, replacing traditional methods like Excel sheets and PDFs.

Malory shares her journey from being an aerospace engineer dealing with subpar software tooling to founding Stell. In addition, we discuss:

• Stell’s origin story and fundraising plans
• Differentiating engineering tools
• Apollo-era systems engineering
• The next generation of post-MBA graduates

And much more…
 

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

00:48 - What is Stell?

01:44 - Malory's career arc in the space industry

05:19 - Why are  Harvard students becoming more interested in space?

06:37 - Malory's previous jobs that led her to Stell today

07:49 - How could aircraft like Boeing's latest be improved?

10:53 - How have companies operated in the past and why should they work with Stell?

12:38 - Current offerings and roadmap

14:19 - Stell's business model

14:55 - What does the ideal Stell customer look like?

15:50 - Stell's selling point

16:45 - How do you quantify money savings to a client

18:33 - Government clients

20:39 - How did Stella build the team

22:36 - Plans for expanding beyond aerospace

23:28 - How do you differentiate among other engineering management tools?

26:51 - Do you think that this looks from other companies, but we’re headed to start to look similar?

29:45 - Current fundraising plans

30:06 - Grand vision to investors

31:41 - What kicked off the growth of hard tech startups?

33:23 - What would Malory be working on if it weren't for Stell?

33:56 - Apollo-era management

37:26 - What does the startup community look like in Huntsville?

38:32 - Was building in LA the best decision you've made?

Stell's website — https://www.stell-engineering.com/

Stell's socials — https://twitter.com/stell_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 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/)

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

Our guest this week, Tim Kienberger, has been at the forefront of the industry's evolution from large-scale satellite buses to the small satellite revolution. As the current CEO of LeoStella, a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and BlackSky, he is helping the company redefine small satellite manufacturing.

In today's episode, Tim reveals insights into the production of small satellites and the unique challenges of managing a joint venture. In addition, we discuss:

• LeoStella’s origin story
• Cislunar spacecraft needs
• The impact of Starship on small satellites
• Scaling challenges of small sat startups

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Introduction

00:22 - Tim's career overview

02:40 - Thales/Blacksky JV

06:56 - Core offerings and customer makeup

09:01 - Current demand

12:19 - Product roadmap

14:03 - Capability needs from LEO to cislunar

17:53 - Government customers

19:50 - Balancing customization vs standardization

23:18 - Production hurdles

26:16 - Competitive landscape

27:36 - Challenges for new startups

31:32 - Impact of Starship on the small sat market

40:18 - Long-term funding needs

42:19 - What would Tim be doing if he wasn't in the space industry

• Show notes •

LeoStella's website — https://leostella.com/

LeoStella's socials — https://twitter.com/LeoStellaLLC

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

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

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.

Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

In this episode, Daniel Faber, CEO of Orbit Fab, a US-based company that is pioneering in-space refueling infrastructure, shares his journey from Tasmania to becoming a leader in the space economy's refueling efforts. Additionally, we delve into:

• Orbit Fab’s mission and services
• The need for refueling capabilities
• The economics of fuel depots
• Viability of asteroid mining

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro

00:35 - Gas stations in space

01:44 - Daniel's background

05:49 - Origins of Orbit Fab

10:46 - Initial customer base

11:48 - The demo mission

13:05 - How does Orbit Fab make money today?

14:26 - Working with launch providers

15:25 - Structuring contracts

20:25 - Do small satellites need refueling?

23:02 - Contracting with the DoD

24:11 - Partnership with Astroscale

26:27 - Findings from the demo mission

27:54 - RAFTI standardization

29:10 - The inflection point for refueling

34:30 - The competition

35:57 - Fundraising environment

39:07 - Milestones investors should watch for

39:58 - Viability of asteroid mining

44:53 - What Daniel would be building if he wasn't building Orbit Fab

46:06 - Companies that excite Daniel

• Show notes •

Orbit Fab's website — https://www.orbitfab.com/

Orbit Fab's socials — https://twitter.com/OrbitFab

Daniel's socials — https://twitter.com/_DanielFaber_

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

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

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes
 

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.

Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

In the final Pathfinder episode of the year, Mo brings Payload’s editorial staff into the hot seat(s) to discuss the most significant stories of 2023 and share predictions for 2024!

In addition to each team member’s trajectory to Payload, we discuss:

• The shortage in launch supply
• Starship and the mainstream media’s reaction
• The Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing (and other Moon-related news)
• The state of space companies in public markets
• Orbital debris and the evolution of policy
• The evolution of DoD vs NASA budgets

And much more…

This episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/

• Chapters •

00:00 - Intro & SpiderOak Ad

01:31 - Rachael + Payload

04:24 - Jacqueline + Payload

05:56 - Jack + Payload

09:19 - Jack's Top Story of the Year

10:29 - Jacqueline's Top Story of the Year

13:28 - Rachael's Top Story of the Year

15:01 - Why is it still so hard on the Moon?

17:42 - The launch shortage

22:21 - Media coverage around Starship

29:30 - Is the market spot on with Where Space Companies Should Be Trading?

32:20 - Jack's analysis on companies' cash flow

34:00 - SpiderOak Ad Break

34:47 - Jacqueline's policy stories

38:07 - Orbital debris

40:56 - Space tugging and de-orbiting market

44:14 - The Kessler Syndrome

46:35 - Why does the Space Force have a bigger budget than NASA?

50:01 - Jacqueline's predictions

52:11 - Why Jacqueline believes 2024 is the year for debris

53:13 - Rachael's predictions

54:46 - Timing of the first commercial Moon landing

55:48 - Moon vs Mars

58:03 - Jack's predictions

59:29 - ULA buyers

01:01:58 - Jack's favorite space TV show/book

01:03:01 - Rachael's favorite space TV show/book

01:03:29 - Jacqueline's favorite space TV show/book

• Show notes •

Jacqueline's socials — https://twitter.com/jacqfeldscher

Rachael's socials — https://twitter.com/RachaelZisk

Jack's socials — https://twitter.com/JackKuhr

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

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.

Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)