Ryan Duffy
Astronauts Take Out the ISS Trash Using Bishop Airlock
Earlier this month, astronauts disposed of ~172 pounds of trash using a completely new method: sending it out of the commercial Bishop Airlock. Working with Houston, Nanoracks cycled its Bishop Airlock, ejected a specially designed trash bag, and voila, the ISS crew had less waste to worry about. “The first full end-to-end cycle was a…
SpaceX Unveils Starlink Maritime
SpaceX has debuted Starlink Maritime for merchant vessels, oil rigs, and yachts. The service promises to connect large boats with high-speed, low-latency satellite internet, all “from the most remote waters across the world.” Starlink Maritime touts download speeds of up to 350Mbps at sea. Mileage may vary, though, as Starlink legal documents say users can…
Analysis: Navigating Recessions
Ed. Note: This is a vastly abridged version of Payload’s “Secret Monthly Newsletter” that you can unlock by referring just one new subscriber! This month’s newsletter included access to a larger macro presentation that includes this—and much more. In less than a week, the June CPI (Consumer Price Index, an index that tracks the price…
Stellar Ventures Closes $23M Space Technology Fund
There’s a new space technology specialist fund in town. Today, Stellar Ventures announced the close of $23M in committed capital for SV Andromeda Fund LP, its first fund. Stellar Ventures may ring a bell for seasoned space hands. It sounds like Stellar Solutions, an aerospace engineering company, and that’s no coincidence. Celeste Ford started both…
CAPSTONE Isn’t Phoning Home
Following a successful launch on Rocket Lab’s Electron and deployment from its Lunar Photon, NASA’s moon-bound CAPSTONE satellite is not phoning home. Timeline: On July 4, the satellite broke Earth’s orbit. On Tuesday, the US space agency said the spacecraft has experienced “communications issues” while in contact with the Deep Space Network, a series of…
Pathfinder #0006: Navigating Markets with Payload’s Mo Islam
On this week’s episode of the Pathfinder podcast, Ryan sits down with Mo Islam, who is his boss and the cofounder/CEO of Payload. A Payload on Payload interview? It’s like the Spiderman pointing at another Spiderman meme. Jokes aside, Ryan invited Mo Islam on to discuss a presentation he prepared for the Payload team at…
Pathfinder #0005: Space Pirates with Lori Garver
Gather around, gather around–we have a new Pathfinder episode out. This week, we chatted with Lori Garver, the former deputy administrator of NASA. Lori Garver is a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, an EIR at Bessemer, and a member of the board at Hydrosat. In addition, she…
Virgin Orbit Forms Brazilian Subsidiary, Receives Launch License
Virgin Orbit has established a Brazilian subsidiary and created a catchy acronym for the entity by rearranging the order of its stock ticker ($VORB) and tacking on one letter. VOBRA, or Virgin Orbit Brasil Ltda., is its name, and launching from the equator is its game. Brazil has also formally granted Virgin Orbit an operator’s…
Payload Poll Results: When Will Starship Fly?
Last Thursday and Friday, we asked readers: “Now that Starship is moving forward in South Texas, we want to hear your predictions. When will Starship make its first orbital flight attempt?” We received 145 votes in total. The results:
Payload Poll Results: Would you live/work in Low-Earth Orbit for a Month?
On Thursday, we asked you: “If your employer covered costs, would you take a trip to low-Earth orbit? For the sake of this poll, assume you’d have a one-month stay and 10-hour workdays. So…would you go?” We received 266 votes. We have a winner! Definitely yes won with ~74% of the vote. Bear in mind:…
Pathfinder #0004: American Dynamism with a16z’s Katherine Boyle
On Pathfinder 0004, we sit down with Katherine Boyle, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (or a16z, for short). Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems. Check out the company’s space cybersecurity white paper here. Resume, in brief Katherine heads up a16z’s American Dynamism practice, where she invests in companies involved in national…
QuadSAT Banks Additional €500,000
QuadSAT said today that it’s received €500,000 ($520,000) in additional ESA funding under the ARTES program. The European funds are earmarked for satcom companies looking to productize and commercialize core technology they’ve developed. QuadSAT’s core technology The Danish startup has paired specialized radiofrequency (RF) payloads with quadcopter drones. The company’s engineers have also written code…
Pathfinder #0003: Building a Great Crew with Lauren Lyons
Welcome to the third episode of Pathfinder, a weekly show where Payload managing editor and host Ryan Duffy sits down with the top shot-callers in space. Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, an industry leader in space cybersecurity. Check out their space cybersecurity white paper. Joining us this week is Lauren Lyons, a space…