Pathfinder
Stories featuring news from Payload’s weekly podcast, Pathfinder.
Tim Ellis on The Way Forward After Terran 1’s First Flight
Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis knows what went wrong during Terran 1’s first flight—and he shared with Payload why he is confident the same thing won’t happen to the startup’s Terran R rocket.
A Management Masterclass, with Chris Celtruda
Today’s Pathfinder episode features Chris Celtruda, CEO of Valence Surface Technologies and Operating Executive at ATL Partners. With over 30 years of leadership experience, Chris offers a masterclass on scaling aerospace & defense businesses and implementing successful management styles. In addition, Mo and Chris chat: And much more… Check out Pathfinder #0065 on…YouTube, Apple, Spotify,…
Ursa Major, Vector Launch Strike Engine Deal
Ursa Major has struck a deal to supply Vector Launch with “several” propulsion systems, the company tells Payload. Ursa’s Hadley engines will power the main stage of the Vector-R launch vehicle in future demonstration missions for national security customers. A word on Vector: The seven-year-old startup, which has raised more than $180M, declared bankruptcy in…
Pathfinder #0029, with Tess Hatch and Rachael Zisk
We’re doing things a little differently this week. Ryan’s taking a step back from his podcast-hosting duties so you can get to know another member of the Payload media machine. Actually, we’re doing things very differently. Today’s episode isn’t a Payload-on-Payload interview. Instead, we brought in a guest host. The interviewer: Tess Hatch is a…
Pathfinder #0023, featuring Awais Ahmed
Today’s episode takes us to the bleeding edge of Earth observation, where one startup aims to bring what it claims is a step change in multispectral data to the commercial markets. Our guest, Awais Ahmed, is the CEO and cofounder of Pixxel. The Indian-American startup, which is building a health monitor for Earth, has raised…
Pathfinder #0022, featuring Andy Lapsa
Today’s episode takes us to the burbs of Seattle, where one startup aims to build an entirely new type of rocket. Our guest, Andy Lapsa, is the CEO and cofounder of Stoke Space. The startup, whose north star is building 100% reusable rockets, raised a $9.1M seed round in 2020, graduated from Y Combinator’s Winter…
Pathfinder #0021, with Ryan Duffy (Opposite Day Edition)
Today is Opposite Day at Pathfinder. Rather than interview someone, Ryan himself is sitting down in the hot seat to take an hour’s worth of questions. Our guest host is cofounder Mo Islam. Though he’s Ryan’s coworker, he’s also his boss and a fair, unsparing interviewer. Pathfinder #0021 is brought to you by Spaced Ventures,…
Pathfinder #0020, featuring Epsilon3’s Laura Crabtree
We’re 20 weeks into publishing the Pathfinder podcast—and we have a great episode in store for you to mark the occasion. Our guest is Laura Crabtree, cofounder and CEO of Epsilon3. Today’s episode is brought to you by Spaced Ventures, Pathfinder’s new sponsor.The company is building the world’s first space investment portal, offering direct access…
Pathfinder #0019, featuring Chris Kemp
Pathfinder is back on the rocket beat, and today, we’re getting a much-needed company update from Astra ($ASTR) CEO Chris Kemp. Today’s episode is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems. Take the Payload/SpiderOak survey here. The backstory: Astra’s first launch of NASA’s TROPICS satellites ended in failure this summer. Shortly thereafter, Astra scrapped all flights for…
Pathfinder #0018, with Brian Barritt
We’re back for Round 3 of the Pathfinder from Paris experience. Just days after Aalyria Technologies emerged from stealth mode, Ryan sat down with Brian Barritt, the startup’s CTO. Aalyria leverages technology from various Google advanced development programs and aims to build speedy, secure networks spanning land, sea, air, LEO, and deep space. How do…
Pathfinder #0017, featuring Redwire’s Peter Cannito and Al Tadros
Bonjour, and welcome to another Pathfinder from Paris dispatch. We have a surprise in store for you…a twofer! That’s right, two guests for the price of one and packaged up into one standard-length Payload. Today’s guests: Redwire CEO + Chairman Peter Cannito, who is also an operating partner at AE Industrial (AEI) Redwire CTO Al…
Pathfinder #0016, featuring Caleb Henry
These days, the satellite sector is hard-pressed to go a single week without fresh multibillion-dollar megamerger speculation or new household names (ahem, Apple, T-Mobile) jumping into the fray. That’s why we’re thrilled to have locked down Caleb Henry as today’s Pathfinder guest. He joins us this week to help make sense of the industry madness,…
Pathfinder #0014, featuring Barry Matsumori
The Pathfinder guarantee is to bring you conversations you won’t find anywhere else. Today’s episode delivers on that guarantee in spades, taking us from the cost-per-kilogram of covered wagons to in-space delivery logistics to Mars highways. Our guest is Barry Matsumori, a space industry veteran who’s held exec roles at SpaceX, Virgin Orbit, and most…
