Payload Pioneers 2024

“I turned to the partners at Riot and said, ‘We should invest in this’…but I also turned to the partners and said, ‘Hey, I want to go and join them.’” That’s how Rosner wound up the second hire and head of product at True Anomaly

“The thing that draws a lot of people to Astroscale is the mission,” she told Payload. “It’s not often you see an overlap between aerospace and tech and sustainability.”

As the driving force behind much of Turion Space’s technology stack, Sadaat is enabling systems to better track non-Earth objects in space.

While he’s helping the government figure out how to keep the current generation of astronauts safe and sound, Benjamin Kron is also drumming up excitement among the next generation of space fans. 

Eric Sundby is on the hunt for ore—and he’s already been to DC to educate lawmakers on what he can do to help.  

Estelle Van Praet helped put Aerospacelab on the map in Europe. Now, she’s trying to do the same in the US.

The 27-year-old tried her hand in fields from forestry to medical devices before she found her calling in the space sector.

“People are always afraid we’re gonna take pics of US spy sats and government sats. As an organization, we don’t do that.”

“The impact that I want to leave on this industry is less about developing the best rocket engine there ever was, although I want to do that too, and more about making sure the industry is more diverse, more inclusive, and more equitable,” Sheff said.

The AZ-based startup uses a blend of SAR, robotic systems, and proprietary software to hunt for resources beneath the surface of both Earth and other bodies in space, such as asteroids.

Konark Chopra—who grew up traveling to food festivals with his restaurateur parents—began to dream of a space economy that could one day host a restaurant on the lunar surface.

After working with Seraphim Space in the UK as an investor, 28-year-old took on a new challenge in America, working with US startups as an investment VP at Generation Space, the US branch of Seraphim. 

Luc Riesbeck is helping to make sure that the policy conversations surrounding space sustainability keep pace with the rapidly advancing tech.

Hamdan is the co-founder, CTO, and CEO of Aphelia Space, a Malaysian startup that is trying to use microwave technology to beam power over long distances—potentially powering up sats in orbit or hardware on the Moon.

Some people are motivated by titles, some by bringing humanity to the stars—but Matt Clancy is driven by good old-fashioned problem-solving.

Molly Sullivan is an outsider—and she likes it that way.

Morgan Martell will talk about space national security with anyone who will listen. And since joining True Anomaly as a government affairs manager nearly one year ago, she found that most folks on Capitol Hill are all ears. 

When Apex’s first satellite was able to communicate successfully with earthbound operators after launch, it was tangible proof that Nicolas Gutierrez had accomplished his mission. 

As a regulatory affairs officer at Charter, the 25-year-old is working to demystify space law to help the firm’s clients understand the regulations that apply to them. 

A bad Internet connection can lead to frustration. For Nihar Agrawal, it led to a career.

“The last thing we want to do is find cool tech…but [not be able to] bring it to market because of regulatory burdens.”

When Rouzaud went to turn his lifelong interest in space and experience as a software developer into a career, he quickly discovered that the act of finding a job in the industry was no simple task. So he founded Space Crew, an aggregator of space industry jobs.  

Space is hard. Rachel O’Connor is trying to make it easier.

Nederlander is building a software tool that will allow systems engineers to evaluate the holistic radiation risks of their spacecraft. 

“I thought, maybe I should do space policy if I’m mad about policy people not caring enough about space,” the 27-year-old told Payload.

Roxanna Pakkar grew up in space hardware’s backyard—on the west side of LA, where her high school robotics team sought mentorship from engineers at nearby Boeing, Raytheon, and SpaceX facilities.

Sariah Fischer is ready for the next era in space exploration. So she’s helping to build it herself.

“You can have the satellites, but if you can’t talk to them, it doesn’t really help at all,” Shaurya Luthra, cofounder and head of software at Northwood Space, told Payload. “We believe the ground industry of today is not ready for that boom.”

Based in the UK, the 27-year-old works as an investment associate at the NATO Innovation Fund, a VC fund that invests in the latest technology that will protect citizens of NATO nations. 

“He is a go-to resource for space market insights across the 450k+ person firm and regularly conducts internal training and knowledge sessions,” Avinav Sinha, a senior manager in Deloitte’s space practice, wrote in his nomination.