Q&As with leaders from space industry, government, and national security.
BlackSky (NYSE:BKSY) is a geospatial intelligence and continuous monitoring company. The Herndon, VA-based space company has been in the news at fairly regular intervals in recent months, due to its role in supplying open-source imagery and intelligence related to Ukraine. Payload sat down with BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole at Space Symposium earlier this week to […]
Doug and Bob. Image: Netflix Netflix is now streaming Return to Space. Directed by Oscar-winning duo Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The feature-length film chronicles the SpaceX and NASA Demo-2 mission, which restored the US’s capability to domestically send its own astronauts to orbit. Since you’re a space-savvy bunch and Return to Space is nonfiction, […]
Last week, Vyoma won the Startup Space pitch competition at Satellite 2022. Dr. Luisa Buinhas, a cofounder of Vyoma and space systems engineer, delivered the winning pitch. Payload wasn’t able to catch up with her on-site, but we did speak with Dr. Stefan Frey, an astrodynamics specialist and fellow Vyoma cofounder. Incubated within the ESA, the European […]
Matthew Desch is the CEO of Iridium (NASDAQ:IRDM), a $5.1B satellite operator based in McLean, VA. Payload recently caught up with Desch across town at Satellite 2022. Over the course of an hour, we chatted about (shocker) satellites, constellation strategy, corporate reinvention, Iridium’s moat, “commodity broadband,” Ukraine, dual-use tech, SPACs, and more. There are three […]
Radian Aerospace recently emerged from stealth to unveil what it’s been developing for the last six years: a fully reusable, single-stage-to-orbit, horizontal-takeoff-and-landing spaceplane. It’s the stuff of science fiction—and often hailed as the holy grail of human spaceflight. Developing that holy grail is no overnight process. When ditching its stealth cloak, Radian also announced a […]
Last week, Switzerland-based CYSEC announced it had extended its seed round by 4M Swiss francs ($4.3M) to 7M Swiss francs (~$7.5M). Founded in 2018, the company creates “confidential computing” products designed to harden highly sensitive data used in clouds, data centers, and at the “edge.” The fintech-focused cyber startup plans to use new funds to […]
As 2021 draws to a close, Payload recently sat down with Dr. Chris Boshuizen to get his thoughts on the last year in space—and what to expect in the coming decade. Bio in <40 words: Boshuizen is an operating partner at DCVC, where he invests in space and “deep tech” startups. The Australian engineer is cofounder […]
Payload spoke with Anil Menon, Deniz Burnham, and Jack Hathaway, three of the ten candidates in NASA’s new astronaut class. The astronauts-to-be talked with us about their unique and winding paths to this point, their passion for space, and their hopes for the Artemis generation of lunar exploration. Anil Menon, a US Air Force lieutenant […]
On Wednesday, when reporting Q3 earnings, payment processor Shift4 announced a five-year strategic partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink. The deal came as a surprise, and Shift4’s stock (NYSE:FOUR) surged. But Jared Isaacman, the company’s CEO, is no stranger to SpaceX. Isaacman was financier and commander of the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission, which took place in September. Payload […]
Moriba Jah is an astrodynamicist, UT Austin professor, JPL alum, and chief scientific adviser of Privateer, a newly formed company that aims to be the “Waze for space.” Payload sat down with Jah recently to discuss recent events, debris, space environmentalism, Privateer, and more. NB: This interview was edited for clarity and length. On the […]
Last month, Lynk claimed a first: two-way satellite-to-smartphone connectivity. The breakthrough was not the connection, but that Lynk satellites communicated with ordinary, unmodified phones. Phones were talking to satellites without any special satellite receiver. Lynk is negotiating contracts with mobile carriers and preparing for Gen-1 satellite production, CEO Charles Miller tells Payload. You can find the full interview […]
What’s the expert view on hypersonic glide vehicles, in light of recent news? To get some answers, we spoke with Jaganath Sankaran, a professor at UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. Sankaran’s research spans space weapons, missile defense, and arms control policy. NB: HGV = hypersonic glide vehicle; FOBS = fractional orbital bombardment system. Payload […]
