Tune in to our captivating podcast series, featuring enlightening conversations and in-depth explorations of the space industry’s latest issues with experts and aficionados.
Pathfinder is Payload’s flagship podcast covering the booming business and pressing policy matters of space. We sit down weekly with the top shot-callers in space to keep you informed, entertained, and up-to date on the top news and trends beyond Earth. In this ~1 hour, talk show-style podcast, Pathfinder host Mo Islam interviews astronauts, administrators, founders, CEOs, military minds, policymakers, and more.
EPISODE SUMMARY Today, Pathfinder turns the complexity up a notch by simultaneously welcoming two speakers onto the show. Matt Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau research, write, and develop coursework at the intersection of space and economics. They teach MBA students at a business school just outside of Boston (why yes, we are indeed referring to Harvard […]
EPISODE SUMMARY In Pathfinder #0031, we welcome Jim Bridenstine on to the show. Jim was the 13th administrator of NASA, and under his leadership, the US launched the Artemis program, our new human lunar exploration mission. EPISODE NOTES Jim served as the 13th administrator of NASA and spearheaded the launch of the Artemis program. During […]
EPISODE SUMMARY Ryan takes a field trip to San Francisco to visit the 120,000-square foot digs of Astranis. We talk about the satellite broadband unicorn’s upcoming plans for 2023, which include the launches of five (!) microGEO satellites: one on a Falcon Heavy rideshare, and four on a dedicated Falcon 9. EPISODE NOTES For his […]
EPISODE SUMMARY 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. EPISODE NOTES Today’s episode […]
EPISODE SUMMARY What’s it like running a $11 billion dollar space business at a publicly traded company and managing a team of nearly 22,000? We get the answers to those questions and a whole lot more with Robert Lightfoot, the executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space and former acting NASA administrator. EPISODE NOTES What’s […]
EPISODE SUMMARY What if you could cut the time for data to be relayed from space to Earth from half an hour to milliseconds? That’s the vision of Hedron. COO Katherine Monson joins us to share new details on Hedron’s technology and roadmap. EPISODE NOTES What if you could cut the time for data to […]
EPISODE SUMMARY In today’s episode of the Pathfinder podcast, we’re talking all about a gentler type of suborbital space tourism. In Pathfinder #0026, we sit down with Jane Poynter, the co-CEO and cofounder of Space Perspective. EPISODE NOTES In today’s episode of the Pathfinder podcast, we’re talking all about a gentler type of suborbital space […]
EPISODE SUMMARY Today, we’ll be talking about what in the world Amazon is up to in space, with someone who can speak to this probably better than almost anyone else on the planet. Clint Crosier served in the US Air Force and Space Force for 33 years, and helped stand up the latter branch. After […]
EPISODE SUMMARY Today’s guest is Bill Perkins, a hedge fund manager, film producer, high-stakes poker player, and author of Die with Zero. If he wasn’t in those lines of work, Bill tells Ryan he’d be a farmer. More importantly for our purposes, Bill is the founder of SkyFi. The startup doesn’t fly its own satellites, […]
EPISODE SUMMARY 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 […]
EPISODE SUMMARY Andy is the CEO and cofounder of Stoke Space, a startup that aims to build 100% reusable rockets. The startup raised a $9.1M seed round in 2020, graduated from Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 batch, and then announced a $65M Series A in December. All the while, Stoke has been moving quickly to build […]
EPISODE SUMMARY 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. EPISODE NOTES Today is Opposite Day at […]
