#170 | Reusable Satellites | Brian Taylor, Lux Aeterna

Reusable satellites are our topic this week. Why they make sense, what the economics are, and other related questions. Our guest is Brian Taylor, CEO & founder of Lux Aeterna, a Colorado-based startup working on exactly this. Enjoy!   TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Podcast Intro 1:01 — Elevator Pitch 3:18 — Brian's Background & Origin Story 8:43 — The Satellite: Design & Technology 13:57 — Heat Shield & Unique Subsystems 15:57 — Reusability & Refurbishment 22:36 — Market: Use Cases for Reusable Satellites 20:53 — Regulatory Environment 29:41 — Business Model: Space as a Service 35:00 — First Mission & Roadmap 37:28 — Lessons from SpaceX, Kuiper & Loft 40:03 — Founder vs. Employee Mindset 41:20 — What's Exciting in Space + Sci-Fi Picks 🔗 Lux Aeterna 🏠Website: https://www.luxaeterna.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

This week we’re talking about satellite navigation. All of us are using it every day mostly in its best-known form, GPS. Now there is a startup company trying to make satellite navigation much better. What that means, and how they’re doing it are among the topics I’m discussing with Brian Manning, CEO and co-founder of Xona Space Systems. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 1:20 – Elevator Pitch 4:54 – Terminology: GPS, GNSS, PNT 6:31 – Why GNSS is important 8:39 – GNSS on your phone 10:02 – GPS Accuracy 15:17 – Jamming, Spoofing, and Baby Monitors 21:15 – Encryption 21:54 – GPS Augmentation Services 30:15 – Orbit Architecture 35:23 – Jamming in Space 39:06 – Indoor GNSS 40:39 – Xona's 3 Pillars: Precision, Power, Protection (PPP) 41:59 – Go-to-Market 45:42 – Use cases unlocked by centimeter-level accuracy 50:55 – Company Milestones 53:19 – Bonus: PNT on the Moon 54:15 – Science-Fiction   🔗 XONA SPACE SYSTEMS 🏠Website: https://www.xonaspace.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Space-based solar power – it’s a hot and electrifying topic again (sorry for the pun!) What is the state of the art? What are the commercial use cases? How do the economics look? We’ll dive into this and more with our guest Marc Berte, CEO & Founder of Overview Energy. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:07 Elevator Pitch 02:25 Dr. Evil to Reality 03:54 Why Space Solar Now 04:26 Mark’s Background 06:08 SBSP History 14:40 System Architecture and Safety 22:13 Solar Cells and Economics 25:28 Satellite Lifetime Design 28:32 More on Solar Cells 31:20 Integration and Unknowns 33:19 Manufacturing at Scale 34:32 Supply Chain Bottlenecks 37:02 Electricity Market Segments and Pricing 44:27 Meta Data Center Deal 47:08 New Contract Model 51:27 Roadmap and Milestones 53:14 Other Space Opportunities 56:22 Science-Fiction 57:43 Dyson Sphere   🔗 OVERVIEW ENERGY 🏠Website: https://www.overviewenergy.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Japan: This week we are getting an introduction to the Japanese space ecosystem. My guest is Francois Poncin. He is the Chief Operating Officer of the SPACETIDE Foundation, which does many things, but one of them is organizing what is arguably Japan's biggest and most important space conference. 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:45 SPACETIDE 02:56 Francois' Background 04:53 Japan Space Policy 08:34 Space Strategy Fund 12:31 JAXA & Other Government Stakeholders 17:01 Universities 18:41 Startups 21:06 Investors & Funding 23:33 Corporates 27:01 Public View of Space 29:48 Breaking Into Japan 33:41 SPACETIDE CONFERENCE 39:40 Favorite Science-Fiction   🔗 SPACETIDE 🏠Websites: SPACETIDE 2026 website: https://events.spacetide.jp/event/Tide2026/summary SPACETIDE corporate page: https://spacetide.jp/en/ COMPASS report download page: https://spacetide.jp/en/business/knowledge/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/    

 Samara Aerospace is a San Francisco-based space startup that has come up with a very interesting new tech solution for pointing satellites accurately and quickly. Now they are developing a satellite bus based on this technology. Our guest this week is Patrick Haddox, Samara's co-founder and CEO. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:26 Elevator Pitch 02:05 Solar Panel Pointing Tech 04:17 Origin Story 05:30 Testing and Flight Data 06:48 Why Pointing Matters 08:40 Go To Market Plan 10:22 Hummingbird Bus 11:18 Why Build the Whole Bus? 14:17 Satellite Bus Market 17:28 Constellation Strategy 19:22 Partnerships 20:08 Orbital Data Centers 21:48 Cicada Payload Results 22:51 Hummingbird One Roadmap 23:53 Funding & Hiring Plans 24:28 Golden Dome 25:19 Hinge Tech & Reliability 27:51 Company Culture & Hiring 29:16 Name origins 30:23 Why San Francisco? 31:40 Favorite Science-Fiction   🔗 Samara Aerospace 🏠Website :  https://www.samaraaerospace.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/  

Exolaunch is a company that is an integral part of the space ecoystem. They sit in the middle between people wanting to launch satellites and the launch/rocket companies. They have already helped get many hundreds of satellites to space. CEO Robert Sproles is our guest this week. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:06 Episode start 01:28 Exolaunch Elevator Pitch 03:14 Why Robert Joined Exolaunch 05:12 Hardware and Transporter Missions 07:36 End to End Mission Support for Customers 11:01 Compliance incl. ITAR 12:33 Multi Launcher Strategy 13:50 Choosing the Right Rocket 15:42 Tracking New Launchers 16:58 What Customers Value Most 17:52 Exolaunch's Value to Launch Providers 19:35 Shaping Mission Design 21:43 Launch Capacity Outlook 23:23 Sovereignty Considerations 24:38 Preparing for Starship 26:16 Launcher Agnostic Hardware 28:14 Responsive Launch 29:49 Reliability and Smooth Deployment 33:04 Satellite Design Trends 36:00 AI and Space Data Centers 37:05 Biology Payloads and Return Cargo 39:13 Shared Launch Matchmaking 40:44 Beyond LEO Missions 42:09 Ten Year Vision 43:43 Sci-Fi    🔗 Exolaunch 🏠Website :  https://www.exolaunch.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Elevation Space is a Japanese startup working on downmass – bringing things back from space to Earth – leveraging Japan’s strong heritage in reentry and recovery technologies. CEO and co-founder Ryohei Kobayashi in our guest. Enjoy!   🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:35 Elevator Pitch 03:49 Origin Story 09:11 Product & Missions 17:22 Payload Strategy 18:53 Customers & Use Cases 25:05 Post-ISS Future 28:45 Milestones 32:42 Long-Term Vision 37:24 Closing: Japan Space Ecosystem + Sci‑Fi Favorites   🔗 Elevation Space 🏠Website :  https://elevation-space.com/en   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

The most beautiful launchsite in the world – that is my description for this week’s episode. Andøya Space is a space launch center in Northern Norway. It is kind of what you would imagine if Disney’s Frozen had a rocket launch site. Jokes aside, it is a serious strategic asset that has launched rockets since 1962 and now has German launch company Isar Aerospace as an orbital launch customer. My guest to talk about all this is Andøya Space’s CEO, former Vice Admiral Ketil Olsen. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 00:41 Intro to Andøya Space 03:12 Historical Background 04:56 Location aspects 10:45 Transition to Orbital Launches 15:01 Commercial Aspects 18:18 Infrastructure 21:25 Regulations 23:51 Liability considerations 25:34 Technology Safeguard Agreement with the U.S. 27:08 Future Plans 31:45 Building a Space Ecosystem 33:58 Visiting Andøya Space 40:36 Closing remarks   🔗 Andøya Space 🏠Website :  https://andoyaspace.no/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Open Cosmos, a European space scale-up, has cemented a reputation as a reliable provider and operator of satellites for various mission types. Now they have secured priority spectrum to build a new LEO broadband satellite communications constellation. Co-founder and CEO Rafel Jordá Siquier is our guest to tell us about it. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:13 Elevator Pitch 02:05 Today's News: Spectrum Rights for Satellite Communications 04:24 The Journey of Open Cosmos 06:02 Innovative Business Models 13:46 Manufacturing Capabilities 19:52 Future Plans and Partnerships 24:02 What It Takes To Build A LEO SatComm Constellation 31:19 Synergy Between Earth Observation and Communications 36:02 Spectrum & Regulatory 43:41 Vision for the Future and Favorite Science-Fiction   🔗 Open Cosmos 🏠Website :  https://www.open-cosmos.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Apex Space is a Los Angeles based satellite bus manufacturer. They want to productize satellite buses and build them at scale for government and commercial customers. Our guest is co-founder and CEO Ian Cinnamon. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps:  0:00 Podcast Intro 01:00 Welcome & Elevator Pitch 03:06 Origin Story 10:33 Challenges in Satellite Manufacturing 14:18 Vertical Integration and Supply Chain 19:23 Global Competition 22:03 Apex Space's Product Line 23:06 Introduction to Robust Satellite Platforms 27:53 Business Model 30:38 Markets 34:15 More on Manufacturing 36:25 Current Status & Future Plans 40:39 Favorite Sci-Fi   🔗 Apex Space 🏠Website :  https://www.apexspace.com/   🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast     🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇  Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/   To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO  edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space- Space Founder Newsletter A new newsletter with opportunities for space startup founders. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/JCUq92vERtxsuYnF8 Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/