#175 | Space Infrastructure | John Rood, Momentus

Something a little different this week: a science fiction special! My guest is Mary Robinette Kowal, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Lady Astronaut series and The Spare Man. We talk about getting the space science right in hard sci-fi, how AI, politics and spirituality show up (or don't) in science fiction, and how talking with her cat Elsie through word buttons has changed the way she thinks about first contact with aliens. Enjoy!   0:00 — Cold Open 0:25 — Intro 2:25 — Elevator Pitch 3:00 — The Spare Man: A Murder Mystery in Space 5:39 — Borrowing Story Structures from Other Genres 9:21 — World-Building in Sci-Fi and Fantasy 11:52 — Hard Science Fiction and Working with Experts 16:51 — Hardest Technical Topic: Rocket Crashes 18:59 — Real-World Space Tech vs. Fiction 21:02 — Why Are There Still Hotshot Pilots? 22:28 — AI in Science Fiction 27:42 — Politics and Writing the Future 32:18 — Utopias vs. Dystopias 35:06 — Spirituality in Space 37:14 — Advice for Aspiring Writers 38:57 — First Contact and Talking to Aliens 39:47 — Talking with Elsie the Cat 48:26 — Favorite Science Fiction 49:59 — Mary Robinette's Next Book 🔗 Mary Robinette Kowal https://maryrobinettekowal.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/ 🔗 Follow E2MC (Raphael's space VC): 🤝🏻LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/e2mc-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/learn/economics/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne-new-space-economy 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/

Momentus is one of still relatively few space companies listed on a stock exchange.  Their offerings include satellites, hosted payload services, and last mile transportation for other people's satellites. CEO John Rood is our guest this week to tell us all about that, and also what it is like to be a publicly-listed space company. Enjoy! 1:29 — Elevator Pitch 2:11 — Momentus Satellites and Orbital Service Vehicles 3:02 — Spacecraft Market Positioning 5:40 — Market Differentiation 9:58 — Technology Roadmap 11:49 — Proximity Operations 14:10 — Government vs Commercial Customers 19:45 — Common Mistakes with Government Customers 24:27 — Space Truck Deep Dive 39:03 — Launch Market 42:52 — Product Roadmap 54:48 — Favorite Science Fiction 🔗 Momentus https://momentus.space/   🔗 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/learn/economics/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne-new-space-economy 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/

We have another episode on remote sensing, and my guest is Mark Keremedjiev from a startup called Orbital Sentry. Mark tell us why persistent monitoring from geosynchronous orbit makes sense for use cases including wildfires.   0:00 — Introduction 1:11 — Welcome & Elevator Pitch 2:13 — The LEO Data Access Problem 4:29 — Wildfires & a Dynamic World 6:05 — XPRIZE for Wildfire Detection 8:29 — LEO Limitations 11:23 — The GEO Solution 13:40 — Costs & Improvements 16:00 — Declining Costs 17:20 — The Spatial Challenge 21:09 — Temporal Resolution 22:34 — Defense Applications 27:09 — Data Strategy 31:48 — Go-to-Market 37:27 — Sensor Technology & In-Space Compute 41:45 — 10-Year Vision & Favorite Science-Fiction   🔗 Orbital Sentry https://www.orbitalsentry.ai/   🔗 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/learn/economics/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne-new-space-economy 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 lasers - we are talking about space lasers again -- for optical communications rather than more sinister purposes, at least for the moment. Our guest this week is Rohit Jha from Singapore-based startup Transcelestial. Optical communications are becoming an even bigger topic than they have been before, in part thanks to orbital data centers. We talk all about that, and much more, in the episode. Enjoy.    1:38 — Elevator Pitch 4:47 — Laser History & Why Now 8:05 — Tech Stack 9:36 — Terrestrial Product for Telcos 11:58 — Go-to-Market 18:22 — Defense Product 23:26 — Space Product 27:52 — Commercial Space Strategy 36:09 — Supply Chain 42:35 — Orbital Data Centers 49:29 — Singapore 50:57 — Future Plans 55:05 — Science-Fiction 🔗 Transcelestial https://transcelestial.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/learn/economics/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne-new-space-economy 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/

Lucie Low is the Chief Science Officer of Axiom Space, a prominent space company developing its own space station and conducting private astronaut missions, among other activities. Lucie and I talk about what interesting use cases are for in-space research and manufacturing, what remains to be done to make it a large-scale reality, and other related topics. Enjoy! 🔗 Axiom Space https://www.axiomspace.com/   0:00 — Intro 1:15 — Lucie's Background 2:57 — What Does a CSO Do? 4:03 — Why Research in Space? 7:33 — Favorite Use Cases 8:10 — Neuroscience Use Cases 10:38 — R&D vs. Manufacturing 14:30 — Microgravity Applications 17:11 — Key Remaining Challenges 20:26 — Autonomous Research vs. Humans 24:16 — Challenging Use Cases 33:00 — Keytruda 35:27 — Inbound vs. Outbound Customers 36:20 — Unlimited Funding Use Case 41:05 — How Researchers Can Work with Axiom Space 44:36 — Funding Sources 47:19 — Expanding to Europe 49:13 — Favorite Sci-Fi 🔗 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/learn/economics/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne-new-space-economy 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/

 Nebex is a new exchange for the global space sector. It just came out of stealth recently, but it already raised a $30 million seed round led by Google Ventures. The co-founder and CEO, Tejpaul Bhatia, is our guest for this episode. Enjoy.    TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Podcast Intro 1:45 — Elevator Pitch 3:01 — The Problem: Cross-Border Space Friction 15:06 — Real-World Examples incl. Axiom 34:04 — The Product: Exchange vs. Marketplace 37:40 — Business Model 50:41 — Regulation, Market Making 55:48 — Product Timeline & Alpha Launch 55:59 — Onboarding Space Founders 1:01:13 — What Else Is Exciting in Space? 1:03:57 — Nebex Name Origin 1:06:45 — Favorite Science-Fiction   🔗 Nebex 🏠Website: https://www.nebex.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/learn/economics/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne-new-space-economy 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/

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/