Explore every episode of the podcast Valley of Depth
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch is Not Solved Yet, with Andy Lapsa (CEO, Stoke Space) | 08 Sep 2026 | 01:10:04 | |
Stoke Space was founded around a simple but radical belief: launch is not solved until rockets are fully and rapidly reusable. That thesis is now getting much bigger. Stoke has raised another $1 billion, bringing total capital raised to $2.3 billion, and is unveiling a new 15-ton-class version of Nova designed to be fully reusable. In his first sit-down interview following the announcement, Andy Lapsa joins Valley of Depth from Stoke Space’s headquarters outside Seattle. We got an exclusive first look at the company’s new plans before the news was made public, sitting down with Andy to unpack the $1 billion fundraise, the new 15-ton Nova, why Stoke is making such an aggressive bet on full reuse, and why he believes launch capacity could become one of the biggest constraints on the growth of the space economy. We also cover:
…and much more. • Chapters • 00:00 – Trailer 01:04 – New developments at Stoke 02:16 – The Nova product family 02:55 – Nova block 2 08:19 – Meeting with Jared Isaacman 09:48 – Where Stoke is going to be investing their newly raised $1b of capital 12:12 – Stoke's future production capacity 13:44 – Was this the last private funding round for Stoke? 14:33 – What Andy wanted Stoke to be in 2019 when he founded Stoke 22:47 – The marginal drop with rapid reuse 23:46 – Why are rockets still so hard? 26:17 – Why build a full-flow staged combustion for your first stage? 29:14 – Technical hurdles that are left to solve 31:17 – Second stage 35:05 – Stoke's Metallic alloy based heat shield vs ceramic heat shield 38:01 – The doors that Stoke's heat shield will open 39:51 – The state of the launch industry. Are we screwed in the short term? 45:31 – From launch abundance to panic 46:39 – Had Andy ever thought about redesigning a rocket? 49:00 – Payload agnostic 51:36 – New application layer for Stoke's block 2 59:07 – Andy's advice to new players in the rocket space 1:01:20 – What Keeps Andy up at night? 1:02:29 – What happens after Block 2's mission success? 1:06:31 – When should we expect the first flight of the Block 2? 1:06:57 – In the movie about Stoke, who plays Andy? 1:07:54 – What does Andy do for fun?
• Show notes • Stoke’s’ website — https://www.stokespace.com/ Stoke’s’ socials — https://x.com/stoke_space Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies reshaping industry, national security, and the global balance of power. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload, Tectonic, Ignition, and Decoding Bio, the show covers space, defense, energy, biotech, and the technologies shaping what comes next. We sit down with founders, investors, government officials, scientists, and military leaders to understand what they’re building, why it matters, and where these industries are headed. From new companies and breakthrough technologies to capital, policy, and geopolitics, Valley of Depth goes deep on the forces shaping the future.
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| The Flying Supply Chain, with Isaac Roberts (CSO of Skyways) | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:56:35 | |
Skyways has spent nearly a decade working on a problem most of the drone industry largely ignored: logistics. While billions poured into drones built to see targets or strike them, Skyways focused on something less flashy but arguably just as important: moving critical supplies without putting people in harm’s way. That bet is starting to look increasingly prescient. The company has worked with the U.S. military since its earliest days and is now building its V3 aircraft to carry 100 pounds of payload up to 1,000 nautical miles. The longer-term ambition is much bigger: use defense to mature autonomous aviation, build a global logistics network, and eventually prove the technology required to carry people. Skyways’ Chief Strategy Officer Isaac Roberts joins Valley of Depth from the company’s Austin factory to unpack why autonomous logistics could become one of the biggest markets in drones, how the war in Ukraine has accelerated the entire industry, and why the FAA may be the biggest obstacle standing between today’s cargo drones and autonomous aviation at scale. We also cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Trailer 00:48 – Skyways factory floor 01:08 – America, French, and Texas flags 02:16 – The problem Skyways is trying to solve 03:49 – The logistics problem 09:05 – Companies Skyways competes with 11:45 – How Skyways beat out Boeing 13:18 – Will Skyways ever transport people? 15:56 – Why focus on cargo over kinetic systems? 18:35 – How has Ukraine changed the nature of drone warfare? 22:58 – Skyhook 25:34 – Where is the FAA a blocker? 28:40 – Defense contract traction 29:34 – Direct competitors in their contracts 30:28 – Is Isaac worried about Anduril competing with them? 34:06 – Current economics for the v3 36:00 – Hype and BS 37:52 – How to get to ground truth with tech 39:41 – Funding and next phase of growth 40:35 – How is Skyways structurally different than other defense companies? 41:52 – How Isaac got to Skyways 43:29 – Rocky moments at Skyways 44:27 – The FAA unlock for the industry 50:38 – What keeps Isaac up at night? 52:37 – What Mo and Isaac do for fun
• Show notes • Footage courtesy of Skyways Skyways’ website — https://www.skyways.com/ Skyways’ socials — https://x.com/skyways Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies reshaping industry, national security, and the global balance of power. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload, Tectonic, Ignition, and Decoding Bio, the show covers space, defense, energy, biotech, and the technologies shaping what comes next. We sit down with founders, investors, government officials, scientists, and military leaders to understand what they’re building, why it matters, and where these industries are headed. From new companies and breakthrough technologies to capital, policy, and geopolitics, Valley of Depth goes deep on the forces shaping the future.
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| LIVE: Space & Defense Update at the NYSE | July 24, 2026 | 04 Aug 2026 | 01:29:09 | |
This month, Mo and Jack host a live Space & Defense Update from the NYSE, featuring leading investors and executives: • Erik Kriessmann, Partner at Altimeter Capital We discuss the latest developments across space, defense technology, AI infrastructure, hypersonic aviation, edge computing, private-market investment, and the emerging companies building the next generation of critical infrastructure.
About us Arkaea Media is building the definitive media, events, and intelligence platform for the future of the defense industrial base. We deliver high-quality journalism and actionable insights that shape the business, policy, and investment decisions underpinning technically complex and highly regulated industries that influence global security. Our portfolio of publications includes Payload, Tectonic, Ignition, and Decoding Bio. • Payload: www.payloadspace.com • Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com • Decoding Bio: www.decodingbio.com | |||
| The Reactor Renaissance, with Jordan Bramble (CEO of Antares) | 29 Jul 2026 | 00:45:59 | |
Antares just closed a massive $470M Series C, was welcomed to the Oval Office by President Trump to celebrate becoming the first startup to achieve reactor criticality under the Department of Energy's reactor pilot program, and is now racing toward delivering the first commercial microreactors to the U.S. military. Just three years after being founded, the company expects to surpass $1B in defense contracts while attempting to restart America's nuclear industrial base. CEO Jordan Bramble joins Valley of Depth to unpack what it actually took to build and operate a nuclear reactor in under a year, why Antares believes the military (not hyperscale data centers) is the fastest path to commercial nuclear power, and how microreactors could fundamentally reshape everything from missile defense and remote military installations to space exploration. We also cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Trailer 00:54 – Jordan at the White House 02:57 – What does criticality mean? 04:29 – How hard is reaching criticality? 08:48 – What $600M in fundraising will allow Antares to do 09:58 – How did Antares get to criticality first? 12:55 – How the government's approach to nuclear has changed since Jordan's time at the Office of Management & Budget 15:25 – How small modular reactors fit in the nuclear tech landscape 19:02 – Space-based civilian use cases for nuclear 20:57 – Antares's approach to fuel availability and supply chains 25:56 – Electricity in 2027 27:14 – Regulatory hurdles 30:12 – The production line Antares is building 31:33 – The road to 30 reactors a month 33:22 – The data center component 37:22 – Is it just a coincidence that 4 companies reached criticality by the July 4th deadline? 39:48 – How would an investor know if a nuclear company is on the right path? 43:09 – What would Jordan have done differently with Antares? 44:36 – What will Jordan be most proud of about Antares when he's 80? • Show notes • Antares’ website — https://antaresindustries.com/ Jordan’s socials — https://x.com/jordanbramble Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://x.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://x.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://x.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Spacecraft Factory, with Ian Cinnamon (CEO of Apex) | 15 Jul 2026 | 00:54:06 | |
Ian Cinnamon didn’t set out to build a satellite company. After selling his first startup to Palantir, he became convinced the real bottleneck in space wasn’t launch or payloads, but the spacecraft itself. While rockets were getting cheaper and payloads more capable, satellite buses were still being built like bespoke engineering projects. Apex’s answer was simple in theory and incredibly difficult in practice: turn spacecraft into products. Four years later, Apex is building standardized satellite platforms for commercial and national security customers, with a product lineup that now spans missions from LEO to GEO. We get into whether the satellite bus market is genuinely supply constrained, if standardized spacecraft become commodities or durable technology platforms, and how Starship, proliferated constellations, and rising defense demand are reshaping the economics of spacecraft manufacturing. We also cover:
Check out Valley of Depth #045 on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube. • Chapters • 00:00 – Trailer • Show notes • Apex’s’ website — https://www.apexspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Solving America’s Drone Problem, with Soren Monroe-Anderson (CEO of Neros) | 08 Jul 2026 | 01:00:59 | |
Soren Monroe-Anderson grew up racing FPV drones before turning that obsession into Neros, a defense startup building low-cost, high-volume drone systems for the United States and its allies. What began with prototypes in a basement has become a 200-person company producing roughly 1,000 drones a week, with plans to build a factory capable of making one million annually. The timing is difficult to ignore. Small drones have become one of the defining weapons of the war in Ukraine, China holds a massive production advantage and the Pentagon is now trying to catch up in a category it was slow to take seriously. We get into why so many American drones failed in Ukraine, what separates a good demo from a battlefield-ready product, and why Soren believes the next generation of weapons will look more like consumer electronics than traditional defense systems. We also discuss the limits of autonomy, the difficulty of manufacturing at scale, and the moral weight of building kinetic systems. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Plants at the factory • Show notes • Neros’ website — https://www.neros.tech/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
Footage from David Hambling (https://www.youtube.com/@davidhambling2609) | |||
| Fighter Jets in Space, with Eric Romo (President & COO of Impulse) | 01 Jul 2026 | 01:18:08 | |
Eric Romo spent his early career as employee #13 at SpaceX, left for nearly two decades, and came back to one of the hardest unsolved problems in the space economy: what happens after launch. Getting things to orbit is largely figured out. Moving them once they're there is not. Impulse is now over $1B raised, embedded in the Golden Dome architecture, and with a GEO rideshare program booked out before a first flight. We get into how they got there, why Eric thinks every business model predicated on cheap Starship launch is broken, and what it actually means to be building in-space mobility at the moment GEO becomes a contested domain. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro trailer • Show notes • Impulse’s website — https://www.impulsespace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Global Ground Layer, with Bridgit Mendler (CEO of Northwood) | 24 Jun 2026 | 00:50:02 | |
Bridgit Mendler took an unconventional path to founding a space infrastructure company, but it led her to one of the industry’s most overlooked bottlenecks: the ground systems connecting satellites to Earth. Now, she’s building Northwood to modernize that critical layer of the space economy, the part that doesn’t get the headlines but matters as much as anything happening above it. Northwood recently announced its new Prism product, and we get into the business model, the competitive landscape, the government bet, and one of the most critical questions: if Starlink and Kuiper have already built their own versions of what Northwood is selling, who’s actually buying? We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Trailer • Show notes • Northwood’s website — https://www.northwoodspace.io/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| SpaceX's $1.75T IPO (LIVE from NYSE) | 12 Jun 2026 | 01:32:18 | |
This month, Mo and Jack host a live show on the SpaceX IPO, featuring investors and analysts breaking down the company’s valuation, business lines, and long-term growth story:
We discuss SpaceX’s IPO valuation, Starship’s progress, Starlink and Direct-to-Cell, orbital data centers, AI infrastructure, launch competition, public market appetite, and what it will take for SpaceX to grow into one of the most important companies in the world.
• About us • Arkaea Media is building the definitive media, events, and intelligence platform for the future of the defense industrial base. We deliver high-quality journalism and actionable insights that shape the business, policy, and investment decisions underpinning technically complex and highly regulated industries that influence global security. Our portfolio of publications includes Payload, Tectonic, and Ignition.
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| The OG Defense Check, with Ross Fubini (Managing Partner of XYZ VC) | 10 Jun 2026 | 00:46:38 | |
On this week's episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Ross Fubini, Managing Partner at XYZ Venture Capital, for a conversation about what it actually means to be early in a market nobody believed in. Ross wrote the first check into Anduril in 2016, alongside Founders Fund, before defense tech was a category, before the term sheet wars, and before the word "primes" became a punchline on X. He did it because he'd spent years inside the Palantir network and understood something others couldn't see from the outside: that the company was an unparalleled crucible for entrepreneurial talent, churning out founders who knew how to sell technology to the hardest customer in the world. XYZ has since backed 40+ Palantir alumni across 130+ companies, and the firm now sits at over $1.5B under management. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Episode Trailer • Show notes • XYZ’s’ website — https://www.xyz.vc/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| A Firefly Future, with Jason Kim (CEO of Firefly Aerospace) | 03 Jun 2026 | 01:13:53 | |
On this week's episode of Valley of Depth, our first recorded in person, we sit down with Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, in the company's historic Blue Ghost mission control room in Cedar Park, Texas — the same room where 60 engineers watched their lander touch down at one meter per second last year. From there, the conversation opens into how Jason actually thinks: about the Moon, about scale, and about being a "mission CEO" rather than a hardware or software one. Firefly went public in 2025, acquired defense software company SciTec within months, and now sits inside Golden Dome. Jason argues the market still prices the company as a pure launch player while he's building an end-to-end stack he puts in the same conversation as Anduril and Palantir. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Trailer • Show notes • Firefly’s’ website — https://fireflyspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Space & Defense Market Update - May 2026 (LIVE from NYSE) | 02 Jun 2026 | 01:19:52 | |
This month, Mo and Jack host a live show on the future of Commercial LEO Destinations, featuring leaders building the next generation of space stations:
We discuss station development progress, business models, NASA's role, private astronaut missions, station economics, the transition from the ISS, and what it will take to build a sustainable commercial presence in LEO.
• About us • Arkaea Media is building the definitive media, events, and intelligence platform for the future of the defense industrial base. We deliver high-quality journalism and actionable insights that shape the business, policy, and investment decisions underpinning technically complex and highly regulated industries that influence global security. Our portfolio of publications (so far) includes Payload (space) and Tectonic (defense tech).
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| The Speed Advantage, with Zach Shore (CEO of Hermeus) | 29 May 2026 | 00:52:45 | |
The United States hasn't flown a Mach 3-plus reusable aircraft since the SR-71 was retired in 1990. Hermeus wants to change that and they want to do it faster, cheaper, and with a fraction of the capital. This week we sit down with Zach Shore, newly appointed CEO, at the moment the company's bet is starting to pay off. Zach walks us through his evolution from VP of Growth to CEO, the company's record-breaking $219 million DIU contract, and a $350 million raise that has Hermeus entering its most consequential chapter yet. But the real conversation is about the machine behind the machine …how a SpaceX-trained engineering team is iterating on aircraft the way rockets were once iterated on, and why Mach 3 might be the unlock that makes Mach 5 a foregone conclusion. We cover:
…and much more. • Chapters • 00:00 - Trailer • Show notes • Hermeus’ website — https://www.hermeus.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The New Ground Truth, with Dan Smoot (CEO of Vantor) | 20 May 2026 | 00:55:28 | |
Commercial geospatial intelligence has moved from nice-to-have imagery to core national security infrastructure. And Vantor is trying to reposition itself for that new era. On this week’s episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Dan Smoot, CEO of Vantor, to unpack the company’s transformation from a legacy satellite imagery provider into a space-based intelligence platform serving defense, intelligence, international, and enterprise customers. The shift is bigger than a rebrand. Vantor is betting that the future of geospatial intelligence is not just sharper pixels from orbit, but the ability to turn space-based data into software, AI-driven insights, autonomous navigation, sovereign intelligence systems, and real-time operational decision-making. We cover:
…and much more.
• Chapters • 00:00 - Trailer & Intro
• Show notes • Vantor’s website — https://vantor.com Vantor’s’ socials — https://x.com/vantortech Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Space & Defense Market Update - April 2026 (LIVE from NYSE) | 13 May 2026 | 01:53:21 | |
This month, Mo and Jack host a two-hour live show featuring six leaders from the space industry:
We discuss satellite manufacturing, orbital data centers, in-space mobility, high-power buses, venture capital, and the future shape of the space economy.
• About us • Arkaea Media is building the definitive media, events, and intelligence platform for the future of the defense industrial base.
Our portfolio of publications (so far) includes Payload (space) and Tectonic (defense tech).
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| The Flight Automation Era, with Mark Groden (CEO of Skyryse) | 29 Apr 2026 | 00:55:20 | |
The U.S. military doesn’t have enough pilots—and automation may be the only way to scale airpower. At the same time, Skyryse is formally launching its new defense unit, bringing its software-defined flight system, SkyOS, into military applications. On this week’s episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Mark Groden, CEO of Skyryse, to unpack how the company is building a universal operating system for aircraft that can dramatically simplify flight, reduce pilot burden, and enable fully autonomous operations when needed. The goal is ambitious: turn helicopters and airplanes into flexible, optionally piloted systems that can shift between crewed and uncrewed missions—unlocking a new model for force projection, logistics, and survivability. The conversation spans the tragic accident that inspired Mark to start Skyryse, why aviation’s biggest safety problem is really a technology problem, how SkyOS works across platforms from Robinson helicopters to Black Hawks, and why defense demand for autonomy is accelerating faster than most people realize. We cover:
…and much more.
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Skyryse’s website — https://skyryse.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| ARKAEA x NYSE Space & Defense March Update | 01 Apr 2026 | 00:54:13 | |
Yesterday we launched our first-ever live show from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) called “The Space & Defense Market Update.” We brought together investors and analysts operating at every stage of the capital stack to stress-test what's real and what’s priced in. Capital markets are moving faster than anyone has clean answers for. Data centers in space are attracting serious money and serious skepticism in equal measure. Public market valuations are demanding a level of conviction that leaves little room for error. And NASA just rewrote its lunar roadmap while an astronaut crew prepares to fly around the Moon for the first time in fifty years. Our guests this month are:
We get into:
• Show notes • Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam | |||
| Autonomy at the Edge, with Scott Sanders (CGO of Forterra) | 25 Mar 2026 | 00:56:15 | |
Scott Sanders has seen the defense tech industry from just about every angle. As a Marine officer, he watched promising capability stall somewhere between a program office and the field. As an early employee at Anduril, he helped build one of the companies that bet it could do better. Now, as Chief Growth Officer at Forterra, he's making that same bet on autonomous ground systems, a market that's been promised for years and is only now being put to the test. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we press Scott on what's actually working, what isn't, and where the hype is running ahead of the hardware.
We get into:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Forterra’s website — https://www.forterra.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Early Innings, with Mark Boggett (CEO of Seraphim) | 20 Mar 2026 | 01:01:54 | |
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim Space, to break down one of the biggest questions in the industry right now: are we still early in the space economy, or has the easy money already been made? Mark has built one of the first dedicated space-focused venture firms, before the category became institutional. We discuss how the market has evolved from uncertain capital availability to a more mature ecosystem where large-scale funding is now expected and why that shift is unlocking a new phase of growth. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Seraphim’s website — https://seraphim.vc/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Networks in Motion, with Brian Barritt (CTO of Aalyria) | 25 Feb 2026 | 00:58:09 | |
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we dive into Aalyria’s newly announced $100 million raise at a $1.3 billion valuation with cofounder and CTO Brian Barritt and unpack why investors are betting big on the future of networks that don’t sit still. Aalyria is building two core technologies born inside Google: Spacetime, a software orchestration layer designed to manage networks in motion, and Tightbeam, a laser communications system delivering fiber-like speeds through the atmosphere. Together, they aim to solve one of the hardest infrastructure challenges in aerospace and defense: how to coordinate satellites, aircraft, drones, ships, and ground systems into a seamless “network of networks.” The conversation spans laser physics, diffraction challenges in space-to-ground links, feeder link bottlenecks in mega-constellations, and why routing data across moving infrastructure is fundamentally different than routing across fixed networks. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro • Show notes • Aalyria’s website — https://www.aalyria.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Thermal Breakthrough, with David Tearse (CEO of Karman Industries) | 11 Feb 2026 | 00:48:55 | |
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with David Tearse, co-founder and CEO of Karman Industries, to explore a piece of the AI boom that rarely gets attention: thermal infrastructure. As hyperscale data centers grow into multi-gigawatt “AI factories,” the limiting factor is no longer just chips or capital — it’s how efficiently we can move and reject heat. David explains how Karman’s Heat Processing Unit (HPU) reimagines cooling from first principles, bringing aerospace-grade turbomachinery and modern power electronics to a decidedly unglamorous but critical layer of the AI stack. The conversation moves from the physics of heat to the politics of data centers, and ultimately to why thermal efficiency may become a quiet national security advantage. We discuss:
…and much more. • Chapters • 00:00 – Intro • Show notes • Karman’s website —https://www.karmanindustries.com/ David’s socials — https://x.com/7earse Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| SpaceX Road to IPO, with Jack Kuhr (Research Director of Payload Pro) | 04 Feb 2026 | 00:47:27 | |
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Jack Kuhr, Payload Pro’s Research Director, to unpack what SpaceX has become on the eve of what could be the largest IPO in history. What began as a launch company has evolved into a vertically integrated platform spanning launch, satellites, global connectivity, and potentially AI and compute in space.This is the first in a series of conversations where we’ll regularly update our audience on the latest developments shaping SpaceX and its impact on the broader space economy. We discuss:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro
• Show notes • Payload Pro’s website — https://pro.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Future of Signal Intelligence (LIVE @ NYSE), with John Serafini (CEO of Hawkeye 360) | 28 Jan 2026 | 00:47:23 | |
We’re excited to launch a very special edition of Valley of Depth, recorded live from the historic vault deep beneath the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Going forward, we’ll be returning to the NYSE each month to host a series of conversations from the heart of global capital markets with the leaders building the next generation of critical infrastructure. In this installment, we sit down with John Serafini, CEO of Hawkeye 360, a company quietly reshaping how governments see and understand the world. While many space companies focus on imagery or communications, Hawkeye 360 is doing something different: listening. By mapping radio-frequency emissions from orbit, the company is turning invisible signals into actionable intelligence, revealing patterns of human behavior that imagery alone can’t capture. We discuss:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro • Show notes • Hawkeye’s website — https://www.he360.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Data Center Debate, with Philip Johnston (CEO of Starcloud) | 21 Jan 2026 | 00:49:45 | |
As constraints on energy, water, and permitting collide with exploding demand for AI and compute, a once-fringe idea is moving rapidly toward the center of the conversation: putting data centers in space. Starcloud believes orbital infrastructure isn’t science fiction—it’s a necessary extension of the global compute stack if scaling is going to continue at anything close to its current pace. Founded by Philip Johnston, Starcloud is building space-based compute systems designed to compete on cost, performance, and scale with terrestrial data centers. The company has already flown a data center–grade GPU in orbit and is now working toward larger, commercially viable systems that could reshape where and how AI is powered.
We discuss: How energy and permitting constraints are reshaping the future of compute Why space-based data centers may be economically inevitable, not optional What Starcloud proved by running an H100 GPU in orbit How launch costs, watts-per-kilogram, and chip longevity define the real economics The national security implications of who controls future compute capacity
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro
• Show notes • Starcloud’s website — https://www.starcloud.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Sovereignty in Orbit, with Hamdullah Mohib (CEO of Orbitworks) | 14 Jan 2026 | 00:56:19 | |
As more nations realize that space is no longer just a scientific domain but a foundation of economic power and national security, a new question is emerging: who will actually build the infrastructure that underpins it? Orbitworks believes the answer lies in sovereign capability: designed locally, manufactured locally, and operated with speed and control. Founded by Hamdullah Mohib, a former national security advisor and diplomat who spent years operating at the highest levels of geopolitics, Orbitworks sits at an unusual intersection of statecraft and space manufacturing. Based in Abu Dhabi, the company is building one of the region’s first commercial satellite manufacturing facilities and developing Altair, a native constellation designed to move beyond raw imagery and toward information-driven services for both sovereign and commercial customers. We discuss:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro • Show notes • Orbitwork’s website —https://www.orbitworks.space/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Grid From Above, with Marc Berte (CEO of Overview Energy) | 08 Jan 2026 | 00:51:57 | |
We're back to kick off 2026! While the world debates how to power the next era of compute, data centers, and industrial growth, Overview Energy is betting the answer is above us. The company is building infrastructure to beam power from space directly to Earth's grid. Founded by Marc Berte, a nuclear and aerospace engineer who spent his career at the intersection of lasers, spacecraft, and high-energy systems, Overview is developing a constellation of satellites in geosynchronous orbit that absorb sunlight, convert it to near-infrared laser light, and transmit it to existing utility-scale solar projects on the ground. No new receivers required. By using wide-beam, passively safe transmission and off-the-shelf ground infrastructure, Overview aims to deliver dispatchable, redirectable power anywhere on the planet, turning space solar from science fiction into grid-scale reality. We discuss:
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro • Show notes • Overview Energy’s website — https://www.overviewenergy.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Maneuver Gap, with Kerry Wisnosky (CEO of Quantum Space) | 19 Dec 2025 | 00:50:26 | |
Kerry Wisnosky believes the future of space power will be decided by maneuverability. As satellites remain largely static, Quantum Space is building the infrastructure to move, persist, and operate across orbits, from LEO to cislunar space. The company is developing Ranger, a six-metric-ton, high-delta-V spacecraft designed to operate for up to 15 years, host and deploy payloads, maneuver freely between orbits, and function as a refueling node. By combining chemical and electric propulsion into a single multimode system, Quantum aims to deliver both high-impulse mobility and long-duration efficiency—turning spacecraft from disposable assets into persistent infrastructure. Inside the episode:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Quantum Space’s website — https://www.quantumspace.us/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Building Golden Dome, with Lt Gen (Ret) Nahom & Mike Dickey (Elara Nova) | 11 Dec 2025 | 00:56:14 | |
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David “Abu” Nahom spent decades defending the American homeland, from commanding Alaska Command and the 11th Air Force to shaping Air Force budgets and strategy as the A8. Mike Dickey started his career in the original Strategic Defense Initiative, helped build the USSF and now advises companies and government leaders on the future of national security. Together, they unpack the realities behind Golden Dome: what it is, what it isn’t, and why it may be the most complex defense undertaking of our time. Inside the episode:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro • Show notes • Elara Nova’s website — https://elaranova.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Railroad to Mars, with Halen Mattison (CEO of General Galactic) | 04 Dec 2025 | 00:53:29 | |
Halen Mattison left SpaceX because Elon told him his vision was too long-term. He wanted to build the propellant infrastructure that would unlock Mars and everything between here and there, but the timeline didn't fit SpaceX's roadmap. So he started General Galactic to do it himself. His team is developing Genesis, a water electrolysis propulsion system that delivers hydrazine-level thrust and xenon-level efficiency using the safest, cheapest, most abundant propellant in the solar system. The company is targeting an orbital demonstration in 2026, with a long-term vision to operate refueling depots from LEO to Mars.
Inside the episode:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • General Galactic’s website — https://gengalactic.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Power, Meet Shield, with Trevor Smith (CEO of Atomic-6) | 30 Oct 2025 | 00:43:41 | |
Space has a power problem. Satellites need more electricity and better protection, yet solar arrays are slow to build and failure-prone, and shielding adds mass and complexity. Atomic-6 is tackling both sides at once. Our guest this week is Trevor Smith, founder and CEO of Atomic-6. His team is building Light Wing, a redeployable, mass-manufacturable solar array aimed at higher watts per kilogram and faster delivery, and Space Armor, an RF-permeable debris shield designed to stop hypervelocity impacts while preserving comms and resisting directed energy. The company’s first on-orbit hardware is slated for February 2026, and they’re pursuing multi-billion-dollar constellation opportunities alongside a long-term purchase agreement with a private space-station builder. Inside the episode:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Atomic-6’s website — https://www.atomic-6.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Rendezvous Economics, with Austin Link (Co-Founder of Starfish Space) | 23 Oct 2025 | 00:50:18 | |
Satellites are expensive and once launched, mostly untouchable.. That’s the problem Starfish Space is solving. The company is building Otter, a small, autonomous servicing vehicle capable of rendezvousing with, docking to, and moving other satellites in orbit. On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Austin Link, co-founder of Starfish Space. Austin shares how a team of former Blue Origin engineers turned a bold idea into one of the most advanced orbital servicing programs in the world. We trace Starfish’s journey from recovering a tumbling spacecraft spinning 330 degrees per second, to preparing for the first commercial docking of an unprepared satellite in orbit.
We also discuss:
…and more.
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Starfish’s website — https://www.starfishspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Missing Sensor, with Nicolaas Verheem (CEO of TRL11) | 01 Oct 2025 | 00:47:52 | |
Spacecraft carry all kinds of sensors, but rarely the one humans rely on most: video. Despite offering the richest insight per watt, gram, and dollar, cameras have been largely absent from orbit.That’s what TRL11 is out to change. The company is building radiation-tolerant optics, edge computers that process and compress video in real time, and ground software that turns footage into operational awareness.
On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Nicolaas Verheem, founder and CEO of TRL11. Nicolaas shares how his journey from pioneering wireless video at Teradek, work that won both technical Academy and Emmy Awards, led him to ask why space was still flying blind. We trace TRL11’s path from early in-orbit demos to commercial traction with operators and defense, and dig into how edge intelligence and video awareness could transform the space economy.
We also discuss:
…and more.
• Chapters •
• Show notes • TRL11’s website — https://www.trl11.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Engineering Mass Abundance, with Neel Kunjur (CTO of K2 Space) | 25 Sep 2025 | 00:58:40 | |
Smallsats have defined the last decade of space, but their limitations are clear: low power, limited throughput, and fragile unit economics. K2 Space is betting on the opposite. The company is building mega class and giga class satellites, platforms measured in tons rather than kilograms, that deliver unprecedented power, capacity, and resilience. By vertically integrating 80 percent of their systems in house, K2 is cutting costs by an order of magnitude and making industrial scale spacecraft a reality. On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Neel Kunjur, cofounder and CTO of K2 Space. Neel traces the journey from early Slack messages about the promise of MEO to a 160 person team building the largest commercial satellites ever attempted. He shares how K2 has reimagined subsystems like reaction wheels, high voltage power, and 20 kW propulsion to unlock entirely new mission architectures in MEO, GEO, and beyond.
We also discuss:
…and more.
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • K2’s website — http://www.k2space.com/ K2’s socials — https://x.com/K2SpaceCo Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Proven Propulsion, with Kristin Houston (President of Space Power & Propulsion Systems of L3Harris) | 17 Sep 2025 | 00:50:55 | |
This episode is presented by L3Harris Technologies. On this special edition of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Kristin Houston, President of Space Propulsion and Power Systems at L3Harris. Kristin leads the team responsible for propulsion and space power systems across Artemis and beyond, from the RS-25 main engines to the Gateway’s high-power electric propulsion system to Fission Surface Power (FSP) on the Moon. We dive into how Artemis II is shaping up, the role of SLS, and why nuclear power and propulsion may be the linchpin of America’s long-term space presence. We also discuss:
…and much more. Check out this Valley of Depth on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube. • Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • L3Harris’s website — https://www.l3harris.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| From Seabed to Space, with Tyler Bernstein (CEO of Zeno Power) | 04 Sep 2025 | 00:50:28 | |
Some environments are simply too harsh for traditional power sources. Solar panels fail in darkness, batteries die quickly, and diesel can’t reach. That’s where Zeno Power comes in. The company is pioneering nuclear batteries, compact systems that recycle radioactive waste into safe, reliable power for years at a time. On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Tyler Bernstein, co-founder and CEO of Zeno Power. We trace the journey from a Vanderbilt classroom project to a venture-backed company with $70M in private capital, $60M+ in NASA and DoD contracts, and a working nuclear prototype. Tyler shares how Zeno is positioning itself to power critical frontier operations: autonomous systems on the seabed, satellites in orbit, and landers on the Moon. We also discuss:
…and much more. This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro & WSBW Ad
• Show notes • Zeno Power’s website — https://www.zenopower.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Case for Continuity, with Pam Melroy (Former Deputy Administrator of NASA) | 28 Aug 2025 | 01:05:44 | |
Continuous human presence in orbit has been a cornerstone of U.S. leadership in space for 25 years. But recent changes to NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) strategy have Pam Melroy—former NASA Deputy Administrator and shuttle commander—sounding the alarm. She warns that shifting to short-duration missions risks ceding leadership in LEO and undermining U.S. readiness for Mars, opening the door for China to take the mantle. On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Pam to talk about the state of NASA, the future of space stations, and why requirements, the often overlooked backbone of program management, will determine whether the U.S. stays ahead. We trace her career from test pilot to shuttle commander to senior leadership at NASA, DARPA, and the FAA, and unpack what it means to build an architecture that actually holds together from LEO to Mars. We also discuss:
…and much more. This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com. • Chapters • 00:00 – Intro
• Show notes • Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Logistics Wins Wars, with David Tuttle (CEO of Rune) | 21 Aug 2025 | 00:50:37 | |
Logistics rarely makes headlines, but it wins or loses wars. Rune Technologies is betting that the future of contested sustainment won’t be built on warehouses and spreadsheets, but on software. The company recently raised a $24M Series A to accelerate that vision. On this episode of Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Rune co-founder and CEO David Tuttle to talk about how the company is reimagining military logistics from the ground up. We trace Rune’s path from early prototypes to today’s TyrOS platform, discuss the cultural inertia inside the Pentagon, and unpack what it means to build software that commanders can trust under fire. We also get into:
…and much more. This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com. • Chapters • 00:00 – Intro • Show notes • Rune’s website — https://www.runetech.co/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Funding Deterrence, with Tommy Hendrix (Managing Partner at Decisive Point) | 13 Aug 2025 | 00:54:52 | |
Tommy Hendrix is Managing Partner at Decisive Point, a venture firm backing early-stage companies developing critical national security technologies. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we unpack what it really means to fund the future of national defense and how venture capital is becoming a tool of statecraft. A former Green Beret turned investor, Tommy brings rare insight into the geopolitical stakes, bureaucratic hurdles, and human motivations behind the new national security startup wave. From combat deployments in Iraq to due diligence in D.C., he’s seen the full arc of how technology shapes power. We get into Decisive Point’s playbook, from why it was built, to how it supports founders navigating the defense industrial complex. Tommy also shares lessons from working inside the machine, the firm’s approach to incubation, and how they decide when a startup can actually shift the deterrence equation. We also dive into:
This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com. • Chapters • 00:00 - Intro
• Show notes • Decisive Point’s website — https://www.decisivepoint.com/ Decisive Point’s socials — https://x.com/decisivepointvc Tommy’s socials — https://x.com/thomasehendrix Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Float. Foil. Fly., with Billy Thalheimer (CEO of Regent Craft) | 07 Aug 2025 | 00:51:32 | |
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Regent cofounder and CEO Billy Thalheimer to explore a radical reimagining of coastal mobility, not with eVTOLs or hyperloops, but with high-speed electric seagliders that skim just above the water. Part hydrofoil, part aircraft, and fully electric, Regent’s vehicles operate in the sweet spot between aviation and maritime. They’re fast enough to replace short-haul flights, regulated like boats, and increasingly viewed by the Pentagon as a new class of strategic asset. Billy walks us through Regent’s founding story, from MIT aerodynamics to launching the world’s largest electric aircraft-by-another-name. We dive deep into the company’s dual-use strategy, its multibillion-dollar commercial backlog, and its early defense work with the U.S. Marine Corps. We also get into:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro • Show notes • Regent’s website — https://www.regentcraft.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Pulses Towards Power, with Conner Galloway & Alexander Valys (Co-Founders of Xcimer Energy) | 31 Jul 2025 | 00:52:40 | |
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we sit down with Xcimer Energy’s cofounders, Conner Galloway and Alexander Valys, to unpack one of the boldest bets in fusion: resurrecting a Cold War-era laser technology to build the fastest, most scalable path to commercial fusion power. Xcimer has raised over $100 million to bring its inertial confinement fusion system to life, starting with LPK, a high-powered prototype laser built in just four months, and progressing toward Vulcan, a full-scale, ignition-class reactor designed for the grid.
We also discuss:
…and much, more.
• Chapters •
01:24 – Payload Pro 02:06 – Recent changes in fusion 03:29 – Commercial fusion and perceptions on the tech 05:18 – Founding story of Xcimer 06:51 – Common approaches to fusion today 08:48 – Was the National Ignition Facility (NIF) the catalyst to start Xcimer? 12:22 – Convincing investors to invest $100m into Xcimer 13:34 – What is NIF's goal right now and can it produce electricity? 18:04 – Why hasn't the private sector solved the fusion problem? 20:25 – Xcimer progress report 23:07 – Xcimer's roadmap for the next bigger machine 24:41 – Coming up with Athena 25:33 – Addressing neutron damage 29:54 – The biggest unknown for Xcimer 32:29 – Who are Xcimer's first customers 35:03 – Cost per megawatt per hour to be competitive 37:23 – How much of Xcimer's supply chain is being verticalized 38:48 – Vaporizing a missile with a laser 41:27 – Other fusion companies Alex and Connor admire 44:28 – What inspires a founder or engineer to pursue less proven fusion methods? 47:28 – What drives Alex and Connor to keep on going? 49:02 – First commercial Xcimer fusion plant
• Show notes • Xcimer’s website — https://xcimer.energy/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Stratospheric Platforms, with Mikkel Vestergaard (CEO of SCEYE) | 24 Jul 2025 | 00:44:40 | |
Mikkel Vestergaard isn’t a typical aerospace founder. Before building solar-powered stratospheric airships, he spent two decades in humanitarian innovation, distributing a billion malaria nets, co-creating the LifeStraw, and helping eradicate Guinea worm disease. Now, as CEO of Sceye, he’s applying that same ethos to aerospace. In this conversation, Mikkel dives deep into the origins, design, and future of High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS). We explore why the stratosphere is emerging as a new layer of infrastructure, filling the gap between satellites and towers, and how Sceye’s helium-filled, solar-powered airships could reshape internet connectivity, earth observation, and national security. We cover:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro 01:52 – Life before Sceye 02:51 – Work at Lifestraw 06:31 – What is Lifestraw? 07:50 – Making the pivot from global health to aerospace and working at Sceye 10:52 – HAPS or High-Altitude Platform Systems 12:25 – Why choose a balloon over a fixed wing aircraft? 14:04 – Types of payloads 16:06 – Not Hindenburg 2.0 16:48 – How Mikkel's earlier material science experience shaped Sceye's design decisions 18:09 – Pitching Sceye to investors 19:16 – Common misconceptions of stratospheric platforms 20:41 – What can HAPS do for the telecommunications industry? 25:03 – How many HAPS would we need to provide global coverage? 25:24 – Sceye's equity investor partners 26:00 – When Sceye will be fully commercialized 28:34 – Other use cases 31:33 – Advantages over satellites 32:34 – National security use cases 33:31 – The business model of HAPS 34:52 – Sceye's next iteration of customers 35:40 – How Sceye is building their team 36:56 – Manufacturing process and scaling 37:53 – Capital to scale 38:25 – What keeps Mikkel up at night 39:38 – What does success to Sceye look like • Show notes • SCEYE’s website — https://sceye.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| The Energy Grail, with Julien Barber (Investor at Emerson Collective) | 16 Jul 2025 | 00:47:44 | |
Julien Barber is an investor at Emerson Collective, a venture and policy firm founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, where he backs bold bets on decarbonization, infrastructure, and long-horizon climate technologies. Before becoming an investor, Julien researched fusion energy at MIT and co-founded a carbon-tech startup. In today’s episode, we go deep into Julien’s investing philosophy, Emerson’s unique model, and the hard tech categories he believes are most undercapitalized. We cover:
• Chapters • 01:49 – From scientist to investor 04:37 – Why Julien chose fusion 08:57 – Investment process at Emerson 10:08 – The team at Emerson 12:15 – Is Emerson consensus-driven and why is it an LLC? 14:07 – Under-invested areas in climate & industrial tech 17:24 – Are AI valuations reasonable today? 18:59 – Bottlenecks in the grid 23:11 – AI energy consumption: hype or real concern? 27:10 – Bridging the energy gap 29:20 – Fusion’s role in the next decade 31:24 – Google & Commonwealth Fusion: serious commercial signal? 32:37 – Are we underinvesting in fusion? 39:12 – Who will reach commercial fusion first? 41:36 – 30-year future if fusion succeeds • Show notes • Emerson’s socials — https://x.com/emcollective Emerson’s website — https://www.emersoncollective.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/ • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Built for Complexity, with John Conafay (CEO of Integrate) | 15 Jul 2025 | 00:49:00 | |
Welcome to a special Tuesday-edition of Valley of Depth, powered by Integrate. John Conafay spent years inside the space and defense worlds, from Spire to Astranis to the U.S. Air Force, and saw the same problem everywhere: complex programs were managed with spreadsheets, slide decks, and…crossed fingers.
So in 2022, he founded Integrate to fix it. What started as a scrappy startup with five engineers has since landed what he describes as one of the largest software contracts in Space Force history. We discuss:
And much, much more…
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro 01:57 – John's background 02:59 – What is Integrate? 04:02 – Pain points in complex project management 06:08 – John's interest in aerospace 10:01 – Core product at Integrate 11:20 – Why tools weren't implemented before 12:50 – DoD project management & efficiency loss 14:29 – Multiplayer coordination approach 16:19 – Hardest integration problem 17:40 – Security architecture 20:17 – Go-to-market & government entry 22:18 – $25M Space Force contract 26:14 – Future Space Force goals 27:59 – Government vs commercial customers 29:16 – Pricing 30:13 – Profitability, team, funding, scaling 32:23 – Ideal investor 33:20 – Competitors 34:50 – Competing with internal tools 36:01 – 10-year product vision 37:36 – Strategic risks in the next decade 39:42 – Hardest part of building Integrate 41:34 – Misconceptions about working with the DoD 42:55 – Advice for founders & younger self 43:53 – John in another life
• Show notes • John’s socials — https://x.com/jconafay Integrate’s socials —https://x.com/Integrate_co Integrate’s website — https://integrate.co/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Back from the Dead, with Chris Kemp (CEO of Astra) | 09 Jul 2025 | 00:59:03 | |
Chris Kemp took Astra public in 2021 with a bold vision: low-cost rockets launching daily, bringing sovereign space access to every country on Earth. At its peak, the company was worth over $2 billion. Within two years, that valuation collapsed by 99%.
In this episode of Valley of Depth, we go inside one of the most dramatic flameouts and attempted comebacks in the commercial space era. We discuss:
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro 01:53 – What's happened since 2022? 02:58 – What kept Astra going after test flight failures? 06:46 – Did Astra's engineering approach work against them? 08:15 – What Chris believes he got wrong 12:51 – Has Chris questioned his leadership at Astra? 14:37 – What would Chris have done differently? 16:34 – Taking Astra private & investor reactions 20:58 – What Chris saw more than anyone else 22:20 – Team and factory space at Astra 23:20 – Chris's philosophy on rocket building 25:54 – Rocket 4 vs Rocket 3 30:35 – Astra’s renewed business model 34:11 – Why is Rocket Lab valued at $16B? 36:21 – Engine business & customer trust 39:25 – NASA & Astra 39:49 – Post-privatization investment 45:18 – The team at Astra 47:08 – What went wrong with Astra's infamous flight 47:54 – Chris's evolving leadership style 50:05 – Chris's hardest moment at Astra 50:49 – Unfair criticisms of Chris 51:54 – What present Chris would tell past Chris 53:12 – What keeps Chris going 54:57 – Would Astra go public again? 57:51 – Astra milestones to watch
• Show notes • Chris’ socials — https://x.com/Kemp Astra’s socials —https://x.com/astra Astra’s website — https://astra.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Rapid Maneuverability, with Jeff Thornburg (CEO of Portal Space Systems) | 03 Jul 2025 | 00:59:51 | |
Jeff Thornburg helped build Raptor at SpaceX. Now he’s building something new: a spacecraft designed for rapid maneuverability across orbits powered by solar thermal propulsion. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we get into the technical, strategic, and commercial implications of in-space mobility and why it matters now. Topics include:
and much more…
• Chapters • 00:00 – Intro 01:44 – What drew Jeff to creating engines? 05:13 – Why is building rocket engines still so difficult? 11:50 – Jeff's time at SpaceX 17:52 – Stratolaunch and Commonwealth Fusion and why Jeff moved on 22:50 – Origin of Portal 25:25 – Commercial use case 27:00 – 5 year vision for Portal's architecture 32:01 – Pricing 34:52 – Solar thermal propulsion 38:14 – What comes after Portal's Supernova? 41:15 – Customer traction and Supernova flight 45:44 – Competition in solar thermal propulsion 49:20 – Fundraising prior to the first launch 51:18 – Portal in the next 10 years 54:53 – State of Starship
• Show notes • Jeff’s socials — https://x.com/JeffThornburg Antares’ socials — https://x.com/PortalSpaceSys Antares’ website — https://www.portalsystems.space/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Strategic Nuclear Energy, with Jordan Bramble (CEO of Antares) | 26 Jun 2025 | 00:48:21 | |
In the wake of new executive orders elevating nuclear energy as a national security priority, there’s growing momentum—and urgency—behind advanced fission technologies. Few are better positioned to talk about this shift than Jordan Bramble, co-founder and CEO of Antares Nuclear, a startup building microreactors for defense and space. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we explore the strategic, technical, and geopolitical dimensions driving the nuclear renaissance. We cover: • Why microreactors are built for strategic energy and not just the grid • The real story behind public support for nuclear energy • How Antares plans to deploy sub-megawatt nuclear systems on U.S. military installations • The challenges of fuel supply, regulation, and capital • Why China is pulling ahead and what the U.S. must do to catch up • Nuclear-powered space assets and propulsion • Why Jordan believes venture-scale outcomes are coming to nuclear energy
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro
• Show notes • Jordan’s socials — https://x.com/jordanbramble Antares’ socials — https://x.com/AntaresNuclear Antares’ website — https://boomsupersonic.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies. • Payload: www.payloadspace.com • Ignition: www.ignition-news.com • Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com | |||
| The Future of Supersonic, with Blake Scholl (CEO of Boom Supersonic) | 12 Jun 2025 | 00:56:28 | |
In a major shift, the U.S. government is moving to overturn a 50-year ban on civilian supersonic flight over land—a regulation that’s defined the boundaries of commercial aviation since 1973. It’s a pivotal moment for aerospace, and a timely one for this conversation with Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. In this episode of Valley of Depth, we dive into the political, technical, and economic forces driving the return of high-speed air travel. We cover:
…and much more.
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro
• Show notes • Boom Supersonic’s socials — https://x.com/boomaero Blake’s socials — https://x.com/bscholl Boom’s website — https://boomsupersonic.com/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Space Superiority, with Even Rogers (CEO of True Anomaly) | 04 Jun 2025 | 01:00:37 | |
If the next great war is fought in space, Even Rogers wants the U.S. to be ready. On this episode of Valley of Depth, the True Anomaly CEO and former Air Force weapons officer joins us to break down how he’s building autonomous systems for space superiority and why space is the next warfighting domain. A graduate of the Air Force Weapons School, Even brings rare tactical and strategic insight into how the U.S. must fight and win in orbit.
In this episode, we unpack the doctrine, technology, and strategy shaping the next phase of military competition in space. We cover:
…plus how we may one day have Guardians stationed permanently in space. Check out Valley of Depth #007 on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify.
• Chapters • 00:00 - Intro 00:57 - Payload Pro 01:39 - True Anomaly's mission 02:51 - How Even started the company 04:02 - $220m Series C 05:48 - When did space become a place to defend? 09:20 - The challenge to US space dominance 11:16 - What made Even realize that the US was unprepared? 16:05 - What does space superiority look like? 17:49 - What does space warfare actually mean? 21:48 - The R&D the Space Force needs 24:01 - What it meant to form the Space Force 27:11 - The cultural shift on the Space Force 30:49 - Current US Space capabilities and gaps 32:44 - Why was the Space Force budget cut despite its importance? 35:06 - Primes and the US's space capabilities 37:12 - Procurement for the space domain 41:29 - Space components of the Golden Dome 43:35 - Phases of a ballistic missile 44:56 - Intercepting missiles at its boost phase 46:15 - What to prioritize today for space superiority 49:20 - Guardians in space 51:20 - Moon & Mars 52:40 - Lessons learned for the next True Anomaly mission 56:01 - What is the strategic impact True Anomaly is hoping to have? 57:31 - Will NASA blur the lines between civil and military?
• Show notes • True Anomaly’s socials — https://x.com/the_trueanomaly Even’s socials — https://x.com/jollyrogersta True Anomaly’s website — https://www.trueanomaly.space/ Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Asymmetric Naval Power, with Paul Lwin (CEO of HavocAI) | 28 May 2025 | 00:41:57 | |
This week on Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Paul Lwin, co-founder and CEO of Havoc AI—a builder of integrated hardware, software, and logistics that enables collaborative, autonomous maritime operations. A former Navy test pilot and electronic warfare officer, Paul saw firsthand the strategic challenge posed by China’s industrial scale in the Pacific and set out to build an asymmetric answer. In this episode, Paul shares how Havoc went from pre-seed to delivering 40+ autonomous vessels in just 18 months, what it takes to deploy real autonomy in contested environments, and why the Navy forced them to sell their early prototypes. We also cover:
…and much more. Check out VoD #006 on…YouTube, Apple, or Spotify.
• Chapters • 0:00 - Intro 1:07 - Company Mission & Vision 3:43 - DoD Autonomous Exercise Demonstration 6:41 - Funding to Demo Timeline 8:43 - Founding Team & Headquarters 10:19 - Market Demand for Autonomous Maritime Tech 12:42 - Vertical Integration Strategy 14:30 - US Navy Capability Gaps 16:24 - Geopolitics & Business Strategy 17:40 - Product Architecture Roadmap 21:21 - Commercial Market Potential 24:05 - Autonomy Level Achieved 26:48 - Contested Environment Design 28:24 - Next Frontier in Naval Tech 30:04 - Scaling for DoD Requirements 32:09 - Competitive Differentiation 33:48 - Prime Contractor Advantages 35:21 - Replicator Initiative Impact 36:19 - Buyer Incentive Structures 37:44 - Desired Policy Changes 39:09 - Scaling Funding Requirements 40:35 - Defining Mission Success
• Show notes • Havoc’s socials — https://x.com/HavocAi_USV Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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| Redefining Air Mobility, with Marc Allen (CEO of Electra) | 21 May 2025 | 00:45:51 | |
This week on Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Marc Allen, CEO of Electra and former Chief Strategy Officer at Boeing. After nearly two decades at one of aerospace’s most iconic companies, Marc stepped away—and then doubled down—on aviation with a bold bet: a hybrid-electric aircraft that takes off in 150 feet, carries 1,000 pounds, and can land almost anywhere.
In this episode, Marc breaks down why the future of flight is short-runway, low-noise, and mission-flexible—and how Electra’s EL-9 is carving out a new category of aircraft entirely. We also get into:
• Chapters • 0:00 - Episode Introduction 0:58 - Marc's Transition: Boeing to Electra 3:13 - Electric Propulsion Breakthrough Moment 4:29 - Electra's Core Technology 5:17 - Importance of Electric Aircraft 6:52 - EL9 vs Helicopter Comparison 7:30 - Safety Features 10:06 - Automation Capabilities 10:54 - Charging Infrastructure 11:18 - Technology Maturity Level 12:41 - EL9 Market Potential 15:57 - Current Demand & Use Cases 18:17 - Operator Economics 20:20 - Air Force Partnership 21:16 - Defense Applications 23:43 - Autonomous Potential 24:41 - Future Aircraft Versions 26:08 - NASA's Interest 26:47 - Civil vs Defense Models 27:21 - Manufacturing Process 29:15 - Certification Timeline 31:32 - Key Challenges 34:24 - Fundraising Status 36:32 - Commercialization Costs 38:00 - Upcoming Milestones 38:24 - Team Size 39:03 - Scaling From Large to Small Company 41:15 - OEM Strategy 41:50 - 10-Year Vision 42:44 - Marc's Personal Interests 43:40 - Pilot Training Requirements
• Show notes • Electra’s socials — https://x.com/ElectraAero Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/
• About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.
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