Rockets and Radars: Zero to Millions in Space and Defence
Episodes
The Story of The Man Behind ESA BIC
17 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Frank Salzgeber (sometimes called the "Father of ESA BIC") was initially handed a broken ESA tech transfer programme with a billion euros un...
Dead Satellites Are Worth Billions. This Solo Founder Figured Out How to Save Them.
03 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Amin Chabi (founder of Lúnasa Space) didn't set out to build a company. He graduated with a master's in space and astronautics, COVID hit, no...
We Built a Pizza Drone. Now We Defend Ukraine.
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Kenneth Richard Geipel (co-founder of Robotto) started his career not in a lab or a startup — but in the Danish Armed Forces, where he served three ...
NASA's Spacesuits Are 50 Years Old. He's Building The Next One.
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nima Shahinian (co-founder of Nåva Space) had one dream: go to space. He trained for it, negotiated for it, and got closer than almost any private ci...
90% of Naval Warfare Will Be Autonomous
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Pavel Panasjuk was running cleantech startups when Russian missiles started hitting Ukraine in 2022. He had zero defencetech experience—his only mil...
The Burnout That Built Spain's First Space Rentry Capsule
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Francesco Cacciatore, a space engineer who spent 20 years designing missions to Mars, Mercury, and comets at companies like Deimos and Sener, co-found...
Our Rockets Run on Paraffin. Yes, Like Candles
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Christian Schmierer, an aerospace engineer who grew up next to Europe's largest rocket test center, co-founded HyImpulse in 2018. When every exper...
Why I Had to Go to the North Pole to Build My First Satellite
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rafel Jorda Siquier, an aerospace engineer from Mallorca, founded Open Cosmos in 2015. When they landed their first satellite contract, every universi...
How an Ukrainian Soldier Built AI That Saves Other Soldiers
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
V'yacheslav Shvaydak, an ex-lieutenant with a PhD in economics co-founded DROPLA in 2023. Starting with three co-founders and zero revenue, they p...
I Started European NewSpace Company Before Anyone Else
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lars Alminde co-founded GomSpace in 2007, one of Europe's first New Space companies, at a time when ESA openly dismissed their technology as "...
Ex-Goldman Trader Who Decided to Build Data Centers In Space
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Philip Johnston is the CEO and Co-founder of Starcloud, a YC-backed startup building data centers in space to solve AI's growing energy crisis. Af...
Why I Left Europe's Top Rocket Lab to Start My Own Startup
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lukas Werling is the CEO and co-founder of ISPTech, a German space startup developing green propellants that eliminate the need for hazmat suits and c...
How an Ex-Soldier Built FedEx for Space
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sebastian Klaus (CEO and co-founder of ATMOS Space Cargo) went from a 17-year-old watching SpaceShipOne make history to building Europe's fastest-...
From Unemployment Money to €40M DefenceTech Startup in 3 Years | Stefan Roebel @ ARX Robotics
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stefan Roebel transformed from 12 years in the German military and a decade scaling Amazon operations to co-founding Europe's largest autonomous m...
How I Built Europe's First Asteroid Mining Company | Mitch Hunter-Scullion @ Asteroid Mining Corporation
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mitch Hunter-Scullion is the CEO and founder of Asteroid Mining Corporation (AMC), Europe's first asteroid mining company with operations across t...
I Raised Millions to Repair Satellites in Space | Adel Haddoud @ Infinite Orbits
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Adel Haddoud is the CEO and co-founder of Infinite Orbits, a space servicing startup that has raised €12 million in Series A funding. In this episod...
I Built a €1.5M Company That Trains 10,000 NATO Soldiers | Kenneth Skorpen @ BlinkTroll
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kenneth Skorpen is the co-founder and CEO of BlinkTroll Robotics, a defence tech startup that has raised €1.5 million just a few days ago.In this ep...
How I Raised €70M+ To Detect Fires From Space | Thomas Grübler @ OroraTech
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Grübler is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of OroraTech, Germany's pioneering space-based wildfire detection company that has se...
I Built Europe's 5G Space Network With Zero Co-Founders | Omar Qaise @ OQ Technology
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Omar Qaise is the founder of OQ Technology, Luxembourg's first New Space startup as well as Europe's leading satellite 5G operator in direct-t...
How I Built a Defence Company After Work Hours | Dan Hermansen @ MyDefence
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Hermansen is the founder of MyDefence, an European drone defence company that's become a global leader in soldier-borne counter-unmanned aeria...
Space Balloon Founder Almost Got Will.I.Am to Space | José Mariano Lopez-Urdiales @ Zero2Infinity
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
José Mariano Lopez-Urdiales is the founder of Zero2Infinity, an European space balloon company that's been challenging conventional approaches to...
How a TERRIBLE STUDENT Built a €100M ROCKET COMPANY | Stanislas Maximin @ Latitude
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stanislas Maximin is the founder and Executive Chairman of Latitude, a company valued over €100 million that's putting France back in the orbita...
From PhD to €10M in Space Propulsion | Daniel Grande @ Ienai Space
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Pérez Grande is the CEO of Ienai Space, a Spanish space propulsion startup that evolved from university research into a company pioneering ele...
From NASA Internship To $67M EXIT | Vytenis Buzas @ NanoAvionics
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Vytenis is the co-founder of NanoAvionics, a Lithuanian spacetech startup that transformed from a university project into a global player in the nano/...
He Built a Rocket Engine NASA Abandoned | Adrià Argemí @ Pangea Aerospace
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Adrià is the founder of Pangea Aerospace, a European spacetech startup that transformed an abandoned aerospike rocket engine concept into a working e...
Airbus Rejected Him, Then Became His First Major Customer | Marco Witzmann @ Valispace
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marco is the founder of Valispace, that transformed how space, automotive, and defence industries collaborate on complex hardware development. Startin...
Ex-Apple Engineer Who Left to Defend Europe | Dimitrios Kottas @ Delian Alliance Industries
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dimitrios is the founder and CEO of Delian Alliance Industries (formerly Lambda Automata), which is building autonomous defence systems for European d...
NASA Laughed at Him. Now He's Worth $500M | Luca Rossettini @ D-Orbit
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Luca is the founder and CEO of D-Orbit, which is revolutionizing space logistics by providing transportation and servicing solutions for satellites in...
Satellites, Solar, and Selling PowerPoints | Even Kvelland @ Glint Solar
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Even is a co-founder of Glint Solar, which is accelerating the solar revolution by helping developers identify optimal locations for building large so...
Building World's Orbital Thermometer | Anthony Baker @ SatVu
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Baker is the founder and CEO of Satellite VU, which is building the world's orbital thermometer through high-resolution thermal imaging satell...
How to Start a Space Company with €2K | Thomas Sinn @ DCUBED
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Sinn is the founder of DCUBED, which develops mechanisms and deployable structures that need to be small in rockets but big in space. In this e...
Building the Space Industry's Tow Truck | Luc Piguet @ ClearSpace
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Luc Piguet is the co-founder and CEO of ClearSpace, a pioneering company developing technology to capture and remove satellites from orbit, making spa...
Making Satellites Talk | Giovanni Pandolfi @ Leaf Space
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto is one of the co-founders of of Leaf Space, which operates a network of over 30 ground stations enabling satellite commun...
From Car Mechanic to IPO | Niels Buus @ ex GOMspace
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Niels Buus is a renowned veteran in the space and defence industry, widely recognized for his role as the CEO of GOMspace, one of the few European sat...
Mapping the Invisible | Joakim Espeland @ Quadsat
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joakim Espeland is the co-founder of Quadsat, a company changing the way we manage radio frequencies with clever drone technology.In this episode of R...
From NASA to Mass Satellite Manufacturing | Benoît Deper @ Aerospacelab
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Benoît Deper is the founder Aerospacelab, a company revolutionizing satellite development with a bold approach to vertical integration.In this episod...
Launching AI in Orbit in Under 10 Months | Lorenzo Feruglio @ AIKO
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lorenzo Feruglio is the co-founder and CEO of AIKO, a cutting-edge company pioneering AI-based automation for satellite operations. In this episode of...
The $30K Satellite Revolution | Julian Fernandez @ FOSSA Systems
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Julian Fernandez is the co-founder and CEO of FOSSA Systems, a pioneering company building nanosatellites to democratise IoT connectivity and space ac...
From Garage to Orbit | Joshua Western @ Space Forge
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joshua Western is the co-founder and CEO of Space Forge, a groundbreaking company combining space technology and semiconductor manufacturing to create...