This week's Pathfinder features Colin Doughan, CEO of Gravitics, a Seattle-based startup that specializes in the development of modular space infrastructure to support the expansion of stations and orbital platforms. Their primary product is the StarMax module, which can be customized in various sizes to accommodate different launch vehicles and mission requirements.
Colin shares his journey into the aerospace industry and his vision for building real estate platforms in space. With a background that includes nearly 20 years at Lockheed Martin and founding Altius Space Machines (acquired by Voyager), Colin brings a considerable amount of experience in infrastructure development.

We explore:
– The approach Gravitics takes in developing scalable station modules
– The market potential for free-flying stations and the impact of new launch vehicle capabilities
– Operator vs builder model in space stations
– Challenges in scaling manufacturing and testing for space environments
– The future of artificial gravity and its importance for long-term space habitation

And much more...

• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro & Epsilon ad
02:04 - Colin's background
03:23 - Colin's first business venture
04:02 - Why start a space station business?
05:25 - Evolution of the Gravitics's vision
06:57 - Zero G modules
07:36 - Business model
08:26 - Why not operate modules?
10:04 - How do you perceive the market opportunity for free-flying space stations?
18:19 - Design decisions
22:25 - Turning a competitor into a customer
25:02 - Gravitics's approach vs existing providers
26:14 - Is there enough capital and investors to sustain this market?
30:26 - Countries creating their own launch capabilities
33:24 - StarMax
35:44 - Insourcing vs outsourcing
36:52 - Scaling manufacturing
40:05 - Testing
42:50 - Technical challengers that keep Colin up at night
44:42 - Commercial and government traction
48:34 - Long-term view
50:09 - ETA for Elysium?
50:35 - Who's going to play Colin in the future movie about Gravitics?

• Show notes •
Gravitic’s website — https://www.gravitics.com/
Gravitic’s socials —   / graviticsinc  
Colin’s socials —   / colindoughan  
Mo's socials —   / itsmoislam  
Payload’s socials —   / payloadspace   /   / payloadspace  
Pathfinder archive — Watch:    / @payloadspace  
Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •
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