ianvorbach

Fair point! SpaceX has their site at Boca Chica, but its really only capable of demonstration launches that can thread the needle between Florida and Cuba. Frequently operating rockets need a wider range of orbits you can reach, and so you really need a site on the coasts.

I would say this is more an excellent marketing tool or a way to make space seem more approachable to a broader audience

That's a fun idea! I don't see how you would execute that unfortunately though. Hubble wasn't meant to be re-mounted after deployment. Starship wouldn't be able to just gobble Hubble up and have it rattle around in its fairing during re-entry

Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Thank you Max, excited to see what you and the Epsilon3 team accomplish next!

Ah, thanks for elaborating! Fair and interesting point. It's true that the work these companies are doing is not pushing the cutting edge of technology readiness, but is instead exploiting the most recent advances in R&D by finding business cases that now are possible. As new materials and science advance in research institutions, startups will then step in to commercialize that tech. So I guess I'm saying we shouldn't necessarily expect YC startups to be at the frontier of R&D

I agree that this was historically the case, but the newest generation of space companies are making a solid case that the financial ROI is a reality and not just a theoretical promise. As the industry matures, government customers are becoming less critical to the success of many of these companies (although gov't will always play a strong role).

Having trouble following. Interested in hearing more if you'd be willing to expand!