BSV Podcast 0116: ThinkOrbital

Balerion Senior Associate Aidan Daoussis sits down with Lee Rosen, Founder, President & CEO of ThinkOrbital, to discuss in-space infrastructure. ThinkOrbital is developing technologies for building large structures in space, including autonomous in-space welding and modular orbital platforms. The company is also applying its space-to-space X-ray imaging work to space domain awareness and terrestrial inspection use cases.Timestamped Overview00:00 – Introduction and ThinkOrbital overview00:39 – Space infrastructure constraints and the need to build at scale in orbit02:04 – Autonomous in-space welding, cutting, 3D printing, and X-ray generation04:35 – Space-to-space X-ray imaging for space domain awareness06:27 – Lee Rosen’s background in the Air Force, NRO, launch operations, and SpaceX10:13 – Founding ThinkOrbital and the flat-packed orbital platform concept13:08 – How space-to-space X-ray imaging works at operational distance16:34 – Upcoming X-ray panel and source demonstrations with Argo Space17:30 – Large orbital platforms, in-space manufacturing, and protected infrastructure19:41 – Forward-basing assets in space for Space Force missions21:04 – Space as a warfighting domain and risks to GPS and other critical systems28:20 – Lessons from SpaceX culture, first-principles engineering, and test discipline33:19 – Commercial use cases for large orbital platforms and in-space manufacturing37:10 – In-space welding and the concept of a dry dock for building large spacecraft40:09 – How Lee’s view of space changed from peaceful commons to contested domain42:12 – Lunar infrastructure, permanent human presence, and Moon-to-Mars development46:18 – ThinkOrbital’s upcoming launches, STRATFI opportunity, and drone-based X-ray applications50:47 – Closing takeaway: understanding and protecting critical space infrastructure This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit balerionspace.substack.com