BSV Podcast 0129: Gravitics

Balerion Senior Associate Aidan Daoussis sits down with Colin Doughan, Co-Founder & CEO of Gravitics, to discuss space infrastructure. Gravitics is developing large spacecraft modules designed to provide flexible pressurized volume for cargo, commercial space stations, manufacturing, orbital data centers, and defense applications. The company is focused on building the real estate layer for a launch market increasingly shaped by higher-mass vehicles and higher launch cadence.Timestamped Overview00:00 – Introduction and Gravitics’ origin story02:20 – Hollow spacecraft, orbital warehouses, and commercial use cases03:43 – Gravitics as space infrastructure and where it provides end-to-end services05:14 – Early customers, Axiom relationship, and cargo logistics for commercial space stations06:38 – Product categories: orbital carriers, cargo and logistics, and space stations08:23 – Capital intensity, Starship thesis, and the real estate layer for space10:53 – Launch bottlenecks, SpaceX, New Glenn, and future cadence14:26 – Cargo economics, reusability, downmass, crew transport, and free-flyer manufacturing17:00 – Orbital data centers, compute, power, thermal management, and optical communications18:09 – Large station concepts, space tourism, and practical Earth-centered applications21:31 – Dialable gravity, spinning modules, and gravity as a service24:44 – NASA’s commercial space station transition and government support26:41 – Space Force, orbital security, and future human presence in space33:38 – Sustaining public and investor momentum beyond space hype cycles35:05 – Government-first markets, commercial transition, and risk of bubble dynamics38:11 – Lessons from Lockheed, orbital data centers, and ensuring economics close41:26 – Barriers to growth, near-peer competition, and the role of defense investment44:38 – Building public support through space-derived products and manufacturing46:20 – Gravitics’ milestones, hardware demonstrations, and upcoming missions49:00 – Key takeaway: Gravitics as the platform for what becomes worth launching 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