Data Centers in Space — 5 Years Away?

Zenno's CEO just made history — first superconductor ever run in space. And he thinks a war in orbit is now "highly likely." 🧲🚀 Max Arshavsky is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zenno Astronautics, the company building the world's first superconducting technology platform for space. Since launching from New Zealand in 2018, Zenno has gone from a $100K university challenge win to landing government contracts with Germany's SPRINT program and Japan's Mitsubishi Electric, and just this year became the first company in history to successfully operate a superconducting product in orbit. Max joins Hendrik and Mark to catch up a year after their first conversation — and a lot has changed. This episode dives deep into the physics and geopolitics of the new space race: why energy is the resource that will define who dominates space, why Max believes a war in space is now "highly likely," and why rocketry — once the hardest problem in the industry — is now the easy part. Max breaks down the economics of intercepting missiles from orbit, why data centers might really be headed to space within years, and how his own company's magnets could one day replace rockets entirely with mass drivers on the Moon.Along the way, Max explains why he relocated Zenno's US presence to Los Angeles's "entrepreneur paradise" near SpaceX and Impulse Space, why he thinks self-replicating robots — not humans — will colonize Mars, and why he's convinced the Moon will belong to somebody sooner than most people think. It's a conversation about magnets, geopolitics, and what it actually takes to build hardware for a place with no room for failure. 🧲 The world's first superconductor in space — how Zenno's Z01 SuperTorquer works and why it could end satellites' dependence on fuel 🚀 Why Max believes rocketry is a solved problem and the real challenge now is what happens once you're in orbit ⚔️ The blunt economics of space warfare — why cheap, high-volume interceptors beat expensive one-shot systems 🌍 Why Max moved Zenno's US operations to Los Angeles, and what makes it the "epicenter" of the new space economy 🔋 The case for data centers and energy infrastructure in space — and how close we really are 🌕 Mass drivers, magnetic launch systems, and a future where the Moon replaces rockets for shipping cargo to Earth 🤖 Why Max thinks self-replicating machines, not humans, will be the ones to colonize Mars 🎧 Listen On: YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gQnb_WbB Spotify: https://bit.ly/4earYWc Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/42KZ2x1 Connect with the Guest: Max Arshavsky LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-arshavsky/ Zenno Astronautics Website: https://www.zenno.space 🔗 Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz Mark Pavlyukovskyy — https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/ Hendrik Remigereau — https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/ Timestamps: 00:00 — Calling from LA 01:09 — Why LA is deep tech's epicenter 02:05 — SpaceX's IPO03:33 — Space is only going up 04:41 — Data centers in space 07:13 — Zenno: space superconductors 08:35 — German & Japan contracts 10:56 — America's 10x orbit push 12:13 — Is Rocket Lab overvalued? 15:14 — Star Wars and lasers 17:44 — What starts a space war 20:21 — Cheap interceptors win 26:27 — Mass drivers explained 30:17 — How Zenno builds products 33:33 — AI speeds up the algorithms 36:08 — Self-replicating machines 38:57 — Why Max moved to LA 41:20 — National security drives space race 44:00 — Who owns the Moon? 48:13 — Books that inspired Max 49:44 — Rapid fire round #TechMates, #MaxArshavsky, #ZennoAstronautics, #SpaceTech, #Superconductors, #SpaceRace, #DeepTech, #Aerospace, #SatelliteTechnology, #SpaceX, #RocketLab, #NewZealandTech, #StartupFounder, #SpaceEconomy, #DefenseTech, #SpaceInnovation, #FutureOfSpace, #TechFounders, #VentureCapital, #NZVC, #SpaceIndustry, #Engineering, #Podcast, #TechPodcast, #SpaceExploration, #Innovation