Fighter Jets in Space, with Eric Romo (President & COO of Impulse)

Eric Romo spent his early career as employee #13 at SpaceX, left for nearly two decades, and came back to one of the hardest unsolved problems in the space economy: what happens after launch. Getting things to orbit is largely figured out. Moving them once they're there is not. Impulse is now over $1B raised, embedded in the Golden Dome architecture, and with a GEO rideshare program booked out before a first flight. We get into how they got there, why Eric thinks every business model predicated on cheap Starship launch is broken, and what it actually means to be building in-space mobility at the moment GEO becomes a contested domain. We cover: The single Mira flight that changed Impulse's relationship with the Space Force Mira, Helios, and Caravan: three products, three markets but one key through line The Golden Dome partnership with Anduril and what it means to be embedded in that architecture How exposed American GEO assets actually are right now Why every Starship-dependent business model is broke The $4.26B valuation and what has to be true for that number to look cheap in ten years What the Impulse team debates most internally right now   • Chapters • 00:00 – Intro trailer 01:21 – How Eric ended up at Impulse 03:43 – How Eric got to SpaceX and his experience there 05:29 – Why Eric went on a hiatus from the space industry 09:49 – Is Musk focused on Mars or data centers now? 11:46 – Finding his way back to space 14:44 – Reuniting with Tom 17:43 – Why Tom is someone Eric could work for 20:22 – The vision of Impulse that Tom presented to Eric when he joined, and how it's changed 22:07 – Impulse's product set 26:42 – The pivot to GEO 33:13 – Caravan vs. the trend for larger-scale satellites 36:51 – Impulse's second thoughts about the economics of Mira and expanding 39:16 – Mira, the most maneuverable spacecraft in orbit 41:08 – Why does the government care about maneuverable satellites? 42:24 – Competitors and how to win the maneuverability race 45:25 – How exposed are GEO assets today? 47:52 – The biggest market for Impulse 49:39 – Impulse x Anduril 52:03 – Moon and Mars discussion at Impulse 54:02 – How Starship will fundamentally change the industry 1:00:01 – The opportunity for SpaceX competitors 1:03:49 – If Starship solves orbital refueling, will they become a competitive concern for Impulse? 1:05:35 – How Impulse is planning to use their recently raised $500M 1:07:00 – Impulse's existing capital needs, future fundraising, and will Impulse go public? 1:10:08 – How Impulse's products will evolve 1:11:06 – Biggest source of internal debate 1:13:14 – Overrated and underrated space technologies 1:15:56 – What Eric would say to his 23-year-old self at SpaceX 1:16:52 – What Eric does for fun   • Show notes • Impulse’s website — https://www.impulsespace.com/ Eric’s’ socials — https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-romo/ Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://x.com/payloadspace /  https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Ignition’s socials — https://x.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/ Tectonic’s socials — https://x.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/ Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/   • About us • Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies. Payload: www.payloadspace.com Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com Ignition: www.ignition-news.com Decoding Bio: www.decodingbio.com