Single-Stage-to-Orbit, with Livingston Holder (Radian Aerospace)

The first single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) space plane? That's exactly what we're discussing on this week’s Pathfinder podcast. We interview Livingston Holder, cofounder and CTO of Radian Aerospace, which is developing a fully reusable space plane designed for horizontal launch and landing.SSTO? Essentially, SSTO vehicles are designed to reach orbit using a single stage without discarding any hardware.We explore Livingston’s background as a former USAF astronaut as well as the Seattle-based startup’s roadmap to build the world’s first SSTO space transport vehicle. In addition, we cover:Radian’s technology advantageCultural and operational shifts in space missionsMarket positioning of SSTOFuture applications and impact on space opsAnd much more…This episode is brought to you by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). • Chapters •00:00 Intro & ITA Ad02:12 Why space?04:45 The astronaut program06:06 Culture of NASA vs AF astronauts07:29 Life after the program09:24 Livingston's path to Radian12:39 What is Radian building?16:05 Unique take off18:17 Who designed the sled?19:36 Single-Stage-to-Orbit23:26 Nozzle extensions25:10 Why now?29:12 How Livingston met his cofounder33:19 Where is Radian today?38:19 First flight test projection39:23 Capabilities and market positioning43:19 Hypersonic travel47:32 Government and commercial traction49:41 Direct competitors52:15 How expensive is it to build Radian's spaceplanes?54:43 What does Livingston do for fun? • Show notes •Radian's website — https://www.radianaerospace.com/Radian's socials — https://twitter.com/RadianSpaceMo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislamPayload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspacePathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspacePathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes • About us •Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing five media properties across multiple platforms:1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece,  comes out on WednesdaysYou can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/