The Orbital Age: Sierra Space's Tom Vice on Dream Chaser, Orbital Reef, and His Space Restaurant

Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems — www.spideroak-ms.com — an industry leader in space cybersecurity. Check out the company’s space cybersecurity white paper at spacecyber.com*SNEAK PEEK*Tom's resume. He spent a few decades rising through the ranks and eventually served as president of Northrop Grumman’s aerospace unit before he moved into startupland.What he can talk about from his Northrop days (ie, what's been declassified) vs. what still requires a security clearanceAir and space are the proving ground for autonomy technologiesWhy did the space company spin out of Sierra Nevada Corp. last year?Sierra Space's cap table and fortifying the balance sheet before a market downtownThe space platform play...Dream Chaser is the transportation, Orbital Reef is the destination, and then there's all the space applicationsWhat's the best historical precedent or analogy for where the space industry is at in this moment in time?Tom's visions for the future, with a constellation of private space stations and thousands living and working in spaceSierra's growth from 1,000 employees at the end of 2021 to 1,800+ nowFor All MankindWhen is Tom going to space?The two parts of the bio we discuss: 1) "It is amazing to me that today we are flying at the same speed we were in 1958 when the Boeing 707 was introduced. In general aviation, the speed of the aircraft has only improved by 10% over 50 years."2) "We will enable humanity to live, work, explore, and vacation in Space!"...and more. There's plenty of mind-boggling bits baked into this conversation, from manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum to peering back in time with JWST to Tom's concept for an Asian fusion restaurant in low-Earth orbit.*CHAPTERS*0:00 - Intro 2:00 - Tom’s résumé4:15 - Most guidance systems rely heavily on air and space8:30 - Sierra Space spins out from Sierra Nevada 9:50  - A **massive** $1.4B Series A12:45 - Being a unique space and technology company15:25 - Still bringing people back from space the same way we did in the ‘60s 18:35 - Capturing Apple’s platform play 20:10 - Sierra is building a value ecosystem 22:05 - What makes the period of time we’re currently in so profound?26:00 - Is “early internet age” the right analogy for space? 28:29 - Low-cost transportation lowers barriers to LEO 32:50 - Making low earth orbit (LEO) accessible and affordable 37:15 - There’s something extraordinary about the Pale Blue Dot40:10 - Understanding the significance of Earth41:50 - ‘For All Mankind’ 43:53 - When is Tom going to space?*SHOW NOTES*Tom's LinkedIn bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomvice/*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we send newsletters and publish podcasts. Subscribe to our flagship industry-leading daily newsletter at payloadspace.com