The Road to Flight 2, with Dan Piemont (ABL Space)

ABL Space is heading back to the pad after a power failure prevented its maiden launch attempt from reaching orbit last January. The company, known for its innovative approach to ground infrastructure by containerizing its launch system, aims to launch its RS1 rocket by the year's end.This week's Pathfinder podcast features Dan Piemont, the cofounder, President, and CFO of the LA-based launch startup. Mo and Dan delve into the lessons learned from the company's initial launch attempt and the improvements made to the RS1 and GS0 ground system. In addition, they discuss:How ABL differentiates itself in the marketCurrent supply/demand dynamics of launchRideshare packaging efficiencyPlans after Flight 2And much more…This episode is brought to you by SpiderOak, a US-based software company that builds space cybersecurity products and solutions for civilian, military, and commercial space operations. Learn more at https://spideroak.com/ • Chapters • 00:00 - Intro & SpiderOak Ad01:56 - Dan’s background02:34 - History of ABL05:05 - What differentiates ABL?08:23 - Regulation surrounding mobile launch systems10:08 - Flight 1, what happened?13:56 - Key improvements on Flight 218:12 - Risks of diving into Block 220:53 - Plans after Flight 221:29 - Increasing launch cadence24:52 - Traction between government and commercial customers26:43 - Is heavier launch in ABL’s future?28:20 - SpiderOak Ad29:07 - Supply and demand dynamics32:56 - Rideshare packaging efficiency42:51 - Lack of high cadence in the industry44:30 - What are investors currently looking for in the market?48:12 - Creating momentum after Flight 1• Show notes • ABL's website — https://ablspacesystems.com/ABL's socials — https://twitter.com/ablspacesystemsMo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder 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 15,000+ 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 three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)