Spaceium: Revolutionizing In-Space Fuel Infrastructure for the New Space Economy

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Transforming In-Space Fuel Infrastructure: Spaceium's Groundbreaking Approach

You’ve finally accepted that New York isn’t anywhere close to San Francisco, so you decide to pack up and make the trip.

Unfortunately, you won’t have much room, and your MPG will be Kevin Hart low (just watched the roast of tom brady) because you have to carry dozens of gas canisters or fully charged batteries because there are no fuel stations along the way. Whatever you take with you is what you’ll have to use to power your entire trip.

That’s the problem pointed out by Spaceium about the current spacecraft industry, emphasizing the need for advanced in-space fuel infrastructure.

Vehicles launch from Earth, weighed down by the fuel they must carry from the start. I can only imagine considering I can’t even stand up from the couch after Thanksgiving dinner.

This isn’t ideal for even low-stakes expeditions, much less the interplanetary travel that billionaires with too much time and money are hoping to make on a regular basis.

The company is building the first in-space fuel systems, organizing the necessary infrastructure to pave the way for the next era of the space economy.

The company is building the first in-space fuel systems, organizing the necessary infrastructure to pave the way for the next era of the space economy.

The team’s in-space fuel infrastructure can store various kinds of fuel with no loss, even those with drastically different storage temperature requirements, and their proprietary robotic “arm” is able to accommodate any vehicle design.

This efficiency enables lighter takeoff weight, requiring less power or enabling greater takeoff payload and extended travel capabilities. In totality, this advanced in-space fuel infrastructure saves up to 40% on operating costs.

Traction:

• Potential customers include

  • launch vehicles

  • moon landers

  • spacecraft

• Partnership with Aphelia

• Aiming for first in-space prototype by 2025 (which, amazingly, is just next year…)

Market Size:

• TAM: $80 billion, $1.1 trillion

• SAM: $40 billion

• SOM: $400 million

Competition:

• Orbit Fab

• Impulse Space

• Space Force, Air Force

Team:

• Ashi Dissanayake, CEO: built aerodynamic models for NASA, and leader in University of Ottawa’s rocket propulsion team where she studied aerospace engineering

• Reza Fetanat, CTO: led UoO’s rocket program at university where he launched 3 rockets, fully developed 4 engines, and built a propulsion stability model

Risks:

• In-house development: NASA has historically been keen on contracting out most non-research and launch functions, but some of the newer space companies that will be mainstays in the new space economy, namely SpaceX, have adopted policies of building every stage in the supply chain and avoiding any outsourcing

• Regulatory concerns: Space is one of the most regulation-heavy industries in tech, and overcoming filing after filing and decision after decision will slow progress, and given the nationalization of the space economy in years past, it wouldn’t be surprising to see government discouragement of doing business with non-American agencies

• Technical challenges: Deep tech is hard. We have some of the worlds smartest scientists working day and night on building engines and improving materials, and yet we’ve still never been to Mars

What I like:

• Picks and shovels: Becoming a critical part of the infrastructure of a burgeoning industry creates a nearly insurmountable moat and decreases company-specific risks as they have a larger customer pool

• Advisory team: The names they’ve been able to get on board to advise the founders are tremendous, providing expertise in everything from engineering to government relations

• Partnership track record: They’ve already signed various partnerships with complementary space services, seemingly setting the stage for a successful run of larger and more critical partnerships in future years

Opportunities:

• Branch into other services: The company is already targeting fueling and in-space repairs, but there are ample opportunities to expand their in-space fuel infrastructure to provide specialized services beyond this core offering, potentially in asteroid mining

• Help satellites: Satellites offer the most immediate market, and though they’ve already done a bit of initial research into playing the low-earth orbit game, further building services that can assist these machines will be a good way to build cash flow and traction as it waits for the rest of the industry to mature

• Further partnerships: Though they’ve had success in forming partnerships already, space seems to be a partnership-driven game, and they can continue to build their network of suppliers and potential customers by leveraging the YC network of former space companies, like Relativity, Astranis, or Epsilon3

Links of the week:

Biiiiig week of news. Had to cut myself short or I could have gone to at least a dozen. Nonetheless, here are the 5 links and resources that you need to see:

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Cheers to another day,