NewSpaceVision

How do you build hardware like software?
For our 50th episode, we sit down with Karthik Gollapudi, Co-Founder of SIFT, to break down what happens when the fast, iterative mindset of software development is applied to aerospace, defense, robotics, and other physical systems. 
Karthik spent more than four years at SpaceX, working on simulation and flight software for Dragon. He saw first-hand how SpaceX’s culture of rapid iteration and continuous testing could make incredibly complex hardware development move faster. When he started wondering whether these principles could become the foundation for a company, he called his now co-founder - who told him that “four different companies are actually trying to hire me to build that.”
Today, SIFT is building the observability layer for hardware: bringing telemetry, logs, video, and other data together to continuously monitor the health of complex systems and understand what changed when something goes wrong.
We discuss:
🚀 How SpaceX applies software development principles to hardware
🔍 Why hardware needs continuous observability - not occasional testing
📡 The challenge of making sense of telemetry, logs, video, and multiple time sources
🤖 How AI could fundamentally change the way physical systems are designed and built
💰 Lessons from building SIFT, raising $70M+, and convincing investors to back a new category
Karthik also shares his perspective on where AI-driven hardware development is heading - from autonomous systems that discover solutions humans wouldn't think of to physical structures that look more like biology than traditional engineering.
A conversation about the technology, culture, and infrastructure needed to build the next generation of hardware - faster.

Follow Karthik and SIFT:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthikgollapudi
https://www.siftstack.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sift-stack/
https://www.youtube.com/@Siftstack
https://www.instagram.com/siftstack/?hl=en
https://x.com/SiftStack

Follow NewSpaceVision:
https://de.linkedin.com/company/newspacevision
https://twitter.com/newspacevision
https://www.instagram.com/newspacevision/
https://www.facebook.com/newspacevision/
https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/newspace/
This podcast is sponsored by LiveEO. For more information on how Earth observation can help your company, contact:
info@live-eo.com
podcast@newspace.vision
podcast@live-eo.com

He helped land a spacecraft on a comet. Now, he decides which space startups get funded.
Koen Geurts went from operating one of ESA’s most iconic missions to becoming a Senior Investment Manager at HTGF - one of Germany’s most active early-stage investors.
In this episode, we cover:
What it’s really like to land on a comet (and bounce multiple times)

The transition from space engineer to VC

How HTGF thinks about early-stage space investments

Where Europe is falling behind - and where it can win

Contrarian bets (like propulsion) vs overhyped ideas (like space data centers)

Why government contracts are critical for scaling New Space companies

A rare inside look at both engineering and capital within the space ecosystem.

Follow Koen & HTGF:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kgeurts?originalSubdomain=dehttps://www.linkedin.com/company/high-tech-gruenderfonds/https://www.htgf.de/en/venture-capital-investor-2/
Follow NewSpaceVision:
https://de.linkedin.com/company/newspacevision
https://twitter.com/newspacevision
https://www.instagram.com/newspacevision/
https://www.facebook.com/newspacevision/
https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/newspace/
This podcast is sponsored by LiveEO. For more information on how Earth observation can help your company, contact:
info@live-eo.com
podcast@newspace.vision
podcast@live-eo.com

In this episode of the NSV Podcast, we sit down with Lukas Werling, co-founder & CEO of InSpacePropulsion Technologies, or ISP Tech, a German startup building non-toxic chemical propulsion systems for satellites and spacecraft.
After more than a decade at DLR’s rocket engine test site in Lampoldshausen, Lukas spun out ISP Tech to commercialize advanced green propulsion technology. We discuss:
The journey from research scientist to founder
How to spin out of a major research institution
Chemical vs. electric propulsion
Why agility in orbit is becoming critical
Europe’s funding environment for deep tech
ISP Tech is building the mobility layer of space, enabling satellites to move precisely, responsively, and safely in an increasingly crowded orbit.

Connect with Lukas and ISPTech:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukas-werling/https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspacepropulsion-technologies-isptech/https://www.isptech.space/

Europe talks about space sovereignty.
Sovereignty is built with capital.
On the latest episode of the podcast, investor Filip Kocian joins us to unpack the financial infrastructure behind Europe’s space ambitions - and why funding decisions today will define the industry’s future.
Space is no longer niche. It’s industrial strategy, defense, and economic resilience rolled into one... yet capital markets still struggle to match the scale of those goals.
In our conversation, Filip explains:
🚀 Why space investing is becoming industrial policy💰 What separates investable companies from science projects⚖️ How dual-use tech is reshaping venture strategy🌍 The structural gap between Europe and the US🔭 Where the next generation of winners will emerge

Follow Filip (and write him an email):
filip@expansion-vc.eu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipkocian/
https://filipkocian.substack.com/
https://x.com/fikocian

Follow Expansion:
https://www.expansion-vc.eu/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/expansion-ventures/

Follow NewSpaceVision:
https://de.linkedin.com/company/newspacevision
https://twitter.com/newspacevision
https://www.instagram.com/newspacevision/
https://www.facebook.com/newspacevision/
https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/newspace/
This podcast is sponsored by LiveEO. For more information on how Earth observation can help your company, contact:
info@live-eo.com
podcast@newspace.vision
podcast@live-eo.com

What if you could take the temperature of the entire planet - accurately, continuously, and in high resolution?
In this episode, we sit down with Max Gulde, co-founder & CEO of Constellr, whose team is launching a global thermal intelligence layer powered by microsatellites. Their goal: unlock new capabilities across agriculture, defense, urban planning, climate resilience, and beyond.
Max shares the unfiltered story behind Constellr’s rise - from ISS payload fiascos and 14 failed grant applications, to two successful satellite launches and major governmental partnerships. Along the way, he breaks down why thermal is the most underrated data source in Earth observation, and why accuracy (not just resolution) is the real game-changer.
We also dive into:
🌡️ Why temperature is the only continuous environmental variable - and why that unlocks “interpolated” EO data
🚀 How Constellr went from a Fraunhofer spin-off to a venture-backed space company
🔭 The difference between thermal sensing and traditional optical/radar data
🌍 Agriculture, defense, urban heat, industrial monitoring - and the markets thermal will reshape
🛰️ What’s coming next: 10+ satellites, meter-level thermal, and a queryable digital twin of the planet
Max’s stories are wild, insightful, and often hilarious - so don’t miss it.
Follow Max & Constellr:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-gulde-6563573/
https://www.constellr.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellr/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxe1n8xrOopkNKsDQqxVnUQ
https://www.instagram.com/constellr__/

Follow NewSpaceVision:
https://de.linkedin.com/company/newspacevision
https://twitter.com/newspacevision
https://www.instagram.com/newspacevision/
https://www.facebook.com/newspacevision/
https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/newspace/
This podcast is sponsored by LiveEO. For more information on how Earth observation can help your company, contact:
info@live-eo.com
podcast@newspace.vision
podcast@live-eo.com