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 advantage
Cultural and operational shifts in space missions
Market positioning of SSTO
Future applications and impact on space ops

And much more…

This episode is brought to you by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).

• Chapters •

00:00 Intro & ITA Ad

02:12 Why space?

04:45 The astronaut program

06:06 Culture of NASA vs AF astronauts

07:29 Life after the program

09:24 Livingston's path to Radian

12:39 What is Radian building?

16:05 Unique take off

18:17 Who designed the sled?

19:36 Single-Stage-to-Orbit

23:26 Nozzle extensions

25:10 Why now?

29:12 How Livingston met his cofounder

33:19 Where is Radian today?

38:19 First flight test projection

39:23 Capabilities and market positioning

43:19 Hypersonic travel

47:32 Government and commercial traction

49:41 Direct competitors

52:15 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/RadianSpace

Mo'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 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 Eastern

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays

4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece, comes out on Wednesdays

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

Valley of Depth