Welcome to the third episode of Pathfinder, a weekly show where Payload managing editor and host Ryan Duffy sits down with the top shot-callers in space.

Joining us this week is Lauren Lyons, a space industry consultant, startup advisor, and STEM evangelist. Lauren is working on a new venture, but most recently, was COO of Firefly Aerospace.

Before that, Lauren held senior engineering roles at Blue Origin and SpaceX. While at Blue, Lauren worked on the company’s lunar lander and Orbital Reef programs.

At SpaceX, Lauren worked on the development/certification of Crew Dragon; the launch of Starlink; chief engineering and mission assurance for Falcon 9 and Dragon; and Falcon 9 mission management. Rather casually, she also hosted launch livestreams for a variety of missions, including the Emmy-winning Demo 1. She makes a cameo on Return to Space, the Netflix documentary that aired in April. Lauren estimates these streams were just 5% of her time/duties…so needless to say, she kept busy.

Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems — www.spideroak-ms.com — an industry leader in space cybersecurity. Check out their space cybersecurity white paper at www.spacecyber.com

SNEAK PEEK

In Pathfinder #0003, Lauren and Ryan discuss:

Her winding career path through time and space
How working as a medical device R&D engineer helped prepare Lauren for SpaceX
Seeing friends on social media celebrate launching their spacecraft on Transporter missions
Operational efficiency and seeing SpaceX hit its stride
Launching Starlink
HLS, Orbital Reef work @ Blue Origin
Team Space is "super mission-oriented and mission-driven"
Competing with Big Tech for talent
The role of company culture in shipping space products successfully
Lean startup operations during downturns
Life after SpaceX, for Lauren and her coworkers
Reducing the barriers to entry for space entrepreneurs
The SpaceX mafia and new deeptech startups/verticals
What the general public gets wrong about the space sector
Lauren & Ryan's shared love for the Supernatural VR fitness app
Moving past "space is hard"

…and more!

ABOUT US

Pathfinder is powered by Payload, a modern space media brand. Subscribe to our industry-leading daily newsletter at payloadspace.com. Thanks again to SpiderOak Mission Systems for supporting Pathfinder.

Finally, as Ryan mentioned in the conversation before the break, here’s the thread from Payload Director of Operations Jess Lis about investing in deeptech during downturns: https://twitter.com/jessicaxlis/status/1530262449139724290

Assembling a Great Crew with Lauren Lyons

Valley of Depth