Bridgit Mendler took an unconventional path to founding a space infrastructure company, but it led her to one of the industry’s most overlooked bottlenecks: the ground systems connecting satellites to Earth. Now, she’s building Northwood to modernize that critical layer of the space economy, the part that doesn’t get the headlines but matters as much as anything happening above it.

Northwood recently announced its new Prism product, and we get into the business model, the competitive landscape, the government bet, and one of the most critical questions: if Starlink and Kuiper have already built their own versions of what Northwood is selling, who’s actually buying?

We cover:

Why ground infrastructure is the overlooked bottleneck in the space economy
The announcement of Prism and what it means for Northwood's ambitions beyond its first product
The claim that Northwood will rival a terrestrial internet exchange by 2028
The Space Force contract and what the path to a second one looks like
Cell tower or cloud bill: how Northwood actually makes money
Her future vision for the industry and the infrastructure bet behind it

• Chapters •

00:00 – Trailer
00:44 – FCC Space Bureau
04:28 – How Bridgit decided to work on satellite networking
07:35 – From lake to concept
09:57 – Recent announcement at Northwood
12:20 – Where Northwood fits in the ground station as a service model
15:24 – The Northwood value proposition
16:42 – Average utilization of a ground station
18:10 – Northwood's flexibility
19:41 – Key goals in the next few years
22:15 – "I like to be bullish on space because that's what we're all here for"
22:52 – Biggest near-term opportunity
24:09 – How the competition shapes Northwood
25:50 – Segment of the market Bridgit believes has the biggest capacity for growth
26:45 – Northwood x Space Force: Satellite Control Network
29:48 – The state of Northwood today
32:09 – Competing for talent
33:22 – Revenue model with ground stations and how that will evolve
35:43 – What Northwood's next product set might look like
39:05 – Deployment of Northwood's $100M
40:03 – Investor conversations
42:55 – How Northwood fits in the changing landscape of the space industry with the Moon and SpaceX's IPO
45:17 – What keeps Bridgit up at night?
46:33 – Rapid-fire philosophical questions

• Show notes •

Northwood’s website — https://www.northwoodspace.io/
Ross’s’ socials — https://x.com/bridgitmendler
Mo's socials — https://x.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://x.com/payloadspace /
https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://x.com/ignitionnuclear / https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials — https://x.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), Decoding Bio (biotech) and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

The Global Ground Layer, with Bridgit Mendler (CEO of Northwood)

Valley of Depth

The Global Ground Layer, with Bridgit Mendler (CEO of Northwood)