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Breakthrough Orbital Platforms, with Tejpaul Bhatia (CEO of Axiom Space)
Manage episode 479993513 series 3357613
This week on Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Tejpaul Bhatia, the newly appointed CEO of Axiom Space — a company building one of the first commercial space stations and leading private human spaceflight missions to low Earth orbit. The company is gearing up for Ax-4, Axiom’s fourth mission to the ISS, which will fly astronauts from Poland, Hungary, and India under the command of Axiom astronaut Peggy Whitson.
In his first interview (and podcast) as CEO, Tejpaul shares what the leadership transition means for Axiom, why he sees the company as a “forever business,” and how he plans to scale its station, suits, and astronaut programs into a thriving orbital economy. We also get into:
- Tejpaul’s journey from startup founder to Axiom CEO
- The state of the space station market and the case for demand
- What investors misunderstand about orbital infrastructure
- Axiom’s shifting revenue mix and modular station roadmap
- His take on the CLD program and U.S. industrial strategy
- How Tejpaul thinks about scaling trust, culture, and ambition in space
• Chapters •
00:00 Intro
00:59 Tejpaul's transition into the CEO role
03:25 Tejpaul's background before Axiom
08:03 Reaction to being offered CRO role
10:50 Previous CEO's departure
12:57 Preserving vs evolving at Axiom
14:23 Initial priorities as CEO
19:06 Free-flying space station market
24:37 Number of future space station operators
27:06 Science projects vs commercial viability
32:44 Current and future revenue streams
38:11 Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destination (CLD)
41:21 Moving beyond NASA dependence
45:45 Technical roadmap
47:19 Astronaut program pricing
53:21 What investors miss about stations
56:04 Capital requirements and fundraising
01:00:07 Cost of first station
01:01:35 Axiom & SpaceX relationship
01:04:40 Tejpaul's personal interests
• Show notes •
Axiom’s website — https://axiomspace.com/
Axiom’s socials — https://x.com/Axiom_Space
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.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), 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.
- Payload: www.payloadspace.com
- Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
- Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com
129 episodes
Manage episode 479993513 series 3357613
This week on Valley of Depth, we’re joined by Tejpaul Bhatia, the newly appointed CEO of Axiom Space — a company building one of the first commercial space stations and leading private human spaceflight missions to low Earth orbit. The company is gearing up for Ax-4, Axiom’s fourth mission to the ISS, which will fly astronauts from Poland, Hungary, and India under the command of Axiom astronaut Peggy Whitson.
In his first interview (and podcast) as CEO, Tejpaul shares what the leadership transition means for Axiom, why he sees the company as a “forever business,” and how he plans to scale its station, suits, and astronaut programs into a thriving orbital economy. We also get into:
- Tejpaul’s journey from startup founder to Axiom CEO
- The state of the space station market and the case for demand
- What investors misunderstand about orbital infrastructure
- Axiom’s shifting revenue mix and modular station roadmap
- His take on the CLD program and U.S. industrial strategy
- How Tejpaul thinks about scaling trust, culture, and ambition in space
• Chapters •
00:00 Intro
00:59 Tejpaul's transition into the CEO role
03:25 Tejpaul's background before Axiom
08:03 Reaction to being offered CRO role
10:50 Previous CEO's departure
12:57 Preserving vs evolving at Axiom
14:23 Initial priorities as CEO
19:06 Free-flying space station market
24:37 Number of future space station operators
27:06 Science projects vs commercial viability
32:44 Current and future revenue streams
38:11 Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destination (CLD)
41:21 Moving beyond NASA dependence
45:45 Technical roadmap
47:19 Astronaut program pricing
53:21 What investors miss about stations
56:04 Capital requirements and fundraising
01:00:07 Cost of first station
01:01:35 Axiom & SpaceX relationship
01:04:40 Tejpaul's personal interests
• Show notes •
Axiom’s website — https://axiomspace.com/
Axiom’s socials — https://x.com/Axiom_Space
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear /
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials — https://twitter.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), 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.
- Payload: www.payloadspace.com
- Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
- Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com
129 episodes
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