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It's Not Rocket Science

Jeff Ward
Spacex
Hans Koenigsmann
Alpine Space Ventures
Falcon 1
Kwajalein Atoll
Elon Musk

A podcast exploring the life arcs of smart, creative, driven people who helped Elon Musk and SpaceX revolutionize the space industry. How did they get there? What was it like? What world are they creating now?

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes10Founded6 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
TechnologyBusinessEntrepreneurship

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Artwork for It's Not Rocket Science

Latest Episodes

Tom Mueller became SpaceX employee number one through a quirk of paperwork, and went on to design every SpaceX rocket engine from Merlin to Raptor, all because a high school math teacher asked him if he'd rather design airplanes than maintain them. I... more

Bulent Altan started his career at SpaceX in 2004, fresh out of Bob Twiggs' CubeSat lab at Stanford, joining the small team working on Falcon 1. He stayed long enough to put his technical fingerprints on every major SpaceX development. Now he's the f... more

Krishna Pribadi spent six years on the test stand at SpaceX in McGregor, Texas — Merlin 1D, the first OctaWeb, F9R Dev1, the first booster recovery, and finally Raptor. He left in 2019 and has since worked on cargo drones, traveled back to Indonesia ... more

Hans Koenigsmann: From Falcon 1 to the Kármán Line

Hans Koenigsmann was SpaceX employee #4 and the company's first VP of Avionics, Guidance, Navigation and Control, and later its chief engineer for launch and VP of Flight Reliability. He spent ninet... more

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Recent Guests

Bulent Altan
Former SpaceX avionics, systems engineering, and Starlink leadership figure
Alpine Space Ventures
Episode: Bulent Altan - The Right Type of Challenging
Krishna Pribadi
Former SpaceX test operations engineer focused on M1D engines, Grasshopper, and early Falcon 9 development
SpaceX
Episode: Krishna Pribadi - From Merlin to VO2 Max
Hans Koenigsmann
OG SpaceXer, aerospace engineer and astronaut hopeful
SpaceX (former)
Episode: Hans Koenigsmann - From Falcon 1 to the Kármán Line

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 18 ratings
  • Great podcast, looking forward to hearing more.

    Great job pulling this together Jeff. I’m really looking forward to the future interviews.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Archers Addict Sal
    United Kingdom2 years ago

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Bulent Altan - The Right Type of Challenging
Q: What makes for a good investor-founders relationship in your view?
Be deeply involved and expect to engage with founders daily, not merely through occasional updates; provide guidance, challenge assumptions, and help them navigate strategic choices to turn technical excellence into sustainable business outcomes.
Bulent Altan - The Right Type of Challenging
Q: What advice do you give to engineers looking to move into venture capital or angel investing?
Focus on early revenue creation and customer proof; ensure the company can generate real revenue within the first two to three years, and maintain discipline in cash flow and product-market fit, rather than chasing solely the tech allure in the abstract.
Bulent Altan - The Right Type of Challenging
Q: How did you transition from SpaceX to launching Alpine Space Ventures?
I moved from hands-on engineering to investing, starting with a pilot US-European VC concept, refining the approach to hands-on, founder-facing support, and ultimately building a European-focused venture fund that collaborates closely with the startups we back.
Bulent Altan - The Right Type of Challenging
Q: What was your memorable interaction with Elon Musk during your time at SpaceX?
One standout moment involved Elon shaking his iPhone and urging us to shrink and improve our engine controller, pushing us to move from a bulky prototype to a sleek, capable device, a persistent push that kept the team accountable to first principles.
Krishna Pribadi - From Merlin to VO2 Max
Q: How did you move on from SpaceX?
He took time off to heal and focus on health and relationships, later joining a UAV startup as a second employee where he leveraged SpaceX experiences to lead product development and testing programs.

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Which podcasts are similar to It's Not Rocket Science?

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1. Open Circuit
2. BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley
3. Main Engine Cut Off
4. The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
5. All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

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It's Not Rocket Science launched 6 years ago and published 10 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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Recent guests on It's Not Rocket Science include:

1. Bulent Altan
2. Krishna Pribadi
3. Hans Koenigsmann

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