The New Space Race with Jeff Thornburg

What It Covers

Jeff Thornburg, aerospace engineer and CEO of Portal Space Systems, discusses rapid spacecraft maneuverability, the shift from NASA-led to commercial space industry, propulsion technology evolution, and why federal R&D funding remains critical despite private sector growth.

Key Questions Answered

• •Spacecraft Maneuverability: Portal Space Systems builds spacecraft that move from mid-Earth orbit to low-Earth orbit in under three hours and to geostationary orbit in one day, solving defense and commercial needs for rapid repositioning without traditional rocket limitations or fuel constraints that plague current satellite systems.
• •Engineering Failure Philosophy: Acceptable risk documentation separates incompetence from calculated engineering decisions. Engineers must document why specific risks are acceptable before launch, enabling faster iteration than legacy NASA programs that require infinitely low risk at infinitely high cost, which delays progress and inflates budgets unnecessarily.
• •Federal R&D Necessity: Government-funded research develops technologies without immediate business cases that venture capital avoids. Private industry chases profit and stock price, not foundational breakthroughs. Air Force Research Lab seeded full-flow stage combustion engines in 1999-2004, which later enabled SpaceX Raptor and multiple commercial propulsion systems.
• •Space Asset Vulnerability: GPS timing controls gas pumps, ATMs, and financial systems. America deliberately tied critical infrastructure to space assets, while China built redundant ground-based systems. Adversary satellites harass US satellites electromagnetically, forcing fuel-consuming evasive maneuvers that reduce operational lifespan without firing weapons.
• •Thermal Propulsion Advantage: Solar thermal engines using concentrated sunlight eliminate combustion, allowing spacecraft to carry twice the fuel by removing oxidizer. The system accepts multiple propellants—ammonia, methane, hydrogen—enabling living off the land in space rather than transporting everything from Earth, critical for Mars missions.