This was honestly one of the most fascinating interviews I did for this entire series. Walter Ballheimer founded Reflex Aerospace on a bold idea: the biggest problem in the satellite industry isn't getting to space, it's how long it takes. His Berlin-based company builds high-performance satellites in 12 to 18 months, when the rest of the industry needs three to five years. He's genuinely one of the most clear-sighted and original thinkers in the European space sector. Don't miss this episode.
From the shifting balance between commercial and defence demand, to what it took to close the largest Series A in European space tech history, Walter gives a frank and fascinating account of what it means to build a hardware company in the New Space era. He makes the case that satellites are already the invisible backbone of modern life and that as autonomous vehicles, rural connectivity, and defence systems grow more dependent on them, the race to renew them faster will never stop.
He also has encouraging things to say about world peace...
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