Founder's Story Podcast: “They’re Building the ‘Safety Layer’ for Space and It Could Change the Future of Humanity”

Episode 314 – Minh Nguyen & John Avera, Co-Founders of xOrbita
Date: February 25, 2026

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, host IBH Media welcomes Minh Nguyen and John Avera, co-founders of xOrbita, a startup aiming to become the “safety layer” for space. The conversation dives into the exponential growth of the space economy, the mounting problem of orbital debris, and how xOrbita’s combination of AI and innovative sensing technology could both safeguard humanity’s investments and unlock a sustainable, multi-planetary future.

Main Discussion Sections & Key Insights

1. Why Space, Why Now? (01:33–04:52)

Main Points:

• Entry barriers to space are rapidly dropping: Cheaper satellite launches, student satellites, and broadening participation.
• The space economy is experiencing explosive growth, forecasted to grow from $613B (2025) to potentially $1.8T by 2035, driven mainly by commercial players.

Notable Quotes:

• Minh (02:19):
  “...right now, space is at a point where it's easy to get into it... We've got student groups now that are launching satellites. We have national programs that let high schoolers put satellites into space.”
• John (03:38):
  “The global space economy hit $613B last year... it's heading to $1.8 trillion by 2035... 78% of that is commercial. But all that value is sitting in an environment that's getting more dangerous every day.”

2. Personal Journey: Starting xOrbita (05:39–10:31)

Main Points:

• Minh began working on space projects in high school—motivated by a desire to contribute to research and enter a top university.
• The turning point was learning about a university-built satellite destroyed by debris, making the threat personal and urgent.
• Minh realized existing companies were too slow to tackle the escalating debris crisis and decided to found xOrbita.
• John joined after discovering Minh’s research online, recognizing the technical potential and offering expertise from his background in sensors, AI, and federal lab work.

Notable Quotes:

• Minh (06:52):
  “When I started to try and really work on these solutions long term, I hit a very big wall...a Chinese university group that was launching their own satellite...it had gotten defunct...a piece of debris particle...made the practical application for it unusable. In years time, that could be me...If they’re working too slow, the problem’s only going to get worse. I need to create a company around this.”
• John (09:03):
  “I was just cruising around looking at...quantum computing...and I saw an article that Minh had written...I started thinking, wait a minute, this is sensors, this is shortwave IR. I worked in the Air Combat Command Federal Laboratory, we were doing just this...so we started talking...I think we can do this...that’s how I got involved.”

3. The Space Debris Crisis: Defining and Tackling the Problem (11:00–17:53)

Main Points:

• Space Situational Awareness (SSA) industry has a reputation for inefficiency; existing debris tracking and avoidance systems are widely ignored by satellite operators due to high costs and limited benefits.
• Operators (except very large constellations like Starlink) often prefer to risk collisions rather than follow current avoidance recommendations, as each maneuver burns valuable fuel and shortens satellite lifespan.
  • Starlink stats: 7,000 satellites, $8B revenue, 300,000 maneuvers in 2025, life capped at 5 years despite hardware lasting 7-8 years.
• Only 0.04% of space debris is being tracked, yet simply adding more data is not a complete solution.

Notable Quotes:

• Minh (11:00):
  “The SSA industry...has a really bad look...majority of satellites don’t actually listen to the behaviors that space traffic management systems are giving them...most satellite companies would rather actually take the risk.”
• Minh (15:26):
  “We’re losing around 30% of operational lifetime just off of doing that collision avoidance...People need to preserve the work, time and money that they put into every single satellite in space.”

4. xOrbita’s Approach: Intelligence-First Collision Avoidance (16:07–18:21)

Main Points:

• Instead of relying on ground-based, static sensors, xOrbita plans to build affordable, AI-powered sensor systems on small satellites (CubeSats) orbiting in space.
• Their architecture allows real-time detection, orbit propagation, and collision probability calculation with recommendations transmitted directly to operators.
• Their AI system learns and adapts, increasing accuracy and coverage with more data, achieving with a sixth of the sensor fleet size what others require with brute force.

Notable Quotes:

• John (16:07):
  “We’re building an intelligence-first, space situational awareness...putting sensors into orbit...paired with AI that doesn’t just process data, it learns from it...our system is compounded—the more data, the better it gets...recommend maneuvers in real time.”
• John (17:55):
  “We’ve got a working system running...It processes sensory imaging, it could detect the objects, propagate the orbits...calculate the collision probabilities and then recommend maneuvers. And that’s our MVP.”

5. Beyond Monitoring: The Future of Space Debris Management (19:10–23:08)

Main Points:

• Step 1: Better tracking and collision avoidance.
• Step 2: Enable active debris removal (ADR) and eventually recycling, building a closed loop for both risk mitigation and value creation.
• Importance of satellites for disaster recovery, broadband, fintech, agriculture—satellites save lives and enable critical infrastructure.
• The ultimate goal for xOrbita: Become the industry-wide infrastructure—a “safety layer” underpinning all orbital operations.

Notable Quotes:

• Minh (19:10):
  “The obvious next steps are...active debris removal and...active debris recycling...it’s a journey to being there at every step.”
• Minh (20:30):
  “You have satellites in space...specifically targeted to doing things like sensing fires, sensing like emergency contacts...That could mean the difference of something major happening within orbit or even happening down here on Earth.”
• John (21:49):
  “Space isn’t inspirational anymore. Right. It’s critical infrastructure...I see this as big safety data, big future.”

6. Broader Reflections: The Future of Humanity in Space (24:03–29:46)

Main Points:

• Dreaming bigger than low Earth orbit: Both guests see humanity eventually as a multi-planetary species—mining, travel, resource extraction across the solar system, but aware it starts with solving orbital safety.
• Host discusses personal willingness to take a one-way ticket to another planet; Min and John both say yes.

Notable Quotes:

• Minh (24:03):
  “I am an optimist. I like looking at space and thinking...these are all of the amazing things that we can do...[even] deep space asteroid mining...Being able to take advantage of that in the next coming few years is my optimism towards space.”
• John (26:19):
  “The more we understand our environment...the better. There’s untapped resources...rare earth minerals, mining on the moon, mining on Mars...But we gotta make space safe for travel, safe. And...you gotta take it one step at a time.”
• Minh (28:11):
  “If I had the opportunity to build forward and do something...I would take it in a heartbeat ...we can do more ...that’s...the most probable avenue that I would take forward.”

7. How to Get Involved / Contact xOrbita (30:35–31:21)

Points:

• Visit www.xorbita.com
• Connect with Minh or John via LinkedIn.
• Their contact form echoes John’s first interaction with Minh: “Do you want to help us build this?”
• xOrbita regularly attends industry events, welcoming inquiries from investors, partners, and future collaborators.

Memorable Moments

• Minh’s high school journey: “I’m still in high school right now...I want to end off my high school year with some cool research...but the problem was not going to get solved in time...so I decided I need to create a company around this.” (05:39–08:37)
• John’s technical passion: “I worked in the Air Combat Command Federal Laboratory...we were doing just this...I think I can help.” (09:03–10:31)
• On the real urgency: “We’re losing around 30% of operational lifetime just off of doing that collision avoidance.” (15:26)
• On space as critical infrastructure:
  “Space isn’t inspirational anymore...it’s critical infrastructure and it’s only becoming even more essential.” (21:49)
• Host’s astonishment:
  “I mean, I don’t know what I was doing in high school, but I definitely was not solving space problems!” (08:37)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 01:33 | Space as the next business frontier | | 02:19 | Why is everyone looking at space in 2026? | | 03:38 | The numbers: $613B to $1.8T and the risks | | 05:39 | Minh’s path: From high school to founder | | 09:03 | How John got involved | | 11:00 | Hurdles and inefficiencies in space debris management| | 15:26 | Propellant, satellite life, and the need for better SSA| | 16:07 | xOrbita’s technological approach | | 19:10 | The future: from tracking to debris recycling | | 21:49 | Space as essential infrastructure | | 24:03 | Personal visions for space’s future | | 28:11 | Would you take a one-way ticket to another planet? | | 30:35 | How to engage/partner with xOrbita |

Closing Remarks

This episode brings the urgency of space safety to the forefront—not merely as a technical challenge but as a civic and planetary imperative. Min and John make it clear that as humanity’s ambitions stretch to new frontiers, a robust, intelligent safety net in orbit isn’t just visionary, it’s essential. Their stories—Minh still in high school, John leveraging federal lab experience—showcase the multi-generational passion and grit driving space innovation today.

For more: www.xorbita.com
Contact: Via LinkedIn or direct form on their website. “If you want to help us build this, then do it!”