B (9:35)

Foreign. Most environments trust far more than they should and attackers know it. Threat Locker solves that by enforcing default deny at the point of execution. With Threat Locker allow listing, you stop unknown executables cold. With Ring Fencing, you control how trusted applications behave. And with Threat Locker DAC Defense against Configurations, you get real assurance that your environment is free of misconfigurations and clear visibility into whether you meet compliance standards. ThreatLocker is the simplest way to enforce zero trust principles without the operational pain. It's powerful protection that gives CISOs real visibility real control and real peace of mind. ThreatLocker makes zero trust attainable even for small security teams. See why thousands of organizations choose Threat Locker to minimize alert fatigue, stop ransomware at the source, and regain control over their environments. Schedule your demo@threatlocker.com N2K today.

A (10:54)

Our guest today is Jerome Hittel, CEO and founder at Amplified Space. Jerome started off by telling me more about his background.

C (11:05)

Well, I started my career back in high school working at Johnson Space center, scanning in pictures of the moon rocks as they were going from paper systems to digital systems. And as you know, that just was the first door of many doors that opened, Right. And I ended up working on four deep spacecraft. One is a technician, and then three as an engineer. And so I was able to develop power systems that are actually on the surface of Mars and orbiting Jupiter. And so that's really where I kind of got my start. But I really got bored of what the old space. And it takes forever to develop this. And so I left space for a while, worked in Internet of Things, developing LED lighting systems for commercial applications, and then also worked with a company that was doing integrated circuits to be able to electrify vehicles. And so I've always had, like, this, let's change humanity sort of background in everything I do.

A (12:09)

So, wow. I was going to say, just what you got bored of would for many people be kind of the pinnacle of their career. You're kind of like, yeah, my stuff's on a bunch of other planets, it's fine. And I got bored of that. Okay. But that's awesome because that ambition and that fire in the belly, so to speak, that is a great thing for an entrepreneur to have. And getting bored and being like, I want to do something way, like, I want to build on that. That's how great things are made. And that's what you're working on right now, right?

C (12:38)

Yeah, we're working on. You know, I took the experience from all three of those disciplines and said, how can I build a company around this? You know, I've got the aerospace background. I've learned about digital control systems at the LED lighting company. And I've also learned about how this new GAN transistor technology is coming about in the integrated circuit community. And I thought, well, how do I pull all these technologies together? And that's where I met Jamie, our chief operating officer. And I said, jamie, what do I do with this? At the time, she was working with a small business development center out of Boulder, and she said, you have to put in an application to NASA for this. And I said, okay. And so I did and won the very first SBIR proposal I ever put out. And you know, as they say, the rest is history.

A (13:36)

All right, so that brings us to amplified space then. So, yes, please give me the pitch. Tell me about it.

C (13:43)

So we developed software configurable power systems for spacecraft. We have a single piece of hardware that we can program with software to be able to connect this to your batteries, your solar arrays, your power supplies, your propulsion system, your motor, your reaction wheels, your flight computer, the list goes on. But we're able to scale because it's a single piece of hardware that we can connect to all of those things. And so we're able to rapidly produce and have our customers kind of software configure it to whatever they want to want it to be in their application.

A (14:18)

Can you paint a picture for me of sort of what you all are doing is disrupting something? Right. So what did it look like before? Like what is the thing that you all are sort of fixing?

C (14:28)

Yeah. So if you were to go to one of our competitors, they'd say, oh, you need this solar ray card, you need this battery card, you need this power supply card, you need the switch card, you know, and there's all these different components and stuff. And your engineers have to understand exactly how each one of those work. And there's risks there because there's software that's different on every one of them. And we have a very a software that is 70% unified between each one of our applications because our hardware never changes. And so we're able to really disrupt what everybody else is doing in a couple of different ways.

A (15:10)

That's awesome. So you're streamlining and also reducing complexity, which is always the goal for a better, more efficient system, I would imagine. So tell me about those.

C (15:20)

Yeah, so we've delivered this year for three flights. One was with a company called Hex20 out of India that we've been doing a lot of work with and they're developing their own bus. We're really excited to see where they're going to. Our second flight is with Portal Space Systems where we're doing an on orbit demonstration on their mini Nova platform. They've got several of these in their spacecraft and they're flying it in Q1 next year. And then our third opportunity is with the International Space Station. We're working with Aegis Aerospace and with the International Space Station to deliver this and it'll be on its Missy platform and we're actually wrapping that up today. As a matter of fact.

A (16:05)

Oh my gosh.

C (16:06)

So, yeah, and so they fly out on Thursday and then they're flying and integrating on Friday and everything's going really well there and stuff. But we have three flights next year and, you know, for a company our size with only 10 people or so, you know, that's really an accomplishment and I'm really proud of what our team's done this year.

A (16:29)

It absolutely, it is. That's incredible. Three flights with a team of 10 people. And yes, as you mentioned, I've spoken to Jeff at Portal a couple times and you know, their stuff is very, very cool. So that you're working with them is to me a hugely validating thing for the incredible thing that you all are also building. Because I know Jeff is very visionary and he knows good stuff when he sees it. So that's so great. I'm super happy for you all. That's awesome.

C (16:54)

I mean, I'll just tell you a little quick antidote story between me and Jeff. I don't know if it'll make the final cut, but Jeff and I, the first time we talked to each other, it was like, what are you doing? He's like, we're doing this. I said, well, we're doing this. And we're both like, you just see the fireworks going. Like, we see how disruptive each one of us is and like how it's just going to change how everybody does it in the future. And, you know, it was just super fireworks. I love what they're doing. I'm always looking for customers, especially that. And really partners, not so much customers, but partners that are really disrupting things. Because I know that we can go far with them and they can go far with us. And so we're always looking for those sorts of capabilities in who we work with.

A (17:47)

That's awesome. Yeah. And truly the three missions you have coming up, those are all extremely exciting. And the fact that you're wrapping one up right now, I'm extraordinarily appreciative that you took some time to talk to me with all that going on because I imagine you all are crazy busy, so I won't waste your time. But I'm dying to know about your long term vision for amplified space, like what success looks like for you all, what you're looking towards in the long term future.

C (18:12)

You know, I want to disrupt the industry. I want to be part of what that looks like. I want to have our families going to space in the long term. Right. The technology we develop here is part of that. Story. It's not the complete story, of course, but it is part of that story. And I think the whole industry has to kind of come together so that we can continue to build that right? And we're always looking for partners, partners to kind of get to that next level too. And you know, all those partners, like, it's an interesting array and matrix of all these different companies doing all these different things. But you know that that old analogy of the rising tide lifts all ships is certainly true in this industry.

A (19:09)

We'll be right back. The Uniswap wallet makes crypto easier and safer to own and use, discover new tokens, research confidently swap instantly, and manage it all securely in one place. The Uniswap trading protocol has powered over $3 trillion in volume and it's trusted by millions worldwide. Buy your first crypto assets in a few taps and experience the freedom of decentralized finance with Uniswap. Tap the banner to get started. Welcome back. There's a bit of a Martian mystery going on with NASA's MAVEN mission at the moment. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution or Maven orbiter around, you guessed it, Mars recently celebrated 10 successful years on the job. But NASA reports just a few days ago, on December 6, after orbiting behind Mars, Maven then stopped communications with the home base and just has not re established sending telemetry as expected. And I should note before all this happened, Maven was working just nominally. So this is all a bit sudden and unexpected. Right now NASA teams are investigating the root cause and hoping to re establish a signal from Maven as because Maven is the way that the Mars rovers signals are relayed from the Martian surface back to Earth also. So we kind of need it up and running. Hope Maven's just having a temporary loss of voice as I have been struggling with lately and we'll be on the mend soon. And that's T minus. Brought to you by N2K CyberWire we'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like our show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or send an email. The space2k.com we are proud that N2K CyberWire is part of the daily routine of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector. From the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies, N2K helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection, we bring you the people, the technology and the ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how@n2k.com N2K Senior Producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our Executive producer is Jennifer Ibin. Peter Kilpe is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thank you for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. T minus. Hey Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a.

C (22:22)

Very happy half off holiday because right.

A (22:25)

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