Podcast Summary: T-Minus Space Daily
Episode Title: Solving the Hardware/Software Problem in Aerospace
Host: Maria Varmazis (N2K Networks)
Guest: Kartik Gollapudi, CEO of Sift
Date: August 16, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode explores the persistent divide between hardware and software in the aerospace sector, focusing on how evolving software practices can transform hardware-driven industries like space. Maria Varmazis talks with Kartik Gollapudi, co-founder and CEO of Sift, about his journey from robotics enthusiast and SpaceX alum to leading a company that’s building modern data tools for hardware companies. Kartik shares insights into the obstacles and opportunities facing the space industry as it tries to close the gap between software innovation and hardware development.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Kartik's Background and Inspiration
- Early Interest in Robotics:
- Kartik grew up near JPL, attending open houses, building Lego robots, and participating in First Robotics. This early exposure fueled his passion for engineering (01:38–02:42).
- Unconventional Academic Path:
- He initially “min maxed” his college major, starting in business before switching to engineering and combining both disciplines (02:42–02:55).
- Quote:
“I started as a business major, but within a year switched back to engineering and did business.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (02:41)
- SpaceX Experience:
- Spent over four years at SpaceX, leading Dragonflight Software Operations—testing, certification, and troubleshooting for missions.
- “Most of it was just cat herding to get people up to space.” (02:45–03:52)
2. The Hardware/Software Problem in Space
- Software as a Secondary Focus in Hardware Companies:
- Aerospace is hardware-first, often treating software as an afterthought compared to companies where software is the core competence (e.g., Google vs. Lockheed) (04:45–06:13).
- Quote:
“The people who have the ability and autonomy to fix the problems, the best people to do that, are not doing it for themselves.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (05:42)
- Talent and Regulatory Barriers:
- ITAR restrictions, security clearances, and the highly specialized nature of aerospace limit the available engineering pool for both hardware and software roles (07:00).
- SpaceX as the Exception:
- Due to its compelling mission and culture, SpaceX could attract top talent in both software and hardware, allowing for more cross-disciplinary innovation (06:18).
3. The State of the Market & Need for Change
- Maturing Marketplace:
- The space sector is becoming more mature; the “build software as you go” attitude is no longer viable given the scale and criticality of missions (09:01).
- Observations from Maria:
“It seemed almost like an afterthought or just build it in half house and figure it out.”
— Maria Varmazis (09:06)
- Growing Importance of Data and Observability:
- Modern missions generate immense data volumes, but current tools are poorly equipped for real-time analysis, especially for users without software engineering backgrounds (10:17–11:07).
4. What Sift Does
- Bridging Software Best Practices to Hardware:
- Sift offers data infrastructure and observability tools designed specifically for the massive sensor data and unique user needs in advanced hardware industries, making it easy for non-coders (technicians, engineers, execs) to understand and act on data (10:17–11:07).
- Quote:
“We sell data infrastructure and data observability tools... bringing those concepts to the world of hardware.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (10:19)
- Technical Challenges:
- Existing mainstream tools (e.g., browser-based dashboards, SQL databases) can’t handle the volume, speed, or diversity of hardware data.
- Sift’s solutions are architected for high-frequency, high-volume streams, delivering actionable, low-code insights to a wide range of users.
5. Why This Matters: Reducing Cost and Risk
- Operational Efficiency and Risk Management:
- Sift aims to automate routine review and analysis work, liberating engineers from repetitive manual tasks so they can focus on problem-solving and innovation (12:29–14:18).
- Enabling Success Under Pressure:
- He references SpaceX’s critical fourth launch, underscoring how margin for error is slim in aerospace.
“What if that fourth launch didn’t make it... What if they actually needed to get there on three launches and they never even did that fourth launch?”
— Kartik Gollapudi (12:10) - Streamlining the engineering workflow reduces both costs and the risk of human error.
- He references SpaceX’s critical fourth launch, underscoring how margin for error is slim in aerospace.
6. The Vision for Sift and the Future of Hardware/Software
- Beyond Space:
- Sift’s tools are applicable across industries—rail, maritime, energy—where data complexity outpaces existing solutions (15:25).
- “Our first customer was actually a train company... all sorts of hardware. And believe it or not, most hardware actually has like the same issues.” (15:25)
- Building the ‘Atlassian’ for Hardware:
- Sift aspires to be the unified backend for the hardware development lifecycle, akin to Atlassian for software development (17:30).
- Goal: accelerate R&D, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance with a flexible, high-performance middleware.
- Driving the Sci-Fi Future:
- Kartik passionately believes better technology infrastructure—especially at the data layer—will enable humanity's expansion into space and solve pressing global issues like energy and water scarcity.
- Quote:
“My goal is how do you create a science fiction reality and make all these... everything that's a challenge in the world really can just be solved with better technology.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (14:13)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “Most of it was just cat herding to get people up to space.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (03:51) - “The people who have the ability and autonomy to fix the problems... are not doing it for themselves.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (05:42) - “They [engineers] run a test, they open this in Jupyter Notebooks, or MathLab, or run some Python scripts… it’s a very manual process.”
— Kartik Gollapudi (13:23) - “How do you bring all these best practices towards building an ecosystem of products for building modern machines reliably?”
— Kartik Gollapudi (16:43)
Key Timestamps
- 01:38–03:55: Kartik’s personal background and path into aerospace
- 04:45–06:13: The hardware-first mentality and space industry’s software lag
- 10:17–11:07: Sift’s approach and the unique data challenges in aerospace
- 12:10: The NASA contract story and importance of reducing launch risk
- 14:13: Kartik’s vision for a “science fiction reality” through better technology
- 15:25: Sift’s cross-industry applications and goal to build a unified tool ecosystem
- 17:30: Atlassian-for-hardware analogy and the product roadmap
Conclusion
This episode provides a fascinating exploration of a crucial, often underappreciated challenge in the space industry—the technological gap between rapidly maturing software practices and the entrenched hardware mindset. Kartik Gollapudi offers both historical context and a look toward a future where next-generation data tools can propel not just space, but all hardware-centric industries, toward new heights of speed, safety, and innovation.
More about Sift: siftstack.com