Hardware Podcasts

HIBT Lab! Ursa Major: Joe Laurienti

How I Built This · 20 Apr 2023 · 38m

What this episode covers

Joe Laurienti, founder and CEO of Ursa Major, explains how he leveraged his experience at SpaceX and Blue Origin to launch a company focused on 3D-printed rocket engines in 2015. He details the strategic decision to use additive manufacturing to reduce part count and cost, the company's early adoption of off-the-shelf metals before developing proprietary alloys, and the rapid 'fail fast' testing philosophy that defined their prototype development. Laurienti also discusses the geopolitical shift following the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea, which created a domestic supply gap for rocket engines, and Ursa Major's current role in supporting both commercial space launches and U.S. hypersonic defense programs.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Ursa Major, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences
Products
Falcon 9, Dragon, Hadley, Ripley, Arrowway, Starlink, SLS

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