# Solange Massa (CEO/Founder, Ecoatoms)

- Show: [Just Gonna Send It](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it)
- Published: 2026-01-07
- Length: 54m
- Episode: 10
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms

## Summary

Solange Massa, CEO and founder of EcoAtoms, explains her unconventional journey from professional opera singer to medical researcher and space payload builder. She details how a PhD struggle with sensor coating led to a NASA grant, resulting in four successful microgravity missions and the development of redundant, twin-payload designs. Massa discusses the high costs of space access, the technical challenges of thermal management for lunar missions, and her strategy of bootstrapping while seeking strategic venture capital to scale operations.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=0) Introduction: Solange Massa and EcoAtoms Payloads
- [1:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=113) The Economics of Space: SpaceX and Cost Comparisons
- [4:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=258) From Opera Singer to Medical Researcher
- [17:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=1029) PhD Struggles, Angel Investing, and the NASA Pitch
- [29:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=1776) Building the First Payload: Redundancy and Twin Design
- [36:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=2170) Vibration Testing, Fluidics, and Mission Success
- [38:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=2317) Lunar Challenges: Thermal Management and Biology
- [46:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms#t=2763) Bootstrapping, Team Culture, and Future Scaling

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- EcoAtoms (company)
- NASA (company)
- SpaceX (company)
- Blue Origin (company)
- Starship (product)
- Falcon 9 (product)
- New Glenn (product)
- Organs on a Chip (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Planet: Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-12-13-planet-will-marshall-and-robbie-schingler) (How I Built This)
- [Shooting for the moon with Steve Altemus of Intuitive Machines](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-12-21-shooting-for-the-moon-with-steve-altemus-of-intuitive-machines) (How I Built This)
- [Solving the Hydrogen Storage and Transport Challenge with Natasha Kostenuk, Founder and CEO of Ayrton Energy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-07-04-solving-the-hydrogen-storage-and-transport-challenge-with-natasha-kostenuk-found) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [KiwiCo: Sandra Oh Lin](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-12-25-kiwico-sandra-oh-lin) (How I Built This)
- [The Pilot: Unveiling the Blueprint of "The Builder Circle"](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-05-13-the-pilot-unveiling-the-blueprint-of-the-builder-circle) (The Builder Circle)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2026-01-07-solange-massa-ceo-founder-ecoatoms. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Just Gonna Send It.