Electric Propulsion with Todd Bailey
Todd Bailey, who previously worked at Lockheed Martin, Astra, and Apollo Fusion, discusses his journey into electric propulsion and the founding of Starlight Engines, which was recently acquired by Muon Space. He details the engineering challenges of designing a Hall effect thruster that uses solid zinc propellant instead of gas, focusing on the power processing unit and vaporization systems. Bailey reflects on his career transitions, the importance of rigorous requirements-driven design, and the business realities of building flight-ready hardware in the commercial space sector.