Latest news with #PortalSpaceSystems
Axios
30-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Jeff Thornburg: U.S. and allies jeopardized by "broken" acquisition system
The current military model for trying and buying weapons and technology is the "biggest risk" to the U.S. and its friends abroad, according to Portal Space Systems CEO Jeff Thornburg. "The allied nations, Five Eyes, AUKUS, NATO, take your pick — the acquisition process is too slow and broken. Requirements development process? Broken," he told Axios in an interview. "It's taking too long to field systems the warfighters need right now, or they needed years ago." Why he matters: Thornburg is an industry veteran. He led development of SpaceX's Raptor engine and has ties to Stratolaunch, Ursa Major and Amazon's Kuiper. Q: When you hear "future of defense" what comes to mind? A: "All things space" is the shortest answer. But, really, there is not a single land, air or sea mission that doesn't require a space asset. Space programs, the Space Force and space missions, in general, are the future of defense for the U.S. and all allied nations. Q: What's a national security trend we aren't paying enough attention to? A: Quantum encryption and decryption is not something that people are keeping an eye on. But our adversaries are. Q: What region of the world should we be watching? Why? A: The obvious one is the South China Sea, just because of China's plans for Taiwan. But that's everybody's answer. We need to be looking at the engagements in the Middle East, Ukraine and South China Sea collectively, because China is watching the U.S. response in all of these areas and making calculations. In my opinion, there's not one region. But, collectively, we need to be paying attention to all these hot spots and how they're draining our military capacity, because that's going to be an indicator to our adversaries on when they should make their move. Q: How many emails do you get a day, and how do you deal with them? A: Probably well over 100. I like this question, because it's all a game of prioritization. I have a multifaceted approach to email. Obviously, I organize them as best I can. I never delete anything because I like the metadata searches for stuff. Part of it is my assistant helping me prioritize tasks. Sometimes there's a bit of an insurance company approach here. I know what's most critical for the business every week, and that's where I focus my attention. Q: What time do you wake up? What does the morning routine look like? A: Most of the time it's 6-6:30 am. My wife and I have a small little farm outside Seattle. So I wake up, I try very hard not to look at my phone, and take care of the animals. Then grab coffee and some time to chat about the day with my wife, and then, normally, start to get into meetings any time between 8 and 9 am. That kind of starts the day.
Geek Wire
17-06-2025
- Business
- Geek Wire
Portal Space Systems plans to put spacecraft manufacturing facility near Seattle-area hub
Portal CEO Jeff Thornburg says the company is expanding its footprint in Bothell, Wash. (Portal Space Systems Photo) Portal Space Systems says it's decided to set up its 50,000-square-foot spacecraft manufacturing facility just 3 miles away from its existing design and testing hub in Bothell, Wash. By the end of 2026, the factory should be ready to start producing Portal's Supernova space vehicles, which are being designed to use an innovative solar thermal propulsion system to maneuver payloads between orbital locations. 'With growing demand from both our commercial and defense partners, this new facility marks the next strategic step in Portal's evolution,' Portal CEO Jeff Thornburg said today, in a news release that was issued in conjunction with the Paris Air Show. 'By expanding our footprint in Bothell, we're doubling down on local talent, proximity to core operations, and a growing aerospace ecosystem supported by state leadership.' Today's announcement builds on other recent signs of Portal's progress, including the closing of a $17.5 million seed funding round and the announcement of an on-orbit demonstration mission that's due to ride aboard Momentus' Vigoride 7 orbital service vehicle in 2026. Portal said the newly announced facility will become the principal site for activities including manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing, research and development, and advanced engineering. The facility is expected to add more than 100 new jobs in the region over the next two to three years. By 2027, Portal plans to produce one Supernova per month. Supernova's sun-powered propulsion system is meant to provide the capability for rapid orbital adjustments. That capability is becoming increasingly important for a couple of reasons. One reason has to do with the need for more responsive space traffic management, due to the growing number of commercial satellites in low Earth orbit. The other has to do with the Pentagon's need to respond rapidly to potential space-based threats from rivals such as China and Russia. Last year, Portal won $45 million in financial support for Supernova's development through SpaceWERX's STRATFI program — a public-private initiative aimed at facilitating the delivery of strategic capabilities for the U.S. Space Force.
