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Sascha Deri, founder and CEO of bluShift Aerospace, builds hybrid rocket engines that aren't explosive, can throttle, and can sit on a shelf ready to go. He joins Chris Lustrino from his test cell at a former Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine.
Before bluShift, Sascha spent 25 years building a solar e-commerce company to nearly $40 million in revenue. He explains what a hybrid rocket actually is, and why both the solid-rocket and liquid-rocket camps ignore it. He also explains how safety turns into a business advantage: lower R&D cost, no explosive safety radius around the factory, and motors you can store like ordinary inventory.
Two and a half years ago, an astronaut advisor told Sascha the solid rocket motor crisis was real, and bluShift pivoted to it. Today it's working with a hypersonics company that needs a booster it can test quickly. Sascha says bluShift comes in at about a quarter of the cost of the solid motor that customer was planning to buy.
In this episode:
● From solar e-commerce to rocket propulsion
● Hybrid rockets explained: solid fuel, liquid oxidizer
● Why solid and liquid rocket engineers both ignore hybrids
● The solid rocket motor shortage and bluShift's pivot to defense
● Suborbital research with four to eight minutes of microgravity
● Seven-figure, milestone-based contracts with a hypersonics customer
● Why bluShift is building a smaller 15-inch motor to move faster
● Doing a lot with a little: concrete blocks, steel chambers and creative engineering
Guest: Sascha Deri, Founder & CEO, bluShift Aerospace
Host: Chris Lustrino, Founder & CEO, Kingscrowd
bluShift Aerospace is raising on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/blushift.aerospace
Kingscrowd rates bluShift 4.5 out of 5, and it's a Kingscrowd Top Deal. Kingscrowd Edge members can read the full analysis at kingscrowd.com.
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Disclosure: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy any security. Investing in early-stage companies is risky and illiquid, and you may lose your entire investment.
