Space Manufacturing

Bridgit Mendler Gives Us the First Tour of Northwood's New HQ + Factory

Aug 31, 2026 · 46:17

Bridgit Mendler, co-founder and CEO of Northwood Space, gives Molly O'Shea a tour of the new 185,000 sqft Torrance factory and argues the neglected ground segment is the space economy's biggest bottleneck. Northwood has raised over $136M since 2022, including a $100M Series B led by Washington Harbour and Andreessen Horowitz, and holds a $49.8M Space Force contract for the Satellite Control Network. The factory will 5x capacity, add 400 jobs, and support hundreds of antennas a year; she explains why ground tech hasn't changed since the 1990s and how Northwood brings Portal/Prism production, machining, PCB assembly, and anechoic testing in-house. She also covers site licensing, colocation, supply-chain choices, national-security concerns, and mission ops moving into the former movie theater.

Inside Rocket Lab: How Sir Peter Beck Is Building Neutron’s Engines | Tour 02

Aug 28, 2026 · 28:03

Sir Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, gives a tour of its Engine Development Center, where 3D printing makes most of his engines, including the reusable Archimedes for Neutron. He explains why methane was chosen for quick turnaround, how the $100 million Virgin Orbit facility was bought for $16 million, and how a production line can make an Archimedes every eight days. Such engines must survive 40 starts and one hour of burns, while Electron's Rutherford has flown 93 times—the second most launched rocket behind Falcon 9—with over 930 engines sent to space. Beck also emphasizes vertical integration and shares his hot take that 'the biggest thing to be done in space hasn't even been thought about.'