Chris Lewicki

I help bridge bold space ideas to reality.
Former NASA Engr/Flight Director, Planetary Resources CEO/co-founder.
Building tools from lessons learned both ways.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@gregisenberg Both proud/not-proud to have an A-list partner at an A-list VC firm exclaim during my pitch and demo:

"I would *love* to lose money on this investment!"

after which he left the room and brought back more people to hear the pitch, and ultimately didn't invest.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

Considering time, focus, & risk,
Will @elonmusk finally be able to afford going to space after the IPO?

[Peter H. Diamandis, MD @PeterDiamandis]

I believe we all have the opportunity to go to space. The price collapse is just inevitable.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@brettcalhounn You have a system for your TASKS.
You have a calendar for your SCHEDULE.
You have a accounting for your BUDGET.

But what do you have for your high-impact risks and opportunities?

https://t.co/0aoWHtHZA7 fills that gap.
Turn 3am anxiety into clear next steps.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

I once pitched a partner at a VC firm, who informed he was late because someone in his family had some accident.

I urged him to reschedule the meeting and return to his family, but he insisted on continuing because I had traveled for the pitch.

After listening to the pitch, he spent the remaining time berating me for pitching him, as I already had investors with more capital than he.

Apparently I should have asked them for more instead of asking him.

[GREG ISENBERG @gregisenberg]

I was once pitching in a board room at a top 3 VC firm for a $15M Series A.

12 people in the meeting. One of the GPs fully fell asleep. Out cold for 30+ minutes. Nobody acknowledged it. Everyone just kept going.

I kept presenting my Series A slides to an unconscious man in a Herman Miller chair and somehow that was considered normal. That's venture capital.

You might fly across the country to perform for people who may or may not be conscious.

It's a dance.

And sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow and sometimes your partner is unconscious.

If you're raising right now, just know: every founder has a story like this. The process is weird. The power dynamic is weird. You're not crazy for thinking it's weird.

No one talks about it because they want to continue raising. But I'm happy to stick my neck out there.

It is weird.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

Very interesting. At full capacity, the orbital data center orbital shells are spaced out at ~8km between satellites (about 1 second at orbital velocities).

Orbit raising (or falling) for *anything* across these altitudes will be quite a frogger run though, especially if they can't impulse burn "around" it.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

The "space is big" argument is relevant when considering all of Earth orbit. But as @StephenFleming indicates, this is analogous to "car accidents happen on roadways" despite Earth being big.

When every 1M+ space data center satellite wants to deploy in retrograde sun sync, the volume of desirable Earth orbit shrinks considerably to a narrow set of lanes, as @JoelSercel points out with the swept-area per day.

And then safety is only maximized by satellites *that can maneuver*. Every derelict satellite or FOD becomes a risk to the rest of the ecosystem.

I think it would be in newly-wealthy SpaceX shareholders' interest to fund an Space Debris XPRIZE so that their aspirations of a highly valuable Earth-orbiting constellation (and their future share price!) can be realized without space-environmental threat! This is no longer a problem when we can manage and remove the offending space debris!

Elon doesn't think this is a problem (MoonShot podcast, January 2026), but as Upton Sinclair said: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his [net worth] depends on [investors] not understanding it."

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@IanCinnamon @Apex_Satellites Congrats!
I will need to bump my credit limit on Apple Pay!

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@TWC_Design Looks like a fun build!
That 2° cut on the chop-saw looks scary. Suggested approach to making it safe, or nothing to fear?
(because shallow cut)

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@dylan @fikocian @sunilnagaraj @sunilnagaraj is among my favorite investors who "didn't invest."

All-around helpful, insightful, and advancing the craft for space/deep-tech investors and entrepreneurs alike.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@MattGialich The metric is measured at AM0 considering the power panel (supporting structure, mechanisms, wiring, cells etc.) only.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@MattGialich Sure about that? (seems low)

King of the hill still appears to be the UltraFlex array, first flown on the Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008. Now flying on Northrop's ISS resupply missions.

175-220 W/kg depending on config.

https://t.co/OXHwfbpgK2

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@RaminNasibov SpaceWard Ho!

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@RaminNasibov Outpost: Build Mankind's Future in Space

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@dylan @SimoneSyed It's space robot turtles all the way down, and it always has been.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@aaronburnett As currently contemplated, top prize is

"$20M to the first team to remove 2 objects, 200kg or greater from LEO."

To allow for 2nd and 3rd place winners, plus milestones and testing, its about $70M in total of funding required - most not due until someone wins it!

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@MattGialich @AstroForge Co-signed. The lack of a regular, reliable, affordable launch opportunity with a C3>0 was why we never swung for an interplanetary mission at Planetary Resources.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@paulg I've always preferred the "how many miracles" test. If your business plan requires more than one miracle, its probably best to choose something else.

[Chris Lewicki @interplanetary]

@TaylorCSargent Not great data to support the cost of launch coming down. The market may trend towards “premium payloads” that are less launch-price-sensitive due to their higher future cash value.