What if I told you the final frontier wasn’t in space…but rather, in Pittsburgh, PA?
And taking off, in part, thanks to this guy’s “space Lego” designs?
It’s true — and it’s right here in the newest Thought Liters, featuring Mitch Fogelson, Co-Founder & CEO of Beyond Reach Labs:
The 2×4 of Lunar Infrastructure
Here’s the deal: building in space kinda sucks. It’s a logistical nightmare, and the space constraints are brutal (cargo space is surprisingly small compared to the size of a rocket). How hard is it? Try to fit a skyscraper into a minivan and then come back to me.
As a fun bonus, the stakes are wildly high. Projects like the James Webb Telescope often run years behind schedule and billions over budget, because:
You can’t just expect astronauts to build complex structures for you up there, and
it’s not like you can’t just send a repair crew if a latch gets stuck.
To build the future, we need a way to pack massive infrastructure into tiny spaces and ensure it deploys perfectly, millions of miles away. Sounds easy, right?
Mitch’s Focus: “Physical Intelligence”
While the tech world obsesses over AI brains, Mitch is focused on designing a superior robotic body: standardized structures that fold down to mere inches yet expand up to 50 times their size in orbit. Think of it as the "IKEA of space," but without the frustrating assembly. Through it, you can deploy massive solar arrays or habitats from a standard rocket fairing, effectively solving the volume constraints that have plagued space engineers for decades.
It’s all too fitting that this should be happening in Pittsburgh, where space innovation isn’t alien to anyone. Companies like Astrobotic and organizations like the Keystone Space Collaborative also helping to unite the broader region to champion the next generation of space infrastructure.
So it might be in space…but Mitch isn’t building in a vacuum!! (ba dum tss, I’ll be here all week.)
Why You Should Watch
I really liked this episode because we got physical and intelligent. Specifically:
You’ll See the Structures: Mitch actually brought a few demonstrations with him to the recording, so you can actually visualize what he’s talking about. That was a first for the show.
We Get Down to Earth: From Taylor Swift’s tour logistics to backpack cell towers, we bring the conversation down to earth to explore practical applications anyone can relate to. No PhD in “space stuff” required.
Pittsburgh’s New Legacy: In a town renowned for oil and steel, Mitch represents the true new frontier for the region. It nothing else, that new generation of innovation deserves attention.
So blast off with us, won’t you?
This is the fifth installment of the “Six Pack” series, in partnership with Innovation Works.
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Cheers!
Adam
