Orbital Operations: Rewriting Orbital Physics for Space Mobility

Orbital Operations is building high-thrust, cryogenic spacecraft designed to move freely in orbit—reshaping how we think about mobility, defense, and logistics in space.

Cofounder & CEO Benjamin Schleuniger joins Initialized Managing Partner Brett Gibson on High Bit to talk about the next generation of spacecraft that will move, refuel, and think for themselves:

• Why satellites need to move — the rise of in-space mobility
• How cryogenic propulsion unlocks long-duration missions
• The refrigeration-cycle tech enabling propellant storage in orbit
• Military and logistics use cases driving demand
• Refueling with water to extend mission life
• The third age of space mobility and what it enables
• How AI and autonomy will power future spacecraft

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:10 What Orbital Operations is building and why it matters

01:26 Ben’s path: NASA → SpaceX → Relativity

02:17 Why satellites need to move now

04:30 Basics of propulsion and why mobility is limited in space

05:55 Satellites vs rockets: propellant tradeoffs

08:30 Choosing cryogenic propellants and rethinking storage

10:15 The refrigeration-cycle system that makes it possible

17:00 Thermal management and engineering challenges in orbit

22:30 Military and logistics use cases for in-space mobility

25:40 Refueling with water and the future of orbital logistics

27:50 Engineering vs. business challenges of building in space

30:50 Scaling missions and the path to commercial viability

33:30 The third age of space mobility and what comes next

35:20 AI tools in aerospace and autonomy in orbit

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Follow Orbital Operations and Benjamin Schleuniger on X for more:

@OrbitalOps_

@BenSchleuniger