CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:23
Space guns as a path to radically cheaper launch
Mike Grace lays out Longshot’s core thesis: instead of using rockets, build enormous ground-based “space guns” to throw payloads toward space. He frames the upside as civilizational—if launch costs collapse, large-scale space industry becomes feasible.
- •Longshot’s approach is kinetic launch: “throw stuff to space,” not rockets
- •Claimed potential: dramatically lower cost to orbit enabling space development
- •Current system described as the largest gun on the planet
- •Early performance framing (e.g., Mach speeds) and ambitious vision
- 1:23 – 2:56
Inside Longshot’s facility and how the multi-injection gun works
A tour of the test site (a former naval gun range) introduces Longshot’s hardware and operating concept. Instead of one explosive impulse, the accelerator uses many small gas injections over a long barrel—hence “Longshot.”
- •Facility heritage: indoor cannon testing range used for naval weapons development
- •Multi-injection gas gun: many pulses rather than a single ‘boom’
- •Scale plan: a future half-kilometer accelerator in Barstow, CA
- •Target capability discussed: ~100 kg to around Mach 5 for next system
- 2:56 – 3:49
Why space needs a ‘cargo ship,’ not just ‘airplanes’
Grace argues that rockets are analogous to aircraft—useful, but insufficient for building a full space civilization. For sustained off-world industry, Earth needs something ship-like: high-throughput, low-cost logistics for mass cargo.
- •Analogy: Hawaii’s imports illustrate how economies rely on bulk transport
- •Rockets alone can’t economically move the volume needed for space industry
- •Longshot positioned as infrastructure for high-throughput space logistics
- •Focus on moving tools/materials/consumables at scale
- 3:49 – 5:17
The nonconformist mindset required to build contrarian startups
Grace connects his unconventional upbringing and learning struggles to the psychological traits needed for a company like Longshot. He claims deep-tech startups often require believing ‘everyone else is wrong’—and persisting through repeated rejection.
- •Personal background: instability, late reading, outsider identity
- •Choosing not to fit in as a coping strategy that later becomes an asset
- •Startups as assertions that prevailing consensus is wrong
- •Acknowledges the risk: most nonconformists don’t succeed
- 5:17 – 6:56
Why rockets dominate: history, weapons, and path dependence
Grace challenges the assumption that rockets won because they’re the best solution. He argues modern rocketry is the result of Cold War weapons spending, workforce formation, and infrastructure lock-in—not a clean first-principles choice for cheap access to space.
- •Alternative hypothesis: rockets scaled primarily for nuclear delivery, not commerce
- •Massive state investment created entrenched rocket ecosystems
- •Marginal cost mattered less for military use cases
- •Contrarian premise: a different launch paradigm could win on economics
- 6:56 – 8:49
Prototype hardware: the small gun, projectiles, and practical test constraints
The team shows the bench-scale accelerator and explains how projectiles are designed and fabricated for frequent iteration. Cost and build time drive why simpler projectiles are used for many tests before moving to more complex vehicle designs.
- •Bench prototype of the multi-injection ‘super gun’ concept
- •Typical test prep timelines: hours to fabricate and stage shots
- •Tradeoff: $200 simple projectile vs. $2,000 complex projectile
- •Barrel/breech overview and basic loading process
- 8:49 – 9:50
Range safety and scrappy engineering solutions
Longshot’s testing environment mixes serious safety requirements with pragmatic, low-cost solutions. They walk through noise reduction, high-speed imaging setup, and a surprisingly improvised recovery system using a concrete-filled safe and salvaged carpet.
- •Noise mitigation: baffling and an indoor range setup
- •High-speed camera lighting and instrumentation needs
- •Projectile recovery: concrete-filled safe + used carpet to reduce debris
- •Culture of practical solutions that enable rapid testing
- 9:50 – 10:38
From backyard potato guns to Air Force funding
Grace recounts early, dangerous backyard experiments that proved enough to win initial government interest. The story emphasizes traction through demonstration, even when the hardware is crude and risky by later standards.
- •Early prototype: PVC ‘potato gun’ style gas launcher
- •Acknowledges catastrophic danger (pressure vessels exploding)
- •Demonstration value: convinced the U.S. Air Force to fund work
- •Transition from hobbyist builds to formal programs
- 10:38 – 11:43
‘Build a bad prototype first’ and finding an intermediate business model
Grace explains how imperfect prototypes can unlock credibility and funding—and why waiting for a polished demo can be fatal. He also describes how Longshot reframed itself: near-term hypersonics work as a viable stepping-stone to the longer-term space launch mission.
- •Philosophy: worst workable prototype beats perfect plans
- •SBIR funding and extreme resource constraints (dumpster-sourced materials)
- •Key lesson: ‘builders’ signal matters to funders and partners
- •Pivot in narrative: hypersonics/defense as an intermediate, fundable market
- 11:43 – 14:12
Pitching reality: the first 60 tries, cash scarcity, and repeated near-bankruptcies
The conversation turns to startup survival mechanics: learning to communicate the story, raising capital, and operating on the edge. Grace describes multiple periods within months of failure and the personal sacrifices required to keep the company alive.
- •Pitch evolution: needed a story intelligible to outsiders
- •Iterating pitches in Silicon Valley’s high-volume investor environment
- •Nearly bankrupt at least three times (by his definition)
- •Personal runway: spouse-supported period and a critical early $20K check
- 14:12 – 15:57
Radical transparency: everyone knows everyone’s pay and equity
Grace details Longshot’s unusual compensation and communication philosophy. By making salaries and equity fully visible—and warning early about financial risk—the company tries to replace surprise layoffs with informed consent and trust.
- •Company-wide visibility into salaries and equity (including CEO’s)
- •Open communication about fundraising status and financial risk
- •Contrast with common startup practice of sudden shutdowns/layoffs
- •Transparency framed as a form of compensation and fairness
- 15:57 – 18:45
Test-day procedures and lessons from ‘every imaginable failure’
The team walks through pre-shot steps: ensuring vacuum integrity, documenting projectile loading, and operational checks. They also share hard-earned lessons from prior failures, including expensive helium loss incidents and how small mistakes cascade in high-energy systems.
- •Why they photograph setups: preventing avoidable procedural mistakes
- •System maturity: ~150+ shots on the accelerator
- •Failure catalog mindset: scary in the moment, educational afterward
- •Anecdote: pressure sensor bung failure and scrambling to save helium
- 18:45 – 21:16
Key technical risk: surviving Max-Q at extreme speed near sea level
Grace and engineering lead Alexander Stroud explain why scaling the gun may be easier than building a vehicle that can survive atmospheric exit conditions. Longshot’s ‘Max-Q’ happens immediately at muzzle exit, pushing thermal and structural loads beyond historical flight regimes.
- •Scaling claim: gun-side could reach ~13–14 km/s (gas-gun upper range)
- •Core unknown: vehicle survivability through dense lower atmosphere
- •Max-Q framing: peak pressure/heat occurs right after leaving the barrel
- •Advantage: cheap, frequent ground tests enable rapid iteration without flight permits
- 21:16 – 27:07
The test fire, results, and what success ultimately means
A full countdown and firing sequence culminates in a successful shot, followed by projectile inspection and interpretation. Grace closes by explaining his ‘economist’ approach to innovation, a playful first payload idea, and a definition of success tied to opening space to ordinary people—not just billionaires or astronauts.
- •Operational sequence: pressurization, polling, countdown, shot execution
- •Post-shot assessment: projectile breakup patterns are data, not just damage
- •Innovation philosophy: minimize novelty; use incentives/markets to drive change
- •End vision: launch access enabling broad human settlement and off-world industry
