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The GeneralistAuthor: Mario Gabriele
The future is already here. Its just not evenly distributed. The Generalist Podcast brings you weekly conversations with the people who live in these pockets of the future visionary founders, prescient investors, and original thinkers. Each episode is designed to introduce you to new ideas, technologies, and markets and help you prepare for the world of tomorrow. Language: en Genres: Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Programming Sunlight: How Reflect Orbital Is Building Satellites to Redirect Light From Space (Ben Nowack, Founder & CEO)
Tuesday, 20 January, 2026
Most energy conversations start with scarcity. This one starts with abundance. Sunlight powers nearly everything on Earth, directly or indirectly. And yet we have almost no control over when or where we get it. Ben Nowack thinks that’s a solvable problem. Ben is the founder and CEO of Reflect Orbital, a company building satellites designed to redirect sunlight from space—not as a thought experiment, but as a product. The company nearly died before it worked. Eight months in, Ben had $300 left and was living in a garage. He made a deliberate decision to go $50,000 into credit card debt to finish critical tests. At one point, he was down to $21 of available credit. A month later, Reflect raised its first round. Today, the company is preparing to launch its first revenue-generating satellites. This is a conversation about building conviction, finding the real market, and what changes when a fundamental resource becomes programmable.In our conversation, we explore:How Reflect’s satellites workThe surprising pivot from energy to lighting applications that made the business immediately viableBen’s remarkable journey from building RC planes and X-ray machines in high school to founding ReflectWhy previous attempts at space mirrors failed and what’s changed to make this possible nowThe near-death moment when Ben went $50,000 into credit card debt to keep his vision aliveHow Reflect plans to scale from moonlight-level brightness to potentially powering solar farmsThe company’s first satellite launches planned for this year, and their path to a full constellationThe wide range of applications, from emergency response to municipal lighting to agriculture—Timestamps(00:00) Introduction to Ben Nowack(02:26) What Reflect Orbital is building(05:07) How the satellite constellation works(08:00) What Reflect is launching this year(10:35) Finding early markets(13:43) Ben’s childhood and early building experiences(22:04) What Ben learned working for startups(28:03) High school projects: X-ray machines, rocket engines, and fusion reactors(33:14) The eureka moment that led to Reflect(35:24) Early validation of the idea(38:35) The Russian space mirror experiments of the 1990s and what’s changed(42:31) Partnering with Tristan Similac as co-founder(45:05) Baiju Bhatt’s involvement(47:04) Why Reflect isn’t pivoting to space-based data centers(50:54) Common misconceptions about Reflect’s technology(55:11) Why programmable light is valuable(1:01:28) Initial target markets(1:03:42) The future markets for Reflect(1:07:33) Reflect’s company culture and operational philosophy(1:12:05) Surprises and struggles in building Reflect(1:14:56) Putting the idea to the test—Follow Ben NowackLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-nowackX: https://x.com/bennbuilds—Resources and episode mentions—People—Vladimir Syromyatnikov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_SyromyatnikovTristan Semmelhack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-semmelhack-6a1ba0149Baiju Bhatt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bprafulkumarMarc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarcaJ.P. Morgan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._P._MorganRic Burton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardjburton—Other resources—Reflect Orbital: https://www.reflectorbital.comZipline: https://www.zipline.comCassegrain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassegrain_reflectorAdvanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3): https://www.nasa.gov/mission/acs3Znamya: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Znamya_(satellite)Aetherflux: https://www.aetherflux.comElon Musk’s post on X about building a sentient sun: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1985048731818094950Denali: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.
