Launch economics.Orbital spectrum.Sovereign stacks.The physics, capital, and politics of orbit.
Independent analysis on what's shaping the orbital economy.
the work
The orbital economy,
one post at a time.
Launch Economics
SpaceX's 33rd booster landing and the compounding cost curve
SpaceX just landed a booster for the 33rd time. For decades, the industry didn't think reuse was worth the trade-off at all.
Mar 10, 2026 · 62,000+ impressions
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on record
“At $20,000/kg, only governments built constellations. At $200/kg, applications that don't yet have business models are viable.”
the thesis
The biggest infrastructure buildout in history is underway, from the ground to orbit. We go inside the engineering, the capital, and the companies most coverage never reaches.
That's the research.
That's the podcast.
That's The Digital Backbone.
the analyst
Bryan Tarras, M.Eng.
Five years on the internal hedge fund desk at one of Canada's largest pension funds. Helped design and manage a $3B activist and SMID cap portfolio across TMT, space tech, and digital infrastructure. Infrastructure engineer before that. AI operator at Boosted.ai. Now publishing independent research on the companies building the orbital economy.
Engineer · Institutional Investor · AI Operator
from launch pad to orbit
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Long-form analysis. Engineering depth, institutional context, and the stories most coverage misses.