Before SpaceX was SpaceX—before reusable rockets landed on drone ships or astronauts flew aboard privately built spacecraft—it was just an idea. And Hans Koenigsmann was there when that idea took shape.
Interviewed by Elon Musk in his living room and brought on as SpaceX’s fourth technical hire, Hans was a cornerstone of the team that turned an audacious dream into a company that now dominates the launch industry. From assembling avionics systems with a credit card budget to solving the mysteries of rocket anomalies, Hans’s fingerprints are all over the milestones that redefined space exploration.
In this episode, he takes us back to the scrappy, electric early days of SpaceX, where desks were doors and failures were inevitable—but never final. He shares how his German engineering roots collided with California’s startup chaos, the art of managing risk when lives and millions of dollars are on the line, and what it feels like to lead through moments of triumph and catastrophe.
We also dive into the future of space: how Starship could reshape the entire industry, why reusability isn’t just economical but essential, and where Europe fits into this rapidly shifting landscape.
Hans is candid, insightful, and brimming with hard-won wisdom—this is a conversation you’ll want to sit down for.
Follow Hans:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-koenigsmann-2a141b5/
https://www.instagram.com/hanskoenigsmann/
https://x.com/HansKoenigsmann
Follow NewSpaceVision:
https://de.linkedin.com/company/newspacevision
https://twitter.com/newspacevision
https://www.instagram.com/newspacevision/
https://www.facebook.com/newspacevision/
https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/newspace/
This podcast is sponsored by LiveEO. For more information on how Earth observation can help your company, contact:
info@live-eo.com
podcast@newspace.vision
podcast@live-eo.com
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.