Yanni Barghouty is co-founder and CEO of Cosmic Shielding Corporation (CSC), a company developing next-generation radiation shielding for the space industry. In this Astro Ben Podcast interview, host Ben Gamble talks with him about why protecting people and hardware from radiation is such a hard problem.
Yanni describes his path from biomedical engineering to space entrepreneurship, the startup phase and working with a business partner, and the work of launching and testing the product. He also explains how ordering works, the difficulty of developing advanced radiation-protection materials, whether AI has a role in shielding design, and what the future of space safety and human spaceflight may require.
If you are interested in space radiation, crew safety or building a hardware startup in the space industry, this episode offers a candid look at all three. For more, hear Nicolina Elrick on flying with Blue Origin or Camille Wardrop Alleyne on NASA and STEM, or browse the full Astro Ben Podcast archive.
What you will hear
What Cosmic Shielding Corporation is and why it exists
The startup phase, and launching and testing the product
The ordering process
Challenges of new technologies and of protecting crews
Whether AI has a role in shielding design
The challenges of running a space company and the company opening for business
Guest links
Cosmic Shielding Corporation: Website, LinkedIn, X
Listen
Play this episode on Libsyn | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
New space interviews every week. Look up. Listen in.