Why not start a rocket company?

You might love your job — but every now and then, you may hear about a business and think, ‘why didn’t I come up with that?’

“Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio knows a thing or two about that and has been collecting those moments. And in the lead-up to his final day hosting the program, he’s talking with entrepreneurs behind some of the most envy-inducing business models — in a new series called “Business Envy.”

As the crew of the Artemis II mission fly around the moon, this segment heads to outer space. David spoke with Sascha Deri, founder and CEO of bluShift Aerospace, a rocket startup based in Maine. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

David Brancaccio: You and your team are making rockets to do what?

Sascha Deri: So, we're making rocket propulsion systems to ultimately support research in space and to, frankly, take over solid rocket motors in the marketplace. Those motors are used for, you think of the space shuttle strap-on boosters, but also for developing new hypersonic capabilities in the United States, as well as ultimately reaching the stars.

Brancaccio: Where are you in development? I mean, can you do it now?

Deri: So, we launched a small prototype after a NASA grant back in 2021 and for the last several years, thanks to investors across the nation and also federal funds, we are on the cusp of launching our full-size engine in a suborbital space launch, probably from Spaceport America in the next 12 months.

Brancaccio: If all goes well, how high will you get? Will you cross the von Kármán Line and actually be in space? I know you're not going into orbit.

Deri: Yes, that's right. So, this is just a single engine configuration. We'll be going up to space coming back down. The goal is to a bare minimum, make it beyond not only 80 kilometers, but beyond 100 kilometers. So the idea is to get above 100 kilometers, the Kármán line, and ultimately, go much, much farther, potentially up to about the altitude of the space station, of course, when it's not there.

Brancaccio: Now, to do what, though, I mean, hoist smaller satellites, research, all of the above?

Deri: Yeah. So the opportunity is largely for research. This is to carry, whether it's civil, academic, commercial experiments and technology up into space, into a relevant environment provided with that zero-G experience, and do it longer than, say, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. Do it today, but also to prove out our engine’s capabilities, so that we can sell it to other markets where we can directly replace solid rocket motors, which are in severe shortage.

Brancaccio: People talk about an emerging space economy. It sounds like you are part of that emerging space economy.

Deri: We really are. And I think, you know, I think we're in this really interesting era where, you know, something that was left to just governments has become, now, a growing industry for us here.

Brancaccio: You talked about launching the next prototype from what is actually Western New Mexico, not too far from White Sands Spaceport America. Could you launch on the Atlantic side of Maine?

Deri: We certainly can. And I think one of the things that is surprising, if not jarring, is that we can do it in part from Maine because of the non-toxicity of our propellant. So you know, here in Maine, we really love the state that we're in, in part because of its beauty, of its natural landscape, because of the environment around us, and preserving that. It's really, I think, critical to any company looking to do launches, and we can do that and say that if our rocket was just to tip sideways and just fall right into the ocean as opposed to launching, we know that we wouldn't be polluting the environment that that we're in.