Max Arshavasky, Co-Founder and CEO of Zenno Astronautics – Interview Series

Max Arshavsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Zenno Astronautics, is an entrepreneur and engineer focused on developing superconducting technologies for use in space. He founded Zenno in 2017 while studying engineering at the University of Auckland, where the company later gained early momentum by winning the university’s Velocity $100K Challenge. Under his leadership, Zenno has progressed from an early-stage research concept to demonstrating superconducting technology in orbit, while forming relationships with major aerospace and technology organizations including Mitsubishi Electric. Arshavsky’s broader vision is centered on creating scalable infrastructure that allows spacecraft and future space-based industries to operate with less dependence on fuel and other resources supplied from Earth.

Zenno Astronautics is a New Zealand-based space technology company developing an electromagnetic platform built around superconducting magnetic systems. Its technology is designed for applications including fuel-free spacecraft positioning and attitude control, electromagnetic acceleration, and eventually radiation shielding and other infrastructure required for sustained activity in space. Its flagship Z01 Supertorquer uses a controllable magnetic field to interact with Earth’s magnetic field and adjust a satellite’s orientation without consuming propellant, and Zenno has successfully operated superconducting technology in orbit. The company is now moving toward commercialization and broader integration of its technology, including work with Mitsubishi Electric on evaluating and simulating the Z01 for future satellite missions.

You co-founded Zenno Astronautics in 2017 around the idea of using superconducting magnetic technologies in space. What originally convinced you that magnetism could become a practical foundation for spacecraft infrastructure, and how has that vision evolved as the company has moved from concept to hardware operating in orbit?

At some point, it became evident to me that humanity is expanding beyond Earth. That includes our technological expansion as well as, eventually, a much greater human presence in space. I started thinking about what that looks like at scale and what we would need to make it sustainable.

I came to the conclusion that we have to learn how to use the resources already available to us in space rather than continually relying on resources brought from Earth. One of the most abundant resources we have is solar energy. The question then becomes: how do you take that energy and convert it directly into useful physical work in space?

The answer was electromagnetism, and ultimately superconducting electromagnetism. If we can create extremely powerful magnetic systems that operate efficiently in space, we can begin using energy to perform work without relying on many of the consumable and mechanical systems spacecraft depend on today.

That was the fundamental idea behind Zenno. What has changed since 2017 is that it is no longer just a thesis. We have built the technology, flown superconducting magnetic systems in orbit, and are now working toward much broader applications. But the underlying vision is still the same: use the energy and resources already available in space to build the infrastructure required for a much larger human and technological presence beyond Earth.

Zenno successfully operated the Z01 Supertorquer aboard Impulse Space’s Mira spacecraft. What did that first in-orbit demonstration teach you about operating superconducting magnetic systems in the space environment, and which results were most important in validating the technology?

The most important result was very simple: it worked. The system operated successfully in orbit and demonstrated that a superconducting magnetic technology could perform reliably in the space environment.

That was important because we were establishing an entirely new class of technology for spacecraft. You can model and test extensively on Earth, but ultimately you have to prove that the hardware can survive launch, operate autonomously and perform as designed once it is in space.

The mission gave us that validation and, importantly, gave us experience that we could feed directly into the next generation of the technology. We learned how to make the system even more reliable and how to move from demonstrating that superconducting magnetic technology works in orbit toward building products that can be integrated into operational spacecraft.

The Z01 is now integrated aboard Portal Space Systems’ Starburst-1 satellite. What will this mission allow Zenno to demonstrate that was not possible during the Mira mission, and what would constitute a successful flight for the Supertorquer?

The Starburst-1 mission represents a significant increase in capability from what we previously demonstrated. The magnet aboard this mission is substantially more powerful than the system we flew previously, which allows us to begin testing applications beyond the initial demonstration of the technology.

One of the most important additions is radiation shielding. Starburst-1 carries a radiation sensor that will allow us to begin measuring how effectively a powerful superconducting magnetic field can protect a spacecraft from charged-particle radiation.

For us, a successful flight means demonstrating that the more powerful system performs reliably in orbit while also gathering useful data on the radiation environment and the effect of the magnetic field. That gives us another step toward understanding how superconducting magnetic technology can serve multiple functions aboard future spacecraft.

Conventional spacecraft typically rely on propellant-based systems, reaction wheels, or other mechanical technologies for maneuvering and attitude control. Where does the Supertorquer offer the biggest advantages in terms of spacecraft lifetime, mass, reliability, or mission flexibility?

The biggest advantages are reliability, longevity and affordability.

Many conventional spacecraft systems rely on mechanical components or consumables, and those systems can ultimately place limits on how long a spacecraft can operate. The advantage of electromagnetic technology is that we can approach some of these functions differently, using magnetic forces rather than relying entirely on conventional mechanical or propellant-based systems.

For operators, the goal is ultimately a spacecraft that can remain useful for longer, operate more reliably and reduce the cost associated with maintaining these capabilities throughout a mission. That becomes increasingly important as spacecraft are expected to operate for longer periods and perform more complex missions

Zenno is also exploring whether powerful superconducting magnetic fields can help shield spacecraft from charged-particle radiation. How promising is radiation shielding as a commercial application, and what still needs to be proven before magnetic shielding could protect sensitive electronics or eventually human crews?

We are still in the early stages of developing radiation shielding as a commercial application, so I want to be clear that Zenno does not currently have a radiation-shielding product on the market.

But we are investing in it because we see significant potential. Radiation is a fundamental challenge in space, both for sensitive electronics and, eventually, for humans operating beyond the protection we have on Earth. If powerful superconducting magnetic fields can be used to redirect charged particles, there is an opportunity to create a different approach to protecting spacecraft.

The next step is proving that capability in the actual space environment. That is one of the reasons the Starburst-1 mission is important: we will have a radiation sensor aboard the spacecraft and can begin gathering data on how the magnetic system interacts with the radiation environment.

My estimate is that we could potentially see radiation shielding develop into a commercial application within roughly five years, but there is still significant testing and engineering work required between demonstrating the underlying physics and delivering a commercial product.

Bringing superconductors from a laboratory environment into orbit presents very different engineering challenges. What have been the hardest problems to solve around thermal management, reliability, power consumption, and maintaining superconducting performance in space?

Moving a technology from the laboratory into space is hard because suddenly everything has to work together, reliably, in a very constrained environment.

The system has to survive launch. It has to operate autonomously. It has to be efficient and self-sustaining. It has to fit within a very small form factor, integrate properly with the spacecraft and meet the customer’s requirements. And all of that hardware has to arrive and integrate on schedule.

There are really multiple engineering transitions involved. First, you have to move from a laboratory system to something that can operate in space. Then you have to move from a technology demonstration in space to something that is genuinely usable as a commercial product. That second transition can be just as difficult because the technology has to meet the reliability, integration and performance standards expected by a customer.

For us, that has meant continually improving the system so that superconducting technology is not simply something we can demonstrate in orbit, but something that can become a practical part of spacecraft architecture.

How is Zenno using AI today, whether in electromagnetic modeling, simulation, hardware optimization, mission planning, testing, or analyzing data generated by systems such as the Z01?

One of the most interesting areas where we are already using Super Intelligence (SI) SIis in coordinating satellite swarms.

We have developed an AI-driven algorithm designed to orchestrate formations of satellites operating together through magnetic interactions. You can think of it somewhat like a school of fish or a flock of birds: there are many individual members, but collectively they move and behave as a single system.

The idea is that multiple spacecraft could maintain their relationship to one another using magnetic fields while the SI coordinates how the overall formation operates. That creates the possibility of building extremely large structures or systems in space from many smaller spacecraft rather than relying on one enormous vehicle.

For us, SI and electromagnetic technology are very complementary. The magnetic systems provide a new way for spacecraft to physically interact and operate together, while SI provides the intelligence required to coordinate increasingly complex formations autonomously.

As spacecraft become increasingly autonomous, how do you see AI working alongside technologies such as the Supertorquer? Could an AI-controlled spacecraft eventually adjust its magnetic systems dynamically based on orbital conditions, mission objectives, or nearby spacecraft?

Absolutely. I think SI will eventually make most of the operational decisions aboard spacecraft.

As missions become more complex and spacecraft operate farther from Earth, it becomes increasingly impractical to have humans manually control every decision from the ground. Spacecraft will need to understand their environment, determine what needs to happen and act autonomously.

That fits naturally with electromagnetic systems. An autonomous spacecraft could potentially adjust how it uses its magnetic capabilities depending on its environment, its mission objectives and how it needs to interact with other spacecraft.

The swarm concept is one example of that direction. Instead of controlling every spacecraft individually from Earth, SI  can orchestrate how many spacecraft behave collectively. As both SI  and spacecraft autonomy improve, I think we will see much more of that decision-making move onboard.

The Z01 takes advantage of Earth’s magnetic field, but Zenno’s broader ambitions extend to transportation, radiation shielding, and electromagnetic infrastructure beyond Earth orbit. How does the technology roadmap change as you move into environments where the available magnetic field is weaker or fundamentally different?

We expect to see much more commercial activity moving into higher Earth orbits, and those environments are particularly interesting for us.

Earth’s magnetic field becomes weaker as you move farther away, but at the same time our magnetic systems are becoming significantly more powerful. That allows us to continue developing electromagnetic applications even as the surrounding environment changes.

Higher orbits can also be challenging for some conventional spacecraft technologies, which creates opportunities for alternative approaches. Our roadmap therefore isn’t limited to using Earth’s magnetic field for stabilization. We are developing increasingly powerful magnetic systems that can support applications such as spacecraft mobility, radiation shielding and interactions between spacecraft.

Ultimately, the goal is to build technology that can operate across increasingly challenging environments as activity expands farther from Earth.

Zenno describes its long-term goal as building electromagnetic infrastructure for space. Beyond the Supertorquer, which applications do you believe could become commercially viable next, and what might a mature superconducting space infrastructure ecosystem ultimately look like?

There are several applications that I am particularly excited about.

Radiation shielding is one. Another is electromagnetic launch in space—the idea that you could accelerate payloads using magnetic systems rather than fuel. We are already working on that concept.

I also see the Supertorquer evolving beyond satellite stabilization. As the technology matures, it can become an enabling technology for intelligent spacecraft swarms, where many individual spacecraft operate together as a much larger system. Satellite mobility is another area we expect to continue developing.

The larger objective is not simply to create individual products. We want to enable an entirely new layer of technology in space and ultimately build infrastructure that takes advantage of the capabilities superconducting electromagnetism unlocks.

That brings us back to the idea Zenno started with: using the energy and resources already available in space to perform useful work and build infrastructure beyond Earth. The future is electromagnetic.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Zenno Astronautics.