Research Engage Expertise Perspectives About Join the Weekly Call
Architecting Resilient Systems, on Earth and beyond.

Space is filling up.
It's time to design for
what comes after launch.

Industrial Academic. Expert in Industrial Transformation, Circular Economy, and Resilient Supply Chains. Dr. Bernd M. Weiss has spent three decades inside the transformation he now studies — designing products that last, building resilient supply chains, and advancing circular economy thinking from the factory floor to the space frontier.

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Join Every Wednesday

Every Wednesday · 5:00 pm CET / 11:00 am EST
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~60 minutes · No agenda · Bring your questions
Researchers · Engineers · Founders · Policymakers · Curious minds

Orbit is getting crowded. The circular space economy isn't a distant idea — it's the design challenge of this decade. Every Wednesday, Dr. Weiss opens an hour for anyone who wants to understand it, challenge it, or build it. No slides. No pitch. Just honest conversation with someone who dedicated his career to designing products that last — and guiding companies and industries to do the same.

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The Research

Design for Spacecraft Reuse

A new design paradigm — grounded in systems thinking, circular economy principles, and orbital reality — that addresses one of the most pressing challenges in the emerging space economy.

The Problem: We Are Filling Orbit With Debris

Every satellite launched today is designed as a single-use product. Once it reaches end-of-life, it becomes orbital debris — a growing threat to the very infrastructure our modern society depends on. With hundreds of new satellites launched every month and launch costs declining rapidly, orbital congestion is accelerating. Circular economy practices exist, but their adoption in the space industry remains deeply fragmented. No systemic coordination. No shared design language. No orbital-context-aware approach to reuse.

10,000+
Active & defunct spacecraft in orbit today
~3,000
New satellites added per year — and rising
90%
Of CE practices in space remain fragmented
∞
Orbital debris is irreversible if Kessler Syndrome triggers

The Solution: Design for Spacecraft Reuse (DfSR)

DfSR is a design concept that integrates circular economy principles into satellite development from the earliest design stages. It recognizes that orbital context shapes reuse requirements — different orbital regimes (LEO, MEO, GEO, deep space) require structurally different reuse logics and design mandates. DfSR translates those system-level conditions into concrete, early-stage design decisions.

Finding 01

Fragmentation as System Failure

CE practice fragmentation is not a technology problem — it is a coordination problem. It self-reinforces across micro, meso, and macro levels without a unifying design framework.

Finding 02

Orbital Regime as Structuring Condition

Different orbital zones create fundamentally different reuse logics. LEO enables inspection and maintenance; GEO requires long-duration resilience. One framework must handle both.

Finding 03

Design as the Integrating Layer

Design is the layer that connects orbital context, system-level conditions, and circular strategies. DfSR operationalizes this connection through a regime-conditioned framework.

Five Peer-Reviewed Papers

A

Design for X: Enabling the Reuse of Space Hardware?

ICED23 · Bordeaux, France, 2023 · Establishing DfSR as a design concept

B

Guidance or Governance: Regulation as a Driver of Circular Innovation

Journal for Space Safety Engineering (in review) · Regulatory impact on circularity

C

Circular Transformation Pathways: Managing Change in Space

ASCenSIon Conference 2023 · Dresden · Change management toward CE in space

D

Integrating Operational Context and 10R-Strategies in DfSR

Design Science Journal (in review) · Regime-conditioned DfSR framework development

E

Designing Circular Systems: Production, Manufacturing & Policy

IOP Conference Series · Swedish Production Symposium 2026, Luleå

Areas of Expertise

Authority Across Six Critical Domains

From orbital design to industrial policy — a uniquely interdisciplinary profile built across research, industry, and international advisory work.

🛰️

Design for Spacecraft Reuse

The originator of the DfSR concept. Developed the first orbital-context-aware design framework for satellite reusability, from theory to practical design support tools.

♻️

Circular Economy in Space

Deep expertise in applying 10R CE strategies to space systems. Research covers fragmentation analysis, systemic coordination, and manufacturing-policy alignment for a circular space industry.

📋

Regulatory Impact Assessment

Analysis of how regulation drives — or hinders — circular innovation in space. Co-authored research on guidance vs. governance as levers for sustainable space policy.

🏭

Industrial Transformation

22+ years bridging technology, industry, and academia. Specializes in initiating and sustaining circular transitions in manufacturing — from Rust Belt reindustrialization to NewSpace.

🔗

Supply Chain Resilience

Strategic advisory on building resilient, circular supply chains for industries operating at the frontier of defense, space, and advanced manufacturing.

⚡

Dual-Use Technology

Expert perspective on how aerospace and defense technologies cross-fertilize civilian innovation — critical to reuse, resilience, and sustainable industrial futures in a security-conscious world.

#CircularSpaceEconomy #SustainableByDefault #DesignForReuse #SpaceSustainability #IndustrialTransformation #RegulatoryImpact #CircularEconomy #LifecycleThinking #NewSpace #SpaceDebris
Space research and innovation
About Bernd M. Weiss

Practitioner. Researcher. Advocate.

Starting as a tool and die maker in Germany in 1992, Bernd M. Weiss spent three decades moving from the factory floor to the frontier of the space economy — always asking the same question: what happens after we're done with it?

Now holding a PhD from Luleå University of Technology, Dr. Weiss is the director of advisory firm Pulsernity and a leading voice on sustainable spacecraft design and industrial transformation.

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