Welcome to the Intergalactic era.

I won’t bury the lede: Airborne ECS is transforming into Intergalactic. Yes, that’s the title of a popular Beastie Boys track. It’s also going to be our new company name soon. I’ll explain why.  

First, some housekeeping. While we’ve revealed our new brand internally, we haven’t done a big external launch yet. We still have some hoops to jump through and a redesigned website to launch. But, we wanted to offer a sneak preview now because our new brand reflects some important things about what’s happening in aerospace, and what kind of company we are building.  

So, why the name change? It’s all about the “innovation imperative” and how our company fits into the next wave of boundary-pushing breakthroughs in aerospace.  

When you were a kid, did you want to be a pilot or an astronaut? At one point or another, most of us dreamed of blasting through the skies in a sleek jet or piercing the atmosphere in a futuristic rocket ship to explore space.  

Those dreams were born in a bygone era, when incredible feats like Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic or Neil Armstrong landing on the moon captured the imaginations of the whole world. These events made us all look up and wonder what else is possible.  

Sadly, aerospace has struggled to innovate like it used to. For decades, the industry has operated on a zero-risk mentality instead of a zero-boundaries one. Across the civil and defense sectors, we’ve sacrificed innovation for incrementalism. As a result, a once dominant American aerospace sector lost a step.  

Thankfully, things are changing. Across the civil, defense, and space sectors, there’s a growing recognition that incrementalism is no longer enough. We’ve seen private companies raise heaps of money to build supersonic and electric planes. The private space sector, led by SpaceX and Blue Origin, has rekindled Americans’ obsession with space. Not to be outdone, the U.S. Air Force revealed last fall that it secretly designed, built, and flew a new fighter jet in about a year.  

Clearly, the innovation imperative extends across the aerospace sector. The Department of Defense is pushing hard to reimagine what’s possible. It’s emphasizing innovation over incrementalism, and contracts are being awarded to those who show they can go bigger. The private sector, too, is all about finding ways to do what was previously impossible: supersonic flight, electric planes, intergalactic travel, space tourism, and more.  

The problem: innovation is often constrained by the realities of physics. A zero-boundaries mentality still must account for the complex challenges that aerospace presents. We can’t just throw caution to the wind when billion-dollar aircraft and human lives are at stake. Science is an unforgiving master. 

Thermal management is one of the most elusive physical challenges in aerospace. In fact, it’s a constraining problem, meaning it must be solved to make certain outcomes possible. Modern aerospace platforms have sophisticated mechanical and electrical systems and powerful onboard computers. Some have elaborate weapons systems, as well. They all require environmental control to keep pilots and passengers safe and comfortable. All of these technologies and systems generate intense heat that must be mitigated.  

That’s where Intergalactic comes in. Our goal is to become the thermal management system integrator of record for the commercial, defense, and space sectors. We have a proprietary system, including patent-pending parts and technologies, that allows us to provide thermal management that is three times smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient than anything else in aerospace. That opens tremendous opportunities for any aerospace platform.  

Ultimately, innovation starts in the supply chain. The civil and defense sectors can’t achieve next-generation results without the components that make boundary-pushing outcomes possible. The “heat barrier” is a central problem, and we’re already helping major aerospace platforms break through it. (We’re working on some cool projects on land and sea, as well.) 

We want a new generation to be inspired by what’s possible in sky, space, and beyond. We want to be an integral part of making it possible for people to travel around the world in just a few hours, take flight in an electric aircraft, orbit the earth on a commercial space flight, and reinforce American military dominance in the skies.  

If you want to go hypersonic or intergalactic, you must first overcome the heat barrier. That’s why we’re changing our name – to remind us every day that we’re building an enabling technology.  

Boom times are ahead for aerospace. It’s going to be an exciting chapter in the history of human innovation, and we’re excited to play a role in it. Keep following our journey as we transform from Airborne ECS to Intergalactic. We promise, we’ll make it worth your while.  

-Brian McCann, CEO  Airborne ECS  …Intergalactic