Space Business Podcast

#81 Dan Harkins, Tropical Weather Analytics

In this episode we talk about predicting extreme weather, timely (if not planned!) given hurricane Ian -- by the way, we hope you are all safe & sound!Dan Harkins, the COO of Tropical Weather Analytics will tell us about extreme weather and how their proposed satellite constellation may help us predict it.    TWA Website: https://weathersats.com/   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Do you want to specifically learn about investing in Space? Join the pre-release of Raphael's new live-taught course on Maven: https://maven.com/space-business-institute/investing-course Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI. Stay tuned for the English translation, which should come out soon. The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:30 Elevator pitch 3:22 NASA's weather prediction tech 4:09 Prediction timeframe and accuracy 8:17 The Polar Vortex 9:03 Why has nobody done this before? 11:24 What Tropical Weather Analytics provides 15:03 Measuring wind 17:13 The ESA Arctic Weather Satellite and other sources of data 19:32 Reluctance to use this data 23:55 Key customer segments and go to market strategy 28:14 Aviation 30:53 Satellites 32:28 Timeline, fundraising and vision 35:27 Microwave sounders 38:23 Climate Change analysis 39:30 Origin story 40:50 What else to do in the space sector 43:11 Sci-FiNB: Dan briefly mentions Spaced Ventures at some point. For full disclosure, Raphael is a member of Spaced's investment advisory committee. As a reminder, the podcast is purely for journalistic purposes and nothing constitutes investment advice or solicitation.

#80 Austin Link, Starfish Space: Space Tugs

My guest this week is Austin Link, a co-founder of Starfish Space. Starfish develops a space tug that can be used for satellite life extension and space debris removal. Austin and his co-founder Trevor both came out of Blue Origin and are now well on their way at Starfish, which raised a seed round last year. Please enjoy listening to their story.   https://www.starfishspace.com/   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Do you want to specifically learn about investing in Space? Join the pre-release of Raphael's new live-taught course on Maven: https://maven.com/space-business-institute/investing-course Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI. Stay tuned for the English translation, which should come out soon. The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:16 Elevator pitch & origin story 6:06 Blue Origin 14:14 The satellite life extension market 19:42 Debris removal 24:00 Going to market 27:10 Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) 33:43 Starfish Space timeline 36:59 Working with Governments 38:46 Starfish Space is hiring 39:04 What else to do in the space sector 41:50 Sci-Fi  

#79 Avi Loeb

This episode is with a guest who I wanted to have on for a while. Avi Loeb is a Professor of Science at Harvard and was the chair of its astronomy department from 2011 to 2020. He has written 8 books, including the best-seller “Extraterrestrial”, and hundreds of research papers. Among many other things, he is well-known for his views on the Oumuamua interstellar object, and he now heads the Galileo project, which is looking for further such objects. One of his upcoming projects is an expedition to try to retrieve fragments of another interstellar object from the ocean floor. If all this wasn’t interesting enough, we also talk about academia, the way science is pursued, and how we can ensure our kids maintain scientific curiosity. Enjoy!   Avi's book "Extraterrestrial": https://www.amazon.com/Extraterrestrial-First-Intelligent-Beyond-Earth/dp/0358278147   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Do you want to specifically learn about investing in Space? Join the pre-release of Raphael's new live-taught course on Maven: https://maven.com/space-business-institute/investing-course Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI. Stay tuned for the English translation, which should come out soon. The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:14 Avi's farm background and the "Indistinguishable grains of sand" 4:27 What makes humanity unique? 8:49 How academics can suppress innovation 12:01 Fixing the academic "system" 20:07 The Fermi Paradox 25:34 Cosmic archaeology 35:32 Is Earth worth visiting? 39:50 The Galileo Project 40:52 UAPs 44:29 Current status of observation tech 49:13 Planned expedition to the Ocean floor 53:40 Projects that we should be engaging in 57:42 James Webb Space Telescope 01:00:36 Keeping your childlike curiosity  

#78 Bleddyn Bowen, War in Space

This week we talk about military space. The military has been part of space exploration since the beginning, and it continues to be very important, including as a major customer of, and even occasional investor in, commercial space companies. So it makes sense that we spend some time talking about military space in this podcast. I suspect there will be several episodes on this topic, but my first guest, in this episode, is Professor Bleddyn Bowen from the University of Leicester. He has literally written the book on military space, aptly called “War in Space” and will soon publish another one. We talk about his books, the recent establishment of the U.S. Space Force, how one should think about space as a military domain, about relevant space capabilities, and a few other things. Enjoy! Prof. Bleddyn Bowen's books: https://www.amazon.com/Bleddyn-E-Bowen/e/B09X5QSTNW/   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI. Stay tuned for the English translation, which should come out soon. The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 3:15 The space domain as a military domain 8:00 Which problem(s) could the Space Force solve? 12:08 Bleddyn's books 13:03 Why Space warfare? 14:52 Analogies to space a military domain 19:30 Key capabilities 24:12 Space defense companies 28:11 Potential vulnerable capabilities 38:24 Circling back to Bleddyn's books 44:19 Sci Fi

#77 Jim Cantrell, Phantom Space

My guest this week is the CEO and founder of Phantom Space, Jim Cantrell. Having started at JPL, Jim is also a decades-long veteran of commercial space. He has been involved in around a dozen space startups, including SpaceX in its early days. There are probably few people who have been around the commercial space sector as much as he has, so we do not only talk about Phantom but about the space economy in general. Enjoy! https://www.phantomspace.com/   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI. Stay tuned for the English translation, which should come out soon. The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:20 Jim's background 6:30 The last 20 years in space vs. Jim's expectations 9:20 SpaceX 14:14 A couple of key lessons from SpaceX 21:23 Phantom Space business model 24:15 Phantom Space and partner startups 26:55 Taking the "friction" out of space business 32:47 Standardization in space 35:32 How Russia is affecting the Space Economy 39:57 Vision for Phantom Space 40:40 Key lessons from Jim's experience with startups 45:18 Core DNA of Phantom Space 47:15 Phantom Space's vehicles 50:23 Phantom Space in 10 years 50:56 Rapid fire questions on the space economy 55:33 The space sector in 20 years 01:01:42 Fun questions

#76 Ricardo Conde, Portugal Space

My guest this week is the President of Portugal Space, the Portuguese Space Agency, Ricardo Conde. Portugal Space was only recently formed, in 2019. Ricardo and I talk about that experience of founding a new national space agency and dive into some of their marquis projects, including in the remote sensing value chain and the Santa Maria Spaceport in the Azores Islands. We also talk about the space economy in general and how a country like Portugal can add specific value. A quick heads up: this episode was live recorded in Ricardo’s offices and there is some background noise from the AC, but it gets better over time. Enjoy!   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 3:51 The origins of Portugal Space 17:29 Global navigation data friction and space debris 31:44 Portugal Space timeline 37:52 Open sourcing capability for space startups and space education 48:33 Building an ecosystem of space companies in Portugal 52:54 Space law and regulations in Portugal 57:45 International space companies 59:37 The potential successful outcome 01:02:25 PT Space is hiring! 01:05:00 Closing message

#75 Bessie Schwarz, Cloud to Street: Flood Intelligence

My guest this week is Bessie Schwarz from Cloud to Street, a company that uses satellite imagery, and other data, to come up with better flood models for customers like governments and insurance companies. Hence, it is an example of the use of space technology for something useful right here on Earth, which is one of our favorite topics!   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:28 Elevator pitch 5:18 Origin story 8:07 The product 16:40 Clients 21:31 Value-add 28:24 The flood model 30:25 Using space data for Earth 38:22 Market size 41:17 Vision 44:02 Core competencies 48:10 Funding the business 50:35 Closing questions incl. sci-fi & cli-fi

#74 2022 in Space: mid-year review

Raphael reviews what has happened so far in the space sector in 2022 and what some of the exciting things are that may happen during the rest of the year.   JWST images: https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages/   Space Perspective capsule: https://www.space.com/space-perspective-capsule-balloon-tourist-flights   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the new edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

#73 Sita Sonty, BCG

This week I’m talking to Sita Sonty, who is Boston Consulting Group’s global lead for commercial space. She also previously worked at Raytheon, Sierra Nevada and SpaceX, besides being a U.S. diplomat for many years. She is one of the most interesting people I know and I am also happy to have her as an advisor at my venture firm E2MC. Enjoy our conversation! Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the new edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space   Timestamps 0:00 Intro 1:53 Sita's Background 8:07 From diplomacy to the private space sector 10:16 Contrasts between space companies 17:46 Sita's role at Spacex 23:29 Life after Spacex 25:29 Private sector clients & space 32:15 Favorite use cases for space 35:14 Rapid fire questions on the space economy 45:35 Financing space 48:42 Being a mom: Kids and Space 51:39 Parting thoughts

#72 Dr. Pippa Malmgren: the Space Space

We are talking about the future of the space economy as well as geopolitics and exo-politics in this episode (exo-politiics would be politics off-Earth!). I could not have a better guest for these topics:  Dr. Pippa Malmgren is a renowned economist who has, among many other roles, advised President George W Bush. She recently published a couple of articles about space on her Substack. Our conversation spans everything – from Ukraine over space-based solar power all the way to aliens. You will not want to miss it. Enjoy! Link to Dr. Pippa Malmgren's Substack: https://drpippa.substack.com/   Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy: Check out the new edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_spaceTimestamps 0:00 Intro 2:46 Pippa's background 3:49 The Space Space 6:55 War In Space 8:48 Resilience 12:43 Cities on the Moon 16:04 Space law and regulations 20:09 Game Theory in Space politics 24:50 Nation States vs Private Companies 32:00 Testing the limits 42:20 The impact of space technology on Earth 45:30 Is the Space Economy ready to develop? 53:31 Global cooperation use cases and life in space 58:21 Sci Fi

#71 Payam Banazadeh, Capella Space

My guest this week is the founder & CEO of another prominent new space company – Payam Banazadeh from Capella Space. Capella is a remote sensing company that is using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology. Don’t worry – we will explain what SAR is during the episode. The important summary: it allows you to see at night and through cloud cover. You can imagine that has interesting and important use cases. Payam will take us through those and many other things about Capella. Enjoy! Capella's job board: https://www.capellaspace.com/about-us/careers/ Opportunities to learn more about space business: Check out the new edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_spaceTimestamps 0:00 Intro 2:50 Elevator pitch 4:07 Origin story 8:00 MH370 10:05 Geographic coverage 14:58 General use cases 19:10 Pricing 21:11 Government use cases 25:02 Commercial use cases 29:40 Cool things Capella detected 32:05 Hostile behavior 35:44 Satellite manufacturing & design 39:22 Sales process 46:27 Consolidation 48:52 Vision 50:49 Financing 55:27 Wrap-up: hiring, other things to do in the space sector, sci-fi

#70 Alex Fielding, Privateer

It’s another fun episode this week as I sit down with Alex Fielding, co-founder and CEO of Privateer. You may have heard about Privateer when it first emerged last year, with few details about it, but intriguingly having Apple co-founder Steve "Woz" Wozniak as its President and co-founder. Earlier this year, Privateer came further out of stealth and we learned that, among other things, they are doing space situational awareness … and got a sponsorship from Swiss watchmaker Omega!  But there is so much more to the story. Listen to the episode to find out. Full disclosure: my venture fund E2MC is an investor in Privateer.   Opportunities to learn more about space business: Check out the new edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Follow the podcast on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/podcast_spaceTimestamps 0:00 Intro 2:32 Elevator Pitch 4:22 Alex's career path 9:35 A comparison between space and oceans 10:56 The domain awareness aspect and insurance in LEO 15:44 The tragedy of the commons in space 19:11 Space debris and mapping problems 25:04 Infrastructure vs Applications 29:46 How Privateer looks in practice 34:30 The "rocket science" developer issue 37:14 The initial Privateer apps 40:24 Fun apps 43:41 What is missing? 45:26 Timeframe 46:31 The name "Privateer" 47:49 Being based in Hawaii 53:12 Other interests in space 58:26 Sci-Fi