Space Business Podcast

Space Business Podcast #126 - Mo Shahzad, Relativity Space: Launch

Relativity Space, from Long Beach, California, is probably one the best-known launch startups in the world. They had a partially successful launch of their Terran One rocket last year, are now working towards the launch of the much larger Terran R, have 1200 employees and raised over $1bn in funding. My guest is their President & CFO Mo Shahzad and we talk about all things Relativity but also a little about the launch market in general. Enjoy!
Follow us:
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Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro2:30 Relativity Space summary5:13 Mo's career incl. switching to the space sector7:00 Acting as a "translator"13:00 Discussing difficulties with clients17:38 Hiring22:00 Steps on the way to Mars28:32 Production and flight cadence31:18 Pricing34:00 Relativity in the broader launch market38:31 Rideshare40:50 Ancillary products43:30 Vision45:48 Interesting things in commercial space49:00 Sci-Fi

Space Business Podcast # 125 - Ankit Anand, Kicksky

This week we are talking about KickSky, the first incubator for Indian space startups, which is having the demo day of its first cohort on 8-May. I am talking to Ankit Anand, Partner of Riceberg Ventures and a co-founder of KickSky. We talk about why the timing is right for an Indian space incubator, what the incubation program looks like, and many other things. For full disclosure, E2MC, the space venture fund where I am partner, is also part of KickSky. If you have any interest in Indian space, don’t miss this episode! 
If you are:
- an Indian startup interested in applying to KickSky- interested in becoming a mentor at KickSky- interested in joining KickSky's investor networkplease go to https://www.kicksky.space
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro2:19 Ankit's background and the Indian space ecosystem13:34 Space Sector in India - Government & commercial17:34 Kicksky's structure and program26:22 Mentoring31:16 Demo-day and practical examples37:12 Experience of being an incubator40:01 Future plans43:08 Apply to Kicksky43:37 Sci-fi

Space Business Podcast #124 - Johannes Torpe: A Designer domesticating Space

Johannes Torpe is a well-known Danish designer who, among many other things, was the Creative Director at Bang & Olufsen, and once owned a space-themed night club called NASA. He is passionate about what he calls “domesticating space” – bringing space closer to people at large, beyond the existing space community. We met at Spacecom in Orlando earlier this year and finally had a chance to schedule a podcast episode to talk about all this. Enjoy!
https://www.johannestorpe.com/
Golden space suit event: https://www.designindaba.com/videos/conference-talks/danish-designer-johannes-torpe-power-design-create-universes
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro2:36 Johannes's background6:05 Golden space suit entry11:15 Connecting people to the Space Renaissance18:42 Domesticating Space21:50 The Space Mountain Case and Space "Retroism"27:22 Potential ways of inspiring people31:06 Hotels & Resorts34:15 "Edutainment"37:07 NASA Nightclub42:36 Space & the arts47:57 Current space-related projects53:49 Sci-fi

Space Business Podcast #123 - José Manuel Rodríguez, PLD Space: Launch

PLD Space is a Spanish launch startup. Last October, they successfully completed a suborbital test flight of their Miura-1 rocket. We talk about that flight, their future plans on the way to orbital launch, the launch market at large, and many other things, with my guest, PLD’s CFO, José Manuel Rodríguez. Enjoy!
https://www.pldspace.com/en/Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro2:20 Elevator Pitch6:05 European access to space9:17 Business Model13:17 Specs18:10 Rocket engines19:20 Production capacity20:54 Scaling up23:41 Europe vs. other markets25:50 Customers28:50 Gaining trust with customers33:27 User guide35:40 Launch market39:10 Sovereign launch42:08 Spaceports44:18 Orbits47:00 Future milestones49:45 Team53:38 Other interesting space activities55:30 Sci-Fi

Space Business Podcast #122 - Alexandra Vidyuk, Space Ambition & Aloniq VC

Space Ambition is a very popular space blog on Substack, with over 11000 subscribers. Its founder Alexandra Vidyuk is our guest this week. She is also a space tech investor at Aloniq VC. We talk about both of her roles. Enjoy!
Space ambition blog: https://spaceambition.substack.com/
Aloniq VC: https://www.aloniq.com/
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro2:08 Alex's activities in the space sector3:10 Space Ambition origins5:48 Transitioning into the space sector7:23 What is Space Ambition?9:04 Topics11:42 "Spotlights"14:30 Insights from Spotlights17:30 Women in Space20:20 Dream guest21:61 Insights of space tech investors22:58 Other space media25:13 Getting into space investing27:28 Other deep tech areas vs. space29:33 Interesting areas in space31:33 Investor perspectives35:53 The Singapore Space Ecosystem38:58 Sci-fi

Space Business Podcast #121 - Aaron Kemmer, Max Space: Inflatables

Inflatable space modules is what we are talking about in this episode, and that is Max Space’s product, a company that just came out more publicly at Space Symposium. My guest for the episode is CEO & co-founder Aaron Kemmer, who some of you may remember from his previous role as a co-founder of the in-space manufacturing company Made in Space. Aaron and I talk about his motivation to set up Max Space, and how their inflatables can be used for example as habitats, research labs, manufacturing sites and even as sports and entertainment venues in space.For full disclosure: Max Space is a portfolio company of E2MC, the space venture capital fund founded by our host Raphael Roettgen.
https://getmaxspace.com/Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:26 Max Space3:32 Rationale for starting Max Space7:22 Inflatables9:26 Space in space13:13 In-space experiments15:51 Business model18:13 Customization for use cases21:13 User guide22:27 Life support and space hazards26:48 End of life planning30:18 Inflatables beyond Earth orbit35:50 Volume36:44 Fitting windows & other structures40:00 Inflating41:00 First module in space43:12 Major to-dos and milestones46:25 Regulatory process47:52 Long-term vision51:20 Other exciting things in the space industry55:07 Sci-fi

Space Business Podcast #120 - AdAstra - Space Talent Advisory

We are talking about the space job market in this episode. My guests are Seyka and Brian Mejeur, the founders of AdAstra, a space talent advisory or headhunting firm. Besides talking about the trends in the space job market in general, we also discuss some advice specifically for job candidates and for space founders. Make sure to listen in!
AdAstra website:
https://adastra.us/
Legacy vs. Startup Talent - article by Brian Mejeur:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/legacy-vs-startup-talent-brian-mejeur-apu2c/?trackingId=cxpwmH5ndwd5B9AjK0yI4w%3D%3D
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps
0:00 Episode intro2:07 Intro to AdAstra2:37 Life before AdAstra6:29 Market demand & scope of roles8:29 Advice for startups10:51 Startup culture vs legacy culture14:42 Advice for job candidates17:32 Pre-filtering21:22 Interview process25:45 Getting candidates from non-space companies29:40 Bottlenecks35:12 Restrictions on international candidates40:51 Gender imbalance in the space sector45:40 Subsector trends48:10 Roles & skills trends50:25 Regional Trends52:30 Compensation packages57:40 Protecting clients59:35 Space sector general interests1:02:24 Sci-fi

Space Business Podcast #119 - Luke Fischer, SkyFi: EO data

We are back talking about Earth observation. Specifically about how to make accessing and using EO data user-friendly. Our guest this week is Luke Fischer, co-founder & CEO of Sky-Fi, an Austin-based startup that is essentially an EO market place and app store. Luke tells us all about SkyFi and his view on the state of EO in general. Enjoy!
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro2:35 Elevator pitch3:40 EO data use now8:08 SkyFi's product11:42 A vision for space imagery14:30 Business development17:50 Business model & use cases20:20 Customer service21:30 Market education23:20 Government impact25:30 Trends, future tech & market gaps28:10 Regulatory restrictions 31:50 Consolidation potential impact37:20 User friendliness39:40 Interesting customer behavior & use cases43:40 Next milestones for SkyFi46:10 Ten-year vision49:15 SkyFi is hiring50:15 What else is interesting in the space sector?51:25 Sci-Fi

Space Business Podcast #118 - Sho Nakanose, Gitai: Space Robotics

Two words: space robotics. Gitai, founded in Japan and now headquartered in the U.S. wants to significantly bring down the cost of labor in space -in orbit, on space stations, on the Moon, even on Mars- with its robotic technology. My guest is Gitai’s founder & CEO, Sho Nakanose.
Gitai website (incl. careers): https://gitai.tech/
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps0:00 Intro2:31 Elevator Pitch3:50 Gitai's origin story6:18 Pitching the company 7 years ago9:08 Shifting perceptions11:13 Gitai's products13:50 Engineering approach19:12 Use cases24:50 Customers26:40 First lunar use case28:00 First lunar demonstration30:07 Next major milestones32:35 Business model33:45 Vision for the Company35:00 Cost target36:45 Future missions38:45 Mass production & supply chain41:25 Humanoid robots45:25 Terrestrial business options48:40 Gitai is hiring!50:00 What else is interesting in the space sector51:38 Sci Fi

2024 in Space - Preview

This is our annual preview episode, about some of the key things which may happen in the space sector in 2024.
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro1:40 Preview episode initial remarks2:27 Launch10:07 Spacecraft10:43 Human spaceflight14:12 Lunar15:55 Science17:17 Government18:05 Satellite Communications18:48 Earth Observation19:20 OSAM20:44 Finance and Funding24:00 Events and Education24:58 Poll on most exciting space events in 2024

Space Business Podcast #117 - Jessica Frick, Stanford XLab, In-Space Manufacturing of Advanced Materials

In-space manufacturing is what we are discussing in this episode, and we have a really cool and qualified guest: Jessica Frick is a researcher at Stanford’s XLab, the extreme environment microsystems lab. They recently held a workshop on semiconductor manufacturing in microgravity, just published a white paper about it (linked below), and are now setting up an institute focused on manufacturing advanced materials in microgravity. Enjoy!
The Institute for In-Space Manufacturing of Advanced Materials
https://rb.gy/b4661j
White paper: Semiconductor Manufacturing in Low-Earth Orbit for Terrestrial Use
https://osf.io/preprints/osf/d6ar4
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:20 Intro to XLab & Jessica4:37 Jessica's origin story & motivation8:54 Semiconductor manufacturing primer14:15 In-space manufacturing for Earth15:58 Which part of semi manufacturing makes sense to do in space17:30 Advantages of microgravity 18:50 Could it be done on Earth?20:25 Advantages of microgravity (cont'd)26:20 Semiconductor materials besides silicon28:50 Why larger crystals are better35:45 Why now?38:45 Safety & astronaut intervention40:30 Microgravity platforms besides the ISS41:40 Importance of subject matter expertise45:00 Origin of the idea for the new institute54:55 Current ISS equipment55:55 The Institute for In-Space Manufacturing of Advanced Materials1:02:00 How to get involved1:04:25 Sci-fi

Space Business Podcast #116 - Omar Qaise, OQ Technology: Satellite IoT

Satellite IoT, or internet of things – we have another episode on this topic. Which devices or machines can we connect via satellite communications, how and why? Our guest is Omar Qaise, the founder & CEO of Luxembourg-based OQ Technology, a prominent satellite IoT startup that has already several satellites in orbit. Enjoy!
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:19 Elevator Pitch3:33 Devices outside of coverage that would benefit6:33 How are people monitoring such devices right now?8:01 Cost10:55 Working with off the shelf hardware12:33 Regulations15:27 Go to market18:48 Energy specific use cases19:56 Go to market: push vs. pull21:14 Coverage and constellation size22:13 Lower latency use cases23:57 Types of satellite24:55 Direct to device vs direct to mobile26:12 Receivers28:20 Wearables30:04 Cybersecurity32:26 Most exciting future use cases36:10 Future of the satellite IoT market42:03 Origin story44:08 Vision for the OQ45:10 The Space Ecosystem in Luxemburg47:10 Saudi Arabia49:15 What else is exciting in the space sector?51:12 Sci-Fi