#63 Bulent Altan, Mynaric: space laser communications

Our guest this week wears many hats in the space sector, but we will focus on one of them. After having been an early employee at SpaceX, Bulent Altan is now the CEO of Mynaric, a laser communications company. Space Lasers? Trust me, it is as cool as it sounds, both from a technology as well as business potential perspective. I share Bulent’s view that optical is the future of communications. Find out why in this episode.

Opportunities to learn more about space business:

• Check out the new edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
• I am also designing a new live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Intro

2:27 Bulent's story incl. why he chose laser communications

7:17 The current state of satellite connectivity

12:32 Downlinking satellites

15:21 Optical comms taking over

18:19 Laser tech talk

29:32 Optical's commercial advantage

40:15 Mynaric's to-do list

49:18 Space sector recent past and future

52:14 Sci-fi