Space Business Podcast

#33 Dr. M.V. "Coyote" Smith: Space-based Solar Power

Did you ever wonder why we do not produce solar energy in space at large scale? Space-based solar power is this week’s topic. I sat down with Dr. M.V. “Coyote” Smith, a professor of strategic studies at the Air University's School of Graduate Professional Military Education, who has been looking at space-based solar power for a long time. We discuss how it works and how we may finally make it happen.
If you have any comments or questions about the episode, email us at spacebusinesspodcast@gmail.com or post them on our Twitter (@podcast_space).
If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review on your favorite podcast app - we highly appreciate it!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode Notes:0:00 Intro2:06 Where does the "Coyote" comes from?3:20 From military to Space-based Solar Power (SBSP)13:26 The basics of SBSP15:20 The cost of space in the early 2000s16:45 SBSP tech details23:21 SBSP post the mid-2000s28:00 The new "game changers" for SBSP33:12 Station Keeping36:32 A renaissance for SBSP?39:14 Funding48:05 How to get involved54:08 Other exciting things beyond SBSP58:48 Sci-Fi

#32 Michael Laine, Liftport - Space Elevators

Do you know what a space elevator is? If you do not, it is what the words imply, minus cheesy elevator music (we hope, anyway). The idea for such an elevator to space has been around for over a 100 years and it regularly appears in science fiction. In real life, Michael Laine from Liftport in Seattle has looked at how to bring this into reality for the last twenty years or so. Join our conversation to learn about the current status and outlook of space elevators!
If you have any comments or questions about the episode, email us at spacebusinesspodcast@gmail.com or post them on our Twitter (@podcast_space).
If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review on your favorite podcast app - we highly appreciate it!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode notes:0:00 Intro2:09 Michael's Background8:51 What is a Space Elevator?14:26 Space elevator history18:41 Location in space20:28 Energy sources23:04 Dangers and hazards27:11 Other kinds of space elevators34:57 Do we have the technology to make a lunar elevator?38:46 What do relevant entities like NASA think about the idea?44:15 Michael's thoughts on current state of New Space48:31 Other tech, like space elevators, that may have been under-focused on / forgotten51:36 Science Fiction

#31 David Shilling: Mad Hatter heading for space

My guest this week is David Shilling, a world-renowned British designer who wants to go on a trip to the International Space Station.
If you have any comments or questions about the episode, email us at spacebusinesspodcast@gmail.com or post them on our Twitter (@podcast_space).
If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review on your favorite podcast app - we highly appreciate it!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode notes:0:00 Intro4:00 David's background6:16 How did the idea to visit the ISS come about?8:48 Space tourists10:56 How would you spend your time in Space?13:34 What are your thoughts on current space suit designs?15:15 The ISS design16:42 Axiom's private space station and space design18:09 The Soviet space program and doing shows in "dangerous places"20:54 Who would be the best crewmate for a space trip25:39 Space tourism has come a long way34:58 Space enthusiasts in Monac36:00 Reaching out to the next generation41:37 Bringing humanity to space48:31 Sci-fi

#30 Sven Przywarra, LiveEO - monitoring infrastructure from space

My guest this week is Sven Przywarra, co-CEO and co-founder of LiveEO.
LiveEO analyzes satellite data to generate actionable insights for non-space customers, e.g. in the railway or utility sectors.
If you have any comments or questions about the episode, email us at spacebusinesspodcast@gmail.com or post them on our Twitter (@podcast_space).
If you enjoy the show, please leave us a 5* rating on your favorite podcast app!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode Notes:0:00 Intro2:50 The Space ecosystem in Berlin5:25 LiveEO9:48 New Space Vision11:01 Further steps of market validation for LiveEO13:58 Approaching customers from non-Aerospace industries18:48 Data sources21:51 Thermal imagery23:55 What other industries would you like to approach25:34 Challenges when trying to break into a new market26:00 Competitive landscape28:57 How does the service work30:58 Why go to the U.S. at this stage32:12 The financing round experience35:00 Exit options36:02 Where would you like to be in 5 years?36:13 If you were not doing LiveEO what would you be doing in the Space Industry37:57 Science-Fiction

#29 Gernot Groemer, OeWF - Analog Mars Missions and more

My guest this week is Gernot Groemer, the founder of the Austrian Space Forum, which does things like organizing analog Mars missions, conducting space research, and building cubesats. Gernot also has his own popular science TV show in Austria.
This will also be the first episode where we will try something new:
We have regularly received follow-up questions from listeners and have been answering them ad-hoc. We now want to open this up to everybody: so, if you do have questions about the episode, please email them to us at spacebusinesspodcast@gmail.com. We will do our best to answer them all and if there is one that we judge of high general interest to all listeners, we will answer it on the next episode as well as on our Twitter.
Check out The Austrian Space Forum here.
Check out Gernot's science TV show here. (in German)
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
 
Episode notes:
0:00 Intro
3:00 Space in Austria
5:15 What is the Austrian Space Forum and who can join it
10:51 Collaborations with students
11:52 Analog Mars missions
16:35 Psychology research during analog missions
18:00 Typical duration of an analog mission
19:06 Simulating restricted access to food and other mundane things
21:48 What kind of scientific experiments are analog astronauts conducting?
23:55 Robot usage in the analog missions
24:38 Handling limited expertise in experiments
27:22 What kind of people are good for missions and what kind of people apply?
33:38 The next analog mission 
38:35 Other Forum projects
43:29 Apply to the Austrian Space Forum
43:47 Gernot's science TV show
47:26 What excites Gernot most about space at the moment?
48:29 Sci-fi

#28 Temidayo Oniosun - Space in Africa

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode notes:
0:00 Intro
2:22 What is Space in Africa?
4:39 What's your background and how did you get into space?
5:16 The current state of the space economy in Africa
10:22 Increasing satellite activity in Africa
15:16 Other missions and projects beside satellites
16:54 How do international politics affect African space?
19:20 Main space applications in Africa
21:52 Is there enough coverage of Africa?
26:14 Are there enough space educational programs in Africa?
27:42 Do the potential customers in Africa understand the benefits of tspace?
30:57 Potential use cases for Africa of Starlink and others
34:50 Space startups in Africa
37:15 Exciting things in the African space economy right now
39:40 Examples of interesting space startups in Africa
42:02 Sci-fi

#27 - Jim Green: NASA's Chief Scientist

NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green is my guest for a non-business episode. Join us on a whirlwind tour through the solar system, visiting places like Mars, Venus and Titan, talking about astrobiology and other space science!
Check out Jim's own "Gravity Assist" Podcast here.
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode Notes:
0:00 Intro
2:05 What the Chief Scientist of NASA does
9:32 Current top scientific activities
12:39 Some "hot" fields in science right now
14:47 Human vs robotic exploration
21:45 Titan: The next big mission
24:45 Being the NASA head consultant for The Martian
26:40 Detection of life on Venus
31:50 The Moon
46:14 Where should humans settle off-Earth?
51:00 Should we be worried about asteroid impacts?
56:07 NASA space missions
59:24 Science-fiction

#26 Rogue: Space Robots

Space robots – just the title already sounds promising, right? If you are thinking R2D2 now, that is actually really where the episode starts. But we then move quickly on to talking about the use of robots for satellite servicing, because that is what Rogue Space Systems from New Hamphire is working on. My guest is the CEO & Founder, Jeromy Grimmett. It’s a fun episode – enjoy!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode Notes:
0:00 Intro
2:08 Company Elevator Pitch
4:50 How does one come up with the idea of doing space robots?
10:21 Example use cases
16:52 Autonomy vs. human control
20:07 How the robots get to the spacecraft they work on
25:10 Response to customer demand
27:57 More on use cases
30:40 When will the first robot be in space?
33:09 Pricing
39:12 Sensors
44:10 Funding
51:49 Science-Fiction

# 25 Neutron Star Systems - Electric Propulsion

We all hope to move around more and more in space going forward, including to and from places like the Moon and Mars. We need in-space propulsion for that. My guests this week, the co-founders of Neutron Star Systems, are working on this. Specifically, they are using a superconductor-enabled plasma propulsion system … but bear with us: as always, we are keeping things non-technical. My guests Manuel and Marcus did a great job explaining their work in an engaging and easy-to-follow way. Enjoy!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
Episode Notes:0:00 Intro2:15 Company Elevator Pitch2:52 Superconductors8:32 Types of space propulsion16:28 Hybrid Propulsion Systems19:12 How does the AF-MPD Thruster work?23:48 Key customer groups29:47 Thruster cost and comparison with other systems31:50 Status and timeline36:47 Science-Fiction

#24 Robert Jacobson - Space is open for business

My guest this week is Robert Jacobson who just recently published his book “Space is open for business” (Amazon), a great overview of all the exciting things going on in the new space economy. He is also a space entrepreneur, investor and advisor. In short, he is deeply involved in the space sector and shares some of his experiences and views with us.
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.0:00 Intro3:50 How Robert got into space5:08 Xcor and itsspace plane8:25 How has the space sector changed in the last few years?11:15 Attending ISU & aftermath17:00 Writing the book25:17 Must-read books and authors29:32 Space tourism and related new space experiences35:16 Robert's personal projects38:42 New Space as a community43:44 Favorite sci-fi

#23 Mission Space - space weather

Do you know what space weather is? Maybe you should. Solar events like geomagnetic storms have had dramatic impacts on our life on Earth in the past, and they will do so again, it is just a matter of time. Mission Space, from Latvia, want to forecast space weather. Two of the founders, Ksenia Moskalenko and Artem Axelrod will tell us all about it in this episode. Enjoy!
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.
 

#22 Max Gulde, ConstellR - satellites for smart farming

Did you know you can use satellite imagery to make agriculture more efficient and hence help feed the world? My guest on this episode is Dr. Max Gulde, CEO and co-founder of German startup ConstellR and he will explain how their infrared remote sensing satellite constellation will do just that.
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics and produced in partnership with the International Space University (ISU). Follow the podcast on Twitter @podcast_space
If you got interested in learning more about the business opportunities in space, check out my online course at https://www.udemy.com/course/space-entrepreneurship/
If you speak German, also check out my recently published introductory book on the space economy.