Space Business Podcast
Space is rapidly growing into an exciting ecosystem for business. In this podcast we hear from entrepreneurs, executives, investors and others about the many opportunities that exist. This podcast is produced by the Space Business Institute in partnership with the International Space University.
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Episodes
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Asteroid mining – do I really need to say anything else to get you excited and curious about listening to this episode? My guest is Matt Gialich, the co-founder and CEO of AstroForge, an LA-based startup. Over a decade on from when the last asteroid mining companies started, AstroForge successfully raised a sizable seed round last year. Asteroid mining is back - hear all about it in this episode, enjoy!
Follow us:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:17 Elevator pitch
4:44 Do we really have to mine in space?
7:02 Background and Origin Story
11:51 Previous asteroid mining companies
13:51 Hitching a ride to the Moon
15:14 Lowering mission costs
16:18 Spacecraft specs
17:38 Technology limitations
19:45 Mission objectives and timeline
21:18 Extraction tech
21:56 Approaching an asteroid
23:23 Power budget
25:40 Scaling up
26:49 Potential vs. current (on Earth) PGM cost
30:13 Business model
31:44 Regulations
33:24 Geopolitics
34:24 Funding
35:57 Vision
36:41 Biggest risks and challenges
37:40 Current focus
39:00 Mining other things besides PGM
40:00 Sci-Fi
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Nima Shahinian is a Norwegian industrial designer planning on going to space, and he has already started some of the training, which he will tell us about. He has now even put together a whole project and team in Norway that is working on taking a group of people to space, including several candidates with disabilities. Hear all of about it in this episode – and, since he is a designer, we also talk about space design! Enjoy!
Nima's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astro_nims/
Follow us:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:43 How did Nima become an astronaut candidate?
4:51 Nima's Design work
6:20 Space design
8:16 Best space suits
10:00 Family's take
11:20 Forming a project team
12:54 Timeline and origin
18:01 First mission
20:50 Financing the Project
24:33 Iranian women in space
26:26 The Next Step project
30:15 Potential candidates
33:13 Plans for the mission
38:30 Nima's space training to date
41:48 Helping Project Next Step
44:03 Vision for the project
45:57 Sci-Fi
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
How about accessing space not with rockets, but with basically a big gun that shoots stuff into space? You may be surprised to hear that that is actually not a new idea. Our guests this week, the founders of a startup called Wave Motion are working on an updated version of it. Unsurprisingly, there is strong dual use element, too. We’ll talk about all that and more in the episode. Enjoy!
Follow us:
Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:24 Elevator Pitch
3:31 Rocket equation tyranny
5:35 Wave Motion launch tech
7:45 Historical space gun projects
12:21 "G-hardened"pPayloads
13:06 Architecture
14:46 Payload Capacity
16:35 Ground Infrastructure
18:45 Launch Cadence
21:12 Product Sequencing
27:10 Managing time and projects as a small team
29:36 Getting a Naval Research Contract
33:42 Geopolitics
35:00 Orbital launch costs
35:35 Roadmap
40:19 Origin of name
41:37 Other opportunities in space
42:45 Sci-Fi
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Friday Jan 27, 2023
This is our second conversation with a crew member of the dearMoon project. Just as a reminder, dearMoon will be a circumlunar Starship mission, to which Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku "MZ" Maezawa has invited 8 artists to join him. One of those lucky 8 is the photographer, filmmaker and whale swimming guide Karim Iliya. We talk about his expectations and objectives for the mission. Enjoy!
https://karimiliya.com/
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:58 Hawaii, Iceland and the Moon
4:41 The most fascinating thing about the Moon
06:04 How Karim got interested in Space
8:22 The future of space exploration
11:52 Initial application for dearMoon
14:23 Taking photos in microgravity
18:42 Summary of Karim's work
22:26 Thoughts before going to Space
25:12 What would aliens photograph on Earth?
27:58 Absence of life in Space
30:00 The moment Karim found out he was selected
36:00 Research and preparations for the mission
37:54 Remaining key questions
40:37 Special items to bring along on the mission
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Thursday Jan 19, 2023
Did you ever wonder what the experience of flying on Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard rocket is like? I certainly have. So I invited one of their recent crew members, Victor Hespanha from Brazil, onto the podcast. He takes us through the entire experience -before, during, and after the flight- in great detail. You get a good sense of what the experience is like, so don’t miss it! Please do note that English is not Victor’s first language and he is currently still learning it. He was incredibly kind to speak to us anyway and get out of his language comfort zone. So please keep it in mind when he is occasionally searching for the right word.
Victor's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hespanhavictor/
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space www.instagram.com/raphael_space/
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:50 How did Victor end up going to space?
4:14 The Crypto Space Agency (CSA)
5:38 The CSA sweepstakes
6:35 Victor's initial reaction
7:57 Biggest fears
10:30 Family reaction
11:51 Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian Astronaut
12:32 Preparing for space flight
15:24 Wife's reaction
16:19 Corn Ranch astronaut village
17:38 The bar at Corn Ranch
19:34 Formal training and bonding with the crew
23:00 The night before the launch
25:30 The final briefing and the day of the launch
28:00 Countdown and liftoff
29:40 Microgravity
33:50 Seeing Earth from Space
35:05 Memorable moments
37:10 Descending from Space
39:35 After-mission protocol
43:00 Special items
44:21 Aftermath
45:50 Coming back to Brazil
49:22 Post-Space life
Saturday Jan 14, 2023
Saturday Jan 14, 2023
Daniel Bock and Istvan Lőrincz are the co-founders of Morpheus Space, an innovative electric propulsion company based in Germany and the U.S. I met them for the first time at IAC in 2019 when they won the pitch competition and since then they have done really well, including announcing a US$28 million Series A last September. Please enjoy listening to them talk about their technology and their entrepreneurial journey!
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:31 Elevator pitch
4:12 The origin of "Morpheus Space"
7:40 Perceived market gap
9:54 Is propulsion for collision avoidance all just a PR stunt?
11:36 Satellite collision data
13:25 Propulsion modeling
17:05 Business model
20:51 Talking to customers
21:48 Propulsion
28:29 Scaleability
30:36 Product constraints and challenges
33:25 Morpheus Space other line of products
36:21 How to prioritize
39:05 Partnership with Kayhan Space
41:11 Vision for the company
42:35 Other interesting things in the Space sector
45:45 Sci-Fi
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
This is our annual preview of some of the things to watch out for in the space sector in 2023!
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
03:46 Launch
8:28 Human Space Flight
12:01 Science exploration missions
12:51 Satellite communications & EO
13:44 Finance
14:57 Exciting Events in 2023
15:32 Education and Outreach
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
I’m guessing many if not most of you are aware of the dearMoon project. Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, or MZ, is inviting 8 artists to join him on a circumlunar flight on Starship. One of the 8 selected crew is American documentary filmmaker Brendan Hall. He is our guest on this episode and we discuss everything from his motivation to apply, over the selection process, to his objectives for the mission, and even some of the things he may take along. dearMoon has everyting to be one of the most fascinating human spaceflight missions ever and this episode is our first look at it – don’t miss it.
dearMoon crew website: https://dearmoon.earth/
Brendan's website: http://www.brendanhall.com/
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram - brand new! @raphael_space
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
3:02 Where Brendan was when he found out he was selected as a crew member
5:30 Mindset through the selection process
6:55 Weighing risks and responsibilities
13:39 Where to point the camera lens
16:21 Microgravity
18:10 Initial selection process
23:15 Further steps of the process
26:21 Crew synergies
29:57 Ideal outcome of the mission
32:18 National parks
36:06 The night sky and the Moon
38:42 Special places on Earth
41:00 Humanity's future on the Moon
42:27 Sci-Fi
44:08 What Brendan has been up to since finding out he was on the crew
46:40 Things to bring along on the mission
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Casey Handmer writes a blog that many of you may already read called, well, Casey Handmer's blog. His posts regularly explore fascinating space topics such as e.g. explaining misconceptions about Starship or how to terraform Mars. We could not possibly do justice to the wealth of topics he’s written about in one podcast episode, but we are talking somewhat of a whirlwind tour through some of his best known posts on space. I think you’ll really enjoy it!
https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram: @raphael_space
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:30 Casey's blog
3:57 Target audience
4:51 Topic selection
7:53 Lunar base post
8:59 Power delivery to the Moon
12:24 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
13:09 Understanding Starship
17:04 Getting humanity to Mars
21:50 Why come back to Earth?
26:05 Starship use cases on Mars
31:47 Constraints on building a self-sufficient city on Mars
33:50 Terraforming Mars
40:34 Convincing people to go to Mars
44:02 Space babies
51:51 Sci-Fi
Friday Dec 09, 2022
Friday Dec 09, 2022
Dan Katz is the co-founder and CEO of Orbital Sidekick, a San Francisco-based company deploying a constellation of hyperspectral remote sensing satellites. Among other things, I talk to Dan about the capabilities and use cases of this exciting technology. Enjoy!
Follow us:
https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space
Instagram: @raphael_space
Learn more about space & the space economy:
Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
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
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast
Timestamps
0:00 Intro2:14 Elevator Pitch3:55 What is Hyperspectral Earth Observation?10:16 Multispectral vs. Hyperspectral vs. ... Ultraspectral(?) 14:40 The upper bounds of spectral resolution18:55 Operating at night time and under cloud cover22:43 Data and onboard processing27:15 Business Model30:50 Coverage31:52 Resolution36:28 Pipeline leaks as a use case40:14 Orbital Sidekick's satellites45:43 Selling to non-space customers48:37 Vision for the company52:42 Origin story56:05 Space trends58:00 Sci-Fi
Friday Nov 25, 2022
Friday Nov 25, 2022
Egbert Jan van der Veen is the head of strategy of well-known, publicly-listed German space company OHB. He’s also the head of their corporate venture capital arm, which has invested in a number of well-known space companies, including some that have been on this podcast. So he has a really good view of the space sector in general and also specifically about space startups. Enjoy!
Btw, happy Thanksgivings holiday to our many listeners in the U.S.!
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
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
2:22 Egbert's background
5:39 Space in 2010
9:09 The OHB experience
10:38 Engineering vs. Business
11:47 What is OHB?
15:15 Vertical integration and supply chain
17:30 Cubesats and Smallsats
20:27 Vertical integration and demand
25:27 The DNA of OHB
28:12 Opportunities in satellite components
32:10 Noteworthy trends on satellite integration
34:30 The Software side of things
36:09 Rockets
40:33 OHB name origin
41:45 OHB Ventures
44:17 What kind of opportunities OHB is looking for
47:09 Disruptive Space tech in 2022
49:20 Sci-Fi
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Our guest this week is Jaume Sanpera, CEO & founder of Sateliot, a Barcelona-based startup providing IOT connectivity from space. IOT is an interesting market which various startups (and established companies) are tackling and we discuss current and future use cases, what technology Sateliot uses, how it is executing its go-to-market, and many other things. You will not want to miss this one. Enjoy!
Sateliot's job board: https://sateliot.space/en/careers/
The English version of Raphael's introductory book to the space economy will be out very soon. There continue to be the Portuguese ("Para cima") and German ("Hoch Hinaus") editions.
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
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 Intro2:23 Elevator Pitch3:47 The comparison with satellite-to-mobile 6:29 Details on system architecture9:29 Space Debris10:09 Ground based infrastructure14:42 Data and use cases22:32 Spectrum rights26:33 First coverage areas28:12 Customer acquisition34:42 Pricing and what matters to customers37:27 Ocean-based use cases41:55 10-year vision43:20 Challenges for the sector46:22 Origin story48:53 Advice on space business50:17 Sateliot is hiring51:40 What else is interesting in space52:45 Sci-Fi