Space Business Podcast #140 | Mining Asteroids | Daynan Crull, Karman+
Mar 10, 2025
Daynan Crull, Co-founder and Mission Architect at Karman+, dives into the exciting world of asteroid mining. He explains how his company aims to extract water and resources from near-Earth asteroids, addressing the future potential for in-space customers. Daynan discusses the unique challenges of recruitment and the importance of market timing, while exploring legal frameworks for space resource extraction. He highlights the economic viability of these missions and shares visions inspired by sci-fi classics, bringing a fascinating perspective on the future of space exploration.
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Resources For Space First
- Karman+ focuses on mining near-Earth asteroids to produce water and consumables for in-space use before pursuing Earth-bound minerals.
- They believe supplying space customers (e.g., refueling) creates a sustainable demand-driven pathway for asteroid resources.
Recruit By Offering Fast Missions
- Hire people who share the vision and can build teams, not just technical talent.
- Offer engineers rapid iteration and near-term missions to attract top talent from established firms.
Founders Came From Tech, Not Aerospace
- Daynan and co-founder Ton built the company after selling a prior non-space startup and researching past asteroid efforts thoroughly.
- They attracted team members by offering fast iterations and missions that could happen in a few years rather than decades.
