Space Business Podcast

Do you want to send your DNA to space - to orbit, or to the Moon? You can already do that: LifeShip is a California-based startup offering that service. They have already sold thousands of their kits. Hear about their story from founder Ben Haldeman, who was also an early employee at Planet, the well-known Eartly observation company. Enjoy! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:12 Elevator Pitch 3:33 Origin story 5:51 From inspiration to product 7:24 The product 8:50 First Space missions 10:18 Customer motivation 14:00 Go to market 15:42 Customer demographics 17:25 What the customer gets 18:42 Future missions 21:49 What if Aliens find it? 23:23 Bureaucracy and restrictions 24:46 How to protect DNA in space 26:08 Vision 29:31 Potential future products 31:59 Funding 33:21 B2B element 35:50 What else is interesting in space? 37:58 Sci-Fi

Big satellites, REALLY big satellites – for the age of Starship. That is what our guest company this week is working on – K2 Space from Long Beach, CA - and they just raised an $8.5MM seed round. I talk to their co-founder Karan Kunjur about their satellite platform, its potential use cases, and much more. Enjoy! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:08 Elevator pitch 2:48 K2's satellite platforms 5:05 Testing large satellites 6:14 Tech challenges  8:35 Operational orbit 10:10 Space debris 12:00 Origin story of K2 14:56 Use cases 18:19 Fitting in with emerging trends 22:41 Proving your use cases and building the market 24:49 Vertical integration 27:03 Propulsion 29:26 Business model 30:51 Timeline 32:32 Hosting 34:00 Vision 37:05 Future of the satellite industry 39:25 Advice for joining the space sector 41:25 What else is interesting in the space sector? 43:04 Sci-Fi  

Sex in Space – I feel like I don’t need to say anything else about this episode. But jokes aside – besides sexual health being an important issue on long duration space missions in general, one important topic is the question of reproduction in space. We touch upon these topics and more in my conversation with Simon Dubé, a post-doctoral researcher at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University on the topic of space sexology. Enjoy! Relevant article:  "Sexual Health in Space: a 5-year Scoping Review" -https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-023-00368-9 "Technology-Based Sexualities"-   JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:23 Simon's background 3:36 Erotic interactions in space 6:28 Articles about space sexology 7:46 Sex in space? 11:26 Artificial suppression in astronauts 13:14 Specific lines of research 19:25 Research methodology 25:06 Similar situations on Earth 31:58 Dream research project 36:03 Intimacy briefing for space explorers 39:11 The "mechanics" 44:03 Reproduction in space 51:22 Work to be done 52:00 Sci-Fi

We finally have a space startup from Asia (excl. Middle East) on the podcast. Many of you probably did not know that there is a late-stage space startup in Thailand. Mu Space is a Series C stage company manufacturing smallsats and their components. I caught up with their founder & CEO James Yenbamroong in person at the Mu Space headquarter office when I passed through Bangkok this week. Enjoy! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast   Timestamps:  0:00 Intro 2:44 Elevator pitch 3:09 Origin story 5:54 Thai space ecosystem 8:15 Supply chain and doing things from scratch 9:39 Vertical integration 11:42 Mu Space's satellite platforms 13:04 Use cases 14:40 Smallsats vs. cubesats 17:00 Power 18:45 More use cases 21:18 On-board computing 24:06 First missions 27:10 Launch companies in Asia 31:00 Regulatory restrictions 33:34 Funding 34:55 Satellite production and volume manufacturing 39:08 Time from order to shipping 42:00 Customers 44:23 The Thai Food Space Mission  48:46 Mu Space's battery tech 50:16 Trends in satellite manufacturing and lay of the land 56:27 On-board propulsion systems 58:58 Space-as-a-service 01:01:05 Vision for Mu Space 01:04:33 If James wasn't doing Mu Space, what would he do in space? 01:06:25 Sci-Fi

Impulse Space is a new startup focused on space logistics, including last-mile payload delivery. The company has a first mission scheduled for fall this year, and also announced a private Mission to Mars jointly with Relativity last year. We touch upon all of this and a lot more in my conversation with their COO Barry Matsumori. Enjoy! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO 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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast 0:00 Intro 2:05 Elevator Pitch 2:34 Mission architecture 3:45 The first mission 5:01 Vehicle architecture/strategy 8:05 Vision for In-space services 13:37 Economic viability of small&medium launchers 16:18 View of the land on OTV companies 17:52 Primary users and use cases 20:07 Revenue model 20:53 The Mars mission 23:02 Financing and pricing 26:14 Tech needed to go to Mars 28:51 Propulsion system and vehicle details 33:40 Timeframe and production capacity 36:03 Starship 38:27 Vast space station deal 40:54 Vision for the space sector 42:30 Other areas that Barry is excited about 43:52 Impulse Space in 10 years 44:47 SpaceX Heritage 47:19 Medium-term futuristic possibilities 48:27 Sci-Fi

Greg Autry has worn many leadership hats in the space sector. He is currently the Clinical Professor & Director of the Space Leadership, Policy and Business Program at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He was a presidential nominee (as CFO) at NASA and continues to hold roles at the agency. He was also chair of the FAA’s COMSTAC Safety Working Group. Our conversation ranges from space entrepreneurship over space safety to geopolitics in space. I think you’ll really enjoy this one. I did! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO 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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:22 Greg's bio 6:09 Is the Space Sector an appropriate place for entrepreneurs 8:34 Space Master program at Thunderbird 11:02 What does a NASA CFO do? 13:15 More on Thunderbird 22:09 NASA InSPA 26:50 In-space manufacturing 31:35 FAA COMSTAC 35:10 Commercial space flight participant regulation 39:18 Space traffic management 44:38 "Death by China" 48:29 Astropolitics 50:27 Quickfire questions on the space sector 59:23 A message for young people 1:01:49 Sci-Fi

Establishing a human presence in the Venusian atmosphere and setting up a venture studio to help get us there? You bet. Founder and Chairman of Humans2Venus, Guillermo Söhnlein, is our guest this week.   JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO 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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 3:38 Elevator Pitch 4:43 Why Venus? 11:35 Staying in the Venusian atmosphere 15:45 "Grand Vision" argument 19:04 Technology stack 27:47 Establishing a sustainable human presence 32:43 Business opportunities and business model 37:33 What is a venture studio? 42:55 Does is work for the space sector? 46:58 Overall status of the project 49:00 Sci-Fi

Episode 100 will give you a review & preview of the Space Business Podcast, incl. favorite sci-fi of our guests!   JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO 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: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast   0:00 Intro 3:55 Stats 11:17 Quotes 14:03 Sci-Fi 16:18 The future of this podcast 18:35 Calls to action

Nuclear fusion propulsion. Do I have your attention? Probably ... after all, we need to get to places like Mars, and beyond, faster than on the current chemical rockets. There are now actually some startups working on nuclear fusion propulsion and one of them, Princeton Satellite Systems, are our guests this week. Enjoy! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO 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: 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 2:07 Elevator pitch 3:34 Future of space propulsion 5:13 Current state of fusion 10:16 Magnetic fusion 13:24 The FRC 16:47 Power budget 18:46 Terrestrial power generation use case 22:23 The Moon 25:03 What is left to do on the tech side 29:47 Timeline 31:01 Safety 33:15 In-space propulsion 36:44 NASA's past nuclear projects 37:54 Timing for prototype in space 42:43 Biggest obstacles 45:56 Beyond the current fusion engine proposal

My guest this week is Jesse Klempner, a partner in McKinsey’s Washington DC office. McKinsey is focusing more on space recently and has published a number of interesting articles (see below for some examples). We discuss why McKinsey is paying more attention to space now and how corporates can and do work with space, among other topics. Enjoy! JUST OUT: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO 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: 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 Example McKinsey space articles: Space: The missing element of your strategy Space launch - are headed for a shortfall? The potential of microgravity: How companies across sectors can venture into space Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:45 Why McKinsey is focusing more on space now 5:15 Getting space & non-space companies to cooperate 9:35 Taking the friction out of space 14:07 Companies integrating space as an enabling technology 18:29 Space mining 22:17 Space-based solar power 23:33 Lunar business models 25:14 Talking about space with the biggest companies in the world 29:15 Successful case studies of corporates implementing space 31:05 Successfully implementing new tech in an organization 31:47 How corporates can inform themselves 34:01 Most exciting space use case 36:15 Favorite space business model if you were an entrepreneur 37:31 Sci Fi