Space Business Podcast

A City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? – That is the title of a book published in late 2023 which then became an instant NY Times bestseller and went on to win a 2024 Hugo Award. My guest this week is Kelly Weinersmith, one of its two authors, together with her husband. The book is a critical, and humorously written, examination of the question of whether humanity should settle space. It touches on everything ranging from legal aspects all the way to having babies in Space. For me as a die-hard proponent of humanity settling in space, this was a fun and insightful conversation to have. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, too!

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Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" is available in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

Open Cosmos is a prominent European new space startup providing and operating satellites. They recently won a EUR60MM contract to build a remote sensing constellation for the Greek government, beating out strong and established competitors. Their co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jordi Barrera Ars is my guest. Enjoy!

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" is available in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

Timestamps:

00:00 Countdown

HEO, a space startup from Australia, uses sensors on-orbit to identify, characterize and monitor space objects at scale. Objects such as debris, but also active satellites. You can imagine there are a number of civil and defense use cases here. So-called Space Situational Awareness is a big topic these days. HEO’s founder & CEO Will Crowe is one of the best people to talk about it. Enjoy!

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" is available in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

Timestamps:

00:00 Countdown

Relativity Space, from Long Beach, California, is probably one the best-known launch startups in the world. They had a partially successful launch of their Terran One rocket last year, are now working towards the launch of the much larger Terran R, have 1200 employees and raised over $1bn in funding. My guest is their President & CFO Mo Shahzad and we talk about all things Relativity but also a little about the launch market in general. Enjoy!

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

This week we are talking about KickSky, the first incubator for Indian space startups, which is having the demo day of its first cohort on 8-May. I am talking to Ankit Anand, Partner of Riceberg Ventures and a co-founder of KickSky. We talk about why the timing is right for an Indian space incubator, what the incubation program looks like, and many other things. For full disclosure, E2MC, the space venture fund where I am partner, is also part of KickSky. If you have any interest in Indian space, don’t miss this episode! 

If you are:

- an Indian startup interested in applying to KickSky

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

Johannes Torpe is a well-known Danish designer who, among many other things, was the Creative Director at Bang & Olufsen, and once owned a space-themed night club called NASA. He is passionate about what he calls “domesticating space” – bringing space closer to people at large, beyond the existing space community. We met at Spacecom in Orlando earlier this year and finally had a chance to schedule a podcast episode to talk about all this. Enjoy!

https://www.johannestorpe.com/

Golden space suit event: https://www.designindaba.com/videos/conference-talks/danish-designer-johannes-torpe-power-design-create-universes

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

PLD Space is a Spanish launch startup. Last October, they successfully completed a suborbital test flight of their Miura-1 rocket. We talk about that flight, their future plans on the way to orbital launch, the launch market at large, and many other things, with my guest, PLD’s CFO, José Manuel Rodríguez. Enjoy!

https://www.pldspace.com/en/

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

Space Ambition is a very popular space blog on Substack, with over 11000 subscribers. Its founder Alexandra Vidyuk is our guest this week. She is also a space tech investor at Aloniq VC. We talk about both of her roles. Enjoy!

Space ambition blog: https://spaceambition.substack.com/

Aloniq VC: https://www.aloniq.com/

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

Inflatable space modules is what we are talking about in this episode, and that is Max Space’s product, a company that just came out more publicly at Space Symposium. My guest for the episode is CEO & co-founder Aaron Kemmer, who some of you may remember from his previous role as a co-founder of the in-space manufacturing company Made in Space. Aaron and I talk about his motivation to set up Max Space, and how their inflatables can be used for example as habitats, research labs, manufacturing sites and even as sports and entertainment venues in space.

https://getmaxspace.com/

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps:

We are talking about the space job market in this episode. My guests are Seyka and Brian Mejeur, the founders of AdAstra, a space talent advisory or headhunting firm. Besides talking about the trends in the space job market in general, we also discuss some advice specifically for job candidates and for space founders. Make sure to listen in!

AdAstra website:

https://adastra.us/

Legacy vs. Startup Talent - article by Brian Mejeur:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/legacy-vs-startup-talent-brian-mejeur-apu2c/?trackingId=cxpwmH5ndwd5B9AjK0yI4w%3D%3D

Follow us:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/podcast_space

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen/

Instagram -  www.instagram.com/raphael_space/

• SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Timestamps

0:00 Episode intro