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Two words: space robotics. Gitai, founded in Japan and now headquartered in the U.S. wants to significantly bring down the cost of labor in space -in orbit, on space stations, on the Moon, even on Mars- with its robotic technology. My guest is Gitai’s founder & CEO, Sho Nakanose. Gitai website (incl. careers): https://gitai.tech/ 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: SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/ The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Timestamps0:00 Intro2:31 Elevator Pitch3:50 Gitai's origin story6:18 Pitching the company 7 years ago9:08 Shifting perceptions11:13 Gitai's products13:50 Engineering approach19:12 Use cases24:50 Customers26:40 First lunar use case28:00 First lunar demonstration30:07 Next major milestones32:35 Business model33:45 Vision for the Company35:00 Cost target36:45 Future missions38:45 Mass production & supply chain41:25 Humanoid robots45:25 Terrestrial business options48:40 Gitai is hiring!50:00 What else is interesting in the space sector51:38 Sci Fi

This is our annual preview episode, about some of the key things which may happen in the space sector in 2024. 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: SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/ The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro1:40 Preview episode initial remarks2:27 Launch10:07 Spacecraft10:43 Human spaceflight14:12 Lunar15:55 Science17:17 Government18:05 Satellite Communications18:48 Earth Observation19:20 OSAM20:44 Finance and Funding24:00 Events and Education24:58 Poll on most exciting space events in 2024

In-space manufacturing is what we are discussing in this episode, and we have a really cool and qualified guest: Jessica Frick is a researcher at Stanford’s XLab, the extreme environment microsystems lab. They recently held a workshop on semiconductor manufacturing in microgravity, just published a white paper about it (linked below), and are now setting up an institute focused on manufacturing advanced materials in microgravity. Enjoy! The Institute for In-Space Manufacturing of Advanced Materials https://rb.gy/b4661j White paper: Semiconductor Manufacturing in Low-Earth Orbit for Terrestrial Use https://osf.io/preprints/osf/d6ar4 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: SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/ The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:20 Intro to XLab & Jessica4:37 Jessica's origin story & motivation8:54 Semiconductor manufacturing primer14:15 In-space manufacturing for Earth15:58 Which part of semi manufacturing makes sense to do in space17:30 Advantages of microgravity 18:50 Could it be done on Earth?20:25 Advantages of microgravity (cont'd)26:20 Semiconductor materials besides silicon28:50 Why larger crystals are better35:45 Why now?38:45 Safety & astronaut intervention40:30 Microgravity platforms besides the ISS41:40 Importance of subject matter expertise45:00 Origin of the idea for the new institute54:55 Current ISS equipment55:55 The Institute for In-Space Manufacturing of Advanced Materials1:02:00 How to get involved1:04:25 Sci-fi

Satellite IoT, or internet of things – we have another episode on this topic. Which devices or machines can we connect via satellite communications, how and why? Our guest is Omar Qaise, the founder & CEO of Luxembourg-based OQ Technology, a prominent satellite IoT startup that has already several satellites in orbit. Enjoy! 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: SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: Raphael's fully revised introductory book on the Space economy, "To Infinity" - https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/ The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:19 Elevator Pitch3:33 Devices outside of coverage that would benefit6:33 How are people monitoring such devices right now?8:01 Cost10:55 Working with off the shelf hardware12:33 Regulations15:27 Go to market18:48 Energy specific use cases19:56 Go to market: push vs. pull21:14 Coverage and constellation size22:13 Lower latency use cases23:57 Types of satellite24:55 Direct to device vs direct to mobile26:12 Receivers28:20 Wearables30:04 Cybersecurity32:26 Most exciting future use cases36:10 Future of the satellite IoT market42:03 Origin story44:08 Vision for the OQ45:10 The Space Ecosystem in Luxemburg47:10 Saudi Arabia49:15 What else is exciting in the space sector?51:12 Sci-Fi

Space & bio – we finally have the 2nd episode in our subseries on this topic. Dorit Donoviel is the Director of the Translational Research Institute for Space Health. TRISH is an institute that is cooperating with NASA and conducting a fascinating range of research regarding human health in space. Our discussion touches on many topics, ranging from challenges to human physiology in microgravity all the way to the question of whether we can use gene editing to adapt ourselves to the space environment. Enjoy! SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps0:00 Intro2:35 TRISH3:50 Staying healthy in space7:36 Health concerns in microgravity12:07 Eye and brain issues13:40 Artificial gravity15:40 Licensing18:46 Moon & Mars22:50 Medical equipment and treatment in space27:00 Surgery29:22 Positive effects in space33:03 Longevity in space34:50 Gene editing39:28 Reproduction in space43:33 Research projects if more funding was available45:23 Food production47:31 Astronaut health monitoring50:00 Beyond R&D53:55 Organ-on-chip models56:33 How one can get involved in TRISH1:00:17 Sci-fi

Light sails – really thin sails that are propelled by photons flying around in space – have been proposed as an alternative propulsion method to travel the cosmos for a long time. Now, there is a startup company in France working to commercialize them. Their co-founder & CEO, Andrew Nutter, is our guest this week. Enjoy! SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps: 0:00 Intro2:01 Elevator pitch2:49 Origin story4:22 History of light sails8:59 Planetary Society mission11:12 Folding the sail14:20 Hazards in space16:04 Further specs of Gama's sail17:56 Velocity and Acceleration Specs22:23 Oumuamua24:01 Use cases30:16 Dragsail application34:41 GTM & missions37:51 Deep space demonstration39:25 Timeline & long term vision for the company42:24 Business Model45:35 What else is interesting in space?47:30 Sci-Fi

The ground segment for satellites is obviously an important part of the space ecosystem. Giovanni Pandolfi is a co-founder of LeafSpace, one of the prominent startups in this field.  https://leaf.space/ Enjoy! SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps0:00 Intro2:05 Elevator Pitch3:09 Leafspace's origin story6:04 Finding a business opportunity in the space sector8:22 Biggest challenges starting straight out of university11:30 First commercial push12:51 Initial approach16:10 Not being held back by the legacy way of doing things17:30 Antenna building vs. buying19:00 Product & customer experience22:01 Kinds of applications that Leaf Space can support25:05 AWS30:13 Ten-year vision for Leaf Space32:45 Vision for the broader ground segment sector37:08 Frequency bands40:03 What else in space is interesting?41:30 Sci-Fi

India's space sector is really blasting off (pun intended!). Among other things, the country just became only the fourth one to soft land on the Moon. So it's only fitting that we'll have more Indian space companies and people as guests. Our first one is Tushar Jadhav, founder and CEO of Manastu Space, a propulsion startup from Mumbai that recently announced a $3MM financing round (for full disclosure, E2MC, the space VC fund where Raphael is a partner, is an investor in that round). Please enjoy hearing about Manastu and space in India! SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps: 0:00 Intro3:14 Elevator pitch3:55 Green satellite propultion9:20 Why was hydrazine originally chosen?11:15  The current system15:09 Hydrogen peroxide18:31 Chemical propulsion vs electrical propulsion 23:01 Manastu's product & business model25:45 In-orbit demonstration26:27 Main customer group27:26 Export control28:23 Scaling up & adding on services30:52 Vision for the company31:45 Origin story35:38 Indian Space Ecosystem44:16 What's next?46:15 Sci-fi  

My guest this week is Loren Grush. You may know her already as a space journalist, currently at Bloomberg and previously at The Verge. She also just published a book: “The Six” is telling the story of America’s first women astronauts - and that is what we’re talking about in this episode. Enjoy! Loren's book "The Six": https://www.simonandschuster.biz/books/The-Six/Loren-Grush/9781982172800 SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: 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 The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast Timestamps:0:00 Intro2:00 Loren's background2:53 Being a NASA kid6:24 Support from the community7:50 Loren's new book9:02 Why this topic?10:45 Challenges of women in the space sector16:00 The Mercury 1318:00 Surprising findings in research for the book19:17 Competitiveness among The Six22:20 A favorite one?23:50 Legacy of The Six25:21 Normalizing women in space29:17 Female Astronauts32:44 International Female Astronauts34:10 Future books36:17 How can we improve the gender imbalance in the space sector?40:23 Final message for women looking to join the space sector

Our guest this week is building a lunar rover. Jaret Matthews is the CEO & Founder of Astrolab, based in Hawthorne, CA. He was previously at SpaceX and also at JPL, where he worked on Mars rovers. Come join us to hear all about planetary rovers!  https://astrolab.space/ SPACE ECONOMY BOOK: 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 Intro2:21 Elevator Pitch3:11 "Last Mile" on the Moon5:27 Flex rover in the context of other rovers9:10 Payloads11:30 Scaling challenges13:46 Autonomy15:33 "Off-road" capability19:23 Vehicle specs22:23 Vehicle lifetime and surviving on the Moon29:34 Spare parts33:06 Infrastructure34:22 Main use cases38:27 Vision for mobility landscape on the Moon41:37 The motivation behind Astrolab46:46 What else is interesting in the space sector48:15 What could be the "first killer app" for the Moon?50:07 Sci-Fi

Space Traffic Management continues to be a hot topic as we keep on hearing about companies like SpaceX having to execute large numbers of collision avoidance maneuvers.  Portugal-based Neuraspace is focused on this and has raised a significant amount of money already to build their AI-based platform. COO Chiara Manfletti is our guest 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 Intro2:09 Elevator pitch3:00 Defining SSA, SDA, STM, etc.5:43 How much we actually know10:06 Data availability and gaps12:28 Customers and market adoption15:36 How concerned should satellite operators be?17:22 Why aren't we seeing collisions all the time?21:56 Active debris removal and the "tragedy of commons" in space24:53 Business model27:00 Right of way32:49 Regulation34:45 Incentives and insurance39:55 Customers40:17 Vision for Neuraspace41:08 Use of funds42:42 The Portuguese space ecosystem44:46 How Chiara got involved with Neuraspace47:47 What else is interesting in space?49:18 Sci Fi

Alcohol in Space 🍸 – that is actually the title of an existing book, written by Chris Carberry, who is also the CEO of Explore Mars. Chris is our guest this week and we’re talking about everything alcohol in space – from the history of liquor consumption in space, over its effects in microgravity, all the way to what kind of drinks we may produce in space in the future. Cheers & 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 Alcohol in Space - the book: https://www.amazon.com/Alcohol-Space-Past-Present-Future/dp/147667924X Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:22 Chris background 3:49 The history of alcohol in Space 8:47 Taste in space 11:57 Alcohol on private missions like Ax-3 13:09 Current rules 14:04 Religious use 14:53 Reasons for current prohibition 17:04 Physiological impact of alcohol in space 18:25 Fully private missions 20:17 Upcoming space stations 22:20 Examples of liquor companies interested in space 25:30 Space Cargo Unlimited and its wine on the ISS 28:12 Producing alcohol in space 32:32 Potential future for alcohol in space 36:15 Sub-Orbital spaceflights 38:09 Other alcohol-related space business opportunities 40:38 Chris's favorite drink 41:03 Drinks that are connected to places in space 42:27 Sci-Fi and alcohol in space