Space Business Podcast #123 - José Manuel Rodríguez, PLD Space: Launch

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 - interested in becoming a mentor at KickSky - interested in joining KickSky's investor network please go to https://www.kicksky.space 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 Intro 2:19 Ankit's background and the Indian space ecosystem 13:34 Space Sector in India - Government & commercial 17:34 Kicksky's structure and program 26:22 Mentoring 31:16 Demo-day and practical examples 37:12 Experience of being an incubator 40:01 Future plans 43:08 Apply to Kicksky 43:37 Sci-fi

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/ 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 Intro 2:36 Johannes's background 6:05 Golden space suit entry 11:15 Connecting people to the Space Renaissance 18:42 Domesticating Space 21:50 The Space Mountain Case and Space "Retroism" 27:22 Potential ways of inspiring people 31:06 Hotels & Resorts 34:15 "Edutainment" 37:07 NASA Nightclub 42:36 Space & the arts 47:57 Current space-related projects 53:49 Sci-fi

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/ 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 Intro 2:20 Elevator Pitch 6:05 European access to space 9:17 Business Model 13:17 Specs 18:10 Rocket engines 19:20 Production capacity 20:54 Scaling up 23:41 Europe vs. other markets 25:50 Customers 28:50 Gaining trust with customers 33:27 User guide 35:40 Launch market 39:10 Sovereign launch 42:08 Spaceports 44:18 Orbits 47:00 Future milestones 49:45 Team 53:38 Other interesting space activities 55:30 Sci-Fi

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/ 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 Intro 2:08 Alex's activities in the space sector 3:10 Space Ambition origins 5:48 Transitioning into the space sector 7:23 What is Space Ambition? 9:04 Topics 11:42 "Spotlights" 14:30 Insights from Spotlights 17:30 Women in Space 20:20 Dream guest 21:61 Insights of space tech investors 22:58 Other space media 25:13 Getting into space investing 27:28 Other deep tech areas vs. space 29:33 Interesting areas in space 31:33 Investor perspectives 35:53 The Singapore Space Ecosystem 38:58 Sci-fi

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. For full disclosure: Max Space is a portfolio company of E2MC, the space venture capital fund founded by our host Raphael Roettgen. https://getmaxspace.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: 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 Intro 2:26 Max Space 3:32 Rationale for starting Max Space 7:22 Inflatables 9:26 Space in space 13:13 In-space experiments 15:51 Business model 18:13 Customization for use cases 21:13 User guide 22:27 Life support and space hazards 26:48 End of life planning 30:18 Inflatables beyond Earth orbit 35:50 Volume 36:44 Fitting windows & other structures 40:00 Inflating 41:00 First module in space 43:12 Major to-dos and milestones 46:25 Regulatory process 47:52 Long-term vision 51:20 Other exciting things in the space industry 55:07 Sci-fi

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/ 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 Episode intro 2:07 Intro to AdAstra 2:37 Life before AdAstra 6:29 Market demand & scope of roles 8:29 Advice for startups 10:51 Startup culture vs legacy culture 14:42 Advice for job candidates 17:32 Pre-filtering 21:22 Interview process 25:45 Getting candidates from non-space companies 29:40 Bottlenecks 35:12 Restrictions on international candidates 40:51 Gender imbalance in the space sector 45:40 Subsector trends 48:10 Roles & skills trends 50:25 Regional Trends 52:30 Compensation packages 57:40 Protecting clients 59:35 Space sector general interests 1:02:24 Sci-fi

We are back talking about Earth observation. Specifically about how to make accessing and using EO data user-friendly. Our guest this week is Luke Fischer, co-founder & CEO of Sky-Fi, an Austin-based startup that is essentially an EO market place and app store. Luke tells us all about SkyFi and his view on the state of EO 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/ 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 Intro 2:35 Elevator pitch 3:40 EO data use now 8:08 SkyFi's product 11:42 A vision for space imagery 14:30 Business development 17:50 Business model & use cases 20:20 Customer service 21:30 Market education 23:20 Government impact 25:30 Trends, future tech & market gaps 28:10 Regulatory restrictions  31:50 Consolidation potential impact 37:20 User friendliness 39:40 Interesting customer behavior & use cases 43:40 Next milestones for SkyFi 46:10 Ten-year vision 49:15 SkyFi is hiring 50:15 What else is interesting in the space sector? 51:25 Sci-Fi

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. Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:31 Elevator Pitch 3:50 Gitai's origin story 6:18 Pitching the company 7 years ago 9:08 Shifting perceptions 11:13 Gitai's products 13:50 Engineering approach 19:12 Use cases 24:50 Customers 26:40 First lunar use case 28:00 First lunar demonstration 30:07 Next major milestones 32:35 Business model 33:45 Vision for the Company 35:00 Cost target 36:45 Future missions 38:45 Mass production & supply chain 41:25 Humanoid robots 45:25 Terrestrial business options 48:40 Gitai is hiring! 50:00 What else is interesting in the space sector 51:38 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 Intro 1:40 Preview episode initial remarks 2:27 Launch 10:07 Spacecraft 10:43 Human spaceflight 14:12 Lunar 15:55 Science 17:17 Government 18:05 Satellite Communications 18:48 Earth Observation 19:20 OSAM 20:44 Finance and Funding 24:00 Events and Education 24:58 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 Intro 2:20 Intro to XLab & Jessica 4:37 Jessica's origin story & motivation 8:54 Semiconductor manufacturing primer 14:15 In-space manufacturing for Earth 15:58 Which part of semi manufacturing makes sense to do in space 17:30 Advantages of microgravity  18:50 Could it be done on Earth? 20:25 Advantages of microgravity (cont'd) 26:20 Semiconductor materials besides silicon 28:50 Why larger crystals are better 35:45 Why now? 38:45 Safety & astronaut intervention 40:30 Microgravity platforms besides the ISS 41:40 Importance of subject matter expertise 45:00 Origin of the idea for the new institute 54:55 Current ISS equipment 55:55 The Institute for In-Space Manufacturing of Advanced Materials 1:02:00 How to get involved 1:04:25 Sci-fi