GHGSat's vision is to become the global reference for remote sensing of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality gas emissions from industrial sites, using satellites. Their satellite is the first in the world capable of measuring air emissions from targeted industrial facilities. This information will help operators understand their own emissions and will stimulate the formation of markets for low-carbon solutions. In this episode, we talk to Stephane Germain, CEO of GHGSat, about the company’s upc...
Jun 17, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 20
GPS is a space-based technology that has generated trillions of dollars in economic value and some of the largest venture outcomes in history. “The GPS Playbook”, a new report by Space Capital and Silicon Valley Bank, demonstrates the potential for Space-based Communications and Geospatial Intelligence markets to generate over $1 trillion in equity value over the next decade. In this episode, we speak to Ann Kim, Managing Director and Sector Head of Frontier Technology at SVB, the bank of the wo...
May 19, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Michael Sheetz started at CNBC covering breaking news and then joined the markets team, writing about Wall Street and stocks. During that time, CNBC gave him room to report on the space industry and realized there was a huge audience for it. Investors of all kinds, from the mom and pop retail investors to the largest investors on Wall Street, were all interested in exploring opportunities in the space market. At the same time, Space Capital began releasing reports which quantified the amount of ...
May 05, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Quantum computing is advancing rapidly and this is creating a problem for secure communications that rely on the supposed mathematical complexity of asymmetric encryption keys. Although these keys are secure against computational hacks today, most are easily cracked with quantum computers. China is leading the world in creating its own impenetrable quantum secure network and looks to extend that lead by outspending the US in quantum research by 13-1 over the next three years. With offices in Sin...
Feb 18, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 17
When the number in the corner of our smartphone screens changed from 3G to 4G, few of us even noticed. The same when LTE appeared as an alternative to 4G. However, tech futurists say that fifth-generation networks will support a plethora of internet-connected sensors, vehicles, appliances, and other devices that will perform functions not yet unimagined. And satellites will play an important role in these next generation networks. In this episode, we talk to Kieran Arnold, Director of Ubiquitous...
Jan 21, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Space-based technologies are the building blocks of innovation and enable our global economy. Early infrastructure investments in GPS by the government were leveraged by distribution pioneers Trimble, Magellan, and Garmin, who not only made the signal more useful/accessible by military troops, but also for commercial purposes. The importance of this space-based signal cannot be understated and is now ubiquitous in our everyday lives through applications like Google Maps, Lyft/Uber, and Pokemon G...
Nov 26, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The legacy of satellite imagery dates back to the ’60s, but widespread access is just becoming a reality. The ubiquitous use of GPS has become engrained in everyday life, and satellite imagery is on the precipice of a similar boom. In this episode, we talk to James Slifierz, CEO of Skywatch. Skywatch makes satellite data more accessible by providing the digital infrastructure and advanced processing algorithms to integrate into any application within minutes. Skywatch's Website Remembering the F...
Sep 10, 2019•46 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Tractors have been using autonomous driving for decades, but the AgTech sector is relatively new. With water becoming a scarce resource and fertilizer waste growing, precision agriculture is paving the way toward a more sustainable farm. In this episode, we talk to Anastasia Volkova, CEO of FluroSat. FluroSat uses an analytics platform that leverages satellite imagery, agronomic models, weather, and IoT data, to provide key insights to agronomists. FluroSat's Website FluroSat Scores $3.2m Seed F...
Aug 13, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In the space, government, and science communities, Lori Garver is a household name. She served as the second-in-command at NASA during the Obama administration, where she was a key proponent of the commercial space industry. She is a co-founder of the prestigious Brooke Owens Fellowship for women in aerospace and is also the CEO of Earthrise Alliance, a new non-profit organization which is joining the fight against climate change. SpaceX could save NASA and the future of space exploration ( The ...
May 15, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 12
With the number of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) projected to swell to up to 15,000 in the next five years, space situational awareness and debris mitigation have become a much-discussed topic in the last year. In this episode, we talk to Dan Ceperly, CEO of LeoLabs, whose mission is to ensure safe commercial operations in LEO. The Space Angels and Space Capital-funded company was founded to provide a practical, cost-effective solution to debris tracking, management, and mitigation startin...
Apr 01, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Andy Aldrin is a true child of the Apollo era. Son of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, his career has spanned nearly every aspect of the space economy from big defense contractors, to entrepreneurial space, and academia. Currently an Associate Professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, Aldrin has recently launched the Center for Space Entrepreneurship, a program developed in partnership between FIT and the International Space University. He has built a modern curriculum and assembled a gr...
Feb 28, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Anousheh Ansari has many firsts to her name—the first female private space explorer, the first Iranian in space, the first blogger from space. She is also responsible for helping to open up the Entrepreneurial Space Age through her work as the title sponsor of the Ansari XPrize. We spoke with Anousheh on how she made a childhood dream reality, the profound impact space travel has had on her life, and what the future has in store for this life-long explorer.
Oct 15, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Jane Poynter is nothing if not fascinating. A former Biospherian and co-founder of Paragon Space Development Corporation, she is currently the co-founder and CEO World View, which is pioneering a new frontier at the edge of space and leading the way in the emerging stratospheric economy. Stratollites are high-altitude balloons that serve a variety of mission functions and a broad range of critical commercial needs and applications. Poynter discusses the benefits of stratollites compared with tra...
Aug 08, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 8
What rules exist to govern and grant property rights in space? What are you allowed to do and not do? And how are things changing as more new entrants join the space economy? To answer these questions, we spoke with Richard Garriott, a private astronaut and famed video game developer. He is also the Vice Chairman of Space Adventures, a trustee of the XPRIZE Foundation, a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and an advisor for our venture fund, Space Capital. But Richard’s credentials are not the reason...
May 29, 2018•42 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Investors often think space entrepreneurs like Elon Musk have achieved success all on their own. But government has played a major role in the development, growth, and revenue of companies like SpaceX. This episode's guest, Eric Stallmer, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, explains how the entire commercial space economy is built on a foundation of 60+ years of technology developed by governments. Episode 6 addresses the question: What is NASA’s role in the future entrepreneuria...
Mar 30, 2018•40 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Every year Space Angels hosts an Expedition, where a limited group of 20 of our most active investor members come together for an inside, first-hand look at the nascent private space industry. In prior years we’ve traveled to space industry hotbeds like San Francisco, Seattle, and Southern California, where members have enjoyed unique access to some of the most prominent entrepreneurial space ventures. Joining us on this year’s Expedition was author, journalist, British television personality...
Dec 28, 2017•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 5
With a number of new plans emerging to take humans to the moon and Mars, the question of affordable transportation remains. Our guest today, Chris Lewicki—CEO of Planetary Resources, has a solution. The asteroid-mining company plans to drastically reduce the cost of deep space missions by refueling launch vehicles in space with water extracted from asteroids. Their technology enables rockets bound for Mars, and other destinations, to carry five times more cargo than what’s possible toda...
Nov 24, 2017•45 min•Season 1Ep. 4
By the 2020’s, near the planned end of the life of the International Space Station, NASA’s intention is to transition Low Earth Orbit from a domain that is primarily government-led to one that is primarily led by the private sector. The future is commercial and in this episode we welcome Jeff Manber to the show, who is CEO of NanoRacks, the world's leading supplier of commercial space station services. We’ll be discussing commercial space stations and how they’ll help actualize a future where mi...
Sep 28, 2017•42 min•Season 1Ep. 2
While we went to the moon a handful of times in the Apollo era of the 1960-70’s, commercial space ventures like Astrobotic are taking us back to the moon by developing an economically viable transportation service, which will enable a sustained human presence. In this episode, we interview John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic and one of the most influential leaders in the entrepreneurial space sector. He's currently planning the world’s first commercial mission to the moon in 2019.
Sep 12, 2017•45 min•Season 1Ep. 1
