With so much discussion about the eventual retirement of the International Space Station, a lot of attention is being paid to companies developing private space stations … and there are several. A new entrant in that arena is Joules Space Technology, LLC, an aerospace research and development company focused on making space more human-friendly. They specialize in artificial gravity and are developing a space station called Space Station EO.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Jules Ross, founder and CEO of Joules Space Technology, which is developing the concept of an artificial gravity space station.
The company hopes to be the first aerospace company to conquer NASA's five hazards of human spaceflight - Space Radiation, Isolation, Distance from Earth, Gravity Field, and Hostile/Closed Environment. Space Station EO ... for Earth One ... would solve those problems with private living quarters, an electromagnetic radiation shield, Earth simulation technology to give astronauts more of a feeling of home, and be a self-sustaining dual gravity platform for science and more.
"Our platform has both environments on one platform. It has 1G and 0G. So now we can do our experiments in 1G and then do backup experiments in 0G, or vice versa," Ross said. "So the scientists and the experiment can be on the space station at the same time."
Ross envisions a future where people of ordinary means can experience space in a safe and comfortable environment, and Space Station EO could be the first step in making that vision a reality.
The C-Tech Club is a global community of founders and CEOs of construction technology start-ups. Founded in 2019, it has grown to cover 425 founders in 31 countries, creating a ‘safe space’ for them to collaborate and learn from each other. Now the C-Tech Club is getting involved with the space sector, with a Space Chapter specifically supporting founders focused on design and construction in space.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with John Priestland, founder of the C-Tech Club.
The Space Chapter’s mission is to support independent innovators whose technology is suitable for in-orbit or lunar deployment, or extreme environments or space facilities here on Earth. Founders benefit from monthly speaker meetings, a vibrant social media group, conference events (such as ‘C-Tech Club Start-up Village’ at Digital Construction Week, advocacy with Government and construction leadership groups and social events such as dinners. At these events, founders can collaborate, learn from each other and build connections with people facing the same challenges that they face.
"Now we think it's time to take that trusted environment, that 'safe space' where founders can share and work together into the space sector. Because there are really exciting developments in orbit, on the Moon and further afield, and we think it's time to help founders play their part in the space mission," Priestland said.
The Space Chapter focuses on businesses involved in on-orbit, lunar, extreme environment and space facilities opportunities. Relevant technologies are likely to include: 3D printing of structures; new materials; structural design software; robotics; hyper-accurate sensors (to allow remote handling); physical/digital twins; and novel surveying and scanning techniques. There may also be spin-offs from space-related construction technology for conventional Earth-based construction.
If you are interested in joining the C-Tech Club’s Space Chapter (which is open to founders and CEOs of start-ups actively involved in design and construction for space), please email them here.
One of the issues with satellites is that their power can be limited ... whether by the size and weight of batteries or the efficiency of their solar panels. But what if you could "plug" your satellite into a power source like you were plugging it into a wall outlet in your home or business?
That's the concept be Star Catcher, a start-up company that is working to develop a power grid in space.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Andrew Rush, Co-founder, president and CEO of Star Catcher. The company is developing technology that will collect solar power in space and beam it to client satellites on a pay-as-you-go basis.
"In space, everything is a camping trip. You have to take everything with you, and if you didn't bring it with you, you're out of luck. And that is an impediment to the commercialization, industrialization and exploration of any arena, including space. And so that's why we're trying to build this power grid. To have infrastructure so that it's just as easy to build a business in space as it is on the ground."
The Star Catcher orbital infrastructure will transform how satellites are powered, the company says. Spacecraft connect to the network and receive energy via existing solar arrays, which means there is no retrofit required to utilize the service.
The company recently closed a seed round in excess of $12 million, which it will use to grow its staff and develop the necessary technology in hopes of flying a demonstration mission late in 2025.
The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released its most recent statistics concerning the impact of Space Commerce on the country's GDP for the years 2017-2022. The findings show the space economy accounted for $131.8 billion, or 0.5 percent, of total U.S. GDP in 2022.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks to Dr. Tina Highfill, the lead economist working to develop these statistics for the BEA.
"What we see is, for the first time, this fast growth is being caused by an increase in spending from national defense ... so U.S. Space Force ... but also private R&D. Space Force does mostly R&D at this point, so a lot of R&D both in the private and government sectors is driving growth in the space economy," Highfill said.
The estimates developed by BEA give business leaders, policymakers, and the public a new tool to analyze the space economy and to inform investment decisions.
For the first time, this release of the space economy statistics is presented in the same format as BEA's official industry statistics. This means the industry detail is expanded from just over 30 industries to 75 industries, providing even more information about the industrial composition of the U.S. space economy and its changes over time. Additionally, two new datasets are provided that show price indexes for value added (also known as GDP) and gross output, also published with the same 75-industry detail. Lastly, this report focuses on GDP and chained growth rates, further aligning with BEA's official statistical releases.
New Space companies are constantly looking for alternative revenue streams to fund their projects. While many rely on traditional sources of funding, an emerging trend in the sector is Space Sponsorships.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Stirling Forbes, the founder and CEO of Forbes Space, a dedicated space sponsorship, partnership and growth services agency.
"It's a 1+1=3," Forbes said. "A brand receives the unparalleled product differentiation publicity that comes with associating with a space company, and a space company will receive the crucial financial or technical or global public awareness support for their mission, or innovation or exploration, or really just general progress for humanity."
Forbes has a Master of Science in Space Studies degree from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France, and a First Class honors BSc degree from University College London in the History and Philosophy of Science where his thesis was on the commercialization and militarization of space. Over the last five years, Stirling has established a wide network in the space, commercial and marketing sector, building numerous relationships with influential people in those industries, both in person and through LinkedIn. His network extends to over 140 individual space companies alongside over 1100 connections in a CEO, Founder or president Role.
It's pretty well known that there is a lot of debris in space. What if some of that debris could be recycled in space to create new materials which could be used for other purposes? Cislunar industries is working to create methods to recycle and repurpose metals in space.
On this edition of the Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Joe Pawelski, the co-founder and CTO of Cislunar Industries. In April of last year, the company was awarded a patent for its Space Foundry for in-space metal processing and contactless manipulation. The Modular Space Foundry technology takes recovered space debris and reprocesses it into standardized metal feedstock in the form of rod, wire filament, and other useful geometries, as well as propellant. In May, ThinkOrbital successfully operated an electron-beam welding system in space. CisLunar Industries developed the system that powered the operation, a 20kV power supply that boasts industry-leading size, weight, and power (SWaP).
"In space, the name of the game is we don't want to create more particles, or we don't want to create more debris. I mean that's the whole idea ... we're trying to prevent debris. So manufacturing processes that don't make debris and that aren't very invasive are really interesting to us."
Cislunar Industries believes that a dynamic and robust industrial in-space economy is essential to this future, and envisions a future where humanity is enabled and empowered to expand beyond Earth to permanently and sustainably settle the Solar System.
The Aerospace Corporation is an independent, nonprofit corporation operating the only Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) for the space enterprise. They perform objective technical analyses and assessments for a variety of government, civil, and commercial customers.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Sam Wilson, a systems director for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corporation and is known for his work in defense space policy, national security, and space commerce.
Sam recently published a budget brief titled 'FY 2025 Defense Space Budget: Continued Emphasis on Proliferation Under a More Constrained Top-Line'.
"You're seeing a lot of commercial companies now providing some of the same services you used to see reserved for only government missions," Wilson said. "And I think that's interesting, and we'll see what that looks like in the future."
This year’s request includes funding for new proliferated networks of communications satellites and increasing attention on commercial satellite communications. With more limited growth, the presidential budget request reflects trade-offs and priorities for DOD’s space activity.
Lonestar Data Holdings is a pioneering company that offers Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) from the Moon. On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Chris Stott, the Founder and CEO of Lonestar Data Holdings.
In February, Lonestar successfully demonstrated the concept of data storage and retrieval from the Moon as part of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission. From the surface of the Moon, Lonestar's Independence payload successfully completed the first ever data center test in their proof-of-concept demonstration. This included the transmission of the Declaration of Independence from Earth to the Moon and the receipt back from the Moon of a copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, all while ensuring data storage on the Moon for the State of Florida.
Stott says that his market is terrestrial. Lonestar uses space to serve that market.
"This idea of where to keep your data, data has a passport. Especially if you're regulated data from a country or a company, it's finding the right location that offers you protection under data sovereignty laws, as well as access to your data in a safe and secure manner. For us, space was that solution."
Lonestar recently announced their second lunar data center mission, the Freedom Payload, scheduled to launch with Intuitive Machines on their IM-2 Lander.
Imagine getting critical supplies ... or frankly almost anything ... delivered to nearly any location from space. That is the vision of Inversion Space, a company creating autonomous re-entry vehicles to deliver cargo from space, making space a transportation layer for Earth.
"At Inversion, our goal is to be able to make it so that humanity can deliver cargo to anywhere on Earth in under an hour." Justin Fiaschetti, Inversion Space
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Justin Fiaschetti, the CEO of Inversion Space.
The company currently has two capsules under development. Ray is designed for technology maturation, and Arc, which will be a fully autonomous global delivery system. The company was founded in 2021 and went through Y Combinator, securing funding from various partners.
"At Inversion, our goal is to be able to make it so that humanity can deliver cargo to anywhere on Earth in under an hour," Fiaschetti said. "Taking that transportation modality that happens on the ground right now, whether it be through boats or aircraft or rail, and adding a layer on top of that that's faster, has less infrastructure, and can allow for full global reach without any terrestrial infrastructure."
Inversion is creating nearly every component of the Ray and Arc capsules in house, with each being purpose-built for the system. The first test of Ray is planned for later this year.
https://www.inversionspace.com
The Radiation Team is a radiation reliability consulting provider specializing in delivering customized, cost-effective radiation solutions for mission-critical space systems. They focus on accurate analysis, speed, efficiency, and necessary and sufficient engineering to mitigate the impacts and risks of ionizing radiation throughout the development lifecycle of space systems.
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Reston, WA, The Radiation Team works with clients, often from mission inception, to determine what are the risks of radiation exposure to critical components, and then develop strategies to protect those components.
"The field is so broad, identifying what is the best approach to take for a customer or a mission is part of the challenge," Chertkow said.
Prior to founding The Radiation Team, Chertkow worked at both Blue Origin and SpaceX in lead roles in the radiation field.
Space Florida is the state's aerospace finance and development authority, dedicated to strengthening Florida's position as a global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration, and commerce. As the state's premier aerospace entity, Space Florida is committed to attracting and expanding the next generation of space industry businesses.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida. He was named to the position last year following the retirement of Frank DiBello.
Rob has over 25 years of leadership experience in the aerospace industry. His expertise spans launch operations, logistics, and spaceport management. His strategic vision aims to position Florida as a global hub for aerospace commerce.
"We are definitely engaged from the start-up side, we do a lot with capital accelerator programs, we work with Florida Venture Forum and other similar organizations to male sure we're involved in some of those early aerospace companies. Small mid-cap companies to the largest Fortune 500 companies. We have the ability to deal with all of those," Long said.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Kevin Stadnyk, co-founder and CEO of Obruta Space Solutions.
Obruta Space Solutions is a Canadian company specializing in space robotics and technologies. Their mission revolves around enabling satellite servicing and addressing the challenges of space debris removal. The company does not build hardware for those tasks, but rather develops the software that will eventually allow such spacecraft to operate autonomously.
The company is developing a rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking (RPOD) system. With this "RPOD Kit", Obruta enables orbital service providers to perform services such as on-orbit refueling, life-extension, and debris removal—services which exponentially increase a space asset's value. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are currently conducting ROPD experiments in preparation for free-flying test in the future
"There will be humans in the loop for the initial and foreseeable future in some capacity," Stadnyk said. "Similar to self-driving cars, the end goal is reaching full autonomy, but we know that it's not realistic to start this whole technology by being fully autonomous. It's just won't be safe enough, it won't be reliable enough."
Kevin holds two degrees in aerospace engineering and a background focused on satellite attitude control, orbital mechanics, and space debris removal technologies.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Matt George and Josh Foerschler of Burns & McDonnell, a design/build company with expertise constructing facilities for the space industry.
Josh Foerschler is Business Development Lead for space-related facilities, and Matt George serves as a project manager for space-related facilities at Burns & McDonnell.
The company's portfolio includes a 125,000 sq.ft. facility for Intuitive Machines, which recently landed a spacecraft on the Moon. Incorporated into the design are advanced manufacturing and production spaces, 3D printing areas, machine shops, research and development laboratories, clean rooms, and large-scale spacecraft assembly areas. Unique to the facility are mission control rooms to track and manage lunar missions, and a propulsion test facility to assess lunar lander engine capabilities. The space also includes offices, meeting areas, conference rooms and other amenities for both Intuitive Machines and its partners/tenants.
"We built them basically an engine testing verification facility on Houston spaceport. They call it "The Flame Range" or "The Rocket Petting Zoo"," Foerschler said.
The Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications, and Hypersonics Hub (iLAuNCH) program is a collaboration of regionally based institutions, led by the University of Southern Queensland with The Australian National University, and the University of South Australia.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Dr. Joni Sytsma, Chief Technology Officer of iLAuNCH.
The effort is part of the Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program delivered by the Department of Education. Through this program, the Australian Government will build new research capabilities, driving commercialization outcomes and investing in new industry engagement opportunities.
"I like to think I'm building the science fiction future," Dr. Sytsma said. "And my science fiction future has space cities, and space travel as an everyday thing."
A total of $370.3 million will be invested from 2022–2026 to build additional capacity to focus on the problems that matter to the nation by driving research excellence and real-world impact.
Six Australian universities will become leaders in research commercialisation, with dedicated investment in priority areas. Each Trailblazer university will receive $50 million, which will be matched by university and industry partner contributions.
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with James Perry, Executive VP of ASTERRA, a company providing data-driven solutions for water utilities, government agencies, and the broader infrastructure industry. Their expertise lies in leak detection, infrastructure analysis, and soil characteristics monitoring.
Based in Israel with offices in San Diego, CA, ASTERRA develops innovative tools to enhance water management and infrastructure resilience using geospatial data. The company provides a number of industries with intelligence and insights from beneath the surface of their largest installations. Without breaking ground, ASTERRA uses patented algorithms and artificial intelligence to detect leaks, assess pipes, and locate moisture near major installations.
James Perry has spent over thirty years driving disruptive innovation. In both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies, James’ key mission is market adoption and to achieve a deeper foothold into new markets. James currently serves as the VP for Business Development at ASTERRA, based in San Diego, CA. In his free time James likes to sail out of the Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego and held the position of Commodore in 2016.
"What we're able to do is break down the ecosystem of maintaining water supply where leakage is causing non-revenue water challenges," Perry said.
GITAI Robotics is a space robotics startup that aims to provide safe and affordable labor in space while reducing operational costs by two orders of magnitude. The company is developing highly capable, safe, and reliable robots for ISAM (In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) services, including building and maintaining satellites, as well as space stations, lunar bases, and cities on Mars.
The GITAI Robotics S-2 robotic arm was recently transported to the International Space Station for a demonstration mission, and the company was also selected for the DARPA 10 program last month.
Nakanose said that the arm can be useful in relieving highly-trained from repetitive chores such as cleaning and routine maintenance. "Of course its important, but we can replace that kind of daily chores ... or dangerous operations ... with robots, robotic technologies," he said.
How does what happens in space affect your everyday life? The Ex Terra podcast is dedicated to introducing you to many of the interesting people involved in the commercial space industry, and taking you behind the scenes with many of the companies making significant contributions to the new space economy. The podcast is available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Breaker, Overcast, Pocketcasts and Radio Public.
Last year saw the largest number of rocket launches, the largest mass to orbit ever achieved, and a wide variety of space missions by a growing number of countries and companies.
In short, it’s getting busy up there. So how can we keep ourselves safe and free from collision and conflict?
Robin Dickey is a space policy and strategy analyst at The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy. She focuses on national security, space, geopolitics, and international relations. She recently published a paper titled “(Space) Ships Passing in the Night: Translating Maritime Rules of the Road for the Space Domain” which sheds light on this situation.
"Some of these maritime domain principals help make it easier to make the interactions between different satellites and different satellite operators more regular, more predictable, less risky, and all of those things can help ensure in the long term that commerce in space is able to flourish," Dickey said.
How does what happens in space affect your everyday life? The Ex Terra podcast is dedicated to introducing you to many of the interesting people involved in the commercial space industry, and taking you behind the scenes with many of the companies making significant contributions to the new space economy. The podcast is available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, Breaker, Overcast, Pocketcasts and Radio Public.
Young entrepreneurs will be the future of space commerce, just as they are in most industries.On this edition of the Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Madison Feehan, who is leading multiple space commerce efforts … one that is involved in looking at ways to build on the Moon, and the other working on advanced space robotics and STEM education.
"In Junior High School I created a 3D CAD model prototype for a Mars habitat that was created using 3D printers. That didn't actually take off." Madison Feehan
At just 20 years old, Madison is the COO of Space Copy, and the co-founder and CFO of Moon Trades.
Space Copy is the first multi-purpose interplanetary manufacturing device that combines lunar regolith sampling, spectral data analysis, and 3D printing into one mechanism. Space Copy works to reduce the costs of frequent payload service missions, and well as reduce the amount of pollution and debris emitted by continuous resupply missions sent to the lunar surface to sustain long-term human presence by providing an in-situ resource utilization technology to be used directly on the Moon and Mars to create supplies needed to sustain human life.
"In Junior High School I created a 3D CAD model prototype for a Mars habitat that was created using 3D printers. I actually submitted it to NASA to see if anyone was intersted in developing the theory into an actual technology. That didn't actually take off," Madison said. "And when I was 16 I was approached by the same NASA office that I had previously sent that project off to, and they offered me a contract position to review some innovations for science instruments that were being developed for terrestrial and Lunar use."
Moon Trades is a global consortium designing lunar robotics for mining and AI space education for STEM enthusiasts.
In her "spare" time, Madison advises young people considering STEM and space careers.
Madison is a graduate of Harvard Business School ('22) - Entrepreneurship Essentials (2021), Negotiation Mastery (2022), Disruptive Strategy (2022); Comprehensive Certificate of Specialization in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Harvard Business School Online, class of 2022.
The Ex Terra Podcast has been named one of the Internet's top 15 Space Business Podcasts by Feedspot. We hope you'll subscribe to stay up to date on Space Commerce through our interviews with leaders in the industry.
On a programming note, this is our final podcast to 2023. We'll return in January. We wish you all an outstanding holiday season.
Arcfield was launched as a stand-alone company in 2021, but it has a long history in the aerospace industry dating back to 1957. The company was created to serve a single purpose: to solve the most complex and demanding national security and space-related challenges.
"We do an analysis every year of what our mission partners need, both government and commercial." Kevin Kelly, Arcfield
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Kevin Kelly, CEO of Arcfield.
Recently, Arcfield announced the acquisition of Orion Space Solutions, a company that applies fundamental space physics knowledge to solve real-world problems encountered in the space environment.
"We do an analysis every year of what our mission partners need, both government and commercial. We identify what those gap areas are. If it has capabilities that we feel we need to make part of Archfield's enterprise, we can either buy it or build it," Kelly said.
Kevin Kelly has been an active leader in the defense and intelligence industry for more than 30 years with proven success leading and managing companies through growth activities. He is passionate about innovation and ensuring that a company leverages its people, processes and technologies to its maximum potential to deliver for its customers.
Prior to Arcfield, Kevin was the CEO of LGS Innovations, a privately held independent technology company that was eventually acquired by CACI International in March of 2019. After its acquisition, Kevin oversaw the company’s integration into CACI through the company’s creation of a new high-tech sector (National Security and Innovation Solutions Sector), where Kevin would ultimately serve as president. In this role, Kevin oversaw the operations of a $2B business consisting of the technology and products portions of several key acquisitions; namely LGS Innovations, SIX3 Systems, TICOM Geomatics, and L3 NSS.
Sateliot is the first satellite operator to offer IoT or Internet of Things connectivity over standard 5G Narrow Band-IoT. Their constellation serves as cell towers in space, expanding mobile operator coverage and providing global connectivity to unmodified commercial terrestrial devices wherever they are.
"Everything is going to take some time to be in the hands of everyone everywhere. But it's going to happen, and that's the revolutionary thing." Gianluca Redolfi, Sateliot
On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks With Gianluca Redolfi, Chief Commercial Officer of Barcelona, Spain-based Sateliot.
"What we are providing from the satellites is an extension of the current coverage," Redolfi said. "Because in many ... use cases, they do not have connectivity."
In April of this year, Sateliot launched the first of its planned 250-satellite constellation. "Groundbreaker" is a 22-pound spacecraft that will allow users to seamlessly switch from a terrestrial to a non-terrestrial 5G network, with no need to purchase any extra hardware, such as antennas or modems. Also, they can keep using their current sim cards and mobile operators, thanks to the standard roaming agreements carried out by Sateliot. This eases the way to a massive Internet of Things adoption worldwide.
"Everything is going to take some time to be in the hands of everyone everywhere," Redolfi said. "But it's going to happen, and that's the revolutionary thing."