Space to Grow is a new book on the space economy. Its authors, Matt Weinzierl, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Brendan Rosseau, also formerly of Harvard and now in strategy at Blue Origin, are my guests this week. Enjoy!

Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier (Harvard Business Publishing, 2025)

https://www.amazon.com/Space-Grow-Unlocking-Economic-Frontier/dp/1647827167#:~:text=Book%20overview&text=An%20exploration%20of%20the%20dynamic,a%20commercial%20revolution%20right%20now.

🕰️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

05:16 - Building a Thriving Space Economy

09:15 - Government's Role in the Space Economy

11:07 - Regulatory and Economic Environment

14:33 - Economies beyond Regulation

19:02 - Government Dependency in Space Markets

25:32 - Historical Parallels and Lessons for Space

30:12 - Defining a Thriving Space Economy

33:02 - Challenges and Opportunities in Space Manufacturing

35:29 - Role of Government and Private Sector in Space

41:18 - Financing the Space Economy

45:55 - Factors limiting large-scale funding in Space

53:19 - What’s next in Space?

54:45 - Sci-Fi Favorites

📍 About the Guests:

Matthew C. Weinzierl

Matthew C. Weinzierl is the author of Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier (Harvard Business Publishing, 2025) an American academic. He is a Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He has published research on taxation. He worked at McKinsey & Company after he attended Harvard University. Weinzierl earned a PhD in economics from Harvard University in 2008.

Brendan Rosseau

Brendan Rosseau is the co-author of Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier (Harvard Business Publishing, 2025), Strategy Manager at Blue Origin, and former Teaching Fellow at Harvard Business School. With experience in space consulting, policy, aerospace startups, and astrophysical research, they have a background in astronomy and economics. Former Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton supporting U.S. Space Force.

🔗 Connect with them on LinkedIn:

🤝Matthew Weinzierl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-weinzierl-67312846/

🤝Brendan Rosseau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-rosseau/

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

My guest this week is Stan Maximin, Founder & Executive Chairman of Latitude, a French micro-launch company. We discuss Latitude's rocket, target customers, and vision, as well as the wider launch market in Europe and globally. Enjoy!

🕰️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:28 - Elevator Pitch

02:57 - Starting a Launch Company

11:20 - The Product

16:44 - Competitive Edge

25:30 - Design Decisions & Market Strategy

35:09 - Current Status & Future Milestones

40:30 - Challenges of First Orbital Launch

43:37 - French and European Competition

52:32 - Global Space Market

55:16 - Quick Fire Questions

57:30 - Vision for Latitude

58:27 - What’s next for Rocket Innovation?

01:00:24 - Sci-Fi Favorites

🔗 Connect with Stan on LinkedIn:

🤝Stanislas Maximin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislas-maximin/

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Ariel Ekblaw is an MIT aero-astro engineer who founded the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative, and developed a new technique to build large-scale space structures. She now runs the Aurelia Institute, a non-for-profit dedicated to building humanity’s future in space and the Aurelia Foundry, a space-focused VC fund. We talk about all of these things in this episode. Enjoy!

🕰️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:47 - Ariel’s Background

06:07 - Self-Assembling Space Structures

10:44 - Applications of Space Real Estate

22:45 - Balancing Form and Function

25:13 - Vision for Aurelia Foundry

26:54 - Promising Sectors for Investment

33:12 - Unexplored Space Manufacturing Use-cases

35:40 - Future of Space Urbanism

38:34 - Challenges and Concerns in Space

41:29 - Recurrent Thoughts on Space

43:29 - Sci-Fi Favorites

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://.instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Space Piracy is a new book about the prospect of organized crime in the space sector, anything ranging from hacking for ransom payments all the way to, some time in the future, actual piracy. The book’s co-authors, Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor are my guests Enjoy!

🕰️ Timestamps:

📍 About the Guests:

Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor are co-authors of the forthcoming book "Space Piracy - Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit", available e.g. on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Space-Piracy-Preparing-Criminal-Crisis/dp/1394240201/

🔗 Connect with them on LinkedIn:

🤝 Marc Feldman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-feldman-599382243/

🤝 Hugh Taylor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hughbtaylor/

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

This is my preview of what the coming year 2025 may hold for the Space sector - including in launch, satcom, earth observation, lunar exploration, in-space manufacturing, science, government, finance, events, etc.

For the second half of the episode, fellow space investors Alexandra Vidyuk and Faraz Khan join me to provide their perspectives, in a roundtable format.

🕰️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:11 - 2025 Space Preview: Format and Caveats

03:31 - Launch Sector

08:56 - Space Hardware and Satellite Communications

11:35 - Lunar Missions and Human Spaceflight

14:37 - Space Manufacturing

17:30 - Science Missions and Government

22:02 - Finance, Investments, and Space Events

26:47 - Special Guests Intro

28:00 - What is exciting in Space in 2025?

30:16 - Potential Concerns

34:07 - Beyond the U.S.

40:43 - Non-obvious Potential Events

47:03 - Wishes for the Space Sector in 2025

📍 About the Guests:

Alexandra Vidyuk is a General Partner at Beyond Earth Technologies investment firm in early-stage space tech, robotics, energy, future computing, and advanced materials; a Venture Partner at Aloniq, a deep tech investment firm; Editor of the Space Ambition blog on Substack.

Faraz Khan is a venture capitalist and technology expert currently serving as Founder and General Partner at Giant Step Capital, a VC firm with a number of space investments including e.g. Varda, Albedo, K2.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://.instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Astroscale is a prominent space company from Japan, focused on a variety of on-orbit services incl. active space debris removal. My guest is their Group Chief Operating Officer, Chris Blackerby.

🕰️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:41 - Elevator Pitch

03:22 - On-Orbit Servicing Categories

06:53 - Core Competency of Astroscale: RPOD

09:00 - Tech Stack of current Mission

12:41 - Automated Space Operations and Safety

17:53 - Space Situational Awareness

20:46 - Space Debris

29:22 - Regulations

32:25 - What if we had a catastrophic event in orbit?

35:53 - Astroscale's Vision for a Circular Space Economy

38:19 - Astroscale's Future Plans

41:10 - Astroscale's IPO

43:35 - Chris's journey from NASA to Astroscale

46:23 - U.S. vs. Japanese Space Sector

50:34 - Other Commercial Space Opportunities

52:06 - Chris’ Sci-Fi Favorites

📍 About the Guest:

Chris Blackerby, Group COO of Astroscale. Astroscale is a pioneering company focused on space debris removal, ensuring the sustainability of Earth’s orbits. Based in Tokyo, Chris manages strategic planning, global operations, and the company’s activities across Japan, the UK, and the U.S. He also draws on his extensive experience as NASA’s Attache for Asia, where he forged international partnerships and advised on space policy.

🔗 Connect with Chris:

🤝 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-blackerby-0111695/

🔗 Follow the Space Business Podcast:

🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://.instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

My guest this week: Mike Grace, Founder and CEO of Longshot Space. Longshot is developing a kinetic launch system, using a multi-injection gas-powered cannon to send payloads to orbit at significantly reduced costs. Mike explains the engineering behind the technology, its economic advantages, and the challenges of creating a system capable of high-velocity launches.

🕰️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Countdown & podcast intro

02:04 - Elevator Pitch

03:37 - Mike’s Bold Pitching Style

05:58 - German heritage

08:46 - Gerald Bull and Project Harp

10:35 - More historical references

15:12 - Longshot Space's kinetic launch system

16:15 - Technical details

19:26 - Challenges and innovations of the technology

27:16 - Single-stage to orbit feasibility

34:24 - Limitations of Rockets

35:47 - Kinetic launch and target orbits

36:59 - Kinetic launch from the Moon

39:21 - Gas handling and launch frequency

48:00 - Longshot's Vision for the Future

01:05:05 - Sci-Fi Favorites

📍 About the Guest:

Mike Grace, Founder and CEO of LongShot Space. After serving in the Army Mike studied economics and found himself, inexplicably, doing an astrobiology internship at NASA Ames. That ended up turning into a job, a wife, a master’s degree in genetics, and several stints at aerospace and biotech startups.

Mike enjoys board games and wearing inflatable t-rex costumes to events where they are not really appropriate.

🔗 Connect with Mike:

🤝 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-grace-03452614/

🔗 Follow us:

X: https://www.x.com/podcast_space

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐 Other Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast

🔗 Follow Raphael:

🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelrottgen/

🌐Instagram - https://.instagram.com/raphael_space/

◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC

To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy:

1. "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space Economy This book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities. 📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO
2. edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOC This course offers a detailed understanding of the New Space Economy, covering key concepts and market developments. 🎓 https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-
3. Space Business Newsletter 📬 https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

My guest this week, Karthik Gollapudi, led the software team for SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. In this role, he realized the importance of monitoring complex hardware systems in order to detect faults or ideally prevent them before they even happen. That led him to become co-founder and CEO of Sift, a venture-funded startup dedicated to monitoring and analyzing hardware telemetry, and Sift is the topic of this week’s podcast. 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
• Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
• Upcoming newsletter - sign up: https://spacebusiness.substack.com/

Timestamps: