Show Notes
My guest this week is the CEO and founder of Phantom Space, Jim Cantrell. Having started at JPL, Jim is also a decades-long veteran of commercial space. He has been involved in around a dozen space startups, including SpaceX in its early days. There are probably few people who have been around the commercial space sector as much as he has, so we do not only talk about Phantom but about the space economy in general. Enjoy!
https://www.phantomspace.com/ Opportunities to learn more about space & the space economy:- Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
- Raphael is designing a new, live-taught course. Join the mailing list to get updates and early access: https://jfx8zhjodpz.typeform.com/to/t0VSuhVD
- Raphael's introductory book on the space economy recently came out in its Portuguese translation: https://www.amazon.com/Para-Cima-Economia-Espacial-Portuguese-ebook/dp/B09X5WV3WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ROKTHNSCZCRI. Stay tuned for the English translation, which should come out soon.
The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.
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Timestamps 0:00 Intro 2:20 Jim's background 6:30 The last 20 years in space vs. Jim's expectations 9:20 SpaceX 14:14 A couple of key lessons from SpaceX 21:23 Phantom Space business model 24:15 Phantom Space and partner startups 26:55 Taking the "friction" out of space business 32:47 Standardization in space 35:32 How Russia is affecting the Space Economy 39:57 Vision for Phantom Space 40:40 Key lessons from Jim's experience with startups 45:18 Core DNA of Phantom Space 47:15 Phantom Space's vehicles 50:23 Phantom Space in 10 years 50:56 Rapid fire questions on the space economy 55:33 The space sector in 20 years 01:01:42 Fun questions