Guest: Richard Godwin. Topics: Zero Gravity Solutions & ISS commercial biotechnology experiments & projects. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed Richard Godwin back to the program as CEO of Zero Gravity Solutions, Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. For more information and contact, visit www.zerogravity.com. During our first segment of this 1 hour 28 minute program, Rich Godwin talked about his path that eventually took him to being CEO of Zero Gravity Solutions. This includes doing work and analysis for SpaceX on DragonLab and eventually being introduced to John Wayne Kennedy in Bethesda which led to the development of Zero Gravity Solutions. Rich then talked about their plant research and stem cell experiments on the ISS of which there have already been several experiments. He talked at length about biofuel from the plant Jatropha, the background for why this plant was selected, and what that are doing with it in microgravity on the ISS. He also spoke about the threat to bananas and their work to make the Cavendish banana resistant to diseases threatening them at this time. We took a call from listener Don who asked about their relationship with CASIS which Rich talked about in detail. CASIS, or the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (www.iss-casis.org), is the intermediary organization formed to facilitate commercial business with the ISS so that it becomes easier to do commercial projects rather by avoiding the need to directly interact with NASA and the government. As part of this discussion, Rich fielded questions about intellectual property, royalties to NASA, and outstanding issues needing to be resolved for companies with IP wanting to do business on the Station. Later, Gus called from Brussels to ask about how the company acquired public status by buying a public shell traded OTC through the pink sheets. We talked about this method of financing, comparing it to traditional IPOs, and their public, commercial platform. In our second segment, we talked about human stem cells, 3 D printing, and why plants were their first priority instead of human projects. Kim emailed in a question about the risk of the ISS being cancelled and wondered what the company Plan B was in case the ISS was retired sooner than everyone wants as that would have a potentially detrimental impact on the company. Another listener asked about Bigelow space stations and if their stem cell experimentation cold be done on a Bigelow station. Rich talked more about DragonLab and up & down capabilities using commercial rockets plus the Soyuz. As the program was ending, he mentioned their new patented product, Formula X and the radiation shielding properties of a new hydrogen product developed by Cella Energy. Please post comments/questions on The Space Show blog. Rich can be reached through their company website.
Guest
The Space Show
