Guest: Jon Goff; Topics: Altius projects and development, space entrepreneurism, lunar return, policy, TRLs for the Moon and Mars and much more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.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 Jon Goff back to the program for a 90 minute discussion of his latest space projects, lunar return and Mars thinking, TRLs for the moon, entrepreneurism and more. During the first segment of our program, Jon talked about the biggest changes with Altius over the past 18 months which meant a focus on satellite servicing. Jon talked about the Altius plans for satellite servicing, Big Leo constellations, their new Bulldog disposal tug service for satellite end of life disposal, autonomous capture with magnetics and more. During this initial part of our discussion, a listener asked him about his sticky boom work and we learned that the Bulldog disposal tug is an evolution of sticky boom. Jon spent some time explaining how the Bulldog tug would capture a satellite and tow it to a lower altitude where it would eventually re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. The tug would break free of the end of life satellite and go up to orbit and fetch another one and then repeat the process. A good part of the first segment of our discussion was devoted to this plan, the technology, and the process/mechanism for doing this. Before the segment ended, Jon was asked about projects he has worked on re the ISS plus he got a question from a Seattle listener asking him what advice he might have for someone wanting to start a small space business. Don't miss what he said about this but a hint might be around the concept of the importance of having an exceptional network in place.
We started the second segment with a Dr. Doug email inquiring if Altius had big picture perspective in working on technologies. Doug asked this question as John had spent considerable time talking about his vision for his company and what he was doing to move closer and closer to reaching his vision and goals. Jon had talked about his vision in the previous segment but he talked about it off and on in this segment. Don't miss what Jon said about his vision regarding moving people off Earth. Let us know what you think of it and what your vision is by posting on our blog for this program. In this context, John talked about TRLs, doing that which could be accomplished, that is the sort of low hanging fruit first. Again, a discussion worth paying attention to so don't miss it.
Jon was asked about lunar lander work and returning to the Moon. He thought the TRLS for this were still off in the future. He said he was still interested in the work but for his company he was focused on the near term for his company objectives. Marilyn, a listener from Chicago, asked him specifically about working on a lunar lander project. Don't miss the specifics of his lunar lander reply to Marilyn.
Dr. Doug sent in a follow up email asking about Jon having a specific, favored architecture for lunar work or a lunar lander. He then wanted to know how Jon saw the role of the government in helping facilitate lunar development. Jon answered the government part of the question first and thought there was a positive role for the government as long as the policy was a good one. Listen to his full statement on this. If done properly, he thought the government role would be a big one. He said he was skeptical that the privates could or would do it on their own. Again, listen to all of what he said in response to Doug's question.
Larry from Atlanta sent him a note asking for this thoughts on Mars. Jon was skeptical about Mars for the time being saying he did not see a commercial venture for Mars anytime soon. He said Mars was on the edge of our TRL capability. He also said he was interested in how Mars could be done as a low cost mission.
Bill in Los Angeles asked Jon for some insight on how he saw space as a space advocate and how he now sees space as a space company CEO. Jon had much to say about this and you will want to hear it all. It was clear that these two hats differ but let us know how you see the space advocate compared to the space business entrepreneur.
I asked Jon about the importance of the management team for getting investment capital given comments by recent guests talking about NewSpace investment. Jon agreed with the importance of the management team, talking about it from an Altius as well as personal perspective. I then asked about other last minute topics he wanted to bring to our attention. He brought his the Altius contract work and specifically talked about cryogenic rocket couplings for in-space refueling down the road. Jon will tell us more about this work the next time he is a Space Show guest later in 2018.
Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog for this show. You can reach Jon Goff through me or his website, www.altius-space.com.
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