Guest: Jeffrey (Jeff) Smith. Topics: Space Expedition Corp Griffith Observatory event, XCOR, Lynx, NewSpace. 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. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience. We welcomed Jeff Smith to the program to discuss the recent Space Expedition Corp program held at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. We initially learned of this event when Doug Messier was recent a guest on the program and since Jeff was going to be in Los Angeles, he decided to attend the event while in Los Angeles. During the first segment of our 91 minute, Jeff introduced us to Space Expedition Corp (www.spacexc.com) which is a Netherlands based space service company wanting to sell & service flights on the XCOR Lynx suborbital vehicle in Curacao. Jeff described the audience attending the event, spoke about the qualifications, expertise, and knowledge regarding the Space Expedition Corp's (SXC) speaker at the event and others in the company. Listeners asked many questions, including environmental questions regarding rocket pollution in the atmosphere. Jeff said this was discussed at the event. Another listener asked about ITAR given XCOR was working with a company in the Netherlands. Both Jeff and then later another listener, Carl, responded and explained the ITAR situation vis a vis XCOR. Jeff also talked about opportunities in aerospace as a result of many leaving the Air Force or other services after their 20 years. Another observation Jeff offered was that he thought more companies were interested in marketing space, not doing space. Jeff was asked if SXC planned Lynx flights at locations other than Curacao. Listener Carl responded that XCOR was planning flights in the States and elsewhere but it was not clear if SXC would be operating in locations other than Curacao. In the second segment, I asked Jeff for his thoughts on the NewSpace industry in general, plus the emerging suborbital industry. Here, Jeff had lots to say, including some concern for market issues and the low barrier to entry for parts of the industry. Betsy in Tulsa asked him what inspired his interest in NewSpace and like many of us, Jeff was addicted to space everything at a very early age, chose to get an education in a related field and follow a career in aerospace. He also wanted to follow the entrepreneurial side of things through NewSpace. He said NewSpace seems to be more ideologically driven than traditional aerospace. We talked about star gazing in Tucson, the Planetary Science Institute plan for telescopes on a Lynx, & the ability of students, especially at the high school level, to do science experiments that were space related through cubesats and more. Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog. Jeff can be contacted through me.
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