Guest: Fred Slane. Topics: Space standards, disruptive and sustainable space technology. We welcomed Fred Slane to the program to discuss "The Space Innovator's Dilemma: A Space Industry Look at The Innovator's Dilemma." You can find out more by visiting his website, www.spacestandards.org. While this program covered the traditional three time segments, this description will not use the segment approach as discussion was ongoing and did not really lend itself to a breakdown by segment. We began our discussion with Mr. Slane explaining the background of his work, the meaning and application of standards for space development, and innovation based on sustainable as well as disruptive technologies. As you will hear, Mr. Slane's work was based on the book by Clayton Christensen, "The Innovator's Dilemma." We talked about the risk for disruptive and sustainable technologies and attempted to classify NASA so don't miss what Fred had to say about the organization. Fred addressed the growth trend in the international space industry and the same for the U.S. market. He fielded questions about space exploration and suggested what was needed was for a company to "make a buck." Our discussion evolved to the application of space standards in the industry. To be clear, Fred was talking about manufacturing and related standards, standards that could be universal and enabling for space businesses. He was not talking about proprietary information. As a way of illustrating his points, he referenced several space projects and companies so again, this is a discussion you will want to hear. He said that all the stake holders need to have a say in standards development and the application of them. At the end of his paper which he will send you if you request it, we went through some of the businesses listed to see if they were disruptive, sustainable or a combination of both. For example, on orbit propellant depots were sustainable, meaning a likely evolution of space industry development. They were not disruptive. He said his favorite was in the field of reliability so you will want to hear why and what he had to say about this. Toward the end of the program, Mr. Slane talked about the need to be professional, risk protocols and he again stressed the need for standards and their ongoing development. Listeners asked about enforcement of the standards and that proved to be a lively discussion. If you want a copy of his paper or if you have comments or questions for Fred Slane, please email him at freds@spacestandards.org. Please reference The Space Show in your subject line. You may copy me if you like, drspace@thespaceshow.com.
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