Guest: Charles Miller. Topics: Commercial space, small satellites, commercial crew, human spaceflight & more. 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 Charles Miller back to The Space Show for this 1 hour 31 minute program. During the first segment, Charles talked about the future of commercial space, extending the life of the ISS, managing risk and uncertainty to maximize returns and benefits for commercial space, plus he used the company he co-founded, NanoRacks, as a commercial model utilizing the national lab ISS. We talked about commercial crew, the success of the Space Act Agreement for contracting and pockets of congressional resistance to the commercial and Space Act programs. In discussing commercial opportunities on the ISS, we also talked about CASIS and the role it is playing in bridging the gap and facilitating commercial companies using the ISS. Charles then talked about his company, NexGen Space LLC and he referenced the DARPA XS-1 Reusable Spaceplane. A listener asked our guest about a possible influx of commercial opportunities from outside the U.S. In response to this question, Charles talked about competing cultures and why the U.S. is so strong with its culture of innovation. Commercial crew, human spaceflight, and the need to spend 6 months training in Russia were discussed with the latter being an impediment. Suborbital demand was a topic as were the commercial efforts by Boeing, Sierra Nevada, ATK and other mainstream aerospace companies. In our second segment, we talked about Kickstarter and the use of crowd funding in the emerging commercial space industry. Innovation and low cost space access were key topics and themes for this segment. Listener Jack asked about space entrepreneurial management teams & what to look for in a quality team. I asked Charles to tell us where he thought the industry would be in ten years. Charles talked about small satellite constellations, far more affordability across the board, and a large growth space tourism industry. He also mentioned that the turning point will come when we have cheaper access to space than today. Toward the end of our discussion, Charles was asked for his suggestion for the best path to pursue for those seeking commercial space careers. In response, he talked about getting real hardware and flight experience & mentioned high schools that provide this experience. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog per above. Charles Miller can be reached through me using drspace@thespaceshow.com.
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