Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.
Tags: " SpaceX, alternative proposals for space property rights, asteroid mining, common law, human biology, ISS, legal authorities for property rights, mining law, natural law, polar orbits, risk analysis, salvage law, sovereignty issues., space debris, space property rights, SpaceBooster LLC, Spaceport America, territorial property rights, U.N. space treaties, venture capital, Wayne White
Wayne White, Sunday, 3-3-13
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1962-BWB-2013-03-03.mp3
Guest: Wayne White. Topics: Space real property rights, salvage law and mining law issues. 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.
We welcomed back Wayne White, noted space attorney, for an excellent discussion on real space property rights, space salvage law & space mining law. Given the amount of email and listener calls during the program, we went to 2.5 hours! Wayne started us out with about a 20 plus minute overview of space and related property rights today, the governing U.N. treaties, & the problems ambiguity causes in the financial and investment worlds. He also gave us good working definitions for both common law and natural law. He spent some time discussing this in terms of establishing property rights in space. This discussion included territorial property rights stemming from sovereignty as well. I believe Wayne’s introduction to the subject was most useful in giving us the basic understanding of the issues so we could move forward with our discussion in the program to possible solutions and why some possible solutions would not work. After Wayne finished his introduction, I offered some challenges to his assumptions and we fielded several listener emails and a call from Marshall. My assumption challenges were based on a different outcome for private sector financial & economic growth & investment should governments continue with economic problems or face a much worse set of economic conditions than we see today.
In the second segment, we talked orbital debris and mitigation issues, the reality of satellite service and much more. Wayne also cited the Nimitz law suit against NASA for parking fees re asteroid 433EROS as evidence that the courts need a property right legal format to even hear such cases. He also mentioned one of Rand Simberg’ s recent property rights ideas around the Space Settlement Prize Act. Wayne went into details as to why in his legal opinion, this idea would not work. We talked about the U.N. treaties, benefit sharing per the U.N. treaties as being part of the property rights issue, and the idea of establishing a legal Authority for issuing property rights. Listen to why Wayne was not enthusiastic about any of these suggestions or alternative ideas. Near the end, Bethany sent in the question I referred to in my earlier comments in that she suggested the resolution re space property rights rests with the companies that want to go to space for commercial purposes and need property rights for their businesses That in fact, it was not our responsibility to do this as the responsibility belonged to those wanting to commercially operate and profit through space commerce. We discussed Bethany’s question & Wayne agree with her. We talked about company lobbying & other things they could do to influence policy makers. Our last call came in under the wire from Charles to suggest Antarctica as a model for space property rights. Wayne explained why that was not a good model. At the end, Wayne suggested some actions for space enthusiasts interested in this issue.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Wayne White at wnwhite@sbcglobal.net.
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.
Tags: " SpaceX, aerospace, angel financing, citizen science, commercial satellite industry, Cube Sats, Death Valley for businesses seeking capital, Direct TV, entrepreneurs, Hoyt Davidson, human spaceflight, international commercial space opportunities, investment banking, launch competition., launch reliability, low cost debt, Near Earth LLC, public private partnerships, return on investment, satellite financing, space business risks, space markets, space project financing, space solar power, space tourism, venture capital, XM Satellite
Hoyt Davidson, Sunday, 12-30-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1920-BWB-2012-12-30.mp3
Guest: Hoyt Davidson. Topics: Commercial space financing, markets, and risks. 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. We welcomed Hoyt Davidson to the program to discuss commercial space from the perspective of markets and financing. Mr. Davidson, founder and managing Partner of near Earth LLC (www.nearearthllc.com) shared with us his expertise and experience in a very instructive discussion on these important topics. While much of the focus was on the commercial satellite industry, the applications apply across the board in the commercial space industry. One of the topics we discussed in great detail was market risk. In fact, our gust suggested market risk was a bigger challenge and more of a possible road block than technical or regulatory risks. Mr. Davidson also said what many others in the commercial space arena say and that is that the companies prefer to see themselves within their overall general industry such as media and communications rather than as a space company. We talked about several popularly touted possible commercial space industries from a market perspective, the length of time needed for a return on investment, and what is referred to as Death Valley for space entrepreneurs. Death Valley refers to an opportunity being too large for an angel investor but too small for venture capital. In talking about market risks, we also talked about getting investor partners to strengthen the deal. XM Radio was cited as an example. The pursuit of market research was discussed, both from the perspective of using a market research company and doing the market research in-house. Other potential commercial space industries were examined including space tourism, citizen science for orbital with cubesats as well as suborbital, space solar power, satellite internet services, and the use of public/private partnerships.
In our second segment, a listener wanted to know about space focused investment banking career opportunities for MBA graduates. Next, we talked at length about public/private partnerships and being “pure” regarding what constitutes a commercial space company. In this context, pure refers to not having a mix of government and private capital, instead being 100% private. SpaceX with Cots and Commercial Crew served as one of our company examples but we also noted that no such 100% pure private company was out there given the costs and challenges of space ventures. Listeners asked about private capital financing for NASA science missions such as a Europa mission. Other listeners wanted to know about commercial opportunities for human spaceflight. Here, our guest suggested the opportunities were more with the robotic missions that come before the human missions. Toward the end, a listener asked how higher tax rates might impact risky commercial space investments. We also talked about geographical areas of special investment expertise in the U.S. and in other countries. Silicon Valley is not the only player in this field.
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. You can email Hoyt Davidson through me or by using his website.
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.
Tags: "Outer Space Development, benefit sharing, capitalism, citizen science, commercial space development, Common Heritage of Mankind, creating an ideological shift, Dr. Edythe (Edy) Weeks, environmental issues, giggle factor, IAF, International Institute of Space Law, international relations, International Relations and Space Law: A Method for Elucidating Seeds, NewSpace, nonprofit, private investment, public/private partnerships, revenue sharing, space entrepreneurism, space law, space mining, space property rights. The Outer Space Treaty, space resources, space tourism, tattoos, taxes, The Moon Treaty, United Nations, venture capital
Dr. Edythe Weeks, Tuesday, 11-20-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1897-BWB-2012-11-20.mp3
Guest: Dr Edythe (Edy) Weeks. Topics: We discussed her book, various commercial space development models, benefit sharing & 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. We welcomed Dr. Edythe (Edy) Weeks to the program to discuss her book, “Outer Space Development, International Relations and Space Law: A Method for Elucidating Seeds.” You can buy her book on Amazon & if you use the following URL, Amazon will contribute to The Space Show/OGLF:
www.amazon.com/Outer-Space-Development-International-Relations/dp/1443839655/ref=onegiantlea20. During our first segment of this 2.5 hour discussion, Dr. Weeks introduced us to her book and the need to understand space development from an international relations perspective. We talked about how the industry has evolved over the last 20+ years, innovations such as citizen science suborbital missions, new commercial players, & innovative business ideas such as asteroid mining. Dr. Weeks talked extensively about the need for an ideological shift toward space throughout the non-space population & within our global educational systems. When Todd from San Diego emailed Edy as to how to create the ideological shift, that opened a discussion on how such shifts are created. It was very interesting that one of the major examples cited by our guest included the growth & popularity of tattoos. This sparked quite a conversation, some of it laced with humor, lots of fun, but also relevant points to our discussion. As our segment was ending, our guest talked about the need to include other perspectives in the space benefits, those coming from outside the STEM fields.
In our second & very long segment, I opened up asking Edy about the ideas in her book in support of benefit sharing & the Common Heritage of Mankind concepts found in some of the U.N. space treaties. This discussion prevailed for the balance of our program as our guest is looking for new and different business & social models for space to be more inclusive which she believes will lead to more space commerce. I took a challenging & argumentative position throughout most of the discussion in explaining why most in the NewSpace and commercial space industries do not support benefit sharing and why. We talked about the need for property rights & why such rights would facilitate commercial development. Dr. Weeks was not supportive of the property rights positions, looking more for space development to accomplish much needed social change and reform around the world. Also, she made the case that property rights were not needed nor supported by the treaties & their working papers. Dr. Weeks did clarify her position regarding capitalism, the U.S., commercial space companies & benefit sharing ideas so don’t miss her clarification. Let us know your thoughts on our blog. Tax revenues were discussed but as you will hear, our guest focuses on actual benefit sharing beyond tax payments to help create wealth for everyone, including those that would be the recipient of the benefit sharing programs & the commercial space business. We talked about voluntary charitable giving as compared to mandatory or government required giving through benefit sharing. I cited Microsoft & Google models for why private sector giving with the pursuit of business unfettered by government induced benefit sharing is better. Tim called in to express his very strong views in support of the private sector & his opposition to reallocation of resources regardless of how it is termed by either government or the UN. Edy referenced the OST & the Moon Treaty in making her points, making the case that outer space resources belong to everyone, not just the developer. While we did use an outrageously successful multi-trillion dollar model for our discussion of the space mining example, the idea was made that the company could easily afford to “give” a percentage to the benefit sharing process, over & above taxes, assuming the company was profitable, even at more realistic levels. Our guest was very articulate in presenting her views & ideas, plus her book does a very good job of comprehensively dealing with what we just barely had time to scratch during our program. For more information, check out Edy’s blog and YouTube video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=okyVWJglxow & http://blogs.webster.edu/globalthinking/blog/2012/07/16/outer-space-development-is-subject-of-new-book-by-hpirs-edythe-weeks/#more-2802.
Please post all comments/questions about this discussion on The Space Show blog. I will bring all comments to the attention of Dr. Weeks on a regular basis.
Posted by The Space Show in Uncategorized.
Tags: apps market, commercial space, crowd sourcing, Dr. Burton Lee, European space entrepreneurship, Innovarium Ventures., investor requirements, Kickstarter., Silicon Valley Venture Finance Trends 2012, space entrepreneurship, Stanford University, venture capital, virality
Dr. Burton Lee, Monday, 9-17-12
http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1855-BWB-2012-09-17.mp3
Guest: Dr. Burton Lee. Topics: Space entrepreneurship and venture capital investment. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog,
http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Dr. Burton Lee back to the program to discuss venture capital and space entrepreneurship. Dr. Lee made a presentation about this subject at the NewSpace Conference Boot Camp and is sharing this information with us at this time. His Power Point presentation, “Space Entrepreneurship & Silicon Valley Venture Finance Trends in 2012,” has been uploaded to The Space Show blog. During our 90 minute discussion without a break, Dr. Lee took us through the Power Point slides as we discussed important issues, trends, and suggestions pertaining to space entrepreneurship and getting it financed in the VC community. I suggest you go through the slides with us during our discussion. Some important take aways to consider include the need to stress business characteristics, not space related characteristics. In fact, he advised against being a space advocate in pitches, presentations, and business meetings. Also, Dr. Lee suggested getting real business experience with a non-space organization or start-up as it is the real business experience that matters, not space science, space engineering, or anything like that. He advised to really do your homework as to your markets, business planning, financing, etc. Later, he talked about “hot” books in the Valley which are a must read for the space entrepreneur. These are detailed in some of his later slides. Both Dr. Lee and I suggest you read these books. We talked about new funding methods including Kickstarter and the possibility of equity crowd source funding down the road. We also went over important trends that adversely impact the potential opportunities for the space ventures. For example, software is far better and more lucrative than hardware. The apps and related business are Valley favorites. We spent lots of time discussing and understanding these trends and seeing where space could possibly fit in but another take away was that space projects face fierce overall competition for funding from ventures with lower risk, larger markets, rapid exit strategies, and the potential for virality. This is an important discussion and I hope all of you listening to it will do so with an open mind. Dr. Lee has the experience, the position, and the knowledge on these subjects and what he had to say is something we have to know, even if we are simply space advocates and enthusiasts and not an actual space entrepreneur. For those of us that are space entrepreneurs, Dr. Lee’s discussion is crucial to success – IMHO!
Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog to benefit us all. If you want to email Dr. Lee, note that his email address is provided on the title page of his Power Point. If you do email him with a question, please copy me as I would like to continue learning and sharing in the knowledge Dr. Lee offers to us all. Thank you.
Burton Lee – The Space Show – Sept 17 2012 – Final
