Transcript Space Investment Summit Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Network & Space Systems
Space Exploration
Attracting Private Investment for
Lunar Commerce:
Toward Economically Sustainable
Development
Rutgers Symposium on Lunar Settlements
7 June 2007
New Brunswick, NJ
Paul Eckert , Ph.D.
International & Commercial Strategist
The Boeing Company – IDS – Space Exploration
Roundtables revealed connections.
www.spacecommerceroundtable.com
 Roundtable 1
 Dallas, Texas – June 2005
 Broad survey of lunar-related opportunities
 Roundtable 2
 Houston, Texas – Oct. 2005
 Focus on lunar-related solar power, propellant, media,
robotics
 Roundtable 3
 Las Vegas, NV – July 2006
 Shift focus to entire Earth-Moon economic system
 Investment Summits – 2007 and onward
Boeing Photo
7 June 2007
Attracting Private Investment
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Roundtables expressed global views.
www.spacecommerceroundtable.com
Space Commerce
Roundtable
Space Frontier
Foundation
National Space
Society
Boeing Photo
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Attracting Private Investment
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Roundtables yielded insights.
Space
Companies:
Established
Space
Companies:
Startups
Energy
Platforms
Non-Space
Companies
Surface
Services
Information
Investors
7 June 2007
Experts/
Partners:
Government,
Academia,
Associations
E
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O
N
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M
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Increasing Investment While
Reducing Risk
G
R
O
W
T
H
Attracting Private Investment
Ventures
Demonstrations
Research
Dialogue
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More private investment is
essential for commercial growth.
 Problems facing space commerce are financial as much as technical.
 Commerce could lower costs and increase availability of products and
services, but public funding has not been enough to get things started.
 A strategic move is to bring more investors into space commerce.
 “Angels” are most likely to be interested in early-stage, high-risk, highopportunity projects; larger investors usually get involved later.
 Angel investors:
 listen to other investors, more than to analyst reports or
entrepreneurial pitches
 prefer invitations from people they already know
 specialize and want opportunities expressed in familiar terms
 have many opportunities to choose from
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Investors are telling us
what they want.
 Space Investment Summit
 New York City – Financial District – 16 & 17 April 2007
 Co-Hosts: Space Commerce Roundtable, Space Frontier
Foundation
 Supporting Organization: National Space Society
 Space Venture Finance Symposium
 Dallas TX - 24 May 2007
 Host: National Space Society
 Supporting Organizations: Space Commerce Roundtable, Space
Frontier Foundation, and Others
 Collaborative Investment Event
 California - Autumn 2007
 Coalition: SCR, SFF, NSS, California Space Authority, Alliance for
Commercial Enterprises in Space (ACES), NASA Space Portal, Etc.
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Investors want to manage risk.
 Market Size & Breadth
 Risk that market will not be sufficiently large or accessible
 Residual Value
 Risk of insufficient value remaining if project fails
 Competitive Assessment
 Risk of competitors’ taking market
 Funding Availability
 Risk that capital will be unavailable when required
 Human Factors
 Risk that management team or staff will be inadequate
 Technical Viability
 Risk that technical approach will prove ineffective
 Legal/Regulatory Constraints
 Risk of adverse government action
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Investors want better approaches.
What?
 New product/service
 Improved cost, performance,
safety, reliability
Entrepreneurial
Innovation
Who/Why?
 Creativity
 Risk-taking
 Intrinsic
motivation
7 June 2007
How?
 Identifying
opportunity
 Accumulating
resources
 Producing
product/service
Attracting Private Investment
 Marketing
product/service
 Building organization
 Responding to
government/society
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Investors above all want markets.
 Solar Power: EO satellites, lunar surface ISRU
 Propellant: EO depot, lunar surface ISRU
 Communications/Navigation: EO satellites, cislunar network
 Observation: Imaging of Earth & space, ground & space sites
 Media: Advertising, entertainment, archive continuum
 Structures: Habitations for EO, L1, lunar surface
 Robotics: Orbital Express, lunar surface efforts
 Transportation/Travel: Suborbital, orbital, cislunar, lunar
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Transportation is a market enabler.
 International Space Station (ISS) utilization could stimulate
demand for transportation.
 Transportation availability could encourage ISS utilization.
 Fully commercial Earth-orbiting platforms are also in development,
which could benefit from the ISS “first step.”
 COTS is a NASA public-private partnership for commercial Earthto-Orbit vehicle development, funding Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) &
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).
 Many entrepreneurs view Earth-to-orbit transportation as a
stepping stone to the Moon and beyond.
 Robust ISS utilization could create sufficient demand for non-U.S.
as well as U.S. transportation services.
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Interoperability expands markets.
 Increased Supply and Demand
 Larger supplier and customer base
 Reduced Cost
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Shared infrastructure & consumables
Increased competition in commercial markets
Decreased logistics overhead (i.e., fewer unique parts)
Enhanced reuse & reconfigurability (e.g., lander converted
to propellant depot)
 Enhanced Safety
 Rescue
 Repair
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Interoperability involves
standardized interfaces.
 Pressure vessels (any functional volume pressurized for human
habitation: landers, habitats, rovers, logistics modules, etc.)
 Electrical outlets and plugs
 Liquid connectors for each type (e.g., water)
 Gas connectors for each type (e.g., oxygen)
 Data (e.g., Ethernet cables, RF/WiFi)
 Airlock control panels
 Spacesuit connections with habitat life support and environment
control systems (servicing, recharging, umbilical operations)
 Robotic manipulating mechanisms (robot to system interfaces)
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Interoperability involves
interchangeable items.
 Assemblies:
 Components:
 Life support
 Power (management,
generation, & storage)
 Waste management
 Thermal management
 Crew interface panel (e.g.,
command & control station)
 Airlocks
 Command & data handling
systems
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Microprocessors
Valves
Tanks
Filters
Keyboards
Software
Fans
Computers
Pumps
Batteries
Solar arrays
Circuit boards
Antennas
Attracting Private Investment
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Government can encourage early
market growth, within limits.
 Purchase (anchor tenancy)
 R&D investment
 Incentives: tax credits, etc.
 Legal/regulatory action:
liability, property rights, etc.
Content & images provided by Howard McCurdy, Roger Launius, & Thomas Matula
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Multiple-use facilities attract more
customers into markets.
 Costs decrease through
shared infrastructure,
transportation,
comm/nav, power, life
support, etc.
NASA Image
 Anchor tenants
(bases, observatories,
etc.) pave the way for
additional users.
NASA Image
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Multiple use technologies bring
market profitability closer.
 Earth & Moon Technology Overlap
 same products/services that yield near-term profits on
Earth also yield longer-term profits on the Moon
 Earth Profits Near-Term
 improved undersea and underground robots in the energy
and mining industries
 Moon Profits Later
 lunar robotic factory involving multiple industries
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Market growth attracts investment,
enhancing commercial sustainability.
• Entrepreneurial innovation offers new
products and services.
• Transportation is a key enabler.
• Interoperability expands customer and
supplier base.
• Government helps markets expand.
• Multiple-use facilities attract more customers.
• Multiple-use technologies bring market
profitability closer.
7 June 2007
NASA Image
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For More Information
Paul Eckert, Ph.D.
International & Commercial Strategist
Boeing IDS - Space Exploration
703-414-6392
[email protected]
Mark Lorimer
Administrative Support Coordinator
562-233-6400 (cell)
[email protected]
7 June 2007
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