Are we at the start of a new and glorious age of space tourism led by private investment? Is this the first step to a potentially massive space-based economy to support humans in earth’s orbit with colonies on the Moon and Mars? Will all of this be built and financed through private, mega-companies? 

My guest for this episode is Dr Andrew Aldrin (TRIUM Class of 2005). Andy is currently the Director of the Aldrin Family Foundation and has literally an entire lifetime’s experience working at the interface between private and public involvement in the creation of a space economy. In our conversation here, Andy helps to demystify and debunk many of the more grandiose claims and hype created by various billionaires’ recent vanity projects. The picture of the future of space-based activity which Andy sketches is both more interesting and more realistic. Enjoy the show!

Citations

• Aldrin Family Foundation at Home - Aldrin Family Foundation (aldrinfoundation.org)
• Aldrin Space Institute Aldrin Space Institute > Aldrin Space Institute | Florida Tech (fit.edu)
• Adams, Douglas, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Pan, Main Market edition, 2020. First published in 1979.
• Sarang, Mehak & Weinzierl, Matt, The Commercial Space Age is Here. Harvard Business Review, 2021.

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