Planet Labs, Inflatable Space Stations, And Space Economics: Space To Grow Book Club (Part 2)

Before anyone was asking whether commercial space stations could turn a profit, three ex-NASA engineers were buying satellite components on Amazon and launching them into orbit.

In this episode, Mark and Jeremy learn about Planet Labs — the company that built a constellation of 150 tiny satellites out of laptop batteries and off-the-shelf phone parts, and ended up creating what the authors call a real-time accounting system of the Earth.

Their satellites were the first to spot Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian border before the invasion.

The business model? Selling that data to governments. Which is how the internet started too.

Then they get into the real question nobody wants to answer: what is the killer app for space? Hotels in orbit sound exciting until you read that a 2017 study found commercial space stations were unlikely to be economically viable by 2025.

Finally, they learn how the Le Chatelier principle says the short run is a poor guide to the long run.

The space economy may look underwhelming today. That might not mean anything about what comes next.

We're reading Space to Grow by Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau. Come think on paper with us.

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TIMESTAMPS

(00:00⁠) Trailer 

⁠(01:35⁠) No Dust Jackets ⁠

(02:00⁠) Name Jeremy's Astronaut ⁠

(03:52⁠) What Is The Product Market Fit For Space? ⁠

(05:26⁠) Satellites And The Le Chatelier Principle ⁠

(09:00⁠) Planet's Dove Satellites ⁠

(16:38⁠) Satellites For Climate ⁠

(18:28⁠) John Lewis ⁠

(22:30⁠) Ronald Reagan & Carl Sagan ⁠

(26:42⁠) Inflatable ISS Modules