Guest: Dr. Matthew Weinzierl: Topics: We discussed commercial space economics, Matt's Harvard classes relating to commercial space and economics plus his students, student interest in space, space as a long term play vs. short term economic news.
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We welcomed Dr. Matt Weinzierl back to the program for this 60 plus minute discussion on commercial space studies at Harvard, the economics of today and commercial space investing, developing and growing, plus a few more special topics such as how to watch economic news in the context of the commercial space industry/markets. As I have done with recent Space Show program archives, I direct your attention to the Tags as the best short summary of major topics and issues discussed. The Tags are repeated below for your convenience.
Tags: Dr. Matthew Weinzierl, Harvard Business School, National Bureau of Economic Research, commercialization of space research project, economic implications of commercial space, case studies for commercial space graduate programs, Harvard commercial space programs, two year course growth and interest, triggers for increasing interest in commercial space, SpaceX, entrepreneurial space startups, science fiction, space awareness, commercial space company examples, current economic conditions for commercial space, financing and cash flows for investment, tight interest rate market, bubble for space economy, market size, Public Private Partnerships, investment opportunities are fewer, teaching ethical space investing, 2015 US Commercial Space Law, line separating naysayers from ethical promotors, LEO debris ethical concerns, China and space ethics, orbital commons, geopolitics and national security in Harvard classes, orbital debris tax solutions, tax incentives for debris mitigation, orbital debris cap and trade, sanctions for orbital debris, company example, human spaceflight, human spaceflight controversy and debate, voluntary risk taking, informed consent, on the job training, Artemis Moon Project, regulators and economics, Dr. Weinzierl' s peers and commercial space, tenure, covering economic news for space, space as a long term play.
Highlights of the discussion for me included identifying triggers that changed the energy and momentum of the commercial space industry from a slow going, status quo-like industry to one that is exciting, dynamic, futuristic and growth oriented for today and our future. This part of the discussion was in the early part of the interview so don't miss it. Since I have an interest in the economics along with the opportunities for commercial space, I was interested in Matt's assessment of current economic conditions for the U.S. and on a global basis and how it might get reflected back to us with commercial space. This would include investment opportunities, capital flows for investment and upgrades, innovation, even profit taking. Based listener emails and calls, the listeners shared my interest.
China, foreign policy, and ethical commercial space development was also talked about thanks to listener questions. Tied in with orbital ethical commercial space development was an assessment of the orbital environment with a look at how to mitigate debris. Debris mitigation was considered an ethical issue. This included an ethical assessment regarding those that contribute to LEO debris. Fremont John called in with some tax ideas for ethical LEO development, sort of like cap and trade policies or taxes. The tax focus caught me by surprise but I found it interesting and noteworthy to learn that others in the industry were already working on such schemes for both penalties and rewards. I believe John took down some of the references given us by Matt so perhaps we will hear more from him on these issues, posts on his blog and this posting the info on TSS blog.
Toward the end of our short program, we turned to issues regarding human spaceflight. This included a discussion on risk taking, informed consent, even having kids in space. Matt seemed to be all in on the voluntary aspect of risk taking. He did seem a little hesitant on the child topic which included fetal development, pregnancy, and such. This was a terrific but short part of our program so I urge you to listen to all of what our guest had to say about being able to take risks out of our own choice.
As we moved closer to the end of the program, I asked him if he thought regulators paid attention to economics regarding their regs and policies. I was wondering out loud if they cared about the economic and financial consequences of their policies, laws, and regs on the folks they are supposed to serve and represent. Our guest provided us with a most interesting response so again don't miss it. Finally, I asked our guest what his Harvard peers thought of his doing all this work around commercial space. Somewhat with a laugh, he said he appreciated tenure! We talked about this for a few minutes, then our guest had a hard break so we concluded the program. Don't miss Matt's concluding remarks.
Please post your questions/comments for our guest on our blog for this show. You can reach our guest through me at The Space Show or through Matt's Harvard Business School faculty page.
The Space Show
