Episodes
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Robert Brumley – Cofounder/Chairman of CommStar Space Communications
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
In this episode:
We meet Robert Brumley, cofounder and chairman of the CommStar space companies. CommStar intends to deploy the CommStar-1 satellite to cislunar orbit in 2023, serving as a high-capacity data relay satellite in the cislunar service area. CommStar-1 is being designed in cooperation with Thales Alenia Space to serve as a hybrid satellite able to receive and relay both radio-frequency and laser-optic communications — serving demand for bidirectional data communications between the Earth and the Moon for commercial, civil science, and government customers.
Brumley was a Senate-confirmed Presidential appointee in the Reagan administration, serving in both terms. During that time, he acted as the Executive Director of the Commercial Space Working Group of the National Security Council, and the Economic Policy Council. He is also a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Bob has extensive executive experience in the management and financing of early-stage ventures, particularly in aerospace, telecommunications, and defense.
In our conversation, Brumley explains what the vast cislunar area of space means to private companies like CommStar, why it’s so important to have this kind of infrastructure closer to the Moon, how the system will provide the same internet and communications services on the Moon as we currently have on Earth, and how a similar configuration could potentially be considered as infrastructure for other locations in deep space.
In discussing the growing importance of the cislunar service area, Bob says, “People are just learning: What is cislunar? And what is that to do with the Moon? And is there a real commercial opportunity outside what the government is doing? And within the last six months — particularly what we've experienced — the answer is yes, and there is real excitement about bypassing what would be low Earth orbit and going deeper.”
To learn more about CommStar Space Communications, visit https://commstar.space/
Introductory and closing music: Paint the Sky by Hans Atom © Copyright 2015, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansatom/50718 Ft: Miss Judged
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Daniel Lockney – NASA Technology Transfer Program
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
In this episode:
We meet Daniel Lockney, the Technology Transfer Program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. NASA has a long history of finding new and innovative uses for its space and aeronautical technologies, and Lockney is the agency’s leading authority on those technologies and their practical applications on Earth.
Daniel is responsible for agency-level management of NASA intellectual property and the transfer of NASA technology to the public. In this role, Lockney oversees policy, strategy, resources, and direction for the agency’s technology commercialization efforts.
In our conversation, Lockney explains how the Technology Transfer office bridges the gap between space technology and our needs on Earth, how space technology impacts Earth’s economy, and some of the most interesting secondary applications of space technologies he’s seen.
Describing the significant uptick in commercial applications of NASA-developed technologies, Daniel says, “Over the past decade, a quintupling of the amount of commercialization we've typically seen from NASA... Our patent licensing is through the roof. You know, we used to average about 20, 25 patents licensed per year — now we're hitting 150 to 175 easily.”
To learn more about the Technology Transfer Program at NASA, visit https://technology.nasa.gov.
Introductory and closing music: Paint the Sky by Hans Atom © Copyright 2015, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansatom/50718 Ft: Miss Judged