19-02-2025
Space commerce & the future economy: Kevin O'Connell on investing, AI, and Mars missions
Six decades after Star Trek's Captain James T. Kirk began his mission to boldly go where no man has gone before, US President Donald Trump has vowed to make the science fiction character's pledge a reality. Critics of such a mission to Mars have called it an expensive vanity project with no return on investment.
But for others the announcement of such astral ambition within an inauguration address has inspired a new era of excitement about space exploration. And it's an exciting time for the global space economy overall as SpaceX and Blue Origins lead a growing private sector pursuit of orbital opportunities.
Up to a hundred countries now have some form of space program with India and Japan and countries in Africa and the Middle East joining the established space nations in Western Europe, Russia, China and the US. The upside is unlimited.
Beyond space tourism and the mining of asteroids of valuable minerals, there's the prospect of new jobs, new skills and entirely new industries developing. But there are challenges too.
What will be the impact of AI? How should we regulate space so it doesn't become a wild west of competing companies and countries? And how can we ensure the space race doesn't develop into Star Wars?
Riz Khan's guest on this episode is Kevin O 'Connell, Donald Trump's Director of Space Commerce during his first presidency. He was awarded the Vice President's Dedicated Service Award for his support to the National Space Council and has been given a lifetime achievement award for his work in space commerce.
