#37: Exploring the Full Space Value Chain - A Conversation with New Space Veteran Bulent Altan

Bulent Altan, founder of Alpine Space Ventures and former VP at SpaceX, shares his journey in the space industry and provides insights into the evolving space ecosystem. He emphasizes the importance of quick decision-making and the need for companies to focus on commercialization of services and products. Altan discusses the growth of the European VC market in space and highlights the potential for European companies to become global leaders. He also discusses the challenges and opportunities in the Earth observation industry, including cost reduction and the role of large satellites. Altan shares his contrarian view on the space industry, advocating for investment in satellite and component builders. In this conversation, Bülent Altan discusses the use of carbon composite materials in various industries, including aerospace and automotive. He explains the advantages and challenges of manufacturing carbon composites and highlights their applications in lightweight and high-performance structures. Altan also shares his insights on the future of carbon composite technology and suggests a future guest for the podcast.

Takeaways:
- Quick decision-making is crucial in the space industry, where complete information is often unavailable.
- The European VC market in space has grown significantly, with more investors recognizing the potential of the industry.
- The commercialization of services and products, particularly in connectivity and data, is a key focus for short-term and medium-term success in the space ecosystem.
- The Earth observation industry faces challenges in capturing various customer segments and reducing the cost of data.
- Europe has the potential to become a global leader in the space industry, leveraging its talent, universities, and industries.
- Investment in satellite and component builders is an overlooked area with significant potential for growth and success.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
03:39 Early Days and Entry into SpaceX
08:57 Lessons from SpaceX and Quick Decision-Making
11:50 Motivation and Excitement for Space
24:24 Evolution of the VC Landscape in Europe
29:34 Investment Thesis and Focus on Connectivity and Data
35:46 Cost Reduction and Price Reduction in Earth Observation Data
39:20 European Role in the New Space Ecosystem
41:09 Contrarian View: Focus on Satellite and Component Builders
45:58 Future of Space Exploration in 100 Years
10:00 The Importance of Carbon Composite Materials
20:00 Challenges in Carbon Composite Manufacturing
30:00 Applications of Carbon Composite Materials
40:00 The Future of Carbon Composite Technology
48:00 Conclusion and Future Guests

Follow Bulent and Alpine Space:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bulentaltan
https://www.instagram.com/bulentaltan
https://alpinespace.vc/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpine-space-ventures

Follow NewSpaceVision: 
https://de.linkedin.com/company/newspacevision
https://twitter.com/newspacevision
https://www.instagram.com/newspacevision/
https://www.facebook.com/newspacevision/
https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/newspace/

This podcast was sponsored by LiveEO. For more information on how Earth observation can help your company, contact: 
info@live-eo.com 
podcast@newspace.vision 
podcast@live-eo.com