Sock Puppet News breaks down the story: Space TechCrunch Space: Disrupt 2024 wrap-up Aria Alamalhodaei 4:06 PM PDT · October 31, 2024 Hello, and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is a wrap, and I’m more than thrilled by the amazing space industry programming we had on offer this year. We covered everything from building a dual-use business to orbital re-entry, we caught up with Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck, and heard about the ground station problem from Bridgit Mendler. Below, I hit some of the highlights, but this is just a fraction of the topics we covered onstage, so be sure to head over to TechCrunch.com to catch the full coverage. (Not to mention The Aerospace Corporation’s Future of Space Operations pitch challenge!) Want to reach out with a tip? Email Aria at aria.techcrunch@gmail.com or send a message on Signal at 512-937-3988. You can also send a note to the TechCrunch crew at tips@techcrunch.com. For more secure communications, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop instructions and links to encrypted messaging apps. Bridgit Mendler on scaling connectivity to enable the industrialization of space Former Disney channel star Bridgit Mendler made a splash when she announced that she was co-founding a space startup focused on one the least sexy aspects of the industry: ground stations. We talked about her past career in the entertainment industry and her future path as a space CEO. “To actually fulfill the benefit of people in the world, you have to invest in unsexy problems, like building a ground network,” Mendler said. “I personally think that’s pretty sexy and fun. It’s absolutely not what most people think of when they think of the space industry. I think they think of rockets, they think of satellites, but they don’t think about ground infrastructure.” Peter Beck on Rocket Lab’s vision for the future of space All eyes will be on Rocket Lab early next year, as the company looks to launch its Neutron rocket, the answer to the “medium-launch monopoly” that exists today, as CEO Peter Beck put it onstage. It’s part of the company’s plan to build out an end-to-end space company. Indeed, launch is far from the only core part of the business: Rocket Lab also builds spacecraft for interplanetary missions, supplies spacecraft components, and more. Part of the purpose of Neutron is to enable repeat launches of Rocket Lab’s own satellites. “Spacecraft are way easier to build than rockets,” Beck said. “They really are.” He also talked scaling the space supply chain, with the added anecdote that Sinclair Interplanetary, a spacecraft component business that Rocket Lab bought in 2020, used to produce 150 reaction wheels but now has scaled production to over 2,000 annually. More from TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Space CEOs talk about the challenges and opportunities of selling defense tech Three investors talk the highs and lows of space investing Dr. Debra L. Emmons, Vice President & CTO, The Aerospace Corporation’ Even Rogers, CEO and Co-Founder, True Anomaly; and Tim Solms, CEO Slingshot Aerospace, onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.
Published by Aria Alamalhodaei on October 31, 2024 23:06
Source: TechCrunch
