Commercial opportunities in space are rapidly increasing as NASA prepares to open a new chapter in history with missions to the moon and then Mars.
On Sunday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted four astronauts toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station in the first operational flight of a commercially developed crew capsule. NASA has also contracted with Boeing to shuttle crews to the space station.
Space missions will require the support of huge logistics operations, not only on Earth to move sophisticated vehicles, equipment and material to launch sites, but to deliver goods to the International Space Station and establish colonies on the moon and Mars. Astronauts will need plenty of food and water to survive, and tools to work, but delivering items from base station Earth will push the bounds of technological know-how.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials recently expressed interest in using rockets for terrestrial cargo delivery, whipping shipments to bases around the world in less than an hour.
The SpaceWaves virtual event presented by FreightWaves on Dec. 3 will explore future supply chain possibilities in space and how they intersect with new commercial opportunities and advanced rocket technologies. FreightWaves just announced that the keynote speaker will be Mark Wiese, manager for the Gateway Program’s Deep Space Logistics project at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. His job includes overseeing commercial logistics for the agency’s Gateway lunar orbiting platform to supply moon missions.
“Freight transportation is entering a brave new world where innovation will rule. This is the only conference dedicated to the intersection of supply chain, logistics and space commercialization,” FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller said. “Companies that want to be at the forefront of the new logistics frontier should participate in SpaceWaves to share ideas and network with industry and government officials.”
Other speakers include Alexander Salter, a Texas Tech economics professor who has written extensively on the economics of space policy, Robert Jacobson, a consultant for space startups and author of “Space is Open for Business,” and Tom James, a fintech entrepreneur who has written and advised governments about commodity business in space.
They will be joined by FreightWaves’ on-air hosts, who will guide the discussion and simulcast the event on their shows.
To register for SpaceWaves, go to https://live.freightwaves.com/spacewaves.