The Data Highway Above with Privateer’s Steve Wozniak, Alex Fielding, and Dr. Moriba Jah

The a16z Show

a16z

Culture, Business, Science, Disruption, Technology, Software Eating The World, Entrepreneurship, Innovation

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 November 2022

⏱️ 85 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Many people consider space to be the next frontier and equally an infinite horizon to explore. But the reality is that not all “space” is the same and there are strategic zones that don’t only matter up there – but down here on Earth. Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) is one of those regions – a zone filled with satellites that support life on Earth, from agriculture to climate to navigation to defense. Unfortunately, these live satellites are not alone in our space highways. LEO is getting increasingly clogged with space debris; we’re polluting our skies just like we’re polluting our land. In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with all three cofounders of Privateer – Steve Wozniak, Alex Fielding, and Dr. Moriba Jah, as they explore just how much junk is up there, how this challenge is expected to progress with time due to lower launch costs, and ultimately, what infrastructure is missing in this fragile ecosystem – from tracking to global treaties to a sharing economy of satellites. By the end of the episode, listeners should be more equipped to understand how our infrastructure in space vastly impacts life on Earth, how the preservation of this ecosystem is crucial, and how Privateer is providing the map to better understand and fix the issue.

Transcript

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0:00.0	So I'm closer to low Earth orbit than I am to you.
0:04.9	And I think that's what people just don't realize.
0:11.5	All right, so today we have a new episode of the A16C podcast and boy do we have a treat for you.
0:17.0	We have all three co-founders of privateer in the house that is Alex Fielding, Dr. Marba Jaw, and, wait for it, Steve Wozniac.
0:25.0	Yes, that is the Steve Wozniac that you recognize from Apple, whose latest venture is focusing on cleaning up the next frontier.
0:33.0	This episode actually starts with Boz and let me tell you,
0:35.4	chatting with him was truly a treat, truly an honor.
0:38.3	He starts by sharing how privateer came to be and why a focus specifically on space is so crucial today, including his own
0:45.2	reflections from the very first space race and how it helps spur the area of
0:48.6	modern computing, which clearly he was very, very involved in so many years ago.
0:53.2	But I love that he also shared a bunch of personal stories from his days back at
0:56.3	Apple, including how him and Steve Jobs thought about iteration on the way to the future,
1:00.8	the differences between a visionary and inventor and an engineer, and even what
1:05.4	prompted him to want to build a computer in the first place.
1:08.5	And while naturally I love my time with WAWS, I think you're really going to enjoy the rest
1:12.3	of the conversation with Alex and more above.
1:14.6	Because here's the thing. Many people consider space to be the next frontier and equally this
1:19.3	almost infinite horizon to explore. But the reality is that not all space is the same and there are
1:25.8	strategic zones that don't only matter up there but also down here on Earth.
1:30.8	Low Earth orbit sometimes referred to as Leo is one of those regions, a zone filled with satellites
1:35.3	that support life on Earth from agriculture to climate, to navigation, to defense, and much more.
1:40.7	And unfortunately, these live satellites are not alone in our space highways.
	...

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