SpaceBase Podcast

An interview with Caleb McIvor , Founding Director of PrintGig and CEO/CTO of Epsilum Design.  PrintGig is a cutting-edge 3D printing company that specializes in high-temperature polymers for the high-tech and deep-tech sectors - including the space industry in New Zealand; the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere.  Caleb is an entrepreneur and inventor set on improving lives and solvin...

 An interview with Stu Potter, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Stardust Me , an Innovative small payload solutions and space memorial service provider.  It is the first Māori space-tech company in the world.  Stu has over 20+ years of senior management and business experience in Māori business, financial services, health, education, research and development.  His strengths are in Māori educati...

An interview with Sam Leske, Sam Leske, Director at Milky-Way. Kiwi , a social enterprise whose goal is to inspire people to think about our collective future and how they can actively contribute through quality science education with an added cosmic perspective. Sam has a long career in Aoteroa’s Defence Force, first as a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot, to Head of the Operational Intelligence...

An iinterview with Gill Dal Din, Global Activation Executive focusing on Business Development and Growth for Space Trailblazers.    Gill is a superconnector who connects people and resources that catalyze change in high growth businesses.  She was instrumental in getting the aerospace ecosystem up and running in Christchurch from the early years.  Gill has a Bachelors degree in Nutrition and Diete...

An Interview with Erica Lloyd , Chief Revenue Officer at Zenno Astronautics , a New Zealand startup company revolutionizing space movement through the untapped energy of super magnets. Eric Lloyd who has a broad and varied career here in New Zealand and across Asia Pacific and the USA in Broadcasting, Technology, Banking and innovation businesses. Erica is a seasoned executive who started life run...

An interview with Betina Pavri, Senior Principal Engineer at the Paiahu-Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington. Betina is supporting the development of high-temperature superconducting magnet technologies for space applications.  Prior to moving to New Zealand, Betina has had a long and illustrious career at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she worked on many pioneering...

An interview with Peter Sefont, Technical Director for Zenith Tecnica, a contract manufacturer specialising in Titanium 3D Printing using Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technology.  Zenith Tecnica produces a myriad of additively manufactured parts for industries around the world; including large structural hardware for spacecraft and satellites. Peter graduated from the University of Auckland with a...

An interview with Khaki Rodway, Spaceplane Sales and Operations Director for Dawn Aerospace USA. Khaki has an extensive New Space business development and marketing experience working for launch companies like XCorp and Masten, to delivering payload to the International Space Station like Nanoracks, and  on orbit truster manufacturing like Bradford Space. Khaki is also the co-founder of NYC Space,...

An interview with Kurt Janssen , CEO of Orbica based in New Zealand, Australia and Germany. Kurt is a geographer and geospatialist by trade, with a passion for emerging technology and data. Kurt has a BSc with Honors in Geography from the University of Canterbury and was the 2016 NZSEA Young Professional of the Year. He worked for central government such as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of t...

Mark is an Edmund Hillary Fellow from the US.  He launched Quidnet Ventures, a new fund to support early-stage NZ companies. Mark has spent over 30+ years in the technology and innovation sector, with experience in semiconductor manufacturing, open systems hardware. software development, big data, software as a service, and Internet of Things.  Previously he held both CEO and CTO roles at companie...

An interview with Chris Jackson, Head of Space Operations and Ground Segment at the Te Pūnaha Ātea - Auckland Space Institute based in the University of Auckland. He is overseeing the design and set up of the Institute’s Mission Operation Centre and Ground Station. He is also developing the operations support and building the capability of the centre to support large scale satellites and developin...

An interview with Dr. Scott Madry, Research Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.  He is also the founder and President of Informatics International, Inc., a global geospatial services company. He is a professor emeritus at the International Space University and has served as faculty in over 30 ISU programs around the world.   Scott has a Ph....

An interview with Alexandar Majstorovic,  co-founder and CEO of OutThere Astronautics, a student-led startup based in Auckland focusing on development of optical, intersatellite communications for cubesats.   Alex is working on a Medical degree and has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. His unorthodox background has led him to founding a startup that has won multiple awards including the latest Ve...

An interview with Mekdim Tesfaye, founder and CEO of Oasis Orbital Systems, an aerospace startup based in Christchurch focusing on development of an innovative orbital live streaming platform. He is also a marketing specialist for Aerospace New Zealand. Mekdim has a Bachelors of Commerce from the University of Canterbury, and a level 3 Certificate in Astronautical and Aeronautical Engineering from...

An interview with Jess Covich, founder  and CEO of Engineering Dreams, an aerospace consultancy based in Auckland focusing on providing professional services with top tier resources to the space industry.  Jess has  more than 15 years experience in senior level technology consulting and business development roles in New Zealand.  In this interview, we talk to her about her business and sales exper...

An interview with Nelson Smith, co-founder of Aquila, a tech company based in Auckland focused on wireless energy infrastructure for terrestrial and space applications.  Nelson did his bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Mechatronics and Product Development at the University of Auckland and Massey University.  He has worked as a Guidance,Navigation and Control Engineer for Rocketlab and has been i...

An interview with the host, Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom. Emeline is Co-Founder and CEO of SpaceBase based in New Zealand.  Emeline is also part of the Ceres Robotics team and a Co-Founder of International Space Consultants .  She is an Institute of Space Commerce Fellow, an Edmund Hillary Fellow , and is a member of the Associate Editorial Board for the New Space Journal .  Emeline has BS and MS degree...

An interview with Christian Thaler-Wolski,  a startup advisor, business developer, and angel investor focused on Spacetech. Previously, Christian worked in venture capital in Europe. Prior to his investor role he had a five-year career in technical product sales and key account management at ORACLE, a global leader in enterprise software.  Christian is a native of Germany and graduated from the In...

An interview with Dr. Yvette Perrott, Senior Lecturer at the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences at University of Victoria Wellington.  Yvette has degrees in BA, BSc and BSc( with Hons)majoring in Physics, Italian and Spanish. She completed her PhD in the Cavendish Astrophysics Group in 2013 on a Rutherford PhD Scholarship and was awarded a Trinity College Junior Research Fellowship in the sa...

An interview with Rahul Rughani,  systems engineer for Arkisys, a company building an autonomous research outpost in low Earth orbit.  Rahul has a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree in Mechanical engineering from McGill University, with a concentration in Aeronautics. He also holds both PhD and Master of Science degrees in Astronautical engineering from the University of Southern California. His spe...

An interview with Daniel Mackisack. Founder of Celestial Commons - a network devoted to improving public interest and representation in space - ensuring that the journey and the benefits of development are shared by all.  Daniel is a kiwi presently living in Berlin.  A writer, researcher, diplomat, and serial founder, He holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science, and a Masters in Anthropology...

An interview with Randy Pollock, Chief Scientist and Engineer for Space at the Robertson Research Institute at Victoria University,Wellington,  where he is working to adapt high temperature superconductor technologies for space applications.  Prior to moving to New Zealand, he was an Instrument Manager and Systems Engineer for NASA Jet Propulsion Laborary.  He had worked on numerous payload missio...

An interview with Dr. Sarita Dara, an Aerospace physician and a space medicine and human factors consultant and occupational medicine physician for Humane Factors Exponential Limited.  She currently also works as a Senior Medical Officer with Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. Her training, qualifications and experience span Aviation and Space Medicine, Occupational Medicine, Public Health M...

An interview with Hugh Reynolds, Co-Founder and Technical Director of Fabrum , a world leader in cryogenic systems.  Their cryocoolers, composite storage tanks and liquid gas generation systems are used in wide range of applications that include industrial cryogenics, animal husbandry, lightweight space applications, copper & superconducting electric motors, and hydrogen fuel systems.  These h...

An interview with Udit Shah, Chief aerospace engineer for Ceres Robotics, a company building landers, rovers and tools to enable affordable surface operations on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.  Udit has a MS in Aeronautical and Space Engineering from Virginia Tech, and a Bachelors of Technology in Aeronautics and Space from UPE in India .  In the past, he has also worked for different lunar space sta...