Jeff Bezos Interview and Astronaut Training with Space Nation

Still at the International Space Development Conference, and I was perusing the different booths yesterday, I saw a man in a bright yellow t-shirt, with a familiar logo. If you haven’t listened in awhile, here’s the basic rundown. A company called Space Nation released an app that allows you to train to be an astronaut, where 100 of the top performers will be chosen to enter a physical Astronaut training boot camp, where 1 will be sent to space. This man however, was none other than Space Nation’s Captain and Co-Founder Kalle Vaha Jaakola. (because CEO is boring he says) After meeting him, he was nice enough to sit down and chat with me and answer all of my questions. This episode is almost all him, so feel free to check it out! 

Among the many faces there,  Jeff Bezos also gave me his 2 cents. Last Night, Jeff Bezos was here at ISDC, accepting the Gerard K. O’Neill Memorial Award for furthering space settlement. Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon and Blue Origin. Started in 2000, Blue Origin is a privately-funded aerospace company developing launch systems and technologies to enable commercial human space transportation. Blue Origin’s New Shepard will provide space tourism flights beyond the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, and the New Glenn heavy booster is due to begin launching large satellite payloads in 2020. New Glenn will also be capable of serving lunar and cis-lunar destinations. A Blue Moon lander and larger New Armstrong rocket have been hinted at as well. 

So before the gala, I left the session I was at where the cast of Expanse was answering questions, and I ran into a huge crowd of people all focused on a single moving person. I knew it was Jeff Bezos because he was attending the gala in his honor, but I wasn’t expecting him so soon! So I readied my mic, shuffled through the crowd, and got as close as I could. I even got to here his famous Jeff Bezos laugh. This is the richest man in the world, worth $133 billion with extremely loose security and we were pushed together like Sardines. So, I saw an opportunity to slip between his guards, and finally reached him. I stopped right beside him, introduced myself, and he said "That’s great, how are you?" I was a little taken back, but I responded as calm as I could and started off with a reminder. I said, “You know Jeff Bezos, our generation will be the ones operating your spacecraft, what advice do you have for the younger generation who want to grow up and become astronauts and pilots to do so?” I have to say, Jeff Bezos was so nice, and was truly present. While I wish I had more time with him, he was whisked away to the gala where he instantaneously save the Expanse in front of the cast.

Thank you so much everyone for sending me to ISDC and to have the amazing conversations that I’ve had. Join us next week as we learn about how space companies today are already using the harsh environments of Earth to prepare for Mars!