SpaceX, Artemis & the Future of Space Business

Dylan Taylor joins us now here on the floor.

He is the chairman and CEO of Voyager Technologies.

Great to see you.

Thanks for taking some time.

Thanks, JD.

Great to be with you.

You got a record backlog.

You've lifted your guidance.

Talk to me about where you see Voyager is right now.

You know, we're very fortunate because we play in national security, defense, and space, and all three of those sectors are super hot right now.

Uh, not only is the customer spending more dollars in those areas, but we have relevant technologies really in all the.

Uh, infrastructure projects that are, uh, name of the game like Golden Dome, uh, Lunar strategy, low Earth orbit, and the like.

So we really think we're strategically positioned with the right technology and with the right environment in this market to take advantage of it.

I wonder where you think we are in that environment.

Where are we in the commercialization curve for space as the next frontier of big business?

Space is the place, as I like to say.

I think we're right there.

I mean, we're about ready to have the biggest IPO in the history of civilization.

And that's right at the center of our industry with SpaceX, of course there's now an AI component to that and data center and all that, but it's fundamentally a space company.

So I, I think it's now.

I mean, if I look at what's happening, you know, the Artemis 2 mission, I'm sure you followed that.

I mean we sent humans out a quarter million miles from Earth.

I mean, how can you not get excited about that?

So I think we're, we're there.

The commercialization is happening right now.

Dylan.

I got to tell you, in the last week in terms of important visitors we've had here at the New York Stock Exchange, we've had the Artemis 2 astronauts, and we've had you.

We're just here on Friday as well.

So, so we're doing a lot with space right now.

We had, we had Jared Isaacman as well.

That's right, he did the bell for us last Wednesday.

So to the point about NASA, speaking of administrator, perfectly well timed, NASA is leaning more and more on private missions, that relationship that NASA has with private companies.

What is the latest selection here signal, and how do you view how important that relationship is?

Well, public-private partnerships is really the name of the game, right?

I mean, it's been overused, but a win, win, win.

When the customer saves money, gets a better outcome, the companies are better off, and ultimately the investors are better off, and that's really where these public-private partnerships are headed.

So we were very fortunate.

We won a private astronaut mission, the so-called PAM 7 mission.

This will send private astronauts to the International Space Station.

That's great training for us because we're building our own commercial space station, STARLAB.

And so think of those astronauts being basically a dry run, if you will, an important dry run for our commercial space station as well.

I'm really fascinated with SARAB, the idea of it, because a lot of people may not realize that the iconic.

ISS essentially has to be retired in just the next 4 to 5 years or so.

I assume that means we just kind of crash landed down into Point Nemo like we do a lot of our other kind of satellite type of things.

Can Star Lab or something comparable be a true one for one replacement of the great ISS?

More than one station can replace the ISS.

So we're about 100% of the research volume of the ISS in a single launch to orbit, taking advantage of SpaceX starships.

So.

But there'll be other commercial space stations as well, because keep in mind this is not just addressing the demand of the International Space Station, it's addressing all these other new use cases that become prevalent when you have a commercial model.

So for example, biopharma drug development.

Why are we not developing more drugs in space today?

Because it's supply constraint with the International Space Station.

ISS is aging.

It's old.

It's been up there 25+ years.

But in a commercial model, ours is optimized around research so you can have this flourishing.

Of space research, biopharma, AgTech, semiconductor development, perfect crystals grown in space, organelles grown in space.

And to answer to your question, yes, the ISS is going to be dropped into the South Pacific probably in 2032.

That's going to be its fate.

That's not very far away.

I know.

Yes, that's happening.

That's coming up pretty quickly here.

What most excites you about the general moment that not just NASA but space exploration is having?

It's been impossible to ignore.

These last few years and we really saw it not just as an American people, but I'd argue all around the world for sure with this Artemis 2 mission for sure, and I think that's the beauty of space is it really inspires not only everybody, you know, from all walks of life, people in the industry, but outside the industry, but it also makes you imagine what's possible.

So the Apollo generation inspired a bunch of people for years and years and years, and I think the Artemis generation will do the same.

But to answer your question, I'm more excited about the return of the moon.

And not only flags and footprints, but a lunar base infrastructure, you know, I like to tell this story.

Imagine you're sitting on your porch on a summer evening in upstate New York at your cabin and you're looking at the moon and there's lights on the moon, and there's lights on the moon because people are living and working on the moon.

I think that's a cool thought.

I think that's a romantic notion of where we can take this thing.

I think a lot of people out there would agree.

Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager Technologies at Astra, sir, and thanks for being here.

It's nice to see you at Astra.

Well done.