You're ringing the closing bell on the NYC on Friday, of course, the one-year anniversary of Voyager being a public company, but this is also a big day because it's the day that SpaceX starts floating. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I think it's a good thing. I think it's a good thing. I mean, first, there's going to be a lot of attention not only to the market, but space in particular. Obviously a lot of capital formation and then ultimately fast forward to when the lockups expire there's a rolling lock up of course in the case of SpaceX but fast forward to December where most of the liquidity is unlocked I think there's going to be a lot of capital that flows back into other space names as well so I'm actually quite bullish and optimistic for its impact on the industry.
Okay so it means that there's going to be a lot more attention to it and so a bit of a boost for the whole sector. Are you worried about exuberance?
You know exuberance I think you know could be a factor but I think in general what I expect is more attention to the sector and then I think within our sector like a lot of sectors you have companies that are better the closer you look and perhaps companies that don't stand up to scrutiny and so I would see a bifurcation between the high-quality names and the names that maybe on second look aren't investable but I think net net it's good for companies like Voyager and it's good for the sector.
So, what's your vision for the lunar economy?
Well, lunar, we have a 3L strategy. So, just to be clear, the first L is low Earth orbit or LEO. That's where the international space station is and our commercial space station effort, Star Lab. Second L is lunar. The third, which we can spend some time on if of interest, is Lraange. That's really a proxy for deep space. That's where the James Webb telescope is for example. But for lunar, look, I think there are a lot of use cases for lunar resources here on Earth. Helium 3 being one. Data centers in space would be another. Rare earth minerals which are rare here on earth but not on the moon. So I think the lunar economy provides a huge opportunity for companies like ours and others. Yeah.
So you believe in the commercial basically advantage, right? The commercial use of it. What's it mean in terms of how Voyager will take advantage of that? So what's the first, second, and third step?
Right. So we announced last week our intent to acquire Astrobotic, which is a lunar lander company. They're part of the NASA program to put commercial lunar landers on the moon and bring payloads to the moon. Administrator Isaacman has said that he wants to see lots and lots of additional moon landings bringing payload. You know, we're going back, the western world is going back not only for flags and footprints but to actually deliver infrastructure to the surface of the moon. So for companies like ours, we're building an entire technology stack that allow us to deliver payloads to the surface of the moon, build habitation on the moon, and ultimately deliver, if you will, the picks and shovels that'll make the moon useful to the lunar economy.
I mean, I think it was in March that you made the strategic investment at Maxspace.
We did, which is really, you know, about habitats. It feels very sci-fi.
What kind of time frame are we looking at?
You know, ideally we would do a demo mission in the next couple years with that lunar habitation module. That's still being worked out a bit. And you know, it's a bit like taking your tent camping. This is a technology that allows you to have habitation that expands. So imagine fitting in a fairing or a lander, not taking up much volume, but then when you get to the surface of the moon, you can actually expand that habitation. So it's really interesting technology. You know, hopefully 2028, 2029, something like that, we can get something to the surface of the moon.
And then commercially viable. I mean, how do you think about just the technology and then the commercial comes afterwards or do you actually have a plan to, you know, of demand and how people feel comfortable going up there?
Well, there's quite a bit of demand. I mean, NASA alone is talking about something around $30 billion for lunar activities over the next several years. That's of course the Aremis program, the clips lander program I mentioned earlier, and other initiatives that would have direct implications for the lunar economy. So I think there's plenty of capital there. And then ultimately, to your point, I think you need to ultimately have a self-sustaining lunar economy. We're probably still a few years out from that, but in the meantime, space agencies around the world are funding a lot of this.
I mean, NASA definitely had success with the Aremis 2 mission around the moon. There are a lot of doubts I guess about what happens to the program from here. How does that impact you?
You know, I don't have doubts about the program, to be frank. I think Artemis 2 was fantastic. I think it not only inspired people who are space buffs and aficionados, but I think it inspired the entire world. I mean, we sent humans further out than we've ever sent humans before, over a quarter million miles away from Earth. So I think it was super inspirational. You know, we had the Apollo generation years ago. I think we now have this Artemis generation we're forming. Next mission up is Artemis 3. That crew was just announced yesterday. That's a bit more of a technical mission, demonstrating some technologies in lower Earth orbit before actually doing the very difficult mission, which is to land humans on the moon, Artemis 4. And that one's going to be, you know, very challenging, but I think if we pull that off, I think that'll be a huge inspiration, not only for the world, but I think a demonstration of how this technology has matured.
Do you worry about the Chinese getting there first?
I do. I do. We're in a space race. There's no doubt about it. China's space program is formidable and they've certainly caught up in many respects, but I think there's still an advantage that the US and the Western democracies have in the space race. I bet on our innovation, I bet on our capital markets. I bet on our entrepreneurs and I bet on companies like Voyager to ultimately deliver the promises that we've made in terms of what we're going to do on the moon. NASA officials a few months ago were saying that the agency may not have the money to support two commercial space stations. Yeah.
Again, what does that mean for Voyager?
Well, I think do they really want to have a monopoly, right? I don't think they do. So, I think notwithstanding the budgetary constraints, I think they're on record saying ultimately they would like to have competition. So, I would expect two selections. But if there's a single selection, you know, we're quite certain that our solution is not only technically the best solution but that we have assembled the best team. And our project of course is Starlab. We have partners like Airbus, like Mitsubishi, like Palantir, and others. So I think we're very well positioned for that and ultimately I like our chances and our ability to compete.
