Back to the Moon: Rob Meyerson on Building Blue Origin and the Lunar Economy

Welcome to Pathfinder, a new weekly show where Payload Managing Editor Ryan Duffy sits down with the shot-callers in space to discuss all the top news and trends beyond Earth. In Pathfinder #0002, Ryan sits down with Rob Meyerson, the founder and CEO of Delalune Space and former president of Blue Origin.Pathfinder is brought to you by SpiderOak Mission Systems, an industry leader in space cybersecurity. Check out their space cybersecurity white paper here.*ABOUT ROB MEYERSON*While at Blue Origin, Rob reported directly to Jeff Bezos, oversaw Blue’s growth from 10 to 1,500 employees, and managed development of New Shepard, among many other programs. Rob has also worked at NASA and Kistler Aerospace.Delalune is a management consulting firm serving the aerospace, mobility, technology, and financial services sectors. At Delalune, which literally means “of the moon,” Rob backs and advises leading aerospace startups, including Axiom Space.While he spends plenty of time in the private markets, Rob also sits at the junction of space and public capital markets. He is the CEO of C5 Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company seeking a SPAC merger “at the leading edge of national security innovation in space, cybersecurity, and energy transition.” Early on in the discussion, Rob shares his thoughts on why investors would be ill-advised to avoid investing in space during our current market downturn.Later on, Rob and Ryan drill down on the products and services NASA is looking to buy rather than build or operate itself. Rob also surveys the technologies we’ll need to build, buy, deploy, and launch to ensure an expeditious return to the Moon and sustained presence on the lunar surface.We touch on building out the lunar economy, then consider all the other puzzle pieces that humanity will need to assemble to not only go back to the Moon, but also set the stage for a lasting multiplanetary future.*CHAPTERS*1:53 - The NS-21 crewed spaceflight mission 4:00 - Joining Blue Origin at the tail end of its think tank stage 4:24 - Reporting directly to Jeff Bezos, Rob's expansive portfolio of duties, and scaling headcount from 10 to 1,5007:14 - Blue in stealth mode 9:00 - After Beal Aerospace shut down, "the most recent story about commercial space was a negative one."11:27 - Pockets of talent density in commercial space across the US15:55 - Why we'd be ill-advised to stop investing in space during a potential market pullback19:08 - Defense/aerospace industrial base discussion 22:32 - Space market assessment, data, and NASA procurement opportunities for startups27:45 - What's the killer app for low-Earth orbit? 30:15 - The need for reentry vehicles from low-Earth orbit and return services to Earth 31:38 - Cost-plus contracting 35:02 - NASA planting a flag on the moon, and staying, and what that might mean for commercial space entrepreneurs36:11 - Lunar services and businesses that excite Rob38:49 - Overhyped/underhyped aspects of space 41:06 - Rob's advice for students looking to break into the space industry*ABOUT US*Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand. While we have designs on becoming the biggest space content company in the galaxy, for now, we send newsletters and publish podcasts. Subscribe to our flagship industry-leading daily newsletter at payloadspace.com