We heard first-hand about life on the International Space Station and the opportunities in the commercial space industry for budding #astropreneurs from @NASA Astronaut Commander Jeffrey Williams and Dr Bidushi Bhattacharya, former NASA scientist and current CEO of Astropreneurs Hub. The audience was treated to a visual feast of beautiful images and videos taken from the ISS and the Kopi Chat panel moderated by @TinyMOS co-founder, Chia Lih Wei, brought many interesting insights! Hear are some of the key takeaways.

1. KOPICHATDABAO
START-UPS, OUTERSPACE AND YOU
1st August 2017
WITHNASAASTRONAUTCOMMANDERWILLIAMS&
DRBIDUSHIBHATTACHARYA

2. "I’ve done this (touched down) 3
times.. and each time, I felt
overwhelmed beinghome "
Commander Williams
Where's Home?

3. Most-
required
innovation in
Space?
Life support system -- Reliable life
support system in space is crucial
for survival

4. How do we look for problems to
solve in space (while we are not in
space ourselves)?
Follow daily activities of the crew members
There are people from different specialisations
in space as well -- Whatever is needed on Earth
is essentially needed in Space as well.

5. Changing
landscape in
Space Tech
With more private companies venturing into
Space tech, how do you envision the
landscape is changing?
As Huge companies start to enter the market,
projects are more common and costs are lower
due to increased affordability.

6. Opportunities in Space Tech?
Many times Space Tech is designed focusing on
Functionality. Form, or UX, is not the priority --
Leading to challenges while working them.
This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs.

7. Space Tech takes 4 to 7
years to Breakeven due to
the lack of off-shelf
products. There is a need for
a better process to launch
Space Tech Products.

8. How to get
yourself into
Space Tech
Put yourself in a Space Tech Incubator to
learn about Business model, Funding,
etc.
There is a need for tailored programmes
incubating Space Tech that will take
people from laptop to launchpad.

9. What gets you
motivated for
space?
As a young person,
Commander Williams was
curious and wanted to know
how things work
After which, he hoped to
become a pilot and eventually
got the opportunity to become
a pilot.

10. "You can be anything you
want to be, but we know
that that is not true"
Commander William emphasizes the harsh truth.
Pursue your interests through education/ experience
and develop it into passion. Work hard to fuel these
passion.
Go for it when the door of opportunity opens.

11. Commercialisation
of Space Tech
There will be a potential exploitation of Space and
Space resources.
There is an International agreement to not have any
equipment flying in space after 25 years.