Tim DraperFounder and Managing Partne, Draper Associate · I back the ideas that look crazy first

🛸 Every time you swipe your credit card or check the weather—you're using satellite technology.

16 Feb 2025 · 1 min

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1:11

Every credit card swipe, weather forecast, and package delivery runs on satellites. A Columbia student and space entrepreneur explains how the economy depends on space infrastructure, and why his team is building the next generation of rockets to transform human spaceflight.

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If you are, you know, swiping your credit card, that's bouncing off a satellite. If you're shipping goods to your loved ones across the country, that's guided and navigated by satellite technology. If you're checking the weather, this is all coming from satellite technology. To have a thriving human economy, we need a robust space economy. I never knew that I was going to be an entrepreneur. I think my parents probably always thought I was a little crazy. Going from academia to military to business, is very winding. You know, I found myself in that journey and it's brought me, you know, to where I am today. And I'm currently a student at Columbia University studying negotiations with a thesis in space and defense.
How do you feel about the fact that you're, you know, working on rockets?
Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty, I'm pretty proud of myself. But what makes me get up in the morning is the fact that there's a team of, you know, dedicated, you know, people who care about each other, who care about what it is that we're that we're looking to do, you know, changing the way that human space travel and space logistics influences the world. I get to show up to work every day with people who really care, and I love it. Power!