WEBVTT - Polaris Dawn Mission Commander Jared Isaccman Talks SpaceX

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman joined Bloomberg Technology host

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<v Speaker 2>ed Ludlow to discuss his experience with SpaceX and the

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<v Speaker 2>Polaris mission, when to expect Plaris too, and is involvement

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<v Speaker 2>in the Starship program. Let's take a listen to that conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Jared, Now that you have had time to process and think,

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<v Speaker 1>what is the conclusion you've reached about the significance of

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<v Speaker 1>Polaris Dawn. What was the result of the mission and

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<v Speaker 1>the experiment that you conducted.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, first one, sorry I can't be there in person.

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<v Speaker 4>I really would have liked to. Second, to be honest,

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<v Speaker 4>I can't say that I've had a lot of time

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<v Speaker 4>to really think and reflections coming back.

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<v Speaker 3>It's been just kind of a whirlwind.

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<v Speaker 4>We've had a lot of you know, data reviews, debriefs,

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<v Speaker 4>science research. We've we've been kind of bouncing around a

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<v Speaker 4>bunch and it's still ongoing for some time. So but

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<v Speaker 4>I will just say I think polaristam was just it

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<v Speaker 4>was always meant to just be a small step in

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<v Speaker 4>the right direction, you know, a huge team effort to

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<v Speaker 4>move the ball forward as part of the you know,

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<v Speaker 4>broader space ex vision of making life multiplanetary. So we've

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<v Speaker 4>gone a little farther into space than we've been in

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<v Speaker 4>a long time. We've tested out a new suit, which

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<v Speaker 4>is just one small step in towards you know, towards

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<v Speaker 4>building a uh, you know, a more scalable suit that's

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<v Speaker 4>capable of walking on on the Moon or Mars someday.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, we tested out Starlink, which worked incredibly well

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<v Speaker 4>as an alternative pathway to mission control, which is also

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<v Speaker 4>a step in the right direction off of legacy infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 4>And then a lot of science and research experiments which

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<v Speaker 4>collected tons of data points on but you know, really

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<v Speaker 4>it's up to the researchers, the you know, the principal

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<v Speaker 4>investigators to kind of you know, analyze that data and.

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<v Speaker 3>Reach the reconclusions. But we're happy to support it.

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<v Speaker 1>The milestones and mission goals were very different to Inspiration four,

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<v Speaker 1>and I understand that was were you more deeply integrated

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<v Speaker 1>within the SpaceX or in how you worked with them

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<v Speaker 1>in preparation relative to the inspiration for mission.

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<v Speaker 3>For sure.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean the kind of phases you go through are

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<v Speaker 4>all relatively the same. You know, there's kind of you know,

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<v Speaker 4>a mission design period where you know what's in the

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<v Speaker 4>realm of possible, you know, and then you kind of

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<v Speaker 4>move into training for it. The difference with you know,

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<v Speaker 4>Pleriston is it's a development program as part of a

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<v Speaker 4>broader development initiative of the player's program, So we actually

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<v Speaker 4>had to build things. You had to build a new suits,

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<v Speaker 4>so you know, we were there working alongside the engineers

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<v Speaker 4>from the first version of the IVA Space or of

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<v Speaker 4>the EVA Space Suit to what ultimately became you know,

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<v Speaker 4>qualification and testing of the the ultimate flight articles that

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<v Speaker 4>we took to the vacuum chamber that we took into orbit.

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<v Speaker 3>So that's very different.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, we were there as you know, software is

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<v Speaker 4>being developed to meet mission objectives or you know, the

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<v Speaker 4>EQUALISS system, the extra nitrogen.

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<v Speaker 3>Tanks and oxygen tanks.

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<v Speaker 4>That we had, you know, the support pressurizing though, I

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<v Speaker 4>would say like, yeah, we were much more deeply involved

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<v Speaker 4>because the mission required us to be, because we were

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<v Speaker 4>trying to do things that hadn't been done in a

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<v Speaker 4>long time.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the stakes will say, hide Jared, you are not

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<v Speaker 1>a SpaceX employee.

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<v Speaker 4>No, I'm not a SpaceX employee.

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<v Speaker 1>But how deeply are you involved in now the Starship program?

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<v Speaker 4>Not very involved. I mean we're kept very well informed.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean we're ultimately going to fly it, so you know,

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<v Speaker 4>Hilarious will be the first crew that will take you know,

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<v Speaker 4>starship to orbit. So so we we absolutely will are

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<v Speaker 4>kind of kept informed and that there will be a

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<v Speaker 4>time where we will get i think, very embedded in

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<v Speaker 4>the development testing when it actually comes to when when

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<v Speaker 4>they're actually working on things that are you know, most

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<v Speaker 4>relevant for a human crew.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, right now they want to get to orbit.

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<v Speaker 4>Uh, they want to come back and catch their you know,

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<v Speaker 4>their their booster and eventually their starship because that's how

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<v Speaker 4>you achieve rapid reusability, which is so important if you're

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<v Speaker 4>going to take starships to Moon or Mars, it needs

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<v Speaker 4>to get fully topped off and refueled in lower Earth orbit.

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<v Speaker 4>So there are just some immediate priorities that come before

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<v Speaker 4>and like my attention would would go towards Polaris too,

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<v Speaker 4>where we build off of Plaris one and and we'll

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<v Speaker 4>be you know, kind of repeating the mission design, development

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<v Speaker 4>and training phases again.

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<v Speaker 1>What is the timeline from here for the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the Polaris program.

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<v Speaker 4>I think the balance of this year is still very

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<v Speaker 4>much like the data review and debriefs. You know, what

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<v Speaker 4>did we get right, what could we have done better?

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<v Speaker 4>And again, what is now in the realm of possible

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<v Speaker 4>for the next mission, because you're going to build off

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<v Speaker 4>of this one. I think, you know, SpaceX was very

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<v Speaker 4>quick to say on the you know, on the X

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<v Speaker 4>spaces after we came back, that you know, continuing to

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<v Speaker 4>improve upon the suit running at higher pressure to minimize

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<v Speaker 4>pre breathe requirements, a portable life support system. I think

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<v Speaker 4>those are all reasonably easy to predict, you know, but

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<v Speaker 4>we got to learn, you know, we've got to like

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<v Speaker 4>really understand what we gathered out of this mission first,

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<v Speaker 4>and and I think that's the balance of this year.

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<v Speaker 4>And then I expect probably early next year, we're going

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<v Speaker 4>to start designing the next Polaris mission again, just kind

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<v Speaker 4>of move the ball forward.

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<v Speaker 1>And I guess it would be an appropriate time to

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<v Speaker 1>kind of ask what the broader mission statement is for

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<v Speaker 1>the Polarists, the program at large, Jaron.

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<v Speaker 4>We're really just trying to kind of accelerate, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>SpaceX's timeline towards you know, making life multiplanetary starship is

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<v Speaker 4>the obvious vehicle to do that. But we don't have

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<v Speaker 4>Starship today. We have Dragon. So and Dragon was initially

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<v Speaker 4>developed to go from point A to B, from here

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<v Speaker 4>to the space station and back and do it very well.

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<v Speaker 4>And now we are taking that vehicle because it's here

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<v Speaker 4>and there's not a lot of Spaceship choices to work with,

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<v Speaker 4>like it is the best one to use as a

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<v Speaker 4>development platform, uh to ultimately, you know, better prepare humankind

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<v Speaker 4>when Starship comes online. So to give you examples, like

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<v Speaker 4>we flew Starship Life support sensors on our Dragon mission,

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<v Speaker 4>Like you know, the various sensors that detect you know, oxygen.

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<v Speaker 3>Levels, CO two levels, you know, pressure levels.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, these are these are our bank of sensors

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<v Speaker 4>that are part of the Ecless system.

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<v Speaker 3>We're all Starship ones and not Dragon ones, you know.

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<v Speaker 4>So that's that's kind of the idea is to you know,

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<v Speaker 4>bridge this massive gap from what we have today with Dragon,

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<v Speaker 4>which is which is an awesome spaceship, but to Starship,

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<v Speaker 4>which is going to be you know, a revolutionary step forward,

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<v Speaker 4>like it is a it is a total game changer,

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<v Speaker 4>and when it comes online, you know, we're going to

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<v Speaker 4>very quickly be able to return to the Moon and

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<v Speaker 4>go to Mars. And you're gonna need suits, You're gonna

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<v Speaker 4>need new communications systems. There's a lot of things we're

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<v Speaker 4>going to have to figure out because they're not planning

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<v Speaker 4>to build you know, three or four of them, they

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<v Speaker 4>have two factories to build potentially hundreds of them.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, that's the aim of players are kind of help.

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<v Speaker 1>And an approximation. Please, when will you fly Starship I?

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<v Speaker 4>You know, I leave that to the experts at SpaceX

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<v Speaker 4>and Elon to kind of determine the timeline on it.

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<v Speaker 4>We'll fly it as soon as it's ready. But right now,

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<v Speaker 4>there's a lot we can do with Dragon, and that's

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<v Speaker 4>why the first two player's missions were were designed for Dragon.

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<v Speaker 1>Jared, what we want to do with this is help

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<v Speaker 1>our Bloomberg Technology audience around the world understand what is

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<v Speaker 1>really happening inside of SpaceX. Explain it, what it's like

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<v Speaker 1>working with the engineers, and how important you feel this

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<v Speaker 1>company is not just to an industry, but I suppose,

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<v Speaker 1>as you put it, humankind's future outside of Earth's atmosphere.

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<v Speaker 4>I what an awesome question, right, Look, SpaceX is an

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<v Speaker 4>extraordinary organization. You know, since I've been sixteen. Since I

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<v Speaker 4>was sixteen years old, I've been in business and have

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<v Speaker 4>worked with literally like thousands of companies, you know, across

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<v Speaker 4>a lot of verticals, including defense aerospace. I was the

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<v Speaker 4>CEO of a defense aerospace company I started for you know,

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<v Speaker 4>almost twelve years, and I've never seen an organization like SpaceX.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, there's a lot of a lot of companies

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<v Speaker 4>that have a mission and vision statement on their website

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<v Speaker 4>that no one cares about. I can tell you there's

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<v Speaker 4>fourteen thousand people who show up for work every day

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<v Speaker 4>at SpaceX, and they believe that there is no greater

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<v Speaker 4>impact they can make in the world than trying to

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<v Speaker 4>make life multiplanetary, because the world is a more interesting

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<v Speaker 4>place when you can journey among the stars.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, they believe it.

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<v Speaker 4>There's some of the smartest people in the world, and

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<v Speaker 4>they're very passionate about getting there as quickly as they can.

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<v Speaker 4>Every question, every development initiative, every dollar that's spent, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>has the question posed to it of will this help

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<v Speaker 4>us get to Mars? And that's applied to all the

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<v Speaker 4>objectives that you know, we assemble as part of the

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<v Speaker 4>player's program. It's very cool to watch people work so

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<v Speaker 4>quickly towards such an outrageous goal, and the vast majority

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<v Speaker 4>of it is is privately funded.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, you know, think about it.

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<v Speaker 4>This is like a Manhattan Project level endeavor, or take

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<v Speaker 4>the Space Race of the nineteen sixties, but without the

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<v Speaker 4>four and a half percent of GDP us GDP being

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<v Speaker 4>you know funded, and you know, in Tanasa, it's largely

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<v Speaker 4>a commercial, private endeavor for the benefit of everyone. All

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<v Speaker 4>that aside, I do want to say that, like SpaceX

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<v Speaker 4>isn't solving all of the world's problems clearly, and even

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<v Speaker 4>going to Mars, like they may develop the optimal vehicle

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<v Speaker 4>to take us there and back, but there are still

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<v Speaker 4>you know, like who knows how many potential challenges that

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<v Speaker 4>will exist on that journey. They're making it a self

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<v Speaker 4>sustaining city and coming back. So I think so cool

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<v Speaker 4>about SpaceX is they inspire so many other engineers, you know, scientists,

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<v Speaker 4>researchers who start up different companies that follow SpaceX philosophies

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<v Speaker 4>like it. It will take so many SpaceX like companies

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<v Speaker 4>to make this to make the world a much better place.

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<v Speaker 4>And they're just a great beacon that is like inspiring

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<v Speaker 4>many others to do the same.

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<v Speaker 2>That's Jared Isaacman, Polaris Dawn mission commander, speaking with host

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<v Speaker 2>ed Ludlow, Dan Schwartzman, And this is Bloomberg