Quite a lot
has changed at the National Space Society's International Space Development
Conference (ISDC) in the last ten years. In 1998, it was still not uncommon to
see lecturers--especially in the scientific tracks--working from black-and-white
transparencies on overhead projectors. Individuals describing new orbital
spacecraft did not always have a business plan or--as Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, ISDC 2006's co-sponsor, put it at
this year's conference, a "failure plan." What a difference ten years makes.
Business-like Advocacy
Overhead projectors
were kept on standby for the 2005 ISDC in case anyone still wanted to do things
"the old-fashioned way," but PowerPoint, projectors, CD-ROMs, and laptops ruled
the day. This year, the science tracks had some of the best
presentations--especially the Japanese Hayabusa team's report--which featured
PowerPoint, graphs, and multimedia animations of their mission. The appearance
of computerized presentations and real-world, practical content, ISDC presenters
reflect a greater maturity and professionalism in space advocacy activities.
Along with
the presentations, conference management practices are growing more
professional as well, as previous conference managers share best practices with
subsequent conferences. Much of this information sharing, of course, is a
result of email and the Web, but the desire to put on high-quality conferences demands
an environment for sharing "best practices" and institutional knowledge, which
the advocacy community has badly needed.
Another promising
phenomenon has been the arrival of consultants. These individuals are advising
space advocates on the nuts and bolts of lobbying (the now-annual NSS
Legislative Blitz); the political realities of dealing with Washington (Jim
Muncy's PoliSpace); the details of partnering with NASA (by David Schuman,
Goddard Spaceflight Center's Office of the Chief Counsel); and the business
realities of starting up new companies (as witnessed by the addition of the
Space Venturing Forum to this year's ISDC). Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic informed
conference participants that they employ a professional public relations
consultant to manage their media relations. Most of the new rocket companies
have Web sites to handle public and media inquiries. In all these ways, ISDC sessions
have moved from the theoretical to the practical.
Cutting-Edge Marketing
Virgin has
also added Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to its brand by creating a
discrete group of customers called the "Virgin Galactic Founders." The Founders
comprise 100 people, who are guaranteed to fly on the first 100 commercial
seats. These individuals get special access to the project and serve as
ambassadors for Virgin. Hotels and tourist destinations like Walt Disney World
offer similar programs to their most frequent visitors to make them feel special,
ensure repeat business, and generate word-of-mouth exposure.
Eric
Anderson of Space Adventures says that his company isn't in the space business:
"What we're about is providing space experiences." Targeted experiences will abound
at the X-Prize Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico this October. On the ground,
people will get hands-on time with spaceships, robots, and simulators. Peter
Diamandis envisions a child getting to press "the big red button" for every launch
for a life-changing "wow" experience. This is the sort of marketing
sophistication the space tourism business is going to need as it begins "to get
off the ground," both literally and figuratively. CRM programs and marketing
savvy, combined with a high-value and safe product, will help sustain this
growing industry in the years to come.
Developing Political Savvy
The space
entrepreneurs themselves have become more sophisticated in their political tactics.
Amir Ansari, whose family sponsors the X-Prize, suggested that there is a
disconnect between venture capitalists (VCs) and aerospace people--with both
communities needing to learn each other's language. Slowly but surely, that
process appears to be happening. The emergence of professional lobbyists is an
absolute requirement now, as the federal government has jurisdiction over more
and more activities.
Another
effective strategy advocates are pursuing is finding allies within competing
government agencies and levels of government. The state of New Mexico has
approached Virgin Galactic (VG) to build a spaceport, while Patricia Grace
Smith from the Federal Aviation Administration's Administrator for Commercial
Space Transportation (FAA AST) advises startup rocket companies to consult with
AST to see how government can help them through the regulation process. Virgin Galactic's
Wil Whitehorn says that VG is now in frequent discussions with federal and
state governments to maintain that relationship.
Another
step toward professionalizing and legitimizing the space tourism industry is
forming an industry trade association. The group in this case is the Personal
Spaceflight Association (PSA). PSA is akin to the International Standards
Organization (ISO), which sets standards and practices for technology
management. The advantage of ISO and the PSA is that they act as a form self
regulation. If private space firms can set their own standards via the PSA, they
would provide a "seal of approval" to their services, akin to the Underwriters
Laboratories (UL) tag on an electrical appliance or "ISO 9000 Certified" on a
company's stationery.
Perhaps the
most important advantage of self-regulation is that it avoids
government-imposed regulations which, as Burt Rutan noted at ISDC, can often be
written by people who know nothing about the space business. As Rutan put it,
"Government needs to know what to allow." Most new businesses would agree that
it is better to self-limit up front and suggest guidelines than to go forward
unregulated and then have their operations cut back after the fact.
What is
happening is a gradual transformation from advocates talking about what they
would like to see happen to actually making it happen.
Bart Leahy is a technical writer and National Space Society member living in Alexandria, Virginia.
NOTE:
The views of this article are the author's and do not reflect the policies of the National Space Society.
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