Adam Gilmour is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Australian rocket company Gilmour Space. His business is backed by some of the largest institutional investors in Australia, including Hostplus, HESTA and NGS Super, as well as several venture capital firms. In this interview, we talk about the business of rocket launches, space cargo, interest from institutional investors and Chinese spies. Enjoy the show and don’t forget to subscribe through your favourite platform.
Overview of podcast with Adam Gilmour, CEO of Gilmour Space
1:00 Starting as a derivative trader
3:30 Where do you start launching rockets? ‘You start small”
6:00 We are the Fedex of space
7:30 We started the company to take people into space
8:00 I fully intent to go to space in one of my vehicles
8:45 Pension funds backing Gilmour Space
10:00 There is an element of nation building in Australian super funds
11:30 Challenges of being an Australian-based space company
13:00 We estimate that the industry for launching small satellites into space will grow to $5bn by 2025
14:30 Impact of the pandemic: supply chain issues
16:30 How do you build a rocket.
17:30 How Gilmour Space become the object of Chinese spies
19:30 Putting people on Mars is unrealistic in the short term and inevitable in the long term.
22:00 If you are going to shoot things into space, the moon is a good place to do it
23:00 Favourite science fiction book: Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game
25:00 Getting to space in the next 12 months
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[i3] Insights is the official educational bulletin of the Investment Innovation Institute [i3]. It covers major trends and innovations in institutional investing, providing independent and thought-provoking content about pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds across the globe. The [i3] podcast is available on iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform.