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a16zPrivateer’s Steve Wozniak, Alex Fielding, and Dr. Moriba Jah on the Data Highway Above
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CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 3:31
Cold Open and Episode Preview
A live data view shows active satellites, dead satellites and debris, which Steve Wozniak calls a giant ball of trash. Steph Smith introduces the three Privateer co-founders and previews the themes: debris in low Earth orbit, falling launch costs, missing governance, and a sharing economy of satellites.
- •Orange dots are active satellites, teal are dead ones, and pink, purple or gray are cataloged debris
- •The data shown is live, not a simulation
- •Low Earth orbit hosts satellites that support agriculture, climate, navigation and defense
- •Topics ahead include tracking, global treaties and shared satellites
- •Woz's segment covers Apple stories and the inventor-versus-engineer distinction
- 3:31 – 9:52
Why Woz Chose Space and Privateer's Origins
Steph asks why Wozniak is focusing on space sustainability. He explains that Alex Fielding, his longtime friend, brought him in, and that he is drawn to work that does good for the world. He describes Alex's judgment, the Wheels of Zeus name story, and Moriba Jah's expertise.
- •Alex Fielding was Woz's best friend and best man, and brought him into Privateer
- •Woz favors projects where the outcome is good for the world, not just profitable
- •The Wheels of Zeus name came from the woz.com domain, which Woz handed over himself
- •Woz calls Alex the smartest person he knows on business and the long-term picture
- •Privateer is at early seed stage, and the name reflects space's shift from public to private
- 9:52 – 13:51
Space Race Roots and the Case for Stewardship
Asked why space matters again today, Wozniak recalls growing up as space and defense work came to Silicon Valley, and how launch costs pushed chips to replace transistors. He says we now depend on space for weather, GPS and phones, so stewardship, open communication and perhaps treaties matter. He compares it to cleaning a messy house.
- •Lockheed Martin's arrival and the space race shaped the Santa Clara Valley
- •Launch costs per gram drove the miniaturization of electronics into chips
- •Weather, flight conditions, GPS and cell phones all depend on space
- •Woz expects Privateer to be involved in communication between countries and possibly treaties
- •Sharing information openly keeps space understandable for everyone, like a tidy house
- 13:51 – 21:11
Wanting a Computer and Inventors vs. Engineers
Steph asks what drove Woz to want a computer in the first place. He says wanting something matters more than facts, drawing on his years teaching, and contrasts government resources with the creativity of private industry. He describes inventors as people who build prototypes of new ideas, unlike assigned engineers.
- •Woz taught school for eight years and learned that motivation matters more than facts
- •He wanted a computer long before it was clear designing computers could be a job
- •Luck and timing contributed to the value of what he built
- •Government has resources but is stale in its approach, while private industry thinks differently
- •Inventors and engineers are different personality types, and Privateer looks for inventor types
- 21:11 – 21:19
Seeing the Future: Visionaries, Jobs and Iteration
Steph asks how far ahead Woz could see when building early computers. He says vision differs from invention and that real progress came step by step, from the Apple II to the iPod and iPhone under Steve Jobs's push to do a little more each time. He says he can really only see about a year ahead.
- •Vision of the distant future is often science fiction, whereas inventors create something today
- •Memory to hold a song once cost a good fraction of a million dollars
- •Steve Jobs pushed the company to do what it could today and a bit more tomorrow
- •The iPhone grew out of the iPod, not the other way round
- •Predicting even two years ahead was hard, and real inventors like to gamble
- 21:19 – 25:12
Woz on Crypto, Calendars and Closing Thoughts
Asked which problems builders should pay attention to, Woz says he is skeptical of many trends, including quantum computing, and likes things that are mathematical and pure, like Bitcoin's finite limit. He illustrates with a digression on calendars. He closes by saying Privateer will share information, not bring debris down, and that public perception shifts with news spikes.
- •Woz is skeptical of hyped technologies and prefers feet-on-the-ground solutions
- •He likes Bitcoin because it is mathematical and has a finite limit
- •He argues the calendar should be tied to real events like the solstice
- •Privateer wants to make information available rather than gather debris
- •Public perception changes through spikes in news, which are hard to predict
- 25:12 – 28:21
Is Space an Infinite Void? Orbital Highways and Pollution
Steph welcomes Alex and Moriba and asks whether space is infinite. Moriba says outer space may be, but the orbits where satellites operate are finite highways close to Earth. He explains why people don't see the pollution, and recounts how seeing 26,000 pieces of garbage against 1,200 working satellites in 2006 struck him.
- •Satellites sit on finite orbital highways, closer than many places on Earth
- •People aren't aware of how many objects have been launched, and little of it comes down quickly
- •Wayfinder lets people see all these dots online
- •In 2006 there were about 1,200 working satellites and 26,000 pieces of garbage
- •Moriba found 96% of what we put in space being garbage unacceptable
- 28:21 – 32:31
How Much Debris and Why Collisions Go Unspoken
Alex describes over a million debris pieces under a centimeter, while ground radar sees only softball-sized objects moving at roughly 18,000 miles an hour. Collisions happen more than people think, but liability, insurance exclusions and outdated maritime-based space law make people quiet. He notes there are no basic right-of-way rules.
- •Over a million pieces of debris are smaller than a centimeter and cannot be tracked
- •Ground-based radar sees only objects the size of a softball or bigger
- •Insurance policies often exclude space debris from covered loss, which discourages openness
- •Space treaties were based on maritime law and lack right-of-way rules
- •Astrograph and Wayfinder are meant to make the problem visible first
- 32:31 – 38:54
Space Policy, Enforcement and Who Is Responsible
Alex and Moriba discuss the Space Act and treaties, noting that over 40% of registered objects were found out of compliance in Moriba's Arcade project with IBM. With no enforcement, Moriba argues for transparency, since international law places responsibility on governments. Moriba and Alex also describe first-come-first-served occupation, falling launch costs, and the lack of space property tax.
- •Over 40% of registered objects are out of compliance with the Space Act and treaties
- •Alex compares unenforced rules to a speed limit sign with no cops
- •Moriba says transparency and public evidence might deter bad behavior
- •International law places liability on governments, not on companies
- •Satellites occupy orbits first come, first served, with SpaceX's roughly 3,000 satellites at 500 km as an example
- •Alex says no property tax in space lets companies disrupt terrestrial businesses
- 38:54 – 46:18
Orbital Carrying Capacity and Dependence on Space
Moriba introduces orbital carrying capacity, the point at which our actions can no longer prevent bad outcomes. Alex says about 110 million 10-kilometer bubbles fit between 250 and 1,000 km, which a year of auto-industry-scale production could fill. They then explain how fragile GPS-dependent life is, noting only about 30 GPS satellites and a 95% service level.
- •Orbital carrying capacity is exceeded when decisions can't stop collisions or interference
- •About 110 million 10 km bubbles fit between 250 and 1,000 km, versus about 80 million cars built last year
- •Navigation, food transport and many apps depend on satellite positioning and timing
- •The US GPS constellation has stayed around 30 satellites with a 95% service level
- •Launch costs near $5,000 a kilo mean a satellite can cost less than the legal paperwork
- 46:18 – 50:31
Privateer's Mission: Safety, Sharing and Data Contribution
Alex says Privateer works on space safety and accessibility, with tools like Wayfinder and conjunction software offered openly. He criticizes the history of companies charging operators to avoid collisions, which he likens to extortion. Operators are persuaded because contributing data brings capability in return, and Alex wants a single source of truth.
- •Privateer focuses on safety and accessibility, which Alex sees as interconnected
- •Wayfinder and conjunction software aim to help operators avoid crashes
- •Alex likens past paid collision-avoidance services to a mafia tactic
- •Contributing state vectors and telemetry gives operators shared capability
- •Privateer is also putting up its own constellation
- 50:31 – 52:53
Can the Damage Be Undone? A Circular Economy for Space
Steph asks how to fix what is already up there. Moriba lays out a circular economy for space, ranked from mitigation and prevention to reuse, recycling, disposal and removal, with abandonment last. Privateer aims to supply accurate shared data at each stage.
- •Alex is optimistic that damage done step by step can be undone step by step
- •Measuring objects creates a common pool of evidence
- •Priority order: mitigation and prevention, reuse, recycle, disposal, removal, abandonment
- •Removal companies like Astroscale and ClearSpace can be helped with information
- 52:53 – 59:45
Determining Intent in Space
Steph asks how to understand intent among many actors. Moriba says opportunity and capability can be measured but intent cannot, so social science and cultural context are needed to avoid prejudiced assumptions that escalate conflict. Alex adds that those on orbit have historically been scientists, and that no space user manual exists.
- •There is no sensor for intent, only opportunity and capability can be measured
- •Malicious behavior occurs in every domain, but assuming evil is prejudice
- •Privateer plans to incorporate cultural and social-science lenses into its data
- •Alex says early space travelers were mostly researchers with good intent
- •Alex cites the cosmonauts aboard the station during an ASAT test who had no say in it
- 59:45 – 1:06:55
Talent for Space and Privateer's Biggest Risk
Moriba says he avoids the words science and engineering because they exclude people, preferring to recruit empathy and solutions from anyone. Alex says Privateer would fail if humanity treats space as a domain for billionaires instead of something participatory, and argues that SSA companies are friends, not competitors.
- •Moriba describes science as creating knowledge and engineering as creating solutions, which almost everyone does
- •Best ideas may come from rural areas and other unexpected places
- •Alex says apathy is the enemy of empathy and is the main risk
- •Apollo 11's messages of peace and hope were lost along the commercial route
- •Alex wants accessibility so someone in the Third World has the same access as in the First World
- 1:06:55 – 1:10:36
Incentives, Enforcement and Societal Behavior
Steph pushes back that empathy hasn't reversed environmental damage on Earth and asks how to align incentives. Alex says it will come down to enforcement plus a carrot, making the right thing as easy as littering, and compares Tokyo and New York. He recalls joking years ago about being space sanitation engineers.
- •Steph points to carbon taxes as an example of incentives that work without goodwill
- •Alex says enforcement is needed, along with an easy and rewarding way to do the right thing
- •Tokyo versus New York shows how societal norms shape behavior with trash
- •Everyone assumes someone else will clean up the trash
- •Alex describes the growing debris as a tragedy of the commons and a giant ring of trash
- 1:10:36 – 1:16:52
The Future of Space Traffic, Pono and Kuleana
Asked what success looks like in ten years, Alex envisions accessibility driving use and space traffic control becoming akin to air traffic control, with debris re-entry already a possible risk to air and shipping traffic. He explains that Privateer's constellation is named Pono and that the Hawaiian virtue of kuleana informs stewardship. He cites Apollo 13 and the ASAT test as proof of how fragile space is.
- •Space traffic control should resemble air traffic control and be free to operators
- •Some debris re-enters the atmosphere and could intersect with air or shipping traffic
- •Pono means doing the right thing, and kuleana is a virtue of stewardship and responsibility
- •Apollo 13's crew timed their burn with a wristwatch and slide rule
- •Alex criticized the quick 'situation green' message after the ASAT test endangered the station crew
- 1:16:52 – 1:23:26
Inspiration, Woz's Garage Binder and Urgency of Timing
Asked who inspires him, Alex says Privateer must make money while pursuing moonshots, and tells of finding Woz's blue binder of Apple I and II designs next to handwritten Beatles and Bob Dylan lyrics. He and Steph discuss why the commercial shift, with 80% of launches now commercial, makes acting now urgent.
- •Alex says a problem solvable in one's lifetime is probably not interesting enough
- •He found Woz's binder of hand-drawn Apple 1 and 2 designs and assembler code
- •The same binder contained handwritten lyrics from The Beatles and Bob Dylan
- •Alex says 80% of last year's launches were commercial, flipping the past ratio
- •Exponential changes are hard to measure when small, and the timing is urgent
- 1:23:26 – 1:26:06
Woz Returns: Messy Houses, Gummy Bears and Iteration
After the guests sign off, Woz adds that he's fighting not to carry clutter into his new house, and applies that to keeping space clean. He muses about satellites made of materials that turn harmless when shattered and says change starts at the atomic level. He closes by saying Privateer will iterate and help debris come back down.
- •Woz is moving to Colorado and resisting bringing old clutter
- •He suggests starting up to space with intent to keep it clean and prepared with backups
- •He floats satellite materials that become harmless, like gummy bears or a gas, when broken apart
- •Woz says new materials from physicists and chemists change life a lot
- •Business is continual iteration, and Privateer will help debris get back down
