Thread by @thesheetztweetz

Here at day two of #CST2022, BryceTech CEO Carissa Christensen is moderating a conversation with Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith and VP Audrey Powers, the latter who flew to space on New Shepard last year.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Powers, asked about her spaceflight experience, says she doesn't think Blue Origin would have achieved what it did last year "without the work of this industry" and its partnerships with the FAA, NASA, and more.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Powers: "We've learned so much about the market" for New Shepard "in this year."

"I knew everything that was going to happen on" her spaceflight but "there were still things that were exciting and new."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Powers: Before New Shepard flew people, Blue Origin did a human spaceflight certification review and "we reviewed every aspect of our program over the course of a week" and "brought in outside experts to look at what we're doing and critique us."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Powers: "I think we put together a very, very robust approach" to safety "and I feel very fortunate that we were able to prove that out over the course of the year, with no just one but with three successful flights."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith, on the New Shepard market: "It's a really exciting part of where we're going with space tourism" that "we're going to get to hear other voices" who "haven't been thinking about this for their entire life," giving the example of William Shatner speaking after his flight.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith, on New Shepard pricing, says Blue Origin auctioned the first ticket because "we knew it would go for a very high price" and donated the funds because "we wanted to make sure that we did that in a way that would actually benefit a lot of people."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: "By actually running the auction, we were able to actually get a good understanding of what the overall price and volume was" and "now we have a great understanding of people, not only by name, what they would pay."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: "We had thousands of people in the auction process ... we can see there's very robust demand."

"I think the challenge for Blue at this point is that we're actually supply limited ... it's incumbent on us to now go build" more New Shepard rockets.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: "We're going to make low cost access to space. We're going to make it routine for people" to go to space.

"That's why we made New Shepard, that's why we're making New Glenn."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: "New Shepard checked all those boxes -- it was inspirational, we flew a reusable launch vehicle, we put people in space -- so that is all the thing we wanted to get done."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: The space economy in the U.S. "has never been better" and is in "the second golden age of spaceflight."

"I think the government is doing a good job" at fostering that economy and protecting the public.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: Government can help further the space industry by firstly making sure there's competition, and smaller companies are not "crushed" or that agencies don't try "to acquire bespoke systems that basically are going to favor the incumbents. That's a bad approach."

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: "Fixed price contracts and leveraging private investment" helps make sure government furthers competition in the space business.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith, on Blue Origin's pathway, says New Shepard could have been built "much, much easier" if it was just intended to be a suborbital vehicle, but the technologies onboard are "connecting those dots" to the company's broader goals in space.

@csf_spaceflight @AudreyKPowers @BryceSpaceTech @blueorigin Smith: Mastering "vertical takeoff and landing" is "a hard problem" and "it's actually a harder problem on a smaller vehicle than a larger one."