Space Business Podcast #90 - Victor Hespanha, New Shepard astronaut

Space Business Podcast

Did you ever wonder what the experience of flying on Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard rocket is like? I certainly have. So I invited one of their recent crew members, Victor Hespanha from Brazil, onto the podcast. He takes us through the entire experience -before, during, and after the flight- in great detail. You get a good sense of what the experience is like, so don’t miss it! Please do note that English is not Victor’s first language and he is currently still learning it. He was incredibly kind to speak to us anyway and get out of his language comfort zone. So please keep it in mind when he is occasionally searching for the right word.

Victor's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hespanhavictor/

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Learn more about space & the space economy:

• Check out the edX/EPFL Space Economy MOOC: https://www.edx.org/course/new-space-economy
• There is now a certificate for those wanting to enter the space sector: https://www.spacecertificate.com
• Do you want to specifically learn about investing in Space? Join the pre-release of Raphael's new live-taught course on Maven:
  https://maven.com/space-business-institute/investing-course

The Space Business Podcast is sponsored by NanoAvionics.

Support us at https://www.patreon.com/spacebusinesspodcast

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

2:50 How did Victor end up going to space?

4:14 The Crypto Space Agency (CSA)

5:38 The CSA sweepstakes

6:35 Victor's initial reaction

7:57 Biggest fears

10:30 Family reaction

11:51 Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian Astronaut

12:32 Preparing for space flight

15:24 Wife's reaction

16:19 Corn Ranch astronaut village

17:38 The bar at Corn Ranch

19:34 Formal training and bonding with the crew

23:00 The night before the launch

25:30 The final briefing and the day of the launch

28:00 Countdown and liftoff

29:40 Microgravity

33:50 Seeing Earth from Space

35:05 Memorable moments

37:10 Descending from Space

39:35 After-mission protocol

43:00 Special items

44:21 Aftermath

45:50 Coming back to Brazil

49:22 Post-Space life