EHF Fellow: Eric Dahlstrom
SpaceBase Part 2: From NASA to the Incubation Nation
EHF Fellow Eric Dahlstrom has been interested in space as long as he can remember — eagerly awaiting the first landing on the Moon at 11 years old, and traveling on his own to Florida at 17 to watch the launch of the last Apollo mission.
In the spring of 1988 Eric was faced with a challenging decision. After he had worked on NASA’s official “Lessons Learned” report following the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger accident, and spent a year studying the 2800 different ways that a space shuttle could fail during launch, NASA Headquarters had decided to suppress the report, destroying all copies. Eric found himself in possession of the only remaining copy.
He had been working with NASA since 1980, but had become discouraged by the politics and cover-ups within parts of the NASA bureaucracy, and felt that the learnings were crucial to the continued development and integrity of the space exploration industry. Feeling an innate sense of moral obligation, he published the report on his website. Years later, he turned over the report to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, tasked with investigating the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. He always took the mission of the organisation very seriously, which occasionally caused problems with some of his managers. Yet his actions over the years have helped the organisation to evolve and learn from mistakes in the past.
During his time at NASA, Eric supported the design of the Cosmic Background Explorer, with his supervisor eventually winning the Nobel Prize for his work mapping the origin of the Universe. He helped to design the International Space Station, and later supported the founding of International Space University (ISU) and joined the faculty, which was where he met his wife and business partner Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom, also an inaugural Fellow in the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. The two founded International Space Consultants, and then later moved to Silicon Valley to help start Singularity University, intrigued by how space technology and other exponential technologies could be applied to improve the world. Together the pair have traveled to more than 75 countries, eventually falling in love with New Zealand.
These days, Eric is motivated to help the whole world participate in space activities to address global needs and challenges. Exponentially advancing technologies, like those in our smartphones, have transformed space activity and opened new opportunities in the past 5 years. Space systems that once cost as much as a skyscraper building now only cost as much as a roadside food shack. Space data analysis software that once cost $30,000 is now free. Space missions that once could only be built by large governments are now being built by universities and colleges, or entrepreneurs in their garages.
“Our first step is to help people in New Zealand take advantage of opportunities in space. If we are successful, we then plan to take these learnings and apply them to help people in other countries. We want anybody who is interested in space to be able to share in these new opportunities, in an effort to make humanity’s move into space a truly global enterprise.”
- Eric Dahlstrom
Together with their team member and EHF Fellow Rich Bodo, Eric and Emeline are planning to establish SpaceBase in New Zealand — a new venture with the aim of helping entrepreneurs, investors, government and small businesses take advantage of opportunities to access space, and solve global problems.
Behind the momentum of Rocket Lab launching New Zealand’s first rocket in May 2017, the New Zealand space ecosystem is growing rapidly. Wide open skies with limited air traffic above, and clear, spacious ocean make for ideal launch conditions, and mean that New Zealand offers many more launch windows than larger nations. The Government is very supportive of growing a commercial space industry in New Zealand, with a progressive regulatory environment.
There are many advantages to building a space ecosystem in New Zealand, including the development of a commercial private satellite launching industry, monitoring invasive species, mitigating climate change and helping to improve performance and environmental sustainability in our agricultural sector.
“While we face global problems, we also see unprecedented opportunities. Our plan is to bring the tools and exponential technologies to New Zealanders. And we feel there is nothing more powerful than a Kiwi with a new tool.”
- Eric Dahlstrom
Within the EHF, Eric and his team look forward to the community and network of individuals who have shared goals and visions for the world. He hopes to share with his cohort and the wider startup community his technical skills, machine learning expertise, international networks, business experience and teaching experience. He brings with him a deep desire to make space accessible for positive global impact, and the same integrity that motivated him to value lives above bureaucracy back in his NASA days when he published the Challenger report. Having made a great start at connecting with space industry professionals in New Zealand, he is looking forward to hitting the ground running and helping New Zealand achieve its potential as an international space leader.
“It’s incredible seeing the New Zealand Government take the message of Sir Paul Callaghan’s 2011 speech and turn it into immigration policy. I am not aware of any other government in the world that is taking such a progressive approach to developing future opportunities for both new immigrants and current residents. New Zealand certainly deserves its reputation as a nation of innovation.”
- Eric Dahlstrom
If you enjoyed this story, please give us some claps. Just like real applause, you can clap more than once 😉 … Are you a visionary entrepreneur or investor building solutions to global challenges? You can bring your vision to reality from New Zealand by joining the Edmund Hillary Fellowship community. Apply here.
