There's a team of three young guys who have started a company to harvest space junk. NASA likes their technology and has given them a contract to harvest some Apollo era rocket boosters floating in a bad spot. So what is the problem? They're in Michigan's upper peninsula and what they're doing is too risky for Midwest VC's. I've heard their presentation and was impressed with them.
So why are they in Michigan's upper peninsula? It's not as strange as it sounds. All three met while students at Northern Michigan University. Ninety miles away is the campus of Michigan Tech University which is the mining industry's MIT. Few people know it but NASA actually launched satellites nearby in the sixties and early seventies. A lot of people that had the skills to help weren't excited in living that far North. So Michigan Tech with NASA's assistance created a space technology curriculum.
Course that provides a steady stream of recent graduates that can stay in the upper peninsula after school. I am surprised the state of Michigan hasn't found a way to help these guys.
> Michigan Tech University, which is the mining industry's MIT
ehhh...Colorado School of Mines is a much more significant powerhouse in the mining industry. I say this as an MTU alum.
> I am surprised the state of Michigan hasn't found a way to help these guys.
Not really surprised, Upper Peninsula doesn't afford many political connections. Families who go to that school aren't well-connected and typically earn quite a bit less than families at University of Michigan. Distance matters too -- it's a very, very long drive so there's not a lot of cross-pollination between the political centers and population centers and the Keweenaw Peninsula.
It's isolated enough from the rest of Michigan that the McDonald's by Michigan Tech is an official supporter of the Green Bay Packers, not Detroit Lions. Wisconsin and Minnesota students pay in-state tuition there. It's really not "Michigan", culturally. It's also very sparsely populated -- the nearest Wendy's is a two-hour drive away.
I'm sorry, "harvest space junk"? How on earth could that possibly be profitable? There is zero mystery why any VC, Midwest or otherwise, would not be interested in that business model.
Its really a play on real estate. There are a finite number of spots available in geo-synchronous orbit. Plenty of long dead satellites that could provide new spots if only they were placed in a lower orbit where they would eventually crash into the Pacific ocean.
The only reason that there isn't an active market is because there is no way to free up space. Once there is such a method I predict there will be auctions for prime spots.
I don't know, perhaps they have by now. But it is typical for local founders to start pitching in the Midwest. Midwest VC's are generally more conservative and I've never seen them invest in space related ventures.
So why are they in Michigan's upper peninsula? It's not as strange as it sounds. All three met while students at Northern Michigan University. Ninety miles away is the campus of Michigan Tech University which is the mining industry's MIT. Few people know it but NASA actually launched satellites nearby in the sixties and early seventies. A lot of people that had the skills to help weren't excited in living that far North. So Michigan Tech with NASA's assistance created a space technology curriculum.
Course that provides a steady stream of recent graduates that can stay in the upper peninsula after school. I am surprised the state of Michigan hasn't found a way to help these guys.
https://www.secondwavemedia.com/upword/features/kmicompany.a...