Friday, December 10, 2021    

11:00 AM Pacific Time

In October, commercial space services company Nanoracks announced that it is teaming with Lockheed Martin to deploy the first free-flying commercial space station named Starlab. Starlab is planned to be operational as early as 2027, and will continuously host up to four astronauts, supporting scientific experiments and in-space manufacturing capabilities. In addition, the station will serve as a base for space tourism. 

Marshall Smith recently left NASA to become Senior Vice President of Space Systems for Nanoracks, and he brings to the company decades of leadership in designing and developing large complex, in-space systems. Marshall led the development of NASA’s human spaceflight strategy and exploration architecture plans for LEO, cislunar, and Mars. His recent roles also included serving as Director of Human Lunar Programs, in which he led NASA’s initiative to return to the Moon including directing the development and formulation of the Gateway and the Human Landing System Programs. He also has significant knowledge and experience of integrating large, complex programs. As the Director of Cross-Program Systems Integration and the Exploration Systems Development Chief Engineer, he formulated and led the systems engineering for NASA’s next deep space transportation systems and addressed technical issues that span across multiple large programs.

On this special Dent @ Home conversation, Marshall will discuss the future of commercial space, how low-Earth orbit (LEO) tourist destinations will come to be, and how he and Nanoracks plan to secure a continued American presence in low-Earth orbit as well as developing new markets on the Moon and Mars.