Neither did I, but it only took me a few minutes to find out.

Appearance on "the Space Show"

Broadcast 279 (Special Edition)
Aired on November 16th, 2004

Guest: Dr. Thomas Matula

Dr. Tom Matula returned to The Space Show for this program to discuss his latest proposal, the Space Markets Act of 2005. This proposed law is designed to stimulate within the U.S., the demand for sub-orbital and orbital launch services.

[Given which, I think you should take the time to become aware of who he is and what he's trying to do, since he is trying to influence your chosen field of work. You could start here with a Google search]

During the program, Dr. Matula explained his proposed Act and answered many questions about it from listeners. In the process, he agreed to establish a type of BBB or another mechanism to allow for feedback and suggestions from the public to fine tune the wording and the proposal so that eventually it can be submitted to members of Congress and advocate organizations as it opens news pathways to developing these important new industries. In the process of discussing his proposed Act, Dr. Matula also defined "sustainable" space industry and in the process of his doing this, provided interesting examples and an informative discussion. Toward the end of the program, Dr. Matula, at my request, explained his space development bank concept again and brought it current in light of today's interest rates and emerging commercial space industry. We also talked about his presentation in Las Vegas this past summer at the Return to the Moon Conference wherein he draws upon his marketing expertise to explain why it is so important to market space to the public rather than sell it. Tom and I have much in common regarding this point has his RTM presentation is similar to a presentation I made at a Mars Conference several years ago. We both concur that it is crucial to listen to what people say about space, not tell them about space. In his RTM presentation, which is available as a Power Point by emailing me (with Tom's permission), he cites an interesting survey on what the public believes the nation's space goals should be. You will not want to miss this survey. Dr. Tom Matula is a resource The Space Show will certainly draw upon more frequently.

About our guest...

Dr. Thomas Matula
Dr. Tom Matula is is an Assistant Professor in the School of Business, University of Houston-Victoria. His specialty is Marketing. He has authored or co-authored numerous space commerce publications and is a frequent speaker at national and international space conferences. In the mid-'90's, Dr. Matula created the space development bank concept for states and the federal government to creatively finance specific commercial space projects. He has recently authored the Space Markets Act of 2005, a proposal for a law designed to stimulate the development of demand for sub-orbital and orbital launch services in the United States. Dr. Matula remains in high demand as a space conference speaker and as a member of many space advocate organizations, he is well-known and respected as promoting space commerce through common sense business, marketing, and financial approaches.