Today, Dylan Taylor is here to talk the space economy. As CEO of Voyager Technologies and a commercial astronaut, he shares his journey into the space industry and outlines the rapidly evolving opportunities within it. Dylan highlights commercial space stations as a major frontier, enabling breakthroughs in microgravity research that can drive advancements in pharmaceuticals, materials science, and manufacturing by producing higher-quality inputs that improve processes back on Earth. Dylan underscores the economic and technical challenges of scaling space-based industries, the likely consolidation of space companies, and the critical role of reusable heavy-lift rockets in unlocking growth, while projecting realistic timelines for lunar return and Mars missions. Ultimately, he frames space not just as an investment frontier, but as a transformative domain that can reshape humanity’s perspective and deliver meaningful benefits back on Earth. Today we discuss...
- Dylan Taylor shares his background as CEO of Voyager Technologies, commercial astronaut, and founder of Space for Humanity.
- His early fascination with space was inspired by science fiction and the idea of expanding humanity’s potential.
- The rapid increase in satellite launches is creating massive datasets, linking space opportunities with AI-driven insights.
- Commercial space stations like Starlab are emerging as key platforms for research and manufacturing in microgravity.
- Microgravity enables higher-quality outcomes in pharmaceuticals, materials science, and fiber optics by reducing defects.
- Space-based research often produces intellectual property and “seed” inputs that enhance production back on Earth.
- Commercial space stations will operate through shared lab capacity across industries, especially biopharma.
- Automation, astronaut rotation, and future robotic avatars will make long-duration space experimentation more feasible.
- Orbital data centers are an emerging opportunity due to natural cooling and abundant solar energy.
- Water extraction on the moon could support fuel production and sustained human presence.
- Economic viability will determine the pace of lunar development and broader space commercialization.
- Landing and returning from the moon remain the primary technical challenges, not reaching orbit.
- Competition between the U.S. and China is likely to accelerate lunar exploration and development.
- The space industry is expected to undergo consolidation similar to early railroad expansion.
- Reusable, low-cost heavy-lift rockets are the key bottleneck being solved, primarily by SpaceX.
- Chemical rockets are highly inefficient for deep space, making nuclear propulsion a likely future solution.
- Human missions to Mars could realistically occur around 2030, though timelines remain uncertain.
- Asteroid mining is technically possible but more likely to be executed by autonomous robots than humans.
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Today's Guest: Dylan Taylor
Dylan Taylor is a global business leader, thought leader, commercial astronaut and philanthropist. A vanguard in the NewSpace sector, Taylor has been cited by Harvard University, SpaceNews, the BBC, CNBC, CNN and others as having played a seminal role in the growth of the private space industry. He is also widely considered the most active private space investor in the world.
As the Chairman and CEO of Voyager Technologies, Dylan Taylor’s influence drives much of the innovation and advancement of the space industry. However, his influence doesn’t end there. His philanthropic impact in the industry began as the founder of the nonprofit and social movement, Space for Humanity, which seeks to democratize space exploration and develop solutions to global issues through the scope of human awareness to help solve the world’s most intractable problems. Dylan is also the Co-Founding Patron of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, which promotes the growth of commercial space activity. Additionally, Dylan serves as a strategic advisor for both the Archmission and the Human Spaceflight Program. He is also a leading benefactor to the Brooke Owens Fellowship, Patti Grace Smith Fellowship and Mission: Astro Access.
Dylan’s technical background and passion for the space industry makes him not only one of the leading experts, but also a unique figure within the industry due to his own personal spaceflight experience. On December 11th, 2021, Dylan became just the 606th human to go to space as part of the crew of Blue Origin’s New Shepard Mission 19. Dylan consequently earned his commercial astronaut wings with the FAA.
Dylan’s passion has also primed him as a leading advocate of space manufacturing and the utilization of in-space resources to further space exploration and settlement. In 2017 he became the first private citizen to manufacture an item in space when the gravity meter he co-designed and commissioned was 3D printed on the International Space Station. The historic item is now housed in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
As a thought leader and futurist, Taylor has written several widely read pieces on the future of the space industry for Forbes, FastCompany, SpaceNews, Newsweek, The Space Review, and Space.com. As a speaker, Dylan has keynoted many of the major space conferences around the world and has appeared regularly on Bloomberg, Fox Business, and CNBC.
As a global business leader Dylan has been Fortune 1000 executive in several industries including advanced electronics, finance and real estate serving in the roles of CEO, President and Board Director for multinational companies including Prudential plc, Honeywell, UMB Bank, Colliers and Jones Lang LaSalle. He has had P&L responsibility in excess of $2B with 15,000+ employees in 60+ countries.
For his influence as a global leader and his commitment to creating a positive impact on the world, the World Economic Forum recognized Dylan as a Young Global Leader in 2011 and later named him as a full member of the Forum and a Governor of the Space cohort. In addition, Dylan is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and in 2020, Dylan was recognized by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation with their top honor for business and finance, following in the footsteps of 2019’s inaugural winner, the late Paul Allen.
Dylan Taylor earned his MBA in Finance and Strategy from the Booth School of Business at University of Chicago and holds a BS in Engineering from the honors college at the University of Arizona, where he graduated Tau Beta Pi and in 2018 was named Alumnus of the year. In 2013, he attended the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century program at Harvard University
Dylan's Online Presence:
Today's Panelists
Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management
Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Advisory Group