As the CEO of The Bolden Group and Chairman of the Inter Astra Institute a non-profit creating equitable access and opportunity to the business of space, Ché Bolden builds relationships between young stem workforce, small businesses, corporations, and governments around the globe to create access to the business of space.

A retired Marine, Ché has extensive experience at the executive level leading projects and teams at the governmental, national, and international level. He has decades of experience navigating complex problems and providing qualitative results. 

In this episode, Ché Bolden shares his journey from aspiring fighter pilot to becoming a key player in the business of space. As the son of a four-time astronaut and former administrator of NASA, Charles F. Bolden, Ché speaks about growing up in the shadow of the shuttle era. 

You’ll hear how being immersed in the remarkable NASA community around him, gained a unique perspective on the potential of space as a day-to-day reality for humankind and how he brings diverse voices to the table in the global business of space. 

On This Episode You’ll Discover: 

• The influence of Ché's NASA lineage on his career in aerospace and his vision for accessible space commerce. 

• Defining experiences that pivoted Ché's focus from military service to the commercial space sector. 

• Ché's take on the burgeoning role of private companies in space and their impact on global business opportunities. 

• Insights into the Inter Astra Institute's mission under Ché's leadership, promoting diverse industry involvement. 

• The significance of education and cross-industry collaboration in the new era of space business as envisioned by Ché. 

• Influences from astronauts like Nyberg and Hurley on Ché's mission to foster a worldwide space community. 

• The role of storytelling and connection in making the space industry relevant across various demographics.

Quote:

“Today, I focus on bringing the business of space to places it has not traditionally been seen as relevant. And the best way to go about that is to connect the different people from disparate areas and tell their story in a way that lets people see the possibilities”

- Ché Bolden

Episode Links: 

Follow Inter Astra on LinkedIn

Connect with Ché Bolden on LinkedIn

Listen to Ché’s interview on Kathy Sullivan Explores…

'Creating Diverse and Inclusive Pathways to Space with Ché Bolden'

Credits:

Production by CxS Partners LTD

Executive Producer: Toby Goodman 

Audio & Sound Design: Lee Turner

Artwork: Ryan Field

Join the #1 community creating equitable access to the business of space.

https://interastra.space/

Talking to the people I grown up with, I started to see things in a different light and look at it through a different lens. And even though I'm an astro kid, I learned some things about what life is going to be like when more and more human beings make space part of their day to day routine. And as a result of that, I realized that we had just barely scratched the surface on what it means to talk about space as a business. Your business in space is brought to you by the Interastra Institute, the global public square for the business of space. Join us at interastra.space

I'm Che Bolden, and you're listening to Your Business in Space. I'm a connector and a storyteller. I am the CEO of the Charles F. Bolden Group and the chair at the InterAstra Institute.

We're leading the development of the global public square for the business space. When I was a kid, I had the opportunity to just be around a lot of really interesting people. And so growing up, I always envisioned myself being a servant of sorts. I wasn't sure exactly how that would play out, whether I was gonna be an architect, a doctor, a lawyer, or a fighter pilot. One way or the other, I knew I was gonna get involved in something that made a difference in people's lives. If I was to pinpoint one career that I always aspired to with consistency, I'd probably say it was to be a fighter pilot. My father had been a pilot and I watched him and his contemporaries when I was growing up, and it just seemed like the cool thing to do. It wasn't a lifelong dream forever, but I always knew that was something I was gonna do.

But he had a lot of contemporaries around him that just gave great examples of what it meant to be a servant leader and to push the boundary out of things. And when I was younger, I didn't really aspire to be like my father or even in the business that my father was in. It was something that just kinda naturally happened. And I didn't even come into becoming a space person until much later in life. Growing up in the shadow of shuttle, I did not really look at it as anything other than what my father did. It was me looking at him as if anybody looks at their father. If my father had been a plumber, I would not have looked at him any differently. But the fact remains, he wasn't a plumber.

But while I dabbled in that, I also had the opportunity to get exposed into what was emerging as a result of the commercialization of space with companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. Talking to the people I'd grown up with, I started to see things in a different light and look at it through a different lens. And even though I'm an astro kid, I learned some things about what life is going to be like when more and more human beings make space part of their day to day routine. And as a result of that, I realized that we had just barely scratched the surface on what it means to talk about space as a business. No one was at the time talking about education very much as a key component of how we succeed in space. No one was talking about all of the other industries that are gonna be necessarily integrated into the business of space in order to make it a place where human beings can survive and thrive. All of those things were challenges that seemed to fit into my desire to push boundaries and to try something different. And so, one of the stories that I tell people all the time is I listened to Karen Nyberg and Doug Hurley tell their story.

Both Karen and Doug are astronauts. Karen is an ISS astronaut. Doug is a retired marine. He was the last shuttle pilot and the 1st Dragon pilot, and we asked them to help us with an event and they gave a 90 minute discussion on their life as an Astro family. And, my father and I were actually listening to the presentation and we were both taken aback by all the things that even we didn't know and that really was probably the first inkling that something like InterAstra could be a real thing and that's when it started. At that point, I started talking to more and more people of finding out where the gaps were in the current discussions and what problems were being talked about and it became a list that grew from 1 page to 2 pages to 4 pages. And so I knew we kind of found something that was worth pursuing. And as I got more into it, I found that I was able to recognize that I was getting these feelings inside of me of excitement and curiosity that I hadn't really experienced in quite some time and so I knew that I'd finally, you know, found my calling and it was to basically make more people aware that space is something that is available and needs more attention and that everyone has something that they can do related to space and more specifically, the business around space.

We're also looking at making this a global community. And while the United States sits in a position of influence and power because of what we've done up to this point, that will not always be the case. As a result, we think that Interastra for the foreseeable future will be populated by roughly 50% American and 50% for the rest of the global population. And to that effect within the interaster retreat specifically, we conducted that one in March of 22. It came right on the heels of Omicron. And so, you know, we were faced with the dilemma of who's gonna show up. Well, our message resonated loud and clear. Not only did we have full participation, 5 different countries were represented.

And then in the following year, we were able to double that number to 10. Our goal is to eventually have half of the population be from the global community that are non Americans. We think that that's very, very important because all voices need to be heard and all voices need to have an equal seat at the table. To be successful in space, we need to bring more people to the table. Up to this point, the business of space or the space industry or even put a different way, Space Race 2.0 has been dominated by very few demographics. You know, this is not an attack on on those who have gotten us here. However, it's been a singular perspective. It is either a Western perspective or an extension of a Western perspective as interpreted by our friends and allies in other parts of the globe.

When it comes to the business of space, I think the the That was the way that it was when we first got into space. You had to be a test pilot in order to become an astronaut and you had to be an engineer in order to become a mission director. With the introduction of the Space Shuttle, we started to reframe what it meant to be an astronaut. You no longer had to be a test pilot. And now, the commercial space is coming in and dominating, lower Earth We need artists. We need mathematicians. So there are boundless opportunities that we have now discovered to help break down and debunk that original misconception. As I mentioned earlier, I see myself as both a connector and a storyteller.

And today, I focus on bringing the business of space to places it has not traditionally been seen as relevant. And the best way to go about that is to connect the different people from disparate areas and tell their story in a way that lets people see the possibilities. We value each individual's perspective on the challenge that we're facing and it takes storytellers and connectors in order to bring those to the forefront so that everyone understands that this is not an exclusive space.

I'm Che Bolden, and you've been listening to Your Business in Space. All the ways to connect with me are in the links in the show notes. Join us at interastra.space. Your business in space is brought to you by the Interastra Institute. New episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Music, and most everywhere podcasts are found.

To be the first to know when the next episode drops, head over to interastra.space.