Kirsten Whittingham: President of Max Space and Chief Revenue Officer at Cosmic Girls Foundation

In episode 101, Ben chats to  Kirsten Whittingham, President of Max Space. Kirsten shares insights into her diverse and impressive career in the aerospace industry, from generating significant revenue at Axiom Space to overseeing the development of innovative expandable habitats at Max Space. The conversation delves into the unique technology behind Max Space's scalable habitats, the challenges and milestones ahead, and the future of space habitation. Kirsten also discusses her work with the Cosmic Girls Foundation, aiming to address gender inequality in the space industry and inspire more young girls to pursue STEM careers.

OUTLINE:

Here’s approximate timestamps for the episode.

00:14 Intro to

00:48 Introduction to Kirsten Whittingham

01:28 What is Max Space?

04:57 Inflatable

06:21 Mission in 2026

09:00 What is a soft goods?

10:22 Psychology of inflatable structures 

12:20 How big could they be?

13:50 Experience from Axiom

17:35 Raising money for space startups

20:50 Sustainability

23:08 Private/public partnerships

25:55 Uses of Max Space habitat from research, manufacturing, space debris and sport?!

27:50 Cosmic Girls Foundation https://www.cosmicgirls.org/donate

30:45 CGF Initiatives

32:02 Advice to young people

35:10 Vision for the future of the space industry

37:53 Wrap Up and socials

Connect with Max Space:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getmaxspace

Website: https://getmaxspace.com/

X: https://twitter.com/getmaxspace

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getmaxspace/about/

Stay connected with us!

Use #Astroben across various social media platforms to engage with us!

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@astrobenpodcast

Website: www.astroben.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrobenpodcast/

X: https://x.com/Gambleonit

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@astrobenpodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/astrobenpodcast/