About that Commercial Space Video that’s not an Infomercial

DigitalGlobe headquarters in Colorado. Credit: Wendover Productions.

Wendover Productions is a documentary production company that produces among other things, the equivalent of HowTo information in video format. Recently they produced Space: The Next Trillion Dollar Industry, a background information video on the commercial space sector.

The 27 minute video features a dozen companies, has some outtakes from an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson and is heavily focused on DigitalGlobe. It also features MDA and Radiant Solutions. One might surmise it’s almost an informercial for Maxar Technologies, but it isn’t.

Part of the video also focuses on the launch industry talking about ULA, SpaceX, Blue Origin and others.

I asked MDA if parent company Maxar had paid to have this video made. The answer was no. Originally the video was to focus in part on DigitalGlobe. However as production went forward MDA and Radiant Solutions were added to the story.

Wendover makes its money in part from advertising and is supported by nearly a 1000 patrons on Patreon who contribute several thousands per video. (Patreon is also how SpaceQ is supported in part, though not to the extent of Wendover, yet. And we could really use your support.)

The video is well produced and it’s clear why Wendover is strongly supported in part by the crowdfunding community. They produce informative and visually appealing videos. As to the title of the video, it doesn’t match the content. The focus of the video is too narrow and doesn’t quite fully explain how commercial space is a trillion dollar industry. No matter, for Maxar, it’s a great promotional video.

 

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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