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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Since the first human caught the glimmer of a star in the corner of their eye, space has represented the ultimate final frontier. In the modern era, it\u2019s become a realm reserved for astronauts, billionaires and governments. But now, those boundaries are beginning to expand. Imagine owning a company and seeing your product in orbit, drifting against Earth\u2019s blue horizon, floating above an iconic city, or framed by the shadow of an eclipse. <\/p>\n
We\u2019re not talking about AI or CGI. We\u2019re talking about unfakeable media, produced in the galaxy\u2019s first creative studio among the stars.<\/p>\n
Today, Merry Walker and Nicolas Maubert\u2019s Symphony Space announced Project Rhapsody, the world\u2019s first orbital creative studio, turning science fiction into reality. Essentially, Project Rhapsody is a turnkey service for sending products into orbit and capturing professional photo and video around them, without requiring astronauts. A shoe company, for example, could send a sneaker into orbit, have it filmed floating inside the station, then capture exterior footage with Earth in the background.<\/p>\n
Project Rhapsody will be hosted aboard Adagio-Mini, Symphony\u2019s autonomous space station planned for launch in the second half of 2028. Designed to hold up to 12 works at a time, the station will give brands, artists and cultural institutions a dedicated place to create in microgravity.<\/p>\n
While the scientific and technological promise of space is as vast as space itself, Walker and Maubert believe the space economy can\u2019t reach its full potential if access remains limited to academia and government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought, we have this great product and service offering for scientists and technologists,\u201d Walker tells Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cWhy not give brands and other companies the opportunity to participate?\u201d<\/p>\n Historically, the only way to get a product into space was to hitch a ride to the International Space Station, a process that requires expensive, rigorous astronaut certification. Walker and Maubert wanted to make it easier. <\/p>\n The concept is simple: A company brings Symphony its concept, material or approved product, and Symphony fits it into a standard flight-ready container. From there, Symphony handles the rest, from spacecraft integration and mission planning to capturing the work in orbit and returning the finished, authenticated media to the creator.<\/p>\n Through a partnership with ORBES, a space robotics company, its Exo-ORB satellite will deploy from the station to capture dynamic flybys and orbital footage of client products, both inside and outside the station. The possibilities are limited by the brand\u2019s imagination. <\/p>\n Afterward, companies can bring their products back to Earth, or leave them in orbit for experiments and further testing.<\/p>\n Unlike previous commercial shoots aboard manned spacecraft, this entire operation is designed to run autonomously, combining AI, robotics and software to handle mission procedures without astronauts. Symphony uses a tiered pricing model based on factors including mass, volume, duration and other mission requirements. Walker estimates the autonomous model can cost four to 10 times less than alternatives aboard crewed stations, where astronauts must operate the mission.<\/p>\n It also saves significant time. Crewed missions have to work around astronaut schedules, which can mean waiting years for an opportunity to fly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could probably fly a company within a matter of months and do whatever is necessary,\u201d Walker says. \u201cThe entire mission could be completed by the time their product would even be astronaut-qualified.\u201d<\/p>\n Before founding Symphony, Walker served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, with six assignments spanning four continents. The experience taught her to think beyond the immediate business landscape and anticipate the geopolitical forces that can shape a company\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a CEO, you have to understand shifts in supply chains and the flow of critical materials,\u201d Walker explains. \u201cHow will that put pressure on where your components are coming from? How will tariffs and other economic measures impact you? Where are the opportunities for future partners and growth? What markets are emerging, and what do consumers care about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to understand all of these externalities so that when you\u2019re making business decisions, you can buffer yourself against changing tides that may have nothing to do with your company, but will inevitably impact what you\u2019re doing,\u201d she continues. \u201cHow do you absorb those shocks while staying true to your mission, remaining profitable, and continuing to grow?\u201d<\/p>\n Walker\u2019s diplomatic career also led her to meet her future co-founder and CTO, French space engineer Nicolas Maubert, a highly regarded expert.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were in charge of setting up a comprehensive space dialogue between France and the U.S.,\u201d Maubert recalls.<\/p>\n Eventually, both Walker and Maubert landed in the private sector, but reconnected after running into each other at an airport. They decided to grab coffee and catch up. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were just sharing different projects that we were working on,\u201d Walker recalls. \u201cI told him I started this company, and my mission is to democratize access to space, but we have to figure out how to do that. And he\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, I have ideas.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n To understand what Walker means by \u201cdemocratize space,\u201d you have to understand the landscape (or lack thereof) the space industry has operated in for decades. Since the US space program began in the 1950s, access to space has largely been reserved for government-run programs and multibillion-dollar corporations like Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos\u2019s Blue Origin. <\/p>\n But as the industry has expanded, Walker says launch costs have come down while launch frequency has increased. New technologies are also increasing capacity to put people, equipment, and other payloads into orbit.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the past, most space missions involved single-use, one-way satellites, which Walker says contribute to the growing space debris problem. On the other end of the spectrum are large space stations primarily designed to accommodate astronauts.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s really no in between,\u201d Walker says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why we are doing this. The industry is at this amazing point in time where the whole mission cycle has matured significantly. We\u2019re now able to do what we\u2019re doing in a way that would not have been possible even five to 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether we realize it or not, space is already part of our daily lives. We rely on satellites for everything from GPS navigation to FaceTime calls. Even so, Walker believes we\u2019ve barely scratched the surface, comparing the opportunities emerging from space to asking Thomas Edison about the potential applications of electricity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already in a space economy,\u201d Walker says. \u201cThe next generation of space is taking these terrestrial technologies and continuing to push the boundaries of what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Data centers in space are one popular example. Biotech is another. Project Rhapsody is just one piece of Symphony\u2019s larger vision for commercializing orbital infrastructure. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are endless uses of expanding the boundaries of where humanity is operating outside of Earth\u2019s, well, atmosphere,\u201d Walker says with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Surprisingly, Symphony hasn\u2019t faced as many regulatory challenges as one might expect. The bigger issue, Maubert says, is that space has no single global regulator.<\/p>\n \u201cEach country is responsible for regulating space,\u201d Maubert explains. \u201cBut when you launch a satellite, it doesn\u2019t stay over one country\u2014 it travels around the Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n Because Symphony\u2019s spacecraft operate across jurisdictions, the company must coordinate with the countries that license and oversee its missions.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we have to go through the typical licensing route, which takes some time and paperwork, but it\u2019s not egregious,\u201d Walker says.<\/p>\n Symphony is taking a different approach to the traditional one-and-done space mission. Like SpaceX\u2019s reusable launch systems, its spacecraft are designed to support multiple missions rather than becoming single-use assets, with each station designed to operate for 15 years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to reduce the number of assets, but make them more sustainable and more durable,\u201d Maubert says.<\/p>\n Walker\u2019s background as a U.S. diplomat also gives Symphony experience navigating the international policy landscape. She says the company works with international partners to establish \u201ccommon definitions\u201d around how space is governed and used.<\/p>\n \u201cThese conversations have been going on at the United Nations since the space race began,\u201d Walker says. \u201cThere\u2019s an international treaty on the peaceful uses of outer space. This isn\u2019t a novel discussion, but it continues to evolve because what was happening in space decades ago has changed significantly. The capabilities we have today are completely different, so the policy conversations need to evolve alongside the technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the most remarkable part of Project Rhapsody is how quickly it has all come together.<\/p>\n \u201cThese conversations started last October or November,\u201d Walker says. \u201cIn less than a year, we\u2019ve gone from two co-founders with a back-of-the-napkin idea to more than 40 people, two patents, our first manufacturing facility launching at the end of the year, and full designs. It\u2019s amazing how much progress we\u2019ve made \u2014 and it\u2019s really just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n The program is expected to develop in three stages. Between now and 2028, Symphony Space will open the studio, complete and flight-test Adagio-Mini, finalize the standard container for partner payloads, and invite its founding members. The first works will fly on a demonstrator vehicle in Q2 2028, with Adagio-Mini following in the second half of the year. <\/p>\n Beginning in 2029, Symphony Space will open seasonal residencies aboard a dedicated spacecraft. Over time, Symphony hopes that Project Rhapsody will grow from an orbital production studio into a school, streaming platform, catalog of space-native work, and broader creative medium.<\/p>\n Walker ended the interview with a message to those who want to help shape what comes next: \u201cWe\u2019re really excited to work with new partners. It\u2019s an open-door invitation to anyone interested in working together to define what space looks like, because space belongs to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Since the first human caught the glimmer of a star in the corner of their eye, space has represented the ultimate final frontier. In the modern era, it\u2019s become a realm reserved for astronauts, billionaires and governments. But now, those boundaries are beginning to expand. Imagine owning a company and seeing your product in orbit, drifting against Earth\u2019s blue horizon, floating above an iconic city, or framed by the shadow of an eclipse. <\/p>\n We\u2019re not talking about AI or CGI. We\u2019re talking about unfakeable media, produced in the galaxy\u2019s first creative studio among the stars.<\/p>\n Today, Merry Walker and Nicolas Maubert\u2019s Symphony Space announced Project Rhapsody, the world\u2019s first orbital creative studio, turning science fiction into reality. Essentially, Project Rhapsody is a turnkey service for sending products into orbit and capturing professional photo and video around them, without requiring astronauts. A shoe company, for example, could send a sneaker into orbit, have it filmed floating inside the station, then capture exterior footage with Earth in the background.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nLaunching brands past the stratosphere<\/h2>\n
Diplomacy meets entrepreneurship<\/h2>\n
The next giant leap for mankind\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Building for space without borders<\/h2>\n
Join the mission\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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