Jeffrey Manber
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Manber is regarded as one of the pioneering commercial space entrepreneurs. Manber has been involved in several of the key breakthrough commercial space projects, principally those revolving around the commercialization of space assets as well as the integration of the Russian space industry into major space programs, including that of the International Space Station
. Manber is believed to be the only American to be an official part of the Russian space corporation RSC Energia
, during their privatization period of the 1990s.
, McGraw Hill
, and Town and Country Magazine, among others.
to help establish the Office of Space Commerce within the U.S. Department of Commerce
. In so doing, he became involved in the early efforts by the Soviet Union
to privatize and commercialize that nation’s space efforts. In 1988 he assisted in the first ever commercial contract between the brand-new Soviet space station Mir
and a U.S. company, Boston-based Payload Systems. The highly controversial pharmaceutical research undertaken on this project showed that microgravity was not always conducive to industrial research, despite the claims of NASA
at that time. He was invited to the Soviet Union in 1989 to witness the launch, and began working with the Russians and the international banking community to privatize post Soviet space assets.
. His initial task was to help support the first contact between the U.S. space agency NASA and the Russian space program for use of the Soyuz TM manned spacecraft as a lifeboat for the then-planned space station Freedom
. His work with senior NASA officials Arnie Aldridge and Sam Keller helped open the door between the Russian space program
and key U.S. aerospace firms, including Lockheed, Boeing and Rockwell Aerospace. His efforts to market the space station Mir played a role in bringing the Russian and American space industries together, ensuring greater safety for astronauts and continuity for the International Space Station
project. The payoff in terms of safety took place when the Clinton Administration agreed to raise the orbital inclination
of the U.S. space station to allow for flights from the Russian Soyuz and cargo ship Progress, which proved critical after each of the two groundings of the space shuttle program
.
, which leased the aging space station Mir
for two years. Though commercially unsuccessful, it proved the business model that a private company could lease a manned space program and generate revenues in a non-traditional manner.
History was made in April 2000 when the world’s first and still only privately funded manned mission to orbit was launched. Two cosmonauts, commander Sergei Zalyotin
and Alexander Kalery
traveled to the dormant space station Mir, opened it up and returned the station to normal life. During the more than 70-day mission, a number of critical firsts were achieved: the first commercially-funded space walk
, the first space mission without government funding, and the first space explorers to be paid fully by a private company.
, the first space tourist
to pay for his own ticket, to his launch contract. He also signed a contract with television producer Mark Burnett
, who produced the Survivor reality television series, and with NBC, to develop a game show that would have sent the winner blasting off for a one-week stay on the Mir. However, due to extreme political pressure from NASA, the space station was de-orbited in March 2001 and MirCorp was shut down.
Later, Manber negotiated an agreement that allowed retailer Radio Shack
to film the first commercial shot on the International Space Station, to be shown on American television, which featured a Russian Cosmonaut opening a Father’s Day gift.
and the U.S. civil war
.
Manber also served as CEO of Yuzoz MSNBC.com, which generates random numbers from live astronomical events, such as solar flare
s, northern lights
and solar winds
, for a variety of commercial products.
Currently, he is the Managing Director for NanoRacks as well as senior adviser to Kentucky Space
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. Manber is believed to be the only American to be an official part of the Russian space corporation RSC Energia
Energia
Energia was a Soviet rocket that was designed by NPO Energia to serve as a heavy-lift expendable launch system as well as a booster for the Buran spacecraft. Control system main developer enterprise was the NPO "Electropribor"...
, during their privatization period of the 1990s.
History
His early interest in space took the form of writing on microgravity business opportunities for publications such as The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, McGraw Hill
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
, and Town and Country Magazine, among others.
Reagan Administration and Russian Cooperation
This work led him to be invited by the Reagan AdministrationReagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
to help establish the Office of Space Commerce within the U.S. Department of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
. In so doing, he became involved in the early efforts by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to privatize and commercialize that nation’s space efforts. In 1988 he assisted in the first ever commercial contract between the brand-new Soviet space station Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
and a U.S. company, Boston-based Payload Systems. The highly controversial pharmaceutical research undertaken on this project showed that microgravity was not always conducive to industrial research, despite the claims of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
at that time. He was invited to the Soviet Union in 1989 to witness the launch, and began working with the Russians and the international banking community to privatize post Soviet space assets.
Energia
In 1992, Manber became the Managing Director of Energia Ltd, which represented the Russian space company NPO EnergiaS.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
OAO S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia , also known as RKK Energiya, is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components...
. His initial task was to help support the first contact between the U.S. space agency NASA and the Russian space program for use of the Soyuz TM manned spacecraft as a lifeboat for the then-planned space station Freedom
Space Station Freedom
Space Station Freedom was a NASA project to construct a permanently manned Earth-orbiting space station in the 1980s. Although approved by then-president Ronald Reagan and announced in the 1984 State of the Union Address, Freedom was never constructed or completed as originally designed, and after...
. His work with senior NASA officials Arnie Aldridge and Sam Keller helped open the door between the Russian space program
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...
and key U.S. aerospace firms, including Lockheed, Boeing and Rockwell Aerospace. His efforts to market the space station Mir played a role in bringing the Russian and American space industries together, ensuring greater safety for astronauts and continuity for the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
project. The payoff in terms of safety took place when the Clinton Administration agreed to raise the orbital inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
of the U.S. space station to allow for flights from the Russian Soyuz and cargo ship Progress, which proved critical after each of the two groundings of the space shuttle program
Space Shuttle program
NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
.
MirCorp
In 1999 Manber was asked by space entrepreneur Walt Anderson and RSC Energia to head MirCorpMirCorp
MirCorp was a commercial space company created in 1999 by space entrepreneurs and involving the Russian space program that successfully undertook a number of firsts in the business of space exploration by using the aging Russian space station Mir as a commercial platform...
, which leased the aging space station Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
for two years. Though commercially unsuccessful, it proved the business model that a private company could lease a manned space program and generate revenues in a non-traditional manner.
History was made in April 2000 when the world’s first and still only privately funded manned mission to orbit was launched. Two cosmonauts, commander Sergei Zalyotin
Sergei Zalyotin
Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin is a Russian cosmonaut and a veteran of a two space missions.Zalyotin was born in Tula and attended the Borisoglebsk Higher Military School before becoming a fighter pilot in the Russian Air Force. He also holds a degree in ecological management. Zalyotin was selected...
and Alexander Kalery
Alexandr Kaleri
Aleksandr Yuriyevich "Sasha" Kaleri is a Russian cosmonaut and veteran of extended stays on the Mir Space Station and the International Space Station . Kaleri has recently been in space aboard the ISS serving as a flight engineer for the long duration Expedition 25/26 missions.- Personal :Kaleri...
traveled to the dormant space station Mir, opened it up and returned the station to normal life. During the more than 70-day mission, a number of critical firsts were achieved: the first commercially-funded space walk
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
, the first space mission without government funding, and the first space explorers to be paid fully by a private company.
Commercial Record of MirCorp
MirCorp concluded a number of ground-breaking agreements. Jeffrey Manber signed Dennis TitoDennis Tito
Dennis Anthony Tito is an Italian American engineer and multimillionaire, most widely known as the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space. In mid-2001, he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station...
, the first space tourist
Space tourism
Space Tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry...
to pay for his own ticket, to his launch contract. He also signed a contract with television producer Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...
, who produced the Survivor reality television series, and with NBC, to develop a game show that would have sent the winner blasting off for a one-week stay on the Mir. However, due to extreme political pressure from NASA, the space station was de-orbited in March 2001 and MirCorp was shut down.
Later, Manber negotiated an agreement that allowed retailer Radio Shack
RadioShack
RadioShack Corporation is an American franchise of electronics retail stores in the United States, as well as parts of Europe, South America and Africa. As of 2008, RadioShack reported net sales and operating revenues of $4.81 billion. The headquarters of RadioShack is located in Downtown...
to film the first commercial shot on the International Space Station, to be shown on American television, which featured a Russian Cosmonaut opening a Father’s Day gift.
Other activities
In addition to many published articles on space and foreign policy, Manber is the author of the forthcoming book, Selling Peace, Inside the Soviet Conspiracy to Transform the American Space Program, to be published by Apogee Press http://www.apogeespacebooks.com/FutureReleases.html in the Fall of 2009. He is also the co-author of Lincoln’s Wrath, published by Sourcebooks Amazon, which tells the story of media censorship against anti-war newspapers during the time of Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and the U.S. civil war
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Manber also served as CEO of Yuzoz MSNBC.com, which generates random numbers from live astronomical events, such as solar flare
Solar flare
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
s, northern lights
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
and solar winds
Solar Winds
Solar Winds I & II were top down, space-based action games released in the early-1990s.In Solar Winds, you are Jake Stone, a bounty hunter who, through several missions, uncovers a secret coalition between the government of your home solar system and a race of unidentified aliens...
, for a variety of commercial products.
Currently, he is the Managing Director for NanoRacks as well as senior adviser to Kentucky Space
Kentucky Space
Kentucky Space is a non-profit consortium of private and public universities, companies, and other organizations with the goal of designing and leading innovative space missions within realistic budgets and objectives...