T minus 10 interview series by space industry leader Dylan Taylor. This episode features author, science communicator, Space for Humanity Director, and TV personality, Sarah Cruddas.
2. T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
Sarah Cruddas is a world renowned space
journalist, television host, author, and global
thought leader in the commercial space
sector. She has an academic background in
astrophysics and is a director at Space for
Humanity a global non-profit dedicated to
democratizing access to space.
ABOUT
SARAH CRUDDAS
3. I was born in South Wales and grew up on the outskirts of Hull in the North East of England. I am not a
person who came from privilege, but I am a firm believer in controlling your own destiny. Nobody can make
your dreams come true but You. I have always followed my dreams, I have failed more times than I have
succeeded, but failure and the ability to learn from our failures is the pathway to success. This is it, this
life is not a rehearsal, you have to follow your dreams. And if all else fails, out work everybody else.
10. WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND, WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
4. One of my first memories is of looking up at
the Moon. I was not influenced by anyone at
this early age, it was a curiosity I was born
with and it never left me. Although what I
would say is ‘why wouldn’t you be interested in
space?’ – space is the story of who you are,
who we all are. All of the questions we try and
answer in space are fundamental to our
species existence – Where did we come from?
Where are we heading? Why do we exist? And
are we the only life that exists in this
impossibly large cosmos?
9. WHEN DID YOU FIRST
BECOME INTERESTED IN SPACE?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
5. 8. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIGGEST ISSUE FACING THE
INDUSTRY TODAY?
W E A R E A T A T R A N S I T I O N A L T I M E F O R S P A C E . F O R M O S T O F O U R T I M E P U R S I N G
T H E S T A R S , S P A C E H A S B E E N T H E P R E S E R V E O F G O V E R N M E N T S – T H E S U C C E S S E S
O F T H E S P A C E R A C E , W H I C H C U L M I N A T E D I N H U M A N S L A N D I N G O N T H E M O O N
W E R E T H E R E S U L T O F T H E C O L D W A R B E T W E E N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S A N D T H E S O V I E T
U N I O N – B U T T O D A Y S P A C E I S N O L O N G E R T H E P R E S E R V E O F G O V E R N M E N T S
A L O N E . W H I L E T H E R E H A V E A L W A Y S B E E N P R I V A T E C O M P A N I E S W O R K I N G W I T H
G O V E R N M E N T S A G E N C I E S , T H E R E A R E N O W H U N D R E D S O F C O M P A N I E S F R O M T H E
V E R Y L A R G E T O T H E S M A L L W O R K I N G T O T R A N S F O R M T H E W A Y W E U S E S P A C E . T H E
I S S U E B E I N G F A C E D B Y S O M E I S A M I N D S E T S H I F T F R O M T H I N K I N G A B O U T S P A C E
A S S O M E T H I N G G O V E R N M E N T S D O , T O S P A C E N O W A L S O B E I N G A N O P P O R T U N I T Y
F O R B U S I N E S S . T H E R E N E E D S T O B E M O R E O F A N A P P E T I T E F O R R I S K I N S P A C E
I N V E S T M E N T S A S W E L L A S A N A P P R E C I A T I O N T H A T F A I L I N G D O E S N ’ T M E A N F A I L U R E .
I F W E A R E T O M O V E F O R W A R D I N T O S P A C E , W E N E E D E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L I S M A N D
W E N E E D T O C R E A T E A N E C O S Y S T E M W H E R E M O R E C A P I T A L I S A V A I L A B L E F O R
T H E S E B O L D I D E A S . T H I S I S S O M E T H I N G I T H I N K T H E U S I S S U C C E E D I N G I N , B U T
G L O B A L L Y T H E R E N E E D S T O B E C H A N G E S .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
6. 7. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO FOR FUN?
I L O V E T O T R A V E L . I A M A D D I C T E D T O T H A T F E E L I N G O F B E I N G L O S T .
A S A C H I L D I R E M E M B E R V I V I D L Y S T A R T I N G A N E W S C H O O L A N D N O T
Q U I T E K N O W I N G M Y W A Y A R O U N D , I L O V E D T H A T F E E L I N G O F N O T
K N O W I N G W H A T W A S T H E R E . I A M F O R T U N A T E T H A T M Y L I F E T O D A Y I S
S P E N T M O S T L Y O N T H E R O A D . I H A V E W A T C H E D T H E A U R O R A D A N C E
O V E R T H E M O U N T A I N S O F N O R W A Y , I H A V E R I D D E N A S P E E D B O A T
A C R O S S T H E Y A L U R I V E R T O T H E B A N K S N O R T H K O R E A , I H A V E
S T O O D A T T H E B O A R D E R T O G O M A I N T H E D E M O C R A T I C R E P U B L I C O F
T H E C O N G O , A P L A C E W H I C H I C A N O N L Y L I K E N A S L I K E ‘ T H E
G A T E W A Y T O H E L L ’ A N D I H A V E D I N E D W I T H N O M A D I C P E O P L E I N
K A Z A K H S T A N . M Y F A V O R I T E C I T Y T O V I S I T I S P A R I S , B U T M Y F A V O R I T E
C O U N T R Y I S W I T H O U T A D O U B T T H E U S A – A L T H O U G H I M A Y B E
B I A S E D , I T I S M Y H O M E A W A Y F R O M H O M E . T R A V E L T E A C H E S U S T H A T
A R E P L A N E T I S B O T H B E A U T I F U L , B U T U N F A I R , I F D O N E C O R R E C T L Y I T
B R O A D E N S Y O U R H O R I Z O N S A N D H U M B L E S Y O U .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
7. ‘Lost in Translation’ – I can’t quite explain why, it just has a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’.
Of course you probably want some space movies also, so let’s say in no particular
order: Ad Astra, Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE AND WHY?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
8. Andrew Chaikin’s ‘A Man on the Moon’. I would go as far to say that no
book has inspired me more than this one. As a child I devoured this book
crammed full of the stories of the Apollo astronauts. For the first time I
really felt like I knew them, not just the missions, but the people behind
humankinds first great endeavor into space. Space isn’t just a story of
science or exploration, it is a story of people.In 2015 Moonwalker Gene
Cernan was kind enough to sign my copy. It is one of my most treasured
possessions.
5. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR
FAVORITE BOOKS?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
9. 4. WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW?
‘ E G O I S T H E E N E M Y ’ B Y R Y A N H O L I D A Y . T H I S B O O K I S R E A L L Y
H E L P I N G M E S H I F T M Y G O A L S , T O B E L E S S S E L F C E N T E R E D A N D M O R E
A B O U T T H E G R E A T E R P U R P O S E – W H I C H I N M Y C A S E I S H E L P I N G T O
M A K E H U M A N I T Y A M U L T I - P L A N E T A R Y S P E C I E S . I T I S I M P O R T A N T T O
N O T O N L Y B E A L I F E L O N G L E A R N E R , B U T T O R E A D B O O K S W H I C H
M A K E Y O U Q U E S T I O N H O W M U C H Y O U A C T U A L L Y K N O W .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
10. 3. WHERE DO YOU SEE THE SPACE INDUSTRY
IN TEN YEARS?
B Y 2 0 3 0 O U R S P E C I E S W O U L D H A V E B E E N S P A C E F A R I N G F O R 7 0 Y E A R S . A L M O S T A N E N T I R E
H U M A N L I F E T I M E S P E N T R E A C H I N G B E Y O N D E A R T H . G R O W I N G U P I N T H E 1 9 9 0 S , I H A D B E L I E V E D
T H A T H U M A N S W O U L D B E W A L K I N G O N M A R S B Y T H E Y E A R 2 0 2 0 , W E H A V E N ’ T Q U I T E G O T T H E R E
Y E T , B U T I T D O E S N ’ T M E A N I T W O N ’ T H A P P E N , I J U S T H A D T H E T I M I N G W R O N G . S O T H I N K I N G A B O U T
2 0 3 0 , S O M E H I G H L I G H T S F O R M E W O U L D B E T H A T G O I N G I N T O S P A C E I S N ’ T J U S T A B O U T
P U R S U I N G N E W F R O N T I E R S , I T I S A B O U T E A R T H , B O T H L O O K I N G A F T E R O U R H O M E P L A N E T A N D
I M P R O V I N G L I F E O N E A R T H A N D U S I N G T H E V A N T A G E P O I N T S P A C E G I V E S U S T O L O O K A F T E R O U R
H O M E P L A N E T . I A L S O T H I N K T H A T L A U N C H W I L L C O N T I N U E T O B E D I S R U P T E D . I N A D E C A D E S T I M E I
A M O P T I M I S T I C T H A T L A U N C H C O S T S W O U L D H A V E C O M E D O W N , H O P E F U L L Y S I G N I F I C A N T L Y A N D
T H E F R E Q U E N C Y O F L A U N C H E S W O U L D H A V E I N C R E A S E D . S P A C E W I L L T H E N B E O P E N T O M A N Y
M O R E I D E A S . I N T H E C O M I N G D E C A D E W E W I L L M I N T O U R F I R S T C O M M E R C I A L S P A C E P A R T I C I P A N T S
A N D T H E N U M B E R O F H U M A N S W H O H A V E L E F T O U R P L A N E T W I L L I N C R E A S E F R O M B E I N G I N T H E
H U N D R E D S T O B E I N G I N T H E T H O U S A N D S . W E W I L L A L S O T H R O U G H S P A C E F O R H U M A N I T Y S E E T H E
B E G I N N I N G O F T H E D E M O C R A T I Z A T I O N O F T H E S P A C E I N D U S T R Y A S M A N Y P E O P L E F R O M L E S S
T R A D I T I O N A L S P A C E B A C K G R O U N D S T A K E T R I P S . I N T E N Y E A R S T I M E I T W O N ’ T J U S T B E A N G E L
I N V E S T O R S A N D H I G H N E T W O R T H I N D I V I D U A L S P U T T I N G T H E I R M O N E Y I N S P A C E . L A S T L Y , I N T H E
N E X T T E N Y E A R S H U M A N S W I L L V E N T U R E B E Y O N D T H E I S S , D E E P E R I N T O S P A C E . I A M O P T I M I S T I C
T H A T W E W I L L S E E H U M A N S R E T U R N T O T H E M O O N . I N T E N Y E A R S T I M E , W A L K I N G O N T H E M O O N
W I L L B E S O M E T H I N G W E A R E D O I N G R E G U L A R L Y A N D N O L O N G E R S O M E T H I N G T H A T I S C O N S I G N E D
T O O U R H I S T O R Y B O O K S .
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
11. You are part of the greatest
story of human history. Work
hard, keep going, but know
that you are part of a
mission greater than yourself,
don’t make You the focus of
what you are doing. To
succeed in ‘space’ we go as
one species, not as
individuals.
2. WHAT WOULD YOU TELL
PEOPLE JUST STARTING OUT
IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
12. Living my dream
1. WHAT THREE WORDS BEST
DESCRIBE YOU?
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES | Dylan Taylor
13. Have someone to recommend
for an interview? Contact me!
T-MINUS 10 INTERVIEW SERIES
WITH LEADERS OF THE SPACE
INDUSTRY
www.dylantaylor.org
