dg504 - "cerebral ventures"

7/29/2019 DG504 - "Cerebral Ventures"

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c e r e b r a l / v e n t u r e s

b u s i n e s s p l a n a n d r o a d m a p v 2 0 1 3


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d r e a m / r e a l i t yB a k , M . A . / J o h a n s s e n , A . / P e e t e r s , L . / V o g e l , B . W . d e


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As long as mankind has existed, our gaze

has been fixed upon the skies and the stars

at night. These bright points illuminating the

dark firmament were not known as stars at

first. Rather, they were gods and deities, he-

roes and fairytale figures whose actions had

made them immortal and whose likeness were

placed amongside each other in the sky, as a

token of gratitude for their accomplishments.

For centuries we have wondered what it would

be like out there. With the invention of the tel-

escope by Galilei, many new discoveries were

brought to light. As it turned out, these obser-

vations of space would also have a profound

impact on our perception of Earth itself. And

who knew what else could be hidden among

c e r e b r a l / o u r v i s i o n

the stars, rocks and planets, that would allow

us to learn more? Because space can give us

answers not only related to physics and par-

ticle theories, but may also shed light on our

own existence. How did everyhting begin? Are

there others like us out there, somewhere in a

corner of the galaxy?

However, looking through a telescope, analyz-

ing electromagnetical readings or listening to

space background noise has never been able

to satisfy us. How can you talk about a place

when youve never even been there? What

might you accomplish or encounter in the cold

interstellar vacuum? And so, a race began to

reach space, culminating in the sixties of the

past century. The first human to reach space

was Yuri Gagarin in his Vostok capsule in 1961.

Just eight years later, Neil Armstrong would

set foot on the moon, seen by millions of live

viewers from around the world as he set his

first careful steps on the dusty, rocky surface

we had only seen from Earth so far. All of

space, so it seemed, was within range! Indeed,

we returned to space many times, but never to

the moon.

We want to go back. And this time, instead of

watching another person walking around, you

may be able to go yourself.

We propose a space flight for private individu-

als, who can join us in a venture towards the

moon. You may experience for yourself the

magic of space as well as a priviliged look on

Earth from a whole new, different perspective.

We envision a journey where its not just about

the exciting end destination of the silvery

moon, but also about the journey itself. A mo-

ment to immerse yourself in something new,

an opportunity not only for joy in zero gravity,

but also an opportunity to reflect. From a fresh

perspective, some things in life may turn out to

be just different or more important to you than

you thought at first. And these are just some

of your options as you glide through space on

your voyage.

But we are not just dreamers. We understand

that it takes time, resources and patience be-

fore we can offer you your place on the flight.

So we have made a plan. Until the space ship

embarks on its first voyage, we envision our

own space enclave on Earth; a center where

you can come to your senses, experience ele-

ments of space flight or can gather to discuss

trends and technology. A forum for the 21st

century, we call it cortEX. Based at the hi-tech

heart of the world near Silicon Valley and San

Francisco in the US, it will be a place for young

and old to dream, enjoy, become inspired or

maybe start working with us to together real-

ize our vision.

We invite you to read along and dream with us.

Together, we can make it happen.

Martine Bak, Astrid Johannsen, Laure Peeters,Bram de Vogel

11 Januari 2013


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c e r e b r a l c o n c e p t s / d a w n o f a n e w a g e


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c e r e b r a l / s p a c e f l i g h t

/ p r o p o s i t i o n

We offer a 7 day trip to the moon, of which 6

days will be spent traveling back and forth and

one day will be spent on the moon.

/ d e s c r i p t i o n

The most important part is the journey itself.

During the trip there is a lot of time to think

about life and everything that is important. Go-

ing to the moon could be a life goal that finally

can get true.

/ v a l u e p r o p o s i t i o n

A spiritual, personal adventure

Everything is quiet and you see the world from

a different perspective. During the trip you

have a lot of time to ponder on life and other

spiritual things. Explore the nature of the moon

and its workings in your adventurous visit to

outer space.

/ c o r e b e n e f i t / t a g l i n e

Renewing yourself

The culture shock that you experience during

the trip and when you return will provide new

perspectives on life and yourself that make

you think about the way you live your life.

/ m e t a p h o r

A once-in-a-lifetime journey; to boldly go where

you have never gone before

/ e n d u s e r i n s i g h t

In the beginning:

Wealthy people, above average income

Adventurers and thrill seekers

After some time, also:

(Slightly) Above average income individu-

als

Families

At first the target group will consist of gen-

erally wealthy customers. The required tech-

nology for spaceflight at the time of flight will

likely not be completely mature, which means

that initial costs will be steeper and production

capacity may be low. In the longer run, how-

ever, we expect prices to go down and become

more accessible to the average consumer. The

same development has been observed in the

commercial airline market. When we start out,

the service will be something radically new

and some may view it as a relatively more dan-

gerous way of traveling. Therefore, the con-

cept of commercial moonflight will need some

time to become mainstream, when people will

accept it better.. Before mainstream accept-

ance, the target group will consist of more

adventurous people, who enjoy trying out new

systems, products and experiences other peo-

ple wouldnt.

Commercial air flight development

In the beginning of the 20th century, the steep

price and hazards of airflight meant that this

radical new innovation was reserved mostly

for the bold and the elite. The first transatlantic

passenger flights could be undertaken by trav-

elling with a Zeppelin. A one-way ticket across

the great pond would set you back the current

equivalent of $ 25,000. Already in 1939, the


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same one-way trip by (faster) aircraft would

cost $5,995 , a price reduction of 410% in only

ten years. Right now, a return ticket with a jet

costs about $800, so we may assume a one-

way cost of $400. The price has dropped 62,5

times in 83 years total.

/ v a l u e p e r c e p t i o n

Explore space, the final frontier; embark on a

life-changing journey, the adventure of a lifetime.

The journey will last approximately 7 days,

with one day on the moon. The emphasis will

be put for a large part onto the journey itself,

which may be viewed as a spiritual adventure

in a fantastic setting, one in which you under-

go new experiences, reflect on life and exist-

ence and the future of the planet and society

as a whole. Astronauts have often remarked

that seeing Earth in the scope of the massive

universe, made them realize how incredible it

is that we live here and how precious earth

itself is. We want to capitalize on these unfor-

gettable moments to provide meaning to the

passengers and help them get new insights on

themselves, other people and the world.

/ c o m p e t i t i o n

Although the private spaceflight marketdoesnt have the same saturation apparent in

current traditional aeronautics area, with a

host of manufacturers and airlines competing

for orders and passengers, there are already

competitors to be found in the spaceflight

market area. This can be mainly attributed to

the concept of spaceflight itself; technology

for current-generation spacecraft has evolved,

but not to such extent that it is easy to develop

or affordable to acquire. It is likely that as the

technology matures and years go by, prices

will go down and competition will increase. We

believe it is essential to start making a push

in the market early on, when it is still easy to

create a strong foothold as an advantage over

(potential) competition.

Current competitors are: Commercial

Spaceflight Federation, Ansari X PRIZE, Vir-

gin Galactic, RocketShip Tours. Most of these

companies currently specialize in sub-orbital

human spaceflights.

There is also a company that has begun de-

veloping a commercial space station. This

company is Bigelow Aerospace. As well, it is

developing the Next-Generation Commercial

Space Station, a private orbital space com-

plex. And, like in any other (new) market area,

some companies didnt, or never quite made it,

the likes of VentureStar, Beal Aerospace and

Rotary Rocket.

In the future, competition in the market space

will increase. The names already mentioned

only bring people just a little bit near space.

Also it would be possible that other companies

will start making their appearance in this seg-ment. Eventually it is likely these companies

develop trips further into space. We currently

expect these companies to focus mainly on the

travel into space itself. We try to distinguish

ourselves from these potential competitors,

through organizing another kind of trip than

they may have on offer. Attention will be drawn

to us because we will have a more spiritual,

personal approach.

Another option is to start working with one of

the companies mentioned earlier. We can cut

development costs through cooperation while

remaining competitive in the end; so-called

coopetition may be a serious option. Develop-

ment costs for essential components and tech-

nological expertise could be shared through a

mutual beneficial partnership or joint organi-

zation. Then either a joint spacecraft could be

developed (to create the Boeing 747 of space)

or each may use the developed modules and

technology to assemble a craft suited for theirparticular business model and target audience

(e.g. mass transport Airbus A-380 vs smaller

Boeing 787 Dreamliner).

/ c o r t E X s p a c e c e n t e r

Because the space journey itself cant be re-

alized right now mostly due to financial re-

straints, we came up with a plan to acquire

the needed funds. With the money it makes we

can start investing in development in the trip.

The concept we came up with was a space

center. We came up with this because; we can

already make people familiar with the idea of

the spaceflight and our brand. The space cent-

er is made up of three parts in which you can

explore space travel: a theme park, a pod hotel

with spa and a convention center.

The space center must be accessible for

everybody.

People who want to attend the flights in

a few decades: They can get adjusted to

certain circumstances in space. They can

get all the information they want about

the trip. You can get them excited

Families: they can have a family day trip.

Just a fun day out. And the kids could

also learn something about space.

School classes: It would be an educa-tional trip.

Trekkies / Science Fiction fans: they can

experience more about space. And can

organize conventions at the space cent-

er. Then they can do activities with each

other.


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/ i n - h o u s e & o u t s o u r c e d

t e c h n o l o g i e s

The spaceship concept is mainly depending on

technologies that have to be developed or are

already under development.

/ b a s i c t e c h n o l o g i c a l

r e q u i r e m e n t s

Space elevator station

A space elevator station will be essential to

our concept, because it provides the basis for

the construction of our spaceship in space. Aspace elevator station is a space station or-

biting at one of Earths Lagrange points. At

these points, an object will always orbit above

the same location on Earth at any time. The

main difference with a traditional space sta-

tion, is that this station is physically connected

to earth via a cable and a space elevator. This

means that it is possible to haul people and

cargo to space without using rockets.

Although the initial costs of a space elevator

are high, these are offset by the money saved

from multiple rocket launches. More-over, be-

cause cargo can be brought up with the eleva-

tor, it becomes possible for us to construct the

space ship in space itself. If we dont have to

create a spaceship that has to propel itself outof Earths atmosphere, but should only be ca-

pable of flying in a vacuum, we can save a lot

of money in the long run.

The costs for a space elevator station are too

high for our company. We propose partnering

with a nation state and industrial consortiums

to construct the station. If we are among the

initiators of such a project, it is likely that we

will be allowed to quickly begin construction

in space through the space elevator station.

The benefits for a nation state would be enor-

mous; a space elevator station would give the

concerning country an enormous advantage in

space, maybe even to such extent that other

countries wont be able to catch up again.

Japanese Obayashi Industries has estimated

that it is feasible for them to construct a space

elevator station by 2050, if theres demand and

a will to construct it.

Nuclear fusion

A powerful, efficient and relatively clean way

of providing energy to the ship and the ships

engines. The international consortium ITER

expects to have their nuclear fusion plant com-

parable to later commercial models, up and

running by 2020.

Ion drive

In order to propel a vehicle in space, we can

use either solid-fuel rocket thrusters or ion

drives. The latter are more efficient and theo-

retically also more powerful. Ion drives have

already been used in many space projects,

mainly deep-space probes, and bigger, more

powerful versions are currently in develop-

ment.


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c e r e b r a l / c o r t E X s p a c e c e n t e r

/ p r o p o s i t i o n

Experience elements of the journey in our in-

stallations, become informed about us, space

flight and technology developments as a whole.

/ d e s c r i p t i o n

The cortEX Space Center will be construct-

ed near Silicon Valley (CA), USA. This area

close to San Francisco is home to some of the

worlds brightest engineers and leading tech-

nology firms such as Apple, Google and many

others. The huge talent pool may offer valuable

additions to the design team of the space ship.

The area is also rather wealthy, which in com-

bination with the common interest in technol-

ogy and innovation in the region, should allow

for a good number of visitors.

The space center is divided up into three

parts. Each of these parts attracts a certain

target group, although no part is exclusive to

that target group.

The (Pod) hotel with spa, the theme park and

the convention center. All these parts contrib-

ute to allow people to experience what living

and travelling in space would be like and to

promote our space flight and space travel as

a whole.

/ p o d h o t e l & r e s o r t

In the pod hotel & resort customers can ex-

perience sleeping in space. This gives them

an idea of what some elements would be like

and may make them more comfortable with

the idea of spending time in space with Lunar

Expeditions. This area is great for potential

customers and people more interested in new

experiences, as well as science fiction fans.

/ t h e m e p a r k

In the theme park you get to experience excit-

ing installations like 0 gravity in a wind tur-

bine or the complete silence of space in an

isolation room. There is also a museum, which

showcases the history of spaceflight and holds

regular exhibitions on the latest technology de-

velopments. The theme park will make people

enthusiastic about space travel because they

can already experience how cool it will be.This part is perfect for school classes or fami-

lies on a day trip to the space center.

/ c o n v e n t i o n c e n t e r

The convention center is meant to promote our

product, the flight to the moon. It will play host

to a variety of lectures and seminars, about the

progress we are making to realize the moon-

flight, but also on other topics. TED lectures

in particular would fit well within our con-

cept. Our spaceflight focuses for a large part

on reflection and maybe discussions on vari-

ous topics to enrich yourself; as well, space-

flight is a symbol of mankinds scientific and

engineering prowess, the symbol of a species

powerful enough to venture beyond his home-

world. TED lectures cover a very broad range

of topics, from human augmentation and radi-

cal new innovations, to topics on human inter-

action and societal patterns. The TED tagline

is Ideas Worth Spreading, which combines

neatly with the exploring and reflecting space-

flight. The convention center can also be used

for other companies to hold presentations and

conventions; our state-of-the-art, highly mod-


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ern facilities could be the preferred choice for

companies to represent themselves or their

products. This area is mostly suited for exter-

nal business and could also be a great way to

meet new people and form new partnerships.

/ v a l u e p r o p o s i t i o n

Encounter new experiences and surroundings;

immerse yourself in the world of tomorrow and

life in space

/c o r e b e n e f i t / t a g l i n e

Experience Space, On Earth or The Final

Frontier At Your Doorstep

We have a sustainable long-term business

plan, divided into three phases. The roadmap

begins with the first construction of cortEX

and evolves slowly into space flight over the

course of the years. Because cortEX has a less

risky business approach than the space flight,

yet maintains an innovative angle, Cerebral

Ventures will have a solid business foundation.

/ r o a d m a p


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The moon flight passengers will spend 6 days

of their journey travelling in the space ship.

These travelling days are translated in the

space center into days of self-reflecting, re-

laxation and meditation, as these days are a big

part of the trip the focus will be at this module.

/ f u n c t i o n s & m o d u l e s

The module that we have focused on here, is

from the self-reflecting part of the space cen-

tre, light therapy.

/ t e c h n o l o g y & m o d u l e


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At the technology tree we have focused on one

area of the space centre, the spa.

/ t e c h n o l o g y t r e e


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/ m a r k e t

In order to create a good overview of the mar-

ket drivers and KBF of our space center we

will compare it to other large theme parks (like

the Disney themeparks), since they come clos-

est to what our space center is.

Qualifyers:

Themepark

Hotel

Restaurants&Cafs

Diversifyers:

Look: Space theme / futuristic / modern /

high-tech

Spa

Winners:

Pod hotel

Preparation for actual spaceflight

Actual space experiences

/ t e c h n o l o g y

(Industry momentum on Market driver)

When looking at technology, it is important to

see the space center and eventual space flightas separate products. Most of the technologies

needed for the space center are readily avail-

able and therefore we can begin construction

of the ship when the design plans are finished

and the required funds have been retrieved.

For the spaceflight however a lot of technol-

ogies still need to be developed. Because there

are only a few parties in the world working

on technologies like a space elevator station,

nuclear fusion and ion drive propulsion, it will

take a lot of time and money before the tech-

nologies we need are developed.

/ r i s k a s s e s s m e n t

The risk of our product is quite high since we

have a new market and new technologies. We

need to make people see why they would want

to go to space, because some may not imme-

diately see why they would like to go to space.

However, we believe in our space flight con-cept and our branding message. The passen-

gers on the first flights will be mostly wealthy

thrill seekers and adventurers, given the costs.

These people may already be interested in the

flight, which means we just have to reach out

to them so they know were here.

We also need to wait for a lot of new tech-

nologies to be developed which are crucial for

the existence of our product. We have made a

long-term plan to make our product work, but

there is a high risk. If these technologies will

not work in time, we will not be able to fly.

We are unique, exclusive (at first), the first to

propose space travel in such a way, working

on a large scale and have a lot of new thing

we need to use all of these things also add to

a higher risk.

We try to reduce our risk by starting early on

with the making of partnerships. We also be-

lieve that building the space center will reduce

our risk, since this will provide a stable finan-

cial basis for our company and partners.

We have created a special Cerebral Savings

Plan, that everyone will be able to apply for.

Interested passengers for our moon flights

who do not have the resources to just buy a

ticket, can save money every month. By mak-

ing it possible for everyone to start saving for a

trip to the moon for their children or for them-

selves, we bind people to our company. If we

get more and more people to bind themselves

to us our company will get bigger and this will

draw more and more investors that will reduce

the risk.

/ c e r e b r a l s a v i n g s p l a n


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s i l i c o n v a l l e y / s a n f r a n c i s c o ( c a ) u s a


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c o r t E x / c i t e

p e r i e n c e

h i b i t

/ i n v e s t o r s

The people we are looking for to invest in our

space center are people who have some kind

of interest in space and space travel. They

have to have a reasonable amount of money

to invest. These are people who want to make

fast money, they make a investment and they

want to see a result (profit) within a few years.

For the long term, so for the spaceship, we

need a different kind of investor. this is an in-

vestor who can see the potential in our pro-

ject and is not afraid to take a risk with money.Prime examples of such persons would be

Saudi-Arabian oil sheiks, as well as Russian

oligarchs or maybe new Chinese millionaires

looking for ways to enhance their status, but

more importantly:

People who can afford to dream.

/ i n v e s t m e n t

for this part we will be focusing on the short

term investments for the space center. The

space center will be build in steps, it is made

up of three parts and we will start by building

the hotel / resort. The first investors will be in-

vesting in this first part. This way we need less

investors in the beginning and as our space

center starts to become more popular we will

attract more investors to invest in building a

new part of the center.

We plan on starting with the hotel and the

convention center since they will be connect-

ed. then these parts can be used by clients and

we can start making profit and attract more in-

vestors. when we have enough investors we

will start making the theme park and convert

from a strictly business environment to a more

open environment accessible for everyone.

/ c o s t e s t i m a t e

Cost estimates for the construction of initial

constructions

Hotel: 17-20 million $

Spa: 4-5 million $

Convention center: 6,5 million $

Restaurant : 1 million $

Theme: 7,5-10 million $

/ t o t a l c o s t e s t i m a t e

29,5-42,5 million $


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d r e a m

i n v e s t

w o r k

/ w i t h u s

Cerebral Ventures is a new, radical company. We are going to deliver the things

people have only been able to fantasize about and we know how to do it. Weve gota passionate, driven team and are fully committed to our cause. Join us in shaping

the future. With solid prospects for long-term investments, we are not just a safe

investment once, but will be a good part of your portfolio for years to come.

If youd like to know more or would like to know how you can participate in our

projects, dont hesitate to contact us. Our staff members are always available to

talk to. And: the coffee will be ready when you arrive.

We hope to welcome you soon at Cerebral Ventures.

Martine Bak, Astrid Johannsen, Laure Peeters, Bram de Vogel

11 January 2013


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dg504 - "cerebral ventures"

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