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b'Episode 1.07: More than 500 people have flown in space since Yuri Gagarin\\u2019s historic ride in 1961\\u2014and virtually every one of them has been a military officer or government employee. But now that\\u2019s changing. Jeff Bezos\\u2019s rocket company Blue Origin aims to begin commercial passenger flights to space in 2018, and Elon Musk\\u2019s SpaceX has announced plans to send two private citizens around the moon, also in 2018. Meanwhile, here on Earth, there\\u2019s a boom in space-related innovation and investment, not just at big aerospace companies but at dozens of smaller startups. This week on Soonish, we look at the new era of space entrepreneurship (#newspace for short) and ask who\\u2019s founding space startups, what progress these companies are making in areas like microsatellites and propulsion, and how new technology is giving enthusiasts around the world more ways to get involved in space exploration. The Soonish theme is by Graham Gordon Ramsay. Additional music this week by Podington Bear. For more information on this episode, visit https://www.soonishpodcast.org/episodes/2017/4/20/107-astropreneurs'