Contacting SpaceX

[Dominatus]

October is quickly approaching, and so too is the one-year anniversary for my pet project. I have done quite a lot of conceptualizing, designing, problem-solving and re-designing various aspects of this creation over this past year. Although I still have many miles to go, I seriously need to consider and plan for contacting someone capable of helping me put this dream into reality. I've done my homework and set my eyes on Mr. Elon Musk, entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX; if I cannot contact him directly than I would be willing to work through his board of directors or whatever the process is for an individual to pitch a proposal.

I have searched the SpaceX website, looked online, and have come up short with ways to contact the company and get information about setting up a meeting. I would really appreciate any help on this subject. I cannot name any specifics as I have yet to finish designing and troubleshooting on my end before I can think about applying for a patent.

Anyone whom is willing to help me, thank you. I am rather young, and inexperienced when it comes to these things.

[Nibb31]

Anyone whom is willing to help me, thank you. I am rather young, and inexperienced when it comes to these things.

And what makes you think that Mr Musk would want to interrupt his busy schedule to listen to a young and inexperiences wannabe when he has some of the smartest and brightest aerospace engineers on his payroll? The guy's a workaholic who works 100 hour weeks and expects the same for his employees. His time is way too precious to waste it listening to wacky ideas from the Internet when he pays thousands of people to come up with ideas every day.

Seriously, thumbs up for the enthusiasm, but we don't know what your idea is. It is extremely rare that a layman comes up with something that none of the specialists in a field haven't thought of before. In fact, it is so rare that things like this simply don't happen.

Generations of scientists and engineers have been studying rocket science and developing its techniques for decades now. Chances are that whatever your idea is, it has been thought of before and studied by people with more knowledge and experience than you. And chances are that if it hasn't been implemented by now, then it simply isn't practical or viable or worth it.

At any rate, if you want to get the attention of people like this, you are going to need credentials. Go to college. Study astrophysics. Get a degree. Get a job in the industry or publish a science paper or two (real peer-reviewed ones), and then maybe someone in the industry might listen to you.

[Streetwind]

SpaceX is a commercial company with a certain portfolio. If you want to sell an idea to them, you need to make sure that a.) it fits their portfolio - in other words, it's in some sense a technology or method or product suitable for lowering the barriers of access to space, and/or getting humanity to other planets; and b.) they can make a profit off of their investment.

If you are reasonably sure that your project fits these criteria, then you need what is called a "pitch". Create a speech, a presentation, anything like that which is no more than ten minutes in length, which you will use to convince your potential investor that your idea is awesome and worth investing in. During that short time, you need to present all the reasons outlined above - how does it fit with SpaceX, how will it make money, and why they totally want it. What will it cost, what's the timeline, what's your vision, what scientific basis does it stand on. If you need more than 10 minutes to convince someone, it's likely not going to work. Note that this isn't meant to deliver ALL the information that you have; rather, it is meant to convince them that they want to learn more. Your pitch will need to be targeted specifically at the investor you're trying to convince.

When you have your pitch, call SpaceX. Their website has multiple phone numbers for various offices listed, including the headquarters in Hawthorne, California. This will be their front desk hotline. Call them and ask them to either forward you or give you contact information where to call instead. Explain that you want to pitch something to SpaceX that can greatly benefit the company and in roughly what area it is. Your goal is to get maybe a Skype video call or some other sort of contact with a person who is responsible for the area you're targeting with your project. During that video call, you will deliver the pitch you prepared, and answer any questions they might have.

If they are interested, you will be invited to their offices for details, and perhaps to give longer and more in-depth presentations to board members.

You can also search for other potential investors. Look for keywords like "angel investors" and "newspace". A good way to meet them is at space conferences, some of which may in fact have events specifically designed to bring startups and investors together. Here's a youtube playlist that might interest you:

Check out specifically the "Lightning Pitch Competition" and the "Space Investors Panel".