The New Space Economy
Satellite in Space - NASA
A recent interview with Lockheed Space specialist Joe Landon describes the new space economy. In the interview, he explains how the space industry is evolving from one that emphasize launches –space -to-earth - in which government agencies or private businesses launch satellites etc. which sell services to earth, to the space -to-space economy ; getting to space in order to support completely new businesses - earth colonies on the moon, to grow food, harvest asteroids and maybe work in factories that can take advantage of weightlessness.
The transition from space-to -earth to space-to-space businesses is an important one and the world is now in a transitional stage. There are already treaties dividing up unknown worlds and countries and individual companies are fighting for advantage.
Although the space race started in the 1960’s, the world of commercial space exploration began in the early 2000s when entrepreneurs like Elon Musk figured out that the main cost of getting into space between was rocket launches, that much of the technology came from World War II . and that with the advanced computer technology from Silicon Valley they could launch rockets for a fraction of the price of huge old fashioned government bureauracracies like NASA and make huge amounts of money in the process,
As NASA and other government space agencies began contracting out launches and other space related services for satellites and space stations, the race was on for commercial enterprises to develop new pathways to space.
Today, there are four major US commercial space companies, the space industry is a $447 billion dollar is a year business and 95% remains in the space-to -earth sector. The four largest space companies, Space X, Boeing, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic are competing to put people and things in orbit. This is where Hawaii companies like Privateer Space see their advantage; they are able to provide key information on space debris, that companies need to identify obstacles and avoid them
The entrepreneurs know that the longer they can keep people in space the more they can produce in the way of space services.
Landon said “ We need to develop the technology to support a long-term presence in space and long-duration space flights. We also need the consumables required to support life for long periods. We’re working on and investing in the propulsion technology required to make trips in space faster. The shorter the trip is, the easier it is to keep the crew comfortable. We’re also working on artificial-intelligence systems to help crews manage their time in space and work alongside their spacecraft with limited help from Earth. “
As the race to find inexpensive launch sites continues, Hawaii’s role as a space center because of its prime location - as one of the shortest paths to orbit become more important. It already has a number of successful space businesses. HI-SEAS is a training center for crews going into space, there are plans for a lunar park for space businesses on the Island of Hawaii and various small businesses attached to the astronomy centers on Oahu, Maui and Hawai’i.
A recent Harvard Business Review article on the space economy (The Commercial Space Age is Here) made the point that because of the regulatory and social impacts of space technology that state and national governments have to become involved. The authors look at three areas of significance;
Enabling private individuals and companies to take greater risk
Encouraging policies that foster the development of space flight and technologies
Moving beyond inter-government geo political rivalries
In Hawaii, there is a fourth and also significant area, that of earning the trust of the Native Hawaiian people that space exploration can be done from Hawaii without detrimental social or environmental impacts.
Sources
(https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/lockheed-martins-joe-landon-on-the-emerging-space-economyrefers)
https://hbr.org/2021/02/the-commercial-space-age-is-here
