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Astrolab nanosatellites orbiting larger satellite

Start-ups in space: Six out-of-this-world business opportunities

  • min read
    • Does space present a business opportunity for the everyday entrepreneur? You might not be such a 'space cadet' if it's your dream to set up in space tech. Reaching for the stars is no longer the preserve of business giants with staggering budgets. Here are six areas where space tech entrepreneurs have seen a business, environmental or humanitarian opportunity, and set about filling the gap. 1.   Understanding the developing world needs accurate data Swedish start-up Ignitia uses satellite data to solve a problem that affects farmers in tropical countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Mali. Weather forecasting techniques designed for northern latitudes don't work so well here because there are fewer ground observation stations, and tropical weather behaves differently. Ignitia runs simulations of tropical convective patterns on a cluster of supercomputers, using satellite data to pinpoint farmers' locations. They send each farmer a 48-hour forecast by SMS, accurate to within 3 km. A study found farmers who used Ignitia reported a 65 percent increase in yields. Climate Edge is a social enterprise with similar aims but different methods. They realized farmers in areas hard hit by climate change found it hard to adapt without digitized data. Climate Edge uses a small weather station to collect data about farm conditions, like soil temperature and humidity, and transmits it through the 2G cellular network. With the ability to log and monitor conditions that determine farms' yield and produce quality, NGOs could make the right investments to make a difference. 2.   Making tech because you can, then figuring out who needs it While Climate Edge and Ignitia were inspired to do something about environmental problems, successful businesses sometimes come out of developing technology without knowing who needs it. A group of ex-military and space program scientists, CyStellar first created a platform that combined satellite, airborne and ground sensor data. Later, they developed a series of products that applied the information in useful ways for industries from wine to shipping. One of their products, InsurTech, detects and monitors objects and geographic features over time, reporting even minor changes. It means insurance companies can more accurately determine risk, charge more appropriate rates and detect fraud. For customers, it means they can claim more quickly, as the system provides evidence and information the customer would otherwise need to collect. 3.   Revealing what's previously been hard to see Entopy is working to make the supply chain more efficient by using geolocation and GPS. They aim to give logistics managers full visibility of their supply chain, breaking down the silos of different companies involved, such as factory, shipping, warehouse and retailer – all without any party having to change their tracking system. Finland's ICEYE has an eye on shipping safety, among a range of other applications. They use small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology to give ship captains detailed information on the sea ahead, which may be hidden by fog or darkness. The technology also tracks icebergs and predicts their future movement. 4.   Helping cities reduce congestion and environmental impact As cities change and grow, so too must their infrastructure. Teralytics use mobile signal data to help make transport more reliable, efficient and sustainable. Aggregating (grouping individuals' data together with others) for privacy, they report on how people are moving around cities and the journeys they're taking. Organizations that supply public transport, build roads or provide for niche transport needs can buy the data to use in designing and redesigning their networks to reflect better where people go and when. https://vimeo.com/390004849 Teralytics explain how space data helps understand how people travel. Start-ups are trying to expand mobile, data and GPS coverage too. Swiss start-up Astrocast has designed, built and operates its own constellation of nanosatellites, aiming to bring stronger connectivity between regions and expand coverage. Smarter cities will need secure networks to enable internet of things (IoT) devices – for example, autonomous cars – to communicate so they can behave in better ways, like reducing congestion. Satellite data can also give cities insights into environmental concerns like air quality. London-based space start-up 4 Earth Intelligence provides data that helps cities plan to reduce pollution. 5.   Realizing what satellite owners need With so much crucial data coming from satellites, there's high demand for services that support, maintain and protect the satellite network. The Airbnb of space data, Japan's Infostellar lets satellite owners sell surplus capacity to others. It's costly and only makes more space junk to be a hazard to others. Leo Labs specializes in tracking low-earth orbit satellites. They map satellite paths and work out if space debris could collide with satellites. Satellite operators who buy access to the data can adjust their satellites' flight paths to avoid a damaging crash. 6.   Reducing the environmental impact and cost of getting satellites into space As demand increases and tech gets cheaper, we're building and launching more satellites. Someone has to get them into orbit, and start-ups are involved there too. Scottish engineering company Skyrora design rockets especially for launching smaller satellites. The booming satellite 'taxi' market involves companies like Nanoracks ("concierge to the stars") that gather small satellites from multiple customers to piggyback on a larger launch. Once dropped off from the main vehicle, the taxi takes each small satellite to its orbit slot. Space tech isn't just transforming industries the world over. Led by a new breed of innovators and entrepreneurs, it's an industrial revolution in the stars.
An astronaut, Sputnik satellite and modern satellites orbit a smartphone displaying an image of earth

IT came from outer space: How space technology conquered the world

  • min read
    • The Russians started it all. The timeline that ends with you reading this on your smartphone began on October 4, 1957. That was the day the former Soviet Union announced it had placed the first artificial satellite into orbit around our planet. Designed to look futuristic About the size and shape of a basketball and weighing little more than 84kg, Sputnik took about 98 minutes to follow its elliptical path around the Earth. A polished aluminum-alloy orb with four long antennae pointing straight out behind it, Sputnik had a futuristic dynamism not seen before in the West. Sergei Korolev, who designed both the satellite and powerful R-7 rocket that carried it into space, meant it to have that effect. He'd foreseen the satellite's technological impact and wanted to see Sputnik replicas on display in the museums of the future. He wasn't the only one who'd foreseen its impact. Back in 1947, James Lipp, head of the US's RAND (Research and Development) Corporation Missile Division, remarked: "One can imagine the consternation and admiration that would be felt here if the United States were to discover suddenly that some other nation had already put up a successful satellite." Sputnik's long-tailed impact RAND was one of the first organizations to study how space technology might shape human behavior on Earth. When it came to Sputnik, the anticipated "consternation and admiration" had unexpected long-term consequences for information technology. The satellite's launch marked a high point in the International Geophysics Year. Its organizers, the International Council of Scientific Unions, had approved a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be placed in orbit around the Earth to study its surface from above. As a simple telemetric device capable of being tracked across the sky from Earth, Sputnik marked the start of the collective mapping of our planet, revolutionizing global navigation, travel and communication. The GPS trackers in smartphones are just one of its many outcomes. Netting the unexpected consequence It's often the unintended consequence that has the most profound impact. Rattled by the Soviet Union's lead in space, the US concentrated resources on closing that gap and pulling ahead in areas where they already had an edge. President Eisenhower had just appointed a new Defense Secretary: Former Procter & Gamble Promotions Manager, Neil McElroy. McElroy's consumer goods experience brought a more integrated organizational approach. The individual initiative became subordinate to a larger, more coordinated system. McElroy's principal achievement was to revolutionize funding for scientific research by establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA.) In 1969 ARPA developed the earliest model of the internet, ARPANET. This breakthrough was an unexpected outcome of the Soviet Union taking such a decisive lead in the Space Race with Sputnik. Putting connection at the center of innovation ARPA funneled resources into areas where the US was ahead of the Soviets: Developing data processing, computers and communication networks. ARPA funding meant companies like IBM, Western Electric and Bell Telephone were soon working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's national security research and development lab, Lincoln Laboratories and the Jet Propulsion Labs at California's science and engineering institute Caltech. By the end of the 1950s, ARPA's approach to experimentation and innovation – connecting academics with business strategists, researchers with engineers, designers with manufacturers – had a counterpart in NASA, the US's newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Satellites, spies and videotape At the same time, the RAND Corporation had turned its attention to low-Earth orbit. Working with audiotape company Ampex, it developed a satellite-based video system to spy on enemies. Throughout the rest of the 20th century and well into the 21st, the impact of videotape on how television shows and films were made, distributed and seen would be enormous. This video system captured Vice President Richard Nixon confronting Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev over the USSR's missile technology in 1959. While Nixon and Khrushchev clashed in public, NASA displayed its first astronauts at a press conference. The 'Mercury Seven' fast became media personalities. "We have faith in the space age," one astronaut told the press. "All of us have faith in mechanical objects." Perhaps not quite enough faith, as it was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who became the first human launched into Earth's orbit. This great leap was really a series of tiny cautious steps. The physiological problems of life in space remained unsolved. Breathing like a cyborg How would humans survive outside the protection of the Earth's atmosphere? One unusual response came from scientists Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline in a magazine article published in 1960, Cyborgs and Space. They suggested: "There may be much more efficient ways of carrying out the functions of the respiratory system than by breathing, which becomes cumbersome in space. One proposed solution for the not too distant future is relatively simple: Don't breathe!" Coining the term 'cyborg,' Clynes and Kline imagined ways machines might help human biology adapt to the hostile environment of space. "If man attempts partial adaptation to space conditions, instead of insisting on carrying his whole environment along with him," they argued, "a number of new possibilities appear." The key possibility was an expanded understanding of how human physiology can interact directly with advanced engineering techniques in the form of prosthetics, exoskeletons, wearable technology, robotic limbs and implants – all now firmly established areas of scientific research and startup ventures. According to one estimate, we check our smartphones 144 times a day. The symbiosis between humans and machines underpins both space exploration and data processing. For astronauts interacting with the artificial work environment aboard the International Space Station, the ease of use of sophisticated technology can be a matter of life and death. Astronauts survive in space only because they're kept safe in a seamless technological bubble. Every aspect of life on Earth must be replicated in space, from the most extraordinary to the most banal. Space race makes powdered drink mix sexy Urban myths link NASA to many materials, fabrics and gadgets. In fact, they didn't invent Teflon, Velcro or the powdered drink mix Tang. Teflon had been around since the 1930s, Velcro since the 1950s and Tang was on the market just as NASA was finding its feet. Mercury astronaut John Glenn drinking Tang in orbit as part of an experiment did, however, do a lot for the brand. NASA may not have invented these products, but it helped to popularize them. Having your product associated with astronauts and the space race connected it with science and discovery. Sometimes the association was so close misunderstandings persist. A private company invented and developed the chrome-plated Fisher Space Pen, capable of writing upside-down and in zero gravity. Both NASA and the Soviet Union space program became their customers. Space research that became consumer products It's not as if NASA wasn't producing enough of its own tech spinoffs. In 1976, NASA started its Technology Transfer Program to ensure there could be commercial licensing for innovations resulting from space exploration. Nearly every aspect of our lives has benefitted from this approach. For example, NASA sponsored research into using algae to recycle waste in outer space, only to discover that it made an excellent nutritional supplement for developing infants. Water purification systems devised for the International Space Station have improved water safety on Earth, and NASA studies in high-altitude wind resistance have led to more aerodynamic truck design. Smartphone cameras in space NASA's experiments miniaturizing cameras for use in space led to the active pixel sensor now used in the standard smartphone camera. Today's smartphones also benefit from embedded web technology used onboard the International Space Station to conduct experiments remotely over the internet. This led to the Internet of Things (IoT): Remote wireless connectivity between devices in smart homes, smart cities and all manner of wearable technology from watches to glasses and bracelets. Mapping technology currently focused on the surface of Mars is used to create detailed geospatial views of Earth's cities. Smartphones use space technology, but they've also become space technology. CubeSats are small square satellites, a fraction of the size and weight of Sputnik, that give academic science its own space program to expand knowledge and research. Started in 1999 as a collaboration between California Polytechnic State University and Stanford Space Systems Development Laboratory, they can be used as single units or in orbiting networks. In 2013, NASA technicians launched the first CubeSats fitted with iPhones to take pictures from space and transmit the data back to Earth. Almost 60 years after Sputnik circled the planet, a smartphone took the first space selfie. The possible uses for such large-scale real-time data are astronomic – for meteorology and cartography, logging and agriculture, oil and gas, insurance and transport. We may inhabit a tiny planet in a vast expanding universe, but the space surrounding us is getting smaller and cheaper to access. Good business, as always, is where you find it. Perhaps now is the time to consider how space technology can help your company gain a competitive edge.
threats outer space

How criminals could use space junk to attack any business

  • min read
    • A powerful way cybercriminals can cause catastrophic damage on Earth is to attack in space. It may sound like science fiction, but now we all rely on space infrastructure to do business, any organization could be affected. Space enthusiast and Distinguished Chair of the cybersecurity program at Middle East Institute Chris Kubecka explains a little-known space disaster scenario we should be more aware of in Tomorrow Unlocked's video Threats in Outer Space. Smash-ups in space Although space exploration has brought many world-changing advances, it's left orbit like many places on Earth – littered. From obsolete satellites to rocket parts and chips of paint, space junk circles the Earth at high speeds, threatening to collide with useful things, like working satellites and the International Space Station. Collisions could be deadly or cause irreparable damage to expensive equipment. Any smash-up creates more space junk, raising the risk to other orbiting objects. For a sense of just how much 'stuff' there is up there, see known space objects tracked in real-time on StuffIn.Space, some known only as 'debris' or 'unknown.' The 'black swan' of space crashes One of the most serious consequences of a space collision is Kessler Syndrome. Kubecka describes it: "A big enough collision would create a chain reaction, causing space junk to smash into each other all over orbit, forming a dust cloud." An accident or deliberate attack could trigger a Kessler Syndrome event. Kubecka explains, "It's now so cheap to build 'attack CubeSats' or even larger satellites. You could cause collisions." She also points to the growing use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in space tech. "If IoT goes rogue, that's a big problem." As wealthy business people become more visible in space exploration, the potential for huge media attention will attract cybercriminals to attack their space systems and use them to create chaos in space – and so, chaos on Earth. Preventing a 'Kessler' event As well as protecting space systems from cyberattack through the best available methods, like cyber immunity – building systems in a way that makes them almost impossible to compromise – we must take out the space trash. As part of the Securing Space initiative, Kaspersky supports fledgling innovators StartRocket as they develop a new way to remove space debris from orbit – with foam.

Recycled plastic rocket fuel has lift-off in waste-free space

  • min read
    • The space rocket was once thought an achievement of human ingenuity so grand that the pollutants it generated were hardly considered. But now we're seeing several launches a month, their carbon dioxide (CO2) output is adding up. Scottish space company Skyrora thinks it's found an answer: A high-grade fuel manufactured from petrochemicals sourced from previously unrecyclable plastics. They believe Ecosene, a fuel similar to kerosene, could disrupt the fossil fuel economy. Recycling plastics isn't the solution many of us imagine as we dutifully rinse our milk and shampoo bottles. A paper published in Science Advances estimates we're recycling less than nine percent of plastic at the end of its life, and encouraging more recycling can't address the reasons for the low rate of plastic recycling. In 2015, a paper in the journal Science estimated that up to eight million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year. The Ocean Conservancy calculates seas will contain 250 million tons of plastic by 2030. A proven eco-fuel I spoke to Derek Harris, Business Operations Manager at Skyrora. "We need a way to extend the life cycle of plastics – one that doesn't include burying or burning them," Harris explains. "We developed the first batch of Ecosene at a small test facility in Slovakia, turning about a ton of unrecyclable plastic into about 600kg of high-performance fuel for rockets or commercial jet aircraft." That's enough for an efficient jet to fly over 24,000 passenger kilometers – further than London Heathrow to Auckland, New Zealand. Skyrora's engine test using its Ecosene fuel To further reduce aviation's footprint, Skyrora hopes to make a transportable system called a 'skid' that allows processing materials to make Ecosene at airports. Making the eco fuel at its site of use would cut another environmental cost of aviation: Transporting fuel from where it's made to where it's needed. Manufacturing innovation meets recycling breakthrough "We use plastics like polystyrene, polyester and polypropylene that are usually unrecyclable when clean," Harris clarifies. "Ecosene's production process means we can even use unclean waste plastics." Mixed plastics, some harder to recycle than others, and unclean plastics, are barriers to effective plastic disposal and recycling, which has motivated some countries to burn plastic waste, releasing pollutants into the air. Being able to use unclean plastics stands this eco-fuel apart as a recycling option. The fuel's developers have produced plans for marine vehicles that would collect plastic waste from oceans and perform the first step in the Ecosene manufacturing process onboard. The vessels would then transport the waste to nearby facilities for the next steps to convert the plastics to eco-fuel. Manufacturing petrochemical fuel can produce damaging waste, which Ecosene also addresses. "Processes similar to Ecosene production release harmful gases, but we use these for heating, recycling some of the waste within the manufacturing process." Ecosene also contains less sulfur than the form of kerosene rockets use (RP-1 kerosene.) As an atmospheric pollutant, sulfur causes respiratory disease, acid rain and tree and crop damage. Others have tried to recycle petrochemical plastics into usable fuels before, often failing because it's hard to extract excess the paraffin waxes manufacture generates. Skyrora's breakthrough was a low-temperature catalytic pyrolysis process that separates the paraffin waxes, leaving an effective eco-fuel. Too good to be true? Ecosene boasts more commercial competitiveness and environmental effectiveness than fuels from other energy companies. Having followed Ecosene's journey from inception to testing to launch, I had to ask Harris if it was all too good to be true. He told me, "Before I agreed to take over the Ecosene project from Skyrora, I wanted to see the process working and tested. 21 tests later, including an upper-stage rocket engine for low-earth orbital missions and support, we found Ecosene was one to three percent better than kerosene in energy characteristics. Their claims stood up to scrutiny, and there were signs we could further improve the formula." Harris continued, "That said, I wouldn't claim it's the ultimate solution to the plastic waste crisis. We must address the climate crisis at source, but in the meantime, we've found a strategy to address one of its many symptoms." With hydrogen and biofuels on the rise, Ecosene will see its share of competitors. While reliable and designed to address plastics mitigation at its core, Ecosene is still a CO2-producing fuel that can't contribute to carbon neutrality targets. But hydrogen fuels and engines struggle to produce the power needed for flight: Airbus says their commercial hydrogen jets would be ready to fly around 2035. In the meantime, in rockets and jets, Ecosene makes a compelling replacement for traditional kerosene.
arrow, pilot, plane

5 technologies you never knew came from space travel

  • min read
    • With so much interest today in commercial space travel, you may think that space technologies are exclusively concerned with finding new planets to inhabit, like Elon Musk's mission to colonize Mars. Some think of space travel as a leisure pursuit for billionaires who've already been everywhere they want on Earth. But what's less discussed is the contribution space technologies have made to life on Earth. Let's explore five of the most remarkable achievements enabled by space travel, which we now experience every day. Is there mouse on Mars? We interface with computers today using a keyboard and mouse or trackpad, a convenience we take for granted. But in the early days of computing in the 1950s, computers had no graphical interface and only worked using command lines. In the early 1960s, NASA funded Doug Englebart's experiments with different input systems to improve the way people could interact with computer screens. NASA needed advanced data input and analysis to enhance their space travel operations. Most researchers expected the winning device to be a light pen, but the technology that won out was the mouse. The invention of the mouse wasn't the program's only claim to fame: project sponsor Bob Taylor left NASA in '65 to head up the ARPAnet project for the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), giving rise to the birth of the internet. Cleaning up the stardust Wherever you live, you (hopefully) regularly clean your home. Today, your weapon of choice is most likely a vacuum cleaner. I prefer to use the handy cordless vacuum cleaner, another tech that originated from NASA research. The first device of this kind was the 1979 Black & Decker "Dustbuster," commissioned by NASA for its Apollo mission to be powerful enough to collect core samples from the lunar surface. Satellites make the world go round We live in the communication and information age. At the heart of our global communications technologies are satellites – space-based communication we use every day when we make a cellphone call, use the internet or watch satellite TV. Communications satellites are artificial satellites that relay and amplifies radio communications between a source transmitter and receiver in different locations on Earth. There are now about 2,000 communication satellites in Earth's orbit, owned and used by commercial companies as well as governments and the military. Ponder this great innovation in transmitting long-distance data next time you upload a selfie to your Instagram. Beam me up, Scotty. Navigating road, air and sea from the stars When you travel by car, boat or airplane, there's one common technology you will probably use to aid your navigation: GPS (global positioning system), based on a satellite infrastructure. GPS was started in '73 by the US Department of Defense, with the prototype space satellite launched five years later. It was initially used exclusively by the US military, but following an order from President Ronald Reagan, civilians started to use the technology for the first time in the 1980s. Today, no more arguing with your map-bearing co-navigator about whether you took the wrong turn on the highway. The noughties saw the birth of a new co-pilot for drivers to spar with: the sat nav. Turn around when possible. Improving lives on Earth with healthcare innovation One field of innovation, which benefits us all, is improvements in the healthcare sector. Thanks to space travel, we've experienced faster progress with pacemakers, laser surgery, diagnostic imaging scan technologies (CT and CAT scans), and robots for surgery and production of artificial organs and prostheses. Suits with embedded biomedical sensors to study how the body responds to living in space led to the creation of a baby monitoring system to protect against cot deaths. And the innovation continues. In 2019, the UK Space Agency funded Adaptix to develop a pioneering portable 3D medical X-ray machine, based on the technology used to study stars in distant galaxies. Space technologies are benefiting industry right now. And there are many new space tech-powered business opportunities to get involved with in agriculture, logistics, mining and more. I'm looking forward to seeing what new technologies space travel will bring humankind in the future.
by Innovating leaders.
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