Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
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30 Aug 21. Australian Space Agency signs with Viasat Australia. The Australian Space Agency and Viasat Australia have signed a Statement of Strategic Intent and Cooperation. The joint statement will support the delivery of the Agency’s 10-year plan to transform and grow the space industry.
The agreement was signed by Space Agency Head Mr Enrico Palermo and Viasat’s Asia-Pacific vice president, Mr Peter Girvan.
The two partners acknowledge common areas of strategic interest and growth, and potential new areas of collaboration which contribute to the Australian Civil Space Strategy and the Agency’s National Civil Space Priority Areas.
Viasat is establishing Australia as its Satellite Engineering “hub” for regional Asia Pacific operations by more than doubling its current workforce in the next two-plus years. Initially this will be for the ViaSat-3 generation satellites but will continue for subsequent generations of satellites already under development. Each satellite has an expected life of 15 years.
Viasat is one of the companies bidding for Defence’s Joint Project 9102 SATCOM project, offering a version of its Hybrid Adaptive Network (HAN) which has been selected by the US Air Force’s AFWERKS innovation hub as part of its Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) demonstrator project.
It has been publicly stated that the introduction of the ViaSat-3 satellite constellation will help the satellite communications industry rapidly evolve as the space platform is expected to deliver abundant amounts of capacity to serve millions of people and devices—anywhere: on the ground, in the air and at sea. Australia is well positioned to contribute, capitalise and prosper from this satellite evolution, providing broadband communications services and ancillary IP technology exportation across the region.
Viasat is also constructing an ultra-high capacity ViaSat-3 class satellite aimed at the Asia Pacific region as part of its global ViaSat-3 constellation. When complete, the ViaSat-3 constellation will have extremely flexible, cost-effective on-orbit capacity that will provide opportunities to develop both civilian and government business in Australia.
The company will also build and operate:
- Hundreds of Satellite Access Nodes (SANs), or gateways, connected to reliable, high speed, access fibre. The majority of these SANs will be located in rural and regional areas
- A resilient, very high-speed, backbone fibre network including Core Nodes installed in Data Centres
- Two satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) sites equipped with 9m dishes. (Source: Rumour Control)
02 Sep 21. Collins Aerospace Launches World’s First MUNS-M That Supports the New Generation of Military GPS. Collins Aerospace today launched the world’s first Military Underwater Navigation System with M-Code (MUNS-M), a handheld diver navigation system that provides the diver with precise position and includes secure anti-jamming capabilities during deep sea missions. M-CODE is the military GPS signal required by the U.S. DOD for military operations, and is designed to enhance position, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities and improve resistance to existing and emerging threats to GPS, such as jamming and spoofing. The MUNS-M solution was developed in partnership with Blue Print Subsea, a UK-based company that manufactures a range of handheld underwater navigation products to assist search-and-rescue and locate objects on the seabed.
“Military divers face dangerous, complex underwater navigation objectives that require precise positioning and secure anti-jamming capabilities,” said Adam Atkins, principal account manager, Mission Systems. “Our new MUNS-M system is specifically designed to meet the needs of the military diver community and perform in demanding combat environments.” (Source: ASD Network)
02 Sep 21. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space 64th session: UK statement on space and climate change. Delivered by Lauren Newell, UK Space Agency International Policy Lead, at the United Nations in Vienna,
The UK is delighted to be assuming the Presidency of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), in partnership with Italy, later this year.
During the past three decades, climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority, and space is playing an increasing role in enabling us to monitor and tackle climate change.
The UK’s expertise in the analysis and exploitation of climate data from satellites supports the development of global policy on climate change and our collective efforts to reach Net Zero. The UK is also working with partner organisations and specialised bodies such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), to make sure that the importance of space-based climate action is properly represented at COP26.
In the field of Earth Observation, the UK funds and help deliver work at the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as through bilateral missions and national programmes. These programmes range from technology innovation to applications, and the use of Earth Observation and other tools for decision making.
The UK works through ESA on programmes that will help us understand and tackle climate change. Missions like Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring (FORUM), which will measure radiation emitted by Earth into space, will improve climate models and, therefore, climate prediction. And the Biomass mission, which will survey Earth’s forests and improve our understanding of the effects of climate change on the global carbon cycle.
Also through ESA, the UK is leading on the TRUTHS mission, which will create a space-based climate observatory, collecting the most accurate measurements of energy coming into the Earth from the Sun, and light reflected off Earth’s surface, to help understand changes in balance and the human impact on the planet.
The TRUTHS mission will not only make measurements itself, but also improve the performance of other missions through calibration from space and allow rigorous testing of model forecasts to support decision-making on climate strategies. It will enable a 10-fold improvement in accuracy of data, which will halve the time required for making decisions.
The UK is working bilaterally with France on the MicroCarb mission, which will measure sources and sinks of carbon, the primary greenhouse gas driving global warming. MicroCarb is the first European mission intended to characterise greenhouse gas fluxes on Earth’s surface and determine how much carbon is being absorbed by oceans and forests. Monitoring the data will allow us to anticipate how ecosystems will react to global warming.
The UK Space Agency’s International Partnerships Programme (the IPP) plays a significant role in tackling climate change. Since its launch in 2016, the programme has supported 43 projects in 47 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
The IPP uses UK expertise in satellite technology and data services to deliver sustainable economic, societal or environmental benefits to developing countries that are seeking to increase their capacity to respond to global challenges such as climate and disaster resilience, maritime issues, for example maritime pollution, and deforestation.
For example, the Earth And Sea Observation System (EASOS) has developed three tools with Malaysia to help tackle environmental, security and human challenges. These tools provide regular automatic flood forecasts; have detected over 3,000 hectares of deforestation and helped identify and map the trajectory of three oil spills, saving clean-up costs of over £3 million.
Furthermore, the UK Space Agency supports educational and outreach programmes, including this year’s UNOOSA Space4Youth Competition, where the focus was on “Space as a tool to foster climate mitigation and adaptation”.
Alongside this, the UK Space Agency co-funds and chairs Space4Climate, a public-private-academic partnership, which brings together those with expertise across government, industry and academia in the development of satellites, analysis, exploitation of data, and production of data and climate services. Space4Climate supports the UK’s climate community to deliver and make use of climate information from space.
The UK believes that only through multi-stakeholder partnerships can we collectively tackle climate change and deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs). We encourage international and regional organisations to work together to understand their comparative advantages and avoid duplication.
Within COPUOS, the UK has been a leading advocate for the development of a Space 2030 Agenda, a valuable tool to help countries to use space-based applications to achieve their SDG commitments.
The UK is looking forward to the World Space Forum that will be hosted by UNOOSA and Austria in December, focusing on the theme of ‘Space and Climate Action’, and where the UK will lead some of the sessions.
Chair, Distinguished Delegates, these are just a few examples of how the UK is using space to tackle and understand climate change. We believe international collaboration is crucial to address the climate crisis and we look forward to engaging further and working with all nations on this in the run up to COP26 and beyond. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
30 Aug 21. Astra’s LV0006 vehicle test launch suffered technical difficulties. The launch vehicle was terminated about 2.5 minutes after its lift-off. Astra has reported that it suffered technical difficulties during the test launch of its two-stage Launch Vehicle 0006 (LV0006) on 28 August.
The Rocket 3.3 vehicle lifted off from Pad LP-3B, Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska on Kodiak Island. The launch window for the mission began on 27 August and will run until 11 September. The company said that one of the five main engines failed less than a second after liftoff and caused the rocket to hover sideways. In addition, the remaining engines were commanded to shut down to end the flight after nearly two minutes and thirty seconds of endurance. The vehicle had reached an altitude of 50km and returned safely to Earth. The mission included a non-deployable US Space Force payload. The launch was the first of two Astra has under contract through the Defense Innovation Unit’s Other Transaction Agreement.
Astra founder, chairman and CEO Chris Kemp said: “We regret that we were unable to accomplish all mission objectives for the US Space Force; however, we captured a tremendous amount of data from this test flight. We will incorporate learnings from this test into future launch vehicles, including LV0007, which is currently in production.”
Currently, Astra said it is seeking a mishap investigation on the failure. The company is working in close cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the issue.
Recently, Astra Space secured a contract from the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP) of the USSF for the Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 programme. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
30 Aug 21. SDA Opens Contest For First Operational Constellation. SDA intends to choose three contractors next year to design and build up to 144 new satellites.
The Space Development Agency (SDA) plans to award a January 2022 contract for a set of roughly 144 data relay satellites that, once on orbit, will represent the start of the agency’s plan to cover the Earth in a new multifunctional network.
SDA Director Derek Tournear said this week that the request for proposals (RFP) to industry will be released on Monday Aug. 30 for the new sats, which make up what the agency calls “Tranche 1” of its planned National Defense Space Architecture.
“Shortly afterward, in January, we’ll have a solicitation for the operations and integration, and then we’ll have solicitations for the battle management applications and operating systems subsequently after that,” he told the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium here.
SDA held a virtual industry day Thursday to explain planned contracting for the Tranche 1 network. (Links to the presentations were made available to reporters.) Tranche 1 will be able to provide what agency charts call an initial warfighting capability to support a “high-end regional conflict.” In other words, while the advanced communications/data relay satellites will not be available everywhere around the world at the same time, they will be available 24/7 to support a conflict in a designated geographical area.
Tranche 1 will include up to 144 communications/data relay satellites — making up what SDA calls its Transport Layer — in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) orbiting in six different planes at about 1,000 kilometers, plus battle management and ground support elements. SDA plans to launch the satellites late in fiscal year 2024.
The Transport Layer is only one part of SDA’s planned architecture, which involves seven separate “layers” including missile warning and tracking satellites, and on-board payloads for providing positioning, navigation and timing in areas where GPS is compromised.
Billy Palmero, SDA program manager for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) explained that this stage of the agency’s plans will include 126 “baseline” satellites carrying a Ka-band space-to-ground communications link, four optical communications terminals, a Link 16 payload (which is the current standard for machine-to-machine communications link among US and allied weapon systems), and a battle management, command, control and communications (BMC3) compute and storage module.
Another set of up to 18 satellites, called partner payload program satellites, will also be procured, Palmero explained. These sats are variants of the baseline design, switching out two of the optical terminals and the Link 16 module to make room for mission partners — either other government agencies or industry — to demonstrate novel capabilities. An RFP for three experimental payloads is expected to be released late next year, according to agency charts.
Under the Tranche 1 effort, SDA plans to award three contracts to design and build all of the T1TL satellites. It also intends to pick one contractor for network operations and integration, and to give out “multiple awards” for BMC3, with an RFP for this capability issued in fiscal 2023. (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
31 Aug 21. ThinKom Satellite Antennas Qualified for Operation on Intelsat Flex Networks. ThinSat® 300 Vehicle-Mounted Phased Arrays Provide Reliable High-Throughput Communications-on-the-Move. ThinKom Solutions today announced that its land-mobile ThinSat 300® phased-array antenna has been qualified for use on Intelsat’s FlexMove for Government satellite network.
The qualification was awarded following an extensive battery of over-the-air tests conducted at Intelsat’s Mountainside Teleport in Maryland with Intelsat General. As a result, the ThinSat 300 is now fully authorized for use with Intelsat’s FlexMove service packages.
Intelsat’s FlexMove next-generation tiered service offerings are built around a high-performing multi-layered Ku-band satellite fleet centered on the Intelsat high-throughput Epic satellites combined with the world’s largest wide-beam satellite constellation to create a global service area. Bandwidth is dynamically prioritized across different satellite beams automatically to meet demand.
Based on ThinKom’s patented VICTS (Variable Inclination Continuous Transverse Stub) technology, the field-proven ThinSat 300 phased array is a low-profile, lightweight vehicle-mounted antenna that provides high-quality voice, data and video communications-on-the-move (COTM). It supports robust IP networks, streaming video and voice-over-IP applications on- or off-road at high rates of speed without stopping the vehicle to deploy a fixed satellite dish or waiting for a blockage recovery.
Since the ThinSat 300’s introduction to the market more than 10 years ago, hundreds of the COTM phased arrays have been deployed around the world for government, emergency response and broadcasting applications, providing continuous connectivity in regions where terrestrial cellular networks are limited or nonexistent.
“This FlexMove qualification is an important validation of our VICTS technology and opens the door for Intelsat to provide immediate access to mission-critical information and reliable communications to government and enterprise customers around the world – even in the most remote and challenging regions,” said Bill Milroy, CTO and chairman of ThinKom Solutions.
“The qualification of the ThinSat 300 adds another excellent low-profile COTM option to our FlexMove for Government offerings. In addition to other manpack, communications-on-the-pause and fixed terminals, the ThinSat 300 combines with the wide range of FlexMove service options to meet customer mission requirements,” said Michael Radermacher, director of product and market development of Intelsat General.
30 Aug 21. Hypersonix enters ‘build phase’ for green scramjet space launch system. Engineering design and manufacturing specialist PFi Aerospace will work with Hypersonix Launch Systems on their scramjet-assisted launch vehicle powered by green hydrogen fuel.
The two local companies have signed a framework agreement to work together through the ‘build phase’ of the prototype SPARTAN scramjet, developed and successfully tested in the shock tunnel by Hypersonix.
“Their innovative technology is impressive and we are very happy to give them a hand fabricating and testing components for their fifth-generation SPARTAN scramjet engine and their green hydrogen fuel system that goes with it,” said PFi Aerospace CEO Nick Green
“We have in-house expertise and equipment at our Darra head office to support vibrant, innovative enterprises as they move from proof of concept to achieving significant scale,” Mr Green added. “We feel that scramjet technology has great potential for Australia, right up there alongside more traditional rocket technology. “
Scramjet technology powered by green hydrogen, also produced locally, will help address environmental issues, Mr Green said.
Hypersonix Managing Director David Waterhouse said the framework agreement with PFi was a significant step in his company’s commercialisation process. Under the framework agreement, PFi Aerospace. Is providing a suitable site for bench testing and operation and also providing access to other essential testing facilities.
All bespoke parts required for the test-rig will be developed in collaboration with PFi Aerospace.
In addition, PFI’s Hybrid All Inclusive Learning Instrument (HAILI) Rocket STEM program, being delivered to high school and TAFE students in Queensland, is sponsored by local industry who are keen to contribute to bridging the skills shortage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields. (Source: Rumour Control)
30 Aug 21. Two Australian CubeSats launch on Falcon 9 despite delay. The Australian Research Council’s new CubeSat, CUAVA-1, and Curtin University’s Binar-1 both launched onboard Space-X’s Falcon 9 SpX-23 on Sunday. The rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after an earlier launch on Saturday was postponed due to bad weather. The mission to the ISS is carrying more than 2,200 kilograms of supplies and the Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth eight minutes after lift-off on one of SpaceX’s drone ships in the Atlantic Ocean. The Australian Research Council’s CUAVA-1 is itself carrying four experimental payloads and will be deployed into orbit later this year. The 12-month mission, a landmark for NSW’s burgeoning space industry, will aim to investigate space weather and test equipment that will eventually search for life on planets around Alpha Centauri, our nearest star system.
The director of CUAVA, Professor Iver Cairns from the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, said the mission shows that Australian universities are at the forefront of the emerging national space industry.
“Our CUAVA Training Centre is leading in the development of near-Earth space technology and is a critical link in training the next generation of space engineers and scientists,” said Professor Cairns.
The mission will also investigate Earth’s plasma environment using an onboard radiation detector; observe Earth using novel imaging technology; and link with the international amateur radio union for education and outreach. Based at the University of Sydney, CUAVA is a joint project involving the University of NSW, Macquarie University, multiple Australian commercial and government partners and the Rochester Institute of Technology in the US. Meanwhile, Curtin University’s Binar-1 – named from the Noongar word for fireball – will be deployed in low-Earth orbit. Its objective is to test the spacecraft system that will eventually be part of the SSTC moon mission – Curtin is set on a WA-build spacecraft launched to the moon by 2025, the Binar Prospector.
“The launch of Binar-1 is our first real step towards that goal,” said Phil Bland, John Curtin Distinguished Professor.
“Being able to build spacecraft affordably means that we can rapidly iterate technology, which is a key element in developing advanced systems for exploration,” he added.
The Binar Prospector mission – if successful – will launch around the time NASA begins its Artemis Mission, expected to be delayed after its original date in 2024.
According to the website, the spacecraft consolidates subsystems into a single electronics board, allowing for a larger payload equipment, higher than traditional CubeSats.
The Binar-1 weighs 1.5 kilograms, made from aluminium, copper and fibreglass.
Over the next 18 months, Professor Bland said the program has six more launches planned.
He added that Australia has only flown 15 of its own spacecraft, and the Binar-1 was to “make spacecraft affordable, and space accessible for WA innovators”.
The program is backed by serious spearheads in the sector, including NASA, the European Space Agency, Furgo, the WA government and other smaller companies.
Curtin University vice chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said the mission will put Australia in the “driver’s seat” of furthering the nation’s presence in space.
“The team has also developed an outstanding school outreach program to put space technology in the hands of students, giving them hands-on experience and real-world inspiration,” she added.
Binar has been involved in numerous other space missions, such as NASA’S InSight mission to study the Martian interior, the ESA’s Roscosmos’ ExoMars mission and other high-profile jobs.
CubeSats are a cheap and simple way to access near-Earth obit for scientific and commercial purposes.
They are built from small boxes just 10 centimetres cubed, weigh no more than 1.3 kilograms each, and contain high-tech equipment. (Source: Defence Connect)
24 Aug 21. OneWeb’s New, Small, User Terminal Debuts. OneWeb has unveiled their newest and smallest user terminal that offers high-speed internet connectivity to businesses, governments and communities across the globe as well as in remote locations. Developed in partnership with Intellian Technologies, Inc. and Collins Aerospace, the Compact-Electronically Steered Antenna OW1 user terminal, will play a key role in realizing OneWeb’s vision of bringing high-performance, easily installed, affordable communications services to the world’s least-connected regions and industrial sectors.
The OW1 terminal will bring performance, adaptability and a low profile that will make it ideal for delivering OneWeb-powered satellite broadband in a wide range of settings. The flat-panel antenna at the heart of the unit is easily installed, only requiring basic mounting and wiring skills to install and, coming in at 50x43x10 cm and around 10 kg, is about the size of a briefcase.
The flat-panel antenna will integrate with a OneWeb satellite modem in an environmentally sealed outdoor unit, can be installed using an optional stabilized J-mount and will connect via a single combined power and data cable to an indoor unit that will in turn provide connectivity to the end user devices, such as laptops or routers.
The new device follows the successful completion of OneWeb’s ‘Five to 50’ launch program that has delivered the satellites required to bring OneWeb services to Canada, the UK and Northern Europe later this year. OneWeb is on track to deploy its full fleet of satellites by 2022.
Michele Franci, OneWeb’s Chief of Delivery, said, “We are so excited to bring this user terminal to market, and we thank Intellian and Collins for their invaluable partnership in making it a reality. OneWeb’s vision of connecting the world requires the hardware to do it, and we are pleased to be able to offer an affordable, compact and easy-to-install user terminal. It will connect and empower communities and small to medium-sized businesses, opening up applications for a wide variety of purposes, including community Wi-Fi in remote regions; rural retail point-of-sale systems; agricultural Internet of Things functions; and internet service in hotels, health clinics, research stations and more, located in places that the status quo has left unconnected.”
“This agreement marks another exciting milestone in our great partnership with OneWeb, delivering another unique Intellian user terminal to address new markets and requirements with a high bandwidth and low latency user experience,” said Eric Sung, President and CEO, Intellian Technologies Inc. “The OW1 is our first flat-panel antenna, following years of investment in R&D, expanding our comprehensive OneWeb portfolio. This user terminal is a continuation of our ongoing mission of ‘Empowering Connectivity’, allowing customers in remote and challenging environments to access a cost effective and enhanced user experience otherwise inaccessible to them. The OW1 from Intellian along with OneWeb’s LEO service, can enable business growth, empower education and support the delivery of critical services in communities on a global scale.” (Source: Satnews)
22 Aug 21. TTTech’s Radiation-Hardened Network Controllers For Space In Series Production. Electronic components used in a spacecraft need to fulfill very high quality and production standards and work reliably in extremely harsh environments. TTTech Aerospace and the firm’s semiconductor partner, STMicroelectronics, have completed the development, industrialization and qualification of highly integrated, radiation-hardened TTEthernet® Systems on Chip (SoCs) network controllers. They are used in deterministic, fault-tolerant, Ethernet-based networks for space applications. The successfully qualified TTESwitch Controller HiRel and TTEEnd System Controller HiRel are already being used in the avionics systems of two major launcher programs and on one robotic program. With the qualification successfully completed, TTESwitch Controller HiRel and TTEEnd System Controller HiRel are now available as series products, ready for use in a broad variety of space flight applications, such as launch vehicles, satellites or robotic applications. TTTech Aerospace’s TTEthernet® network controllers (TTEEnd System Controller HiRel and TTESwitch Controller HiRel) uniquely act as Systems on Chip (SoCs). They support three traffic classes: standard Ethernet (IEEE802.3), rate constrained and time-triggered traffic (SAE AS6802) for a wide variety of networking applications. Thanks to their high Gigabit/second bandwidths, the network controllers are ideal for real-time transfer of high data payloads (e.g. high-resolution images and videos) and hard real-time transmission of safety-critical control data with short latency over one single network. A wide range of interfaces allows for high flexibility in connecting to electronics hardware for easy integration.
The TTEEnd System Controller HiRel and TTESwitch Controller HiRel are equipped with an integrated LEON2 CPU for system management and diagnostics that ensures automatic time synchronization of the application to the network. The chip is based on a radiation-hardened design process and packaged in a cost-efficient plastic package. This ensures reliability in harsh environments requiring high radiation tolerance for applications like launch vehicles and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
“Our TTEthernet® SoCs network controllers are the first of their kind worldwide to enter series production. They act as a ‘central nervous system’ connecting all systems in the spacecraft. Their modular and deterministic nature supports design optimization and a significant reduction in software complexity and equipment size. This reduces system integration as well as verification and validation effort, enabling faster development of more capable, lower cost, fault-tolerant computing platforms for avionics and control applications,” said Christian Fidi, Senior Vice President Business Unit Aerospace, TTTech. (Source: Satnews)
24 Aug 21. The Space Report 2021: 36th Annual Space Symposium Special Edition Executive Summary.
Introduction
This edition, a special publication for the 36th Annual Space Symposium, examines where we are as a global space industry and considers the steps still to be evaluated and taken to transform into reality what is envisioned for the future of the industry.
The long-anticipated return of Space Foundation‘s Space Symposium comes on the heels of two events that renewed public interest in space flight.
With the July 20, 2021, flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard, Jeff Bezos became the second billionaire that month — after Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson — to fulfill a lifelong dream of going into space. Bezos and Branson represent the growth and growing influence of private commercial space enterprises.
Wally Funk, a passenger on the New Shepard flight, and in 2010 the first person to buy a ticket for Branson’s suborbital spaceplane, represents sheer perseverance and a singular vision to venture beyond Earth. At 82, she became the oldest person to rocket from the planet. She was eager to go 60 years earlier, when, in 1961, she was the youngest volunteer in the First Lady Astronaut Trainees program. Her dreams were repeatedly dashed, but she never lost confidence in her belief that she would one day reach space. And in that, she is not unlike so many other people around the world whose personal hopes and dreams are wrapped into a larger goal of scientific achievement, overcoming every obstacle, and becoming part of a new future in space.
This special edition examines other facets of how the future of space is unfolding:
1 | Space Economy
Commercial spending remained the significant driver of the overall global space economy, representing almost 80% of total revenue. Commercial Infrastructure and Support Industries is the smaller of two sectors — the other being Commercial Space Products and Services — but in 2020, Infrastructure and Support Industries showed the greatest growth, increasing 16.4% from 2019. Ground stations and equipment, valued at $118.45bn, captured more than 86% of the sector, but developing industries, such as on-orbit satellite servicing and human spaceflight, have captured more public attention and investor interest. In February, Northrop Grumman subsidiary SpaceLogistics docked its Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) to a geostationary satellite to provide fuel and thruster capability. Two more MEVs have since launched to extend service to other satellites. As for space tourism, Virgin Galactic before Branson’s flight had sold more than 600 tickets, each costing as much as $250,000, to people in 58 countries. After the flight, as demand grew, some industry observers expect new passengers to pay upward of $500,000.
Commercial Space Products and Services, the largest commercial sector, grew only slightly last year, easing up 1.2% to $219.44bn. Earth observation satellites showed the strongest growth in the sector, increasing 9.1% to $3.7bn. The Space Economy section also provides a recap of 2020 government spending, detailed more extensively in The Space Report 2021 Q2, released in July. The majority of nations reviewed, largely influenced by the global pandemic, reduced space spending last year, resulting in an overall 1.2% decline in 2020 to US$90.2bn.
Compiling global space economy data that Space Foundation has tracked since 2005 finds that in the last 15 years, however, government and commercial spending have propelled total revenue to a 176% gain.
2 | Space Workforce
The U.S. space workforce grew more than 5% from 2019 to more than 192,000 workers. The European space workforce included 50,388 employees in 2020, an increase of 3.3% from 2019. In Japan, the space workforce included 8,725 workers in 2019 (the most recent year for which data is available), a 1.9% decrease from the previous year but a 10% increase over five years. India employed approximately the same amount of people within its Department of Space in 2020 as in 2019, totaling 17,099.
3 | Space Infrastructure
In this section, two articles probe what will be needed to move beyond initial exploration of the Moon and space. The United States’ Artemis program has 11 partners, but China, Russia, Israel, and Turkey also have missions planned, as do a growing number of companies that are public partners or working as independent operators.
As they look to establish permanence on the lunar surface, these nations and companies must consider sustainability on three major fronts — economic, environmental, and infrastructure. Ian Christensen, director of private sector programs at Secure World Foundation, leads the examination of lunar sustainability.
Nuclear power and propulsion are parts of that equation. Chris Beauregard, the former director of commercial space policy at the White House National Space Council, offered a primer on the nuclear applications, some already long in use, that offer the most promise for efficient, powerful solutions for sustainable energy.
This section also features two pieces that examine recent shifts in small launch vehicle and smallsat development. More than 1,100 smallsats deployed in 2020, comprising 92% of all spacecraft deployed. This strong majority represents a reversal from a decade ago, when only 27% of spacecraft launched were smallsats.
4 | Space Policy
As space infrastructure and applications develop, so too must international policy related to government and commercial activities on the Moon and in the rest of space. Michael K. Simpson and Elias de Andrade, both affiliated with the Global Expert Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA), outline the work of the group, provide examples of how similar initiatives have shaped global policy, and explain how GEGSLA is encouraging participation and input from around the world.
Purchasing Options
The Space Report is widely recognized as the definitive body of information about the global space industry. It contains worldwide space facts and figures and is illustrated with photographs, charts, and graphs detailing the benefits of space exploration and utilization, the challenges facing the space sector, opportunities for future growth, and the major factors shaping the industry. The Space Report serves as a resource for government and business leaders, educators, financial analysts, students, and space-related businesses. For more than a decade, The Space Report has chronicled the growth of the space community from around the world. Space Foundation’s Research & Analysis team produces The Space Report.
To purchase The Space Report, or to subscribe to The Space Report Online, go to thespacereport.org/subscriptions. (Source: Satnews)
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At Viasat, we’re driven to connect every warfighter, platform, and node on the battlefield. As a global communications company, we power ms of fast, resilient connections for military forces around the world – connections that have the capacity to revolutionize the mission – in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Our customers depend on us for connectivity that brings greater operational capabilities, whether we’re securing the U.S. Government’s networks, delivering satellite and wireless communications to the remote edges of the battlefield, or providing senior leaders with the ability to perform mission-critical communications while in flight. We’re a team of fearless innovators, driven to redefine what’s possible. And we’re not done – we’re just beginning.
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