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14 Feb 19. Orbex unveils 3D-printed rocket engine. Orbex has introduced the world’s largest singe-piece rocket engine 3D printed on the SLM800 Selective Laser Melting Machine, a structure “30 per cent lighter and 20 per cent more efficient than any other launch vehicle in its category”, according to the UK-based company. Orbex also welcomed its new rocket, Prime, at the opening of its state-of-the-art headquarters in Forrest, Scotland.
The novel launcher uses 100 per cent renewable fuel, which cut carbon emissions by 90 per cent, as well as containing zero-shock staging and payload separation, “resulting in zero orbital debris”, a growing concern in the space industry.
SLM Solutions developed a “unique set of parameters optimised for this particular geometry” to transfer the rocket design into selective melting production, alongside Orbex aerospace engineers.
“Our aim during the process was to fulfil the quality expectations of the Orbex team, keep the functionality of the part and make it suitable for additive manufacturing,” said Lukas Pankiewicz, applications specialist at SLM Solutions.
“Every single support structure used in data preparation has been customised to obtain the best quality in every section of the engine, taking post-processing into consideration as well.”
Pankiewicz, working closely with the design team at Orbex, ensured the part built successfully with the required material properties and dimensional accuracy.
“The SLM Solutions team showed true dedication and in-depth knowledge of our work. I’m looking forward to continuing this collaboration in 2019 and onwards. Orbex and SLM Solutions have solved some important puzzle pieces which will change the space business.” said Jonas Bjarnoe, chief technology officer of Orbex.
The SLM800 is a large-format, metal additive manufacturing system that features a 260x500mm power bed that can build parts up to 800mm tall, meaning the Prime engine could be built in a special nickel alloy in a single piece.
“This has always been what SLM Solutions is about,” said Dr Axel Schulz, chief sales officer of SLM Solutions.
“Members of our team helped invent the selective laser melting technology! We’ve always wanted that technology to succeed – which isn’t just about selling SLM machines but creating that paradigm shift for the customer to be successful with their process. SLM Solutions consulted Orbex on how to make the technology best work for them and transferred that knowledge to ensure their successful implementation as they ramp up to production.” (Source: Space Connect)
14 Feb 19. The Australian Space Agency has signed a major new memorandum of understanding (MoU) facilitating closer international partnerships in the space industry. Space Connect can confirm that the Australian Space Agency (ASA) has secured a new MoU with the United Arab Emirates Space Agency. Deputy head of the Australian Space Agency Anthony Murfett said the MoU signing was another milestone for the agency, demonstrating a commitment to fostering Australia’s growth in the global space economy.
“The agreement will facilitate co-operation across shared areas of interest, including exchange of best practice, and support academic and research capability,” Murfett said.
The signing of the agency’s fourth MoU took place on the grounds of the Australian Space Agency’s new home, Lot Fourteen in Adelaide, which will host local space industry businesses and support the growing defence industry sector.
Director general of the UAE Space Agency, His Excellency Dr Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, also welcomed the agreement, saying, “This agreement builds on the longstanding bilateral relationship between the UAE and Australia, and we are delighted to be working with the Australian Space Agency with whom we share much in common as relatively young entrants into the international space community. We are firm believers in the importance of international co-operation and collaboration in space.”
The Australian government is investing $41m over four years to establish and operate Australia’s first-ever national space agency and more than $260m to develop world-leading core satellite infrastructure and technologies, more information on the Australian Space Agency is available at space.gov.au. (Source: Space Connect)
11 Feb 19. Arctic Space: Canadian Defence Department Selects Space Flight Laboratory To Build Surveillance Microsatellites. The Canadian Department of National Defence has awarded a C$15m (U.S.$11.43m) contract to Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) for development of multipurpose microsatellites to support Arctic surveillance. Upon successful completion and testing of the prototype, two additional microsatellites will be built to create a small formation.
On behalf of Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan, Member of Parliament for York Centre Michael Levitt announced the contract on 1 February 2019 during a ceremony held at UTIAS in Toronto. The contract was awarded through Public Services and Procurement Canada under the All Domain Situational Awareness (ADSA) Science and Technology (S and T) Program.
“Space Flight Laboratory is honored to assist the Department of National Defence in developing next-generation satellite technology that could be used to monitor Canada’s vital Arctic region,” said SFL Director and Founder Dr. Robert E. Zee. “We are pleased that this investment acknowledges SFL as one of the world’s preeminent developers of advanced attitude control and formation-flying technologies for microsatellites.”
The UTIAS SFL microsatellites being developed will include multiple sensors on a constellation of microsatellites operating in close formation in low Earth orbit to allow for quick and timely detection and identification of surface or airborne targets.
These concurrently-obtained sensor observations are expected to improve the reliability of the detection and identification performance, which is not feasible when individual sensors are located on non-collaborating satellites.
Established in 1998 as a self-sustaining specialty lab at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), SFL has built more than 25 nano- and microsatellites with over 95 cumulative years of successful operation in orbit.
SFL’s attitude control technologies have also been applied successfully in several other microspace programs as well, including the 2016 GHGSat-D greenhouse gas emissions monitoring satellite and the 2013-2014 BRITE space astronomy constellation.
As outlined in its defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged, the Department of National Defence is investing in defence research and development to produce innovative solutions to surveillance challenges in Canada’s North, particularly in the priority areas of Arctic joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Surveillance solutions support the Canadian government’s ability to exercise sovereignty in the North and provide a greater awareness of safety and security issues, as well as transportation and commercial activity in Canada’s Arctic.
In addition, solutions achieved under the ADSA program will contribute to joint efforts between Canada and the United States to modernize elements of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The ADSA S and T Program leverages innovative science and technology expertise from other government departments, academia, industry and allies, to identify, assess and validate technologies in support of air and maritime surveillance, particularly in the North.
Through a five-year investment of $133m (U.S.$101.34m) through to 2020, the ADSA S and T Program is supporting the development of options for enhanced domain awareness of air, maritime surface and sub-surface approaches to Canada, in particular those in the Arctic. (Source: Google/https://spacewatch.global)
12 Feb 19. Pentagon to review certification of Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch vehicles. The Pentagon will evaluate the certification for Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch vehicles to determine whether the U.S. Air Force complied with certain guidelines, according to a memo here on Monday.
“Our objective is to determine whether the U.S. Air Force complied with the Launch Services New Entrant Certification Guide when certifying the launch system design for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle-class SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles,” U.S. Department Of Defence Deputy Inspector General Michael Roark said in the memo. The review will begin this month, the memo stated. In December, a SpaceX rocket carrying a U.S. military navigation satellite blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral, marking the space transportation company’s first national security space mission for the United States.
The successful launch was a significant victory for bnaire Musk, who has spent years trying to break into the lucrative market for military space launches dominated by Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co.
Musk’s privately held rocket company said last month it would reduce its workforce by about 10 percent of the company’s more than 6,000 employees, citing “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead”. (Source: Reuters)
11 Feb 19. Hughes begins delivery of HM400 modems for MQ-9B SkyGuardian. Hughes Network Systems has started the first shipments of its specialised, multiband HM400 SATCOM modems to power beyond-line-of-sight communications for MQ-9B SkyGuardian. MQ-9B is General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI) next-generation remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). According to Hughes, the HM400 modems are customised to meet specific operational requirements and can support both military and commercial satellite frequencies. HM400 leverages an open system architecture and software-definable modem and waveform technology to provide enhanced satellite-based communications for RPA. It can open up applications such as search and rescue or disaster response for Predator-variant aircraft.
Hughes defence and intelligence systems division (DISD) vice-president and general manager Rick Lober said: “Hughes develops innovative technology to suit customer needs and, in this case, our HM400 was customised for GA-ASI’s resilient communications-on-the-move requirements for their SkyGuardian RPA.
“We’re excited to be part of GA-ASI’s team and starting the delivery of HM400 units for their next-generation platform.”
The Hughes HM400 can support military operations in challenging environmental conditions.
It offers advantages such as frequency reuse for high operational efficiency, high data throughput rates for HD video and data transmissions, and a low size, weight and power (SWaP) profile.
MQ-9B can carry multiple mission payloads and includes a detect and avoid (DAA) system to allow the retrofitting of an airborne due regard radar (DRR) for operation in non-cooperative airspace.
The aircraft can fly at a maximum altitude of more than 40,000ft and reach an airspeed of 210k. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
12 Feb 19. Myriota and Tyvak to develop and launch next generation of nanosatellites. Myriota is a step closer to its goal of launching a constellation of 50 nanosatellites after partnering with Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems. The agreement aims to develop and launch multiple satellites in 2019, with each spacecraft to run Myriota’s “unique, patented software which provides reliable, direct-to-satellite internet of things (IoT) connectivity for millions of users worldwide”.
“This partnership is an important milestone for our company,” said Myriota’s chief technology officer and co-founder, Dr David Haley. “It represents a valuable next step for our business in expanding our constellation.”
In reference to the satellites’ overall capabilities, Dr Haley said, “The satellites we’re launching with Tyvak incorporate leading small satellite technology. The architecture is designed to maximise satellite operational availability, providing an always-on service for our customers from the moment they launch.
“The satellites will allow our customers to communicate with devices from anywhere on the planet using Myriota’s low-cost, long battery life, secure service while we continue to build a constellation towards providing real-time connectivity.”
The partnership will be able to take advantage of “Tyvak’s experience in satellite development, launch brokering and on-orbit operations”, with Myriota selecting Tyvak from more than a dozen worldwide providers for its agile approach and capabilities, security and mission assurance.
“We are very excited to expand our reach to new territories and applications while contributing to South Australia’s ecosystem development,” said Marco Villa, Tyvak COO.
“Myriota has been a great partner to work with from day one and having recently completed the first program review, we look forward to executing this mission and enabling their business objectives.” (Source: Space Connect)
08 Feb 19. Avanti Communications Group plc (Avanti) a leading provider of satellite data communications services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and MainOne, a premier connectivity and data centre solutions company in West Africa, have signed an agreement to jointly improve broadband penetration across Nigeria by providing the latest KA-band based satellite communication services to enterprises located in remote areas of the country. The companies made this announcement on Friday at Nerds Unite, an annual IT conference hosted by MainOne.
Under this arrangement, MainOne will leverage Avanti’s newest satellite, HYLAS 4, launched in April 2018 to enable highly flexible capacity services with 100% country coverage of Nigeria. Such coverage is most critical and will accelerate the time to deploy internet broadband services into remote areas that are difficult to reach by fibre infrastructure. The partnership will also include the deployment of Avanti’s ECO initiative, which bundles broadband access, solar power and embedded Wi-Fi services for schools and small communities, ideal for deployment in remote parts of the country where power availability and connectivity services remain a challenge. The partnership is also backed with the commissioning and launch of Avanti’s new Gateway Earth Station (GES) in Nigeria, hosted at MainOne’s Tier III Data Centre ‘MDXi’.
Libby Barr, Chief Operating Officer at Avanti, said “We are delighted to be partnering with MainOne and look forward to building a strong relationship to enable rollout of satellite broadband services across West Africa. Avanti’s products will greatly complement MainOne’s existing fibre-based networks by providing reliable connectivity services to its enterprise customers beyond its immediate fibre reach. We look forward to expanding our collaboration in serving the people of Nigeria and Africa with life-changing services.”
Funke Opeke, Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, added: “Our partnership with Avanti provides Nigeria the opportunity to accelerate expansion of broadband internet via satellite, to bridge the digital gap and improve digital transformation for more Nigerians. Such services are most critical for the Oil and Gas sector, and for the delivery of social and educational services into rural areas of the country. Beyond connecting institutions, Avanti’s ECO solution also addresses the needs of their immediate communities and will accelerate getting more of our rural communities online.”
07 Feb 19. Trump nominates new leader for spy satellite agency. President Donald Trump has nominated a longtime NASA administrator to become the next director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), according to a Feb. 7 release from the White House. Christopher Scolese, currently the director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, would replace Betty Sapp, who has been at the helm of NRO since 2012.
The NRO is one of the intelligence community’s most secretive agencies, and runs and operates several classified overhead reconnaissance systems such as satellites. Because the NRO’s budgets are classified, little information is publicly available about individual programs. However, intelligence leaders have said the agency makes up about half of the intelligence community’s major acquisitions and has about 3,000 employees. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013 put the agency’s budget north of $10bn.
The NRO, among other tasks, monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, tracks terrorist and develops military targeting data. It also administers the massive EnhancedView contract, previously overseen by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Previously, Scolese served as the associate administrator at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. and as the agency’s chief engineer. A press release from August by the American Institution of Aeronautics and Astronautics said Scolese worked on several classified projects as an officer in the U.S. Navy, as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense and at the General Research Corporation. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
11 Feb 19. USAF considers investment in private small launch industry. The US Air Force (USAF) has reportedly shown interest in investing in space start-ups to gain a foothold in the small launch industry during a meeting of top military officials with Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson. At the meeting held at the Pentagon last month, USAF acquisition head Dr Will Roper expressed interest in small launch, reported CNBC.
Roper was quoted as saying: “I am very excited about small launch. I think small launch is going to be a big deal.”
Small rockets are known for the relatively low cost per launch, estimated to be between $3m and $10m.
He added: “If you lose a satellite, put another one up at the time you need it.”
Roper also noted that the airforce should think like a venture capital firm to understand the requirements of private space companies.
He added: “If we can understand what a company needs to get from being that entrant, at ten people with an idea and designs, to getting to that first product that they can go sell or pitch … we’ve got huge money to invest in this.”
Branson discussed the capabilities of his small rocket builder Virgin Orbit with top USAF leaders.
Established in 2017, Virgin Orbit plans to provide launch services for small satellites. The company’s LauncherOne rocket is in its testing phase and is planned to be launched from a modified Boeing 747 jet.
Another small launch company Rocket Lab has also caught the attention of Roper who said the company is ‘pushing small launch’.
The start-up launched three lightweight orbital rockets known as Electron to orbit last year, including a mission for Nasa in December.
This year, Rocket Lab aims to launch 16 missions, including a dedicated satellite for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) later this month. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
05 Feb 19. SatixFy Debuts the World’s First ESMA Antenna at the SmallSat Symposium. SatixFy UK Limited is introducing the world’s first ESMA (Electronically Steered Multi-Beam Array) Ku-band 256 element array antenna at this week’s SmallSat Symposium 2019 in Mountain View, California, USA — using the company’s fully digital beam forming technology, the new antenna array is being demonstrated working in an Antenna Micro Test Range to show multi-beam capabilities, antenna patterns and other performance parameters. The ESMA antenna can serve both as a stand-alone IoT terminal or a building block for a larger sized antenna and is currently available in 11-12 GHz receive and 13.75-14.5 GHz transmit frequencies. SatixFy is in the final stages of developing a complete terminal with an integrated SatixFy modem based on its ASIC bringing complete acquisition and tracking capabilities. This terminal will be critical in the evolving smallsats eco-system requiring tracking multiple NGSO satellites in a constellation and transferring high data throughputs for imaging and communications.
SatixFy’s antenna uses in-house developed chips — Prime and Beat. Prime is a Digital Beam Former ASIC, employing True Time Delay technology for 32 antenna elements, capable of processing over 2 Tbps of data. Beat is a Ku-band RFIC including separate up and down converters and LNA/SSPA for any polarization for 4 antenna elements. The antenna is capable of simultaneously pointing, tracking and managing multiple beams at multiple polarizations. Using digital beam forming technology allows the antenna to handle wide bandwidth using a large number of antenna elements and without beam squint. Due to its unique digital features, nulls can be directed towards specific interferers.
Executive Comment
Yoel Gat, CEO of SatixFy group, said the firm is proud to bring this unique and powerful antenna to the market in such a short time. The company developed a 256 element building block that can scale to very large arrays with large bandwidth without significant degradation. This antenna is a part of the firm’s complete terminal supporting multi-beams with SatixFy’s own modems and control of hardware and software. The antenna is currently being demonstrated to interested customers and a demo on a moving car is just weeks away. (Source: Satnews)
04 Feb 19. Head of Australian Space Agency Has a Vision and She Shared Her Plans. Dr Megan Clark AC told delegates at the eighth Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program (SHSSP) that the agency, which will be headquartered in Adelaide from July, has big plans for the industry, including space tourism. We’ve done more launch licenses in our first six months for Australian assets to be launched offshore than we’ve done in the last three decades,” she said.
Dr Clark said Australia, for example, was behind the rest of the world in GPS positioning but has now surpassed the standards.
“We access many of the positioning satellite systems that are available…but we did not have world-class positioning. So roughly five metres, ten metres, we were behind the rest of the world. So the government had provided some significant money to bring that up to ten-centimetre accuracy across all of our landmass, all of our maritime jurisdiction and all of our airspace,” she said.
A record 54 participants from 11 countries took part in the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program conducted by the University of South Australia in partnership with the International Space University, based in Strasbourg, France.
The SHSSP is designed for professionals involved in the international space sector, graduate researchers seeking broader knowledge of international space activities, and undergraduate students in the final two years of their studies seeking exposure to the various aspects of space studies. Clark said the way forward for the agency in Adelaide was through partnerships with technology and aviation companies like Airbus, which announced last year that it would base its Zephyr solar-powered unmanned aircraft in Wyndham, Western Australia.
“Airbus has already chosen Australia to be the launch and retrieval site for the first High Altitude Pseudo Satellite,” she said.
City of Salisbury Councillor Graham Reynolds told the forum that innovation will continue to grow in South Australia now that it is the official headquarters of what is expected to become a $12bn industry.
“The South Australian innovation ecosystem is well placed and able to capitalise on these opportunities,” he said.
South Australia has been a major player in the nation’s space industry and is home to major Tier 1 defence companies and several emerging space startups, including Fleet Space Technologies and Myriota, which both announced new Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities last week, and Southern Launch, which is establishing a launch facility in the state’s north.
The South Australia Space Industry Centre, launched in 2017, has been instrumental in helping establish the space sector in the state and reports that there are more than 70 companies employing 800 people in the industry in South Australia, including Italian space company SITAEL.
Dr Clark said innovation in space technology and navigation systems could allow for the public to travel to suborbital space for short time, fostering a space tourism industry in Australia.
“There’s other things coming as well with space tourism,” she said.
“Even though you’re only up there for three to four minutes, this is the public being able to go to space for suborbital flight.”
Clark said the new Australian Space Agency had received more than 48 million hits domestically, including the rebranding of the agency logo.
“This is important because it sends such an important message to our Australian government that the Australian people believe this is a really good way to spend taxpayer’s money,” she said.
“There has been no criticism of the spending of taxpayer’s money on this. It’s just been enthusiasm across the board.
“Anyone from the Northern Hemisphere knows the stars here are unbelievable because we look right into the galaxy. We are perfectly positioned. We’re a big country, we are a very good place to connect with space.” (Source: Satnews)
05 Feb 19. Orbital AI is the Stated Goal of Hypergiant Industries as the Company Launches Their Galactic Systems Division. Hypergiant Industries has announced the launch of their Galactic Systems division, with the goal of helping mankind expand its horizon into the next frontier through orbital AI. Hypergiant Galactic Systems will focus on artificial intelligence-driven aerospace and astronautic software and hardware products for the booming space industry.
In its first step toward realizing this vision, Hypergiant Galactic Systems has acquired Satellite & Extraterrestrial Operations & Procedures (S.E.O.P.s), a Houston-based satellite deployment and services provider that offers innovative proprietary launch and deployment systems servicing the CubeSat and smallsat markets.
As a subsidiary of Hypergiant Galactic Systems, S.E.O.P.s will continue to serve customers in defense, government, as well as leading academic institutions in designing, developing, and deploying space satellite constellation arrays. S.E.O.P.s operates classified missions as well as unclassified missions for customers and partners including NASA, DARPA, and Northrop Grumman. S.E.O.P.s currently has allocation on all ISS visiting vehicles (SpaceX Dragon and Cygnus) through its partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS).
S.E.O.P.s is led by CEO Chad Brinkley and CTO Michael Johnson. A space entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience in the Aerospace and Defense market, Brinkley’s expertise spans the government, military, and commercial sectors. On the technical side, Johnson is the industry leader in designing space research platforms, habitats, modules, launch systems, and spacecraft. He was previously the co-founder of NanoRacks, the first commercial space company to launch CubeSats using the International Space Station (ISS). To date, more than 210 CubeSats have been deployed, fueling the rise of commercial space investments. Both Brinkley and Johnson will continue to lead as CEO and CTO of Hypergiant S.E.O.P.s, a subsidiary of Hypergiant Galactic Systems.
S.E.O.P.s became a leader over the last decade in the industry by flying satellites and payloads to LEO, using deployment off the International Space Station (ISS), as well as using ISS visiting vehicles. The S.E.O.P.s Slingshot CubeSat launch system was designed to exploit the unused Cygnus vestibule volume of the passive common berthing mechanism (PCBM) by deploying sideways using a zero tip-off mechanism. SlingShot Deployers accommodate any customer’s CubeSat formats and configurations. The system can also fly hosted payloads using the core spacecraft for data, power, pointing, and communications. According to the company, no other system provides comparable space agility. By working with Northrop Grumman, CASIS, and the U.S. National Laboratory, S.E.O.P.s is executing on the vision of the commercialization of space for industries spanning defense, energy, security, and more.
S.E.O.P.s’ proprietary sideways deployment also makes it possible to mount SlingShot deployers on a geosynchronous satellite bus, such as a Boeing 702 or Lockheed 2100, opening small satellite deployment in the GEO belt. Furthermore, S.E.O.P.s has been testing its MicroSat solution (MACE), which is planned to come online in 2019 to deploy larger spacecraft. (Source: Satnews)
05 Feb 19. Forrester Reports: Belgium Puts Inmarsat Questions to EU Tribunal. Journalist Chris Forrester has posted an item at the Advanced TV infosite that reveals a fierce legal battle between Viasat (of California) and Eutelsat against Inmarsat and its in-flight European Aviation Network is about to involve the European Court of Justice.
A Belgium Court of Appeal’s Market Court ruled on Jan 23rd that it wanted greater clarity on two specific legal questions and has asked the higher European Court of Justice (ECoJ) for their interpretation of EU law. The merits of Viasat’s case against the Belgian regulator will not be reviewed or judged upon by the ECoJ.
The dispute centers on Inmarsat’s wish to use Deutsche Telekom’s ground-based cellular repeaters, called “ground components” to boost and deliver Inmarsat’s satellite signals. The argument is whether the European Aviation System is actually a satellite-delivered solution or whether it is a ground-based cellular system with a satellite back-up.
This ECoJ court hearing could take some time to come up with their advice, so in the meantime the Belgians have allowed Inmarsat’s system to be deployed.
A February 1st statement from Inmarsat said, “We note the decision by the Market Court in Brussels to seek clarification on the EU regulatory framework before taking a decision on the merits of the case. Inmarsat is confident that this clarification will confirm the previous decision by the Belgian regulator BIPT.” (Source: Satnews)
04 Feb 19. UK Space Agency’s Case Studies of Oxford Space Systems, Spire Global, and Thales Alenia Space’s Healthy Growth. The UK’s space sector has seen significant growth in income, exports and employment with total income now standing at £14.8bn, Science Minister Chris Skidmore announced. The main findings from the independent UK space industry: size and health report show that, compared to the 2016 survey:
- income up from £13.7bn to £14.8bn
- employment up from 38,522 to 41,900
- exports up from £5bn to £5.5bn
The report also shows that an average of 39 new companies have been added to the UK space sector every year since 2012. This is the most authoritative survey of the sector. After the previous survey showed a slowing annual growth rate to 1.6 percent in 2014/15, the new figures show an acceleration with annual rates of 2.1 percent for 2015/16 and 4.5 percent for 2016/17. Much of this growth is due to space manufacturing, including satellites, ground systems and components, which increased at a rate of 27 percent per year. The UK has significant capabilities in this area, building major parts for one in four of the world’s commercial telecommunications satellites.
Beyond the direct effects of the space industry, the satellite services industry supports a wealth of other sectors worth an estimated £300bn of UK GDP, up from £250bn from the previous survey. Earth Observation (EO) services, such as data for monitoring land use and agriculture, is a significant growth area, supporting £92bn of GDP and growing at a rate of 25 percent per year.
Executive Comments
Science Minister Chris Skidmore said that the space industry is a great UK success story. New innovations and pioneering experts are helping the sector to grow faster than the rest of the economy as whole. The industry is providing thousands of new high-skilled jobs and also supports a wealth of other sectors that are worth an estimated £300bn to the UK. By investing in important infrastructure, such as the National Satellite Test Facility near Oxford, and establishing satellite launch capabilities, the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy is helping the nation’s space sector to thrive.
Skidmore added that space is a UK export success story, generating more than a third (37 percent) of income from international trade. The UK’s ongoing membership of the European Space Agency, which is independent of the EU, generates 29 percent of these exports. France and the USA account for the largest share of exports to individual countries at 40 and 8 percent, respectively, with significant potential to grow these further and expand into more international markets. Broadcasting accounts for just over half of space industry income (51 percent), and as the sector continues to diversify, there has been strong growth in areas such as the supply of devices and equipment that use satellite data. EU Space programs, such as Galileo, account for 2.5 percent of the total income. Defence and military have seen strong growth, increasing from 2 to 8 percent of income.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson noted that Britain is a world leader in the space industry. These figures show that the nation is developing pioneering satellite technology which will help to guarantee the UK’s national security in the future and maintain a military advantage over our adversaries. This remarkable growth is good news for our military as it reflects the commitment to building the space industry here in the UK. The sector now supports over 40,000 jobs across the country, and the commitment is to expand that in the years to come.
Williamson added that the UK continues to outperform the global space sector. Since 2007/08, the UK has seen cumulative growth of 91 percent, as compared with world growth of 42 percent. The exchange rate is important when comparing the UK’s space income with the global space market, which is calculated in U.S. Dollars. The depreciation of Sterling against the Dollar over recent years means that the UK’s current share of the global space market stands at 5.1 percent. If the exchange rates were fixed at 2006/07 levels, that would be 8.1 percent, although the current exchange rate also makes UK exports more competitive.
Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, commented that the ambition to grow the UK space sector to 10 percent of the global market continues to drive the efforts to support the industry. The latest figures show welcome progress on growth and highlight the many areas where there is significant potential to build on the successes, using the extensive skills, experience and capabilities we have across the country. There is confidence in the sector, with 73 percent of organizations expecting income growth over the next three years and 48 percent of those expecting it be more than 10 percent higher than in the previous three years. The workforce is also expected to grow, with 93 percent of organizations predicting job numbers to grow or maintain their current level.
Case studies
Since forming in 2013, Oxford Space Systems has raised more than £17m to build innovative and lightweight spacecraft antennas and deployable booms which are lower cost than those currently available to commercial satellite manufacturers. In 2015, the company was selected for the UK Space Agency’s AlSat Nano mission, achieving a world-first with the longest ever retractable CubeSat boom in orbit at 1.5 meters. It currently employs around 42 staff after expanding significantly in October 2018 to its new headquarters at the Harwell Space Cluster. This week the MOD announced a £1m investment in the development of an innovative ‘wrapped rib’ antenna by the company.
Spire Global is a satellite and data analysis company that was founded in San Francisco and set up its European headquarters in Glasgow, where it has built more than 80 satellites since 2014. The company specializes in data from smallsats in LEO. In February 2018, the UK Space Agency awarded more than £4m to Spire to demonstrate cutting-edge space technology, including parallel super-computing. The UK Space Agency is also supporting a space incubation centre in Glasgow and has provided support over several years to the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, based at the University of Strathclyde.
Thales Alenia Space in the UK was established in 2014 with offices in Bristol, Harwell and Belfast and is a leader in propulsion systems, Earth Observation and Science mission subsystems, and next generation payloads for telecoms, military satellites and satellite constellations. Belfast is home to Thales Alenia Space’s multi-million pound Electric Propulsion Integration Centre, delivered in 2016. The site recently delivered the first all-electric propulsion module designed and built in the UK, the Spacebus Neo Xenon Propulsion System (XPS). The company’s space-related jobs in the UK have grown from 10 in 2014 to 200 in 2018 based across Belfast, Bristol and Harwell. That total is estimated to grow to 350 by 2020. (Source: Satnews)
03 Feb 19. The New Space Force Enjoys an ‘Uptick’ in Satellite Spending. The U.S. military and intelligence community’s appetite for satellites and associated gear is growing, and the coming reorganization dubbed Space Force may boost it further. Leaders of Harris said they are already seeing an uptick in spending, mostly for classified space projects, as the military buys new satellites and ground control stations that are better protected from Russian and Chinese attacks.
“Our classified business in space has been very, very strong,” Harris CEO Bill Brown said Tuesday during a quarterly earnings call. “We see this momentum continuing with several new wins in the second quarter that are extend[ing] our positions on existing programs as well as create new franchises that will have significant follow-on opportunities.”
Harris, which has historically supplied components to larger manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, is now doing more solo work: building and selling small satellites. Some of the small projects are moving beyond one-off proof-of-concept missions. (Harris and L3 Technologies are planning to merge in mid-2019.)
“In our small satellite franchise, we received awards of more than $350m over the past three years to develop and produce 17 satellites with five different customers as we move from pathfinder missions to to building a full constellation in space,” Brown said.
Harris CFO Rahul Ghai said “better-than-expected growth in classified programs” prompted Harris to increase revenue projections for its space and intelligence business.
Brown said sales have grown not just of satellites, but also of ground stations and “other parts of different domains that we participate in.”
“The trends have been very, very good,” he said. “We had a really good start, orders are good, the pipeline is very strong in that business. We’ve had good success in growing our small sat franchise.”
Moreover, Brown said, the company’s investments in new satellite, ground station, and communications technology has paid off.
“Certainly the initial work we’ve done on hosted payloads, we did some investments to get ahead of the curve on small sats, are now paying dividends,” he said. “It’s not just with one customer. It’s multiple customers both in the [intelligence community] as well as in DoD. It’s all good news.” (Source: Satnews)
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