VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 9 www.spaceindustrybulletin.com Space Industry Bulletin Market analysis and business intelligence for the space community Assessment of environmental effects for licence application nder the Space Industry The purpose of the AEE is to tion 11 to create a guidance doc - Act, both spaceports enable the regulator to make an ument explaining the AEE pro - Uand vehicle launch assessment as to whether a li - cess. In developing this policy operators will be required to cence can be granted to the ap - the Agency has been engaging CONTENTS apply for a licence, as covered plicant and, if so, what licence extensively with other govern - under Section 11 of the Act. A conditions are appropriate to ment departments and environ- Industry news 2 key aspect to consider as part of use. In an effort to make this as - mental regulators UK wide and l QinetiQ awarded £67m Robust GNS contract the application for a licence is pect of the application not overly will continue to do so. l First Earth observation satellite the submission of an assess- onerous, the requirement to sub - The aim is to align the AEE featuring AI tech ready to launch ment of environmental effects mit an AEE could perhaps be policy with existing environmen - l Innovation grant for evaluation (AEE), which is covered in met using an equivalent assess - tal policy to create both a robust at Shetland Section 11 subsection 4. ment prepared previously in com - and proportionate assessment. l Identifying natural resources pliance with the requirement As part of the development from space imposed under another enact - process, the UK Space Agency l Report casts doubt on ment, or an assessment of envi - is planning to hold a regulatory Sutherland Space Hub construction ronmental effects prepared in marketplace which will give busi - due to rising costs connection with a previous ap - nesses the opportunity to speak l Space mining market expected plication. with some of these environmen - to reach US$2.84bn by 2023 The UK Space Agency is now tal regulators. developing the policy behind Sec - l Full report page 12 Global space industry 6 l Private sector key in driving commercial space exploration Governments are key customers Space sector investment 10 l Governments are key customers while space ecosystem builds while space ecosystem builds he space economy will re - For the foreseeable future, Legal and regulation 12 quire a self-sufficient government agencies will need l Assessment of environmental Tecosystem that includes to be the biggest clients, and in - effects for licence application Space law must evolve to deal capital, strategic partnerships deed successful companies re - l with emerging challenges and evolving business models. port that, at this stage, govern - The space race is being pow - ments are critical. Space economy 16 ered not just by government but The startups are going to l Space power will become as by a new crop of startups and need time to develop business important as geopolitical power visionaries. Although en - models that work. Space is l Government commitment to trepreneurs, strategic partner- tremendously complex. It’s going embrace the new space age ships and venture capital have phase of the new space economy to take time for the ecosystem been leading the charge on fund - will require a self-sufficient to develop. ESA invitations to tender 20 ing, the success of this nascent ecosystem. l Full report page 10 UK Space Agency grants 22 THIS ISSUE IN NUMBERS... $In1ves4tm.e3nt ibn thne Op£por7tun0itibes fnor UK CAG2R o3f th% e global Valu$e o1f thten space U£K S6pa.ce3 Agm ency €2P6riv.a7te m space sector over the space companies space mining market economy within the grants and funding investment funding last 12 months by 2030 to 2023 next 30 years in July in Goonhilly Page 11 Page 18 Page 4 Page 16 Page 22 Page 9 Industry news QinetiQ awarded £67m First Earth Robust GNS contract featuring A hen the two inetiQ has won a £67m CubeSats that make contract with the Wup the FSSCat QMinistry of Defence mission launch, they will be (MOD) to develop multi- the first to feature the -Sat constellation satellite receivers artificial intelligence (AɸI) under the UK Robust Global technology to demonstrate Navigation System (R-GNS) the potential of AI in space. programme. During -week, ESA’s The programme will deliver director of ɸEarth observation critical capability to provide UK programmes, Josef Defence with accurate and Aschbacher, said: “We see resilient positioning, navigation that there is huge interest in and timing (PNT) which will -Sat and thanks to our underpin the UK’s ability to pɸartners, it is ready to be undertake 24/7 military launched. operations around the world in Defence Minister Anne- resilient secured navigation the most demanding and Marie Trevelyan said: “Whether capabilities is essential to increasingly contested it’s soldiers conducting ensuring that they are able to operational environments. operations in remote operate effectively in The use of multi- environments or fighter jet increasingly challenging constellation, multi-service pilots flying in contested operational environments. We satellite navigation signals, airspace, our armed forces are extremely pleased to be multiple sensors and QinetiQ’s depend on satellite navigation working with MOD, DE&S and advanced processing technology. DSTL to deliver this critical technologies will enable “These state-of-the-art capability. secured navigation ensuring receivers will help to ensure our “This programme will that users and platforms armed forces can defend UK exploit QinetiQ’s advanced (increasingly including interests wherever and technologies and, working autonomous land, maritime, air whenever they are threatened.” collaboratively with our and weapons systems) will be QinetiQ CEO Steve Wadey partners, deliver substantial able to navigate accurately, said: “Ensuring that UK forces operational advantage for UK robustly and safely. have the best and most defence.” Identifying natural resources from space he Mission and Agile access to diverse the initial barrier to market and Nanosatellite for types and volumes of supporting the growth of the UK TTerrestrial Imagery information depending space sector. Services (MANTIS) satellite on the number of Investing in Industrial could soon be helping satellites contributed Innovation – InCubed – is a energy and mining to the constellation. European Space Agency businesses identify new This will enable programme supporting resources, after the organisations of all innovative projects related to demonstration project was sizes and sectors to Earth Observation, with the awarded co-funding from from Spain will build the high not only leverage their own focus of removing barriers to industry and the UK Space spatial resolution camera, while space infrastructure but also entry of the commercial Agency through its investment Terrabotics from the UK will use benefit from additional datasets marketplace. The UK, jointly with in the ESA’s InCubed its novel data analysis to satisfy and services. Spain, is a lead contributor to programme. the needs of their energy and The InCubed funding will the programme, with the nations UK company Open Cosmos mining customers. help bring the project from having contributed €10 million will provide the design, Open Cosmos envisions this concept to a ‘minimum viable each to the total budget of €35 manufacturing, testing, launch MANTIS satellite to be the first product’ stage, providing and million. UK InCubed funding has and operation of the mission of an aggregated constellation demonstrating the first element been awarded through a process based on a new generation 12U operated by Open Cosmos of the potential satellite of competitive calls for spacecraft platform. Satlantis where customers will have constellation, helping overcome proposals. 2 www.spaceindustrybulletin.com Industry news Innovation grant for observation satellite evaluation at Shetland I tech ready to launch hile Sutherland Space Hub and “We live in exciting times. The hyperspectral camera WSpaceport The pace at which digital on one of the CubeSats will Cornwall have both been technology is developing collect an enormous number approved as sites for UK coupled with the wealth of of images of Earth. The -Sat space launch operations, satellite information being AI chip will filter the the ɸ and Prestwyck has been Credit: Shetland Space Centre delivered and, indeed, the images so that only usable making a strong argument growing demand for such data are returned. as a further horizontal launch as to how such operations might data, means there are many Mr Aschbacher added: “We location, Shetland has been be best hosted at the Shetland opportunities to make a step fully expect -Sat to be an quietly building its own case a Space Centre. change for the future of important stɸep forward for launch site. Now a project to John MacKenzie, senior Earth observation. Earth observation satellite evaluate the suitability of development manager with HIE, “And, with -Sat – missions.” Shetland as a location to launch said: “This is an ambitious and Europe’s first aɸrtificial rockets using air balloons has innovative project by the SSC. intelligence in space – we are been awareded a £15,000 We are very pleased to be going to do just this.” innovation grant from Highlands providing support for the and Islands Enterprise (HIE). commercial and technical The Shetland Space Centre evaluation and look forward to (SSC) has been working with the findings of this work.” B2Space, a company that offers The SSC’s ambitions do not access to low earth orbit for end there. As we reported in the small and micro satellites. In July February issue of Space Industry it ran a test of a system known Bulletin, SSC believes it can as rockoon, which deploys large provide a rival to Sutherland as air balloons to launch rockets the UK’s vertical launch from the edge of the earth’s spaceport.