DOCSLIB.ORG

Loft Orbital MAKES SPACE ACCESSIBLE Executive Interview with Alex Greenberg, Co-Founder & Head of Operations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Loft Orbital MAKES SPACE ACCESSIBLE Executive Interview with Alex Greenberg, Co-Founder & Head of Operations ANALYTICS SERIES: The Importance of The Value of Space Food Monitoring with Oceans & Standardization TellusLabs, and Urban UN SDG #14 by Dylan Taylor Transportation with p. 12 p. 8 StreetLight Data p. 24 THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF by Jörg Herrmann, SAR Remote Sensing Expert, HUtABSAR Consulting “ There has been doubt among the SAR community if such compact designs can deliver any useful imagery... Now the first of its kind has been launched by ICEYE, and it works: 10-m resolution SAR imagery from a prototype, and a plan of reaching 3-m resolution with future satellites.” P. 16 Loft Orbital MAKES SPACE ACCESSIBLE Executive Interview with Alex Greenberg, Co-founder & Head of Operations Our approach is to make space simple for both current and would-be users of space. Our initial clients include startups with business cases that require space-based data, government agencies with monitoring missions that need a more robust platform than a cubesat, large corporations looking to demonstrate a technology in orbit, and academic institutions that have developed a novel payload and need a ride to space.” p. 20 Mato Grosso, Brazil in South America, [ Summer 2018 / Vol. 33 / No. 3 ] courtesy of TellusLabs. Innovation Vega’s Small Spacecraft Mission System (SSMS) is a product of the innovative culture that prevails at Arianespace. The SSMS payload dispenser will revolutionize and democratize access to space for countless new satellite companies that would otherwise remain grounded due to lack of launch capacity. With its perfect record and competitive pricing, the Vega is the right vehicle at the right time. WWW.APOGEOSPATIAL.COM | SPRING 2018 APOGEO SPATIAL 3 16 20 [ Summer 2018 / Vol. 33 / No. 3 ] Columns Features 24 PUBLISHER’S LETTER Perspectives on Satellite 7 Space Gets More Accessible 16 SAR Remote Sensing and Space-based Radar WINDS OF CHANGE FOR RADAR Leaps Forward by JÖrg Herrmann, HUtAB Consulting by Myrna James Yoo, Publisher APOGEO SPATIAL EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW SPATIAL CAPITAL 20 Making Space Simple 8 The Value of Industry INSIDE LOFT ORBITAL’S PLAN TO Standardization OFFER SPACE MISSIONS AS-A- SERVICE INCREASING VALUE FOR STAKEHOLDERS With Alex Greenberg, Co-founder & Head of Operations, Loft Orbital by Dylan Taylor, Founder Space for Humanity & Space Angels GEOSPATIAL ANALYTICS-AS-A-SERVICE ON THE EDGE 12 Prioritizing SDG #14: Food Production Monitoring 24 with TellusLabs and Life Below Water CHANGING PRIORITIES FOR in the Urban Transportation with th THE OCEAN 4 StreetLight Data by Hans-Peter Plag, PhD by Matteo Luccio, Pale Blue Dot LLC Old Dominion University WWW.APOGEOSPATIAL.COM | SPRING 2018 APOGEO SPATIAL 3 COVER IMAGE Organized by Formerly TH [ Summer 2018 / Vol. 33 / No. 3 ] 10 SUMMIT ON EARTH OBSERVATION BUSINESS MISSION Apogeo Spatial communicates the power of geospatial tools and technologies in managing the world’s environment and scarce resources, so that the Sept. 13-14, 2018 / The Westin - Paris global population has the security of water, food, and energy. PARTNERSHIPS The unique executive meeting place for leading actors of the satellite imagery and geospatial solution business Apogeo Spatial has strategic partnerships with Space for Humanity (www.spaceforhumanity.org), NovaSpace, a program of The Innovation Pavilion (www.innovationpavilion.com), and 2 days The Alliance for Earth Observations, a program of The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies 250 30+ (www.strategies.org). of high-level executive-level senior-level networking & participants speakers STAFF business meetings Publisher/Managing Editor MYRNA JAMES YOO [email protected] Editor RAY A. WILLIAMSON, PhD [email protected] VP Partnerships KENLYN KOLLEEN [email protected] Contributing Writers LEONARD DAVID Mato Grosso, Brazil MATTEO LUCCIO Creative Director PAUL RODRIGUEZ [email protected] XINGU RIVER BASIN Intern MEGAN MATHEWS Top-level social Business deals The 4th in our Series on Geospatial EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD The most forward events & networking Analytics-as-a-Service includes examples of ANITA BURKE CEO, The Catalyst Institute thinking leaders how data is used for crop monitoring around NANCY COLLETON President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies the world by TellusLabs. This MODIS false- WILLIAM B. GAIL, PhD CTO, Global Weather Corporation color composite image shows the Xingu River ANNE HALE MIGLARESE Founder/CEO, Radiant Earth KEVIN O’CONNELL CEO, Innovative Analytics & Training Basin in Mato Grosso, Brazil, with healthy HANS-PETER PLAG , PhD Old Dominion University vegetation and wet areas in green and less Mitigation and Adaptation Research Institute KEVIN POMFRET, ESQ. Centre for Spatial Law and Policy wet areas in purple. The image shows different A sample list of confirmed speakers spectral bands, including SWIR (Shortwave EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS Apogeo Spatial welcomes contributions for feature articles. We publish articles on the remote Infrared) in Red, NIR (Near Infrared sensing industry, including applications, technology, and business. Please see Editorial Reflectance) in Green, and Red band is shown Guidelines on www.apogeospatial.com, and email proposals to [email protected]. Yousuf Hamad Alshaibani, Director General, Mohammed Bin Rashid Corentin Guillo, CEO, Bird-i in Blue. SUBSCRIPTIONS Space Centre (MBRSC) Russell Hannigan, CEO, Earth Now The Xingu River is a 1,640-km river in north To subscribe, please go to www.apogeospatial.com/subscribe. If you cannot go online, you may write to the address below. Haithem Altwaijry, Co-Director of CE2S2, Saudi Center for Remote Jaroslav Javornicky, Co-Founder and COO, SpaceKnow Sensing (KACST) Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon Apogeo Spatial (ISSN 0896-7091) Copyright © 2018 Steven Krekels, Unit Manager Remote Sensing, VITO - Flemish Institute Josef Aschbacher, Director of EO Programs, European Space Agency River, and one of the largest clear water rivers Blueline Publishing LLC, P.O. Box 11519, Denver, CO 80211 for Technological Research Leendert Bal, Head of Operations Department, European Maritime Safety Agency Ted Lamboo, Senior Vice President, Reality Modeling, Bentley Systems in the Amazon basin. DISCLAIMER Payam Banazadeh, Co-Founder & CEO, Capella Space Corp. Howard Lance, President and CEO, Maxar Technologies The article on page 24 includes interviews Apogeo Spatial is published by Blueline Publishing LLC, and is not related to, affiliated with, Gregg Black, Senior GEOINT Advocate Commercial Imagery Services, NGA Pascal Legai, Director, European Union Satellite Centre or sponsored or endorsed by Applied Geographics, Inc., or to any goods or services identified Philip Briscoe, COO, Rezatec Damien Lepoutre, Vice President, Land O'Lakes/Geosys with Nick Malizia, Head of Data Science at under the Federally registered APPGEO trademarks, which are the sole property of Applied Geographics, Inc. Sebastian Carl, CEO, GAF AG Francois Lombard, SVP, Head of Intelligence Business, Airbus Defense & Space TellusLabs regarding their crop monitoring, Hervé Clauss, Director MAPS Global Sourcing, TomTom Rafael Modrzewski, CEO, ICEYE Massimo Comparini, CEO, E-Geos and also Laura Schewel, CEO and Founder of All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means James Orsulak, Senior Director, Business & Sales, Descartes Labs StreetLight Data, which focuses primarily on without written permission from the publisher. While every precaution is taken to ensure James Crawford, CEO/Founder, Orbital Insight Fabrizio Pirondini, CEO of Deimos Imaging, Urthecast Company accuracy, the publishers and their partners cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of Debra Facktor Lepore, VP & GM, Strategic Operations, Ball Aerospace Christopher Richins, CEO, RBC Signals urban transportation analytics. information or for any opinions or views presented in Apogeo. Although trademark and copyright symbols are not used in this publication, they are honored. Stefan Gardefjord, President & CEO, SSC Dirk Vande Ryse, Head of Frontex Situation Centre, FRONTEX The image was taken May 8, 2016, and is Apogeo Spatial is printed on 20% recycled (10% post-consumer waste) paper. All inks used contain a percentage of soy base. Our printer meets or courtesy of TellusLabs. exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) Standards. Visit the website for more information! Media partner 4 | WWW.APOGEOSPATIAL.COM | SPRING 2018 APOGEO SPATIAL Register today at www.earth-observation-business.comWWW.APOGEOSPATIAL.COM | SPRING 2018 APOGEO SPATIAL 5 Organized by 10TH SUMMIT ON EARTH OBSERVATION BUSINESS Sept. 13-14, 2018 / The Westin - Paris The unique executive meeting place for leading actors of the satellite imagery and geospatial solution business 250 30+ 2 days of high-level executive-level senior-level networking & participants speakers business meetings Top-level social Business deals The most forward events & networking thinking leaders A sample list of confirmed speakers Yousuf Hamad Alshaibani, Director General, Mohammed Bin Rashid Corentin Guillo, CEO, Bird-i Space Centre (MBRSC) Russell Hannigan, CEO, Earth Now Haithem Altwaijry, Co-Director of CE2S2, Saudi Center for Remote Jaroslav Javornicky, Co-Founder and COO, SpaceKnow Sensing (KACST) Steven Krekels, Unit Manager Remote Sensing, VITO - Flemish Institute Josef Aschbacher, Director of EO Programs, European Space Agency for Technological Research Leendert Bal, Head of Operations Department, European Maritime Safety Agency Ted Lamboo, Senior Vice President,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar
    Synthetic Aperture Radar Subjects: Information Technology & Data Management Submitted by: Sung Wook Paek Definition SAR constellations Table of Contents [Hide] 1. Introduction Space-based radar observation has growing potentials for monitoring the global biospheric diversity subject to anthropogenic drivers at geological scales [1]. The performance of radar is less affected by weather and sunlight conditions than that of optical sensors. Satellites with onboard sensors can provide comprehensive coverage of remote areas or vast regions that may be too costly for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or ground-based platforms, provided that all platforms provide congruent results via calibrations [2][3][4]. Therefore, it was Seasat, the first satellite dedicated to remote sensing of the Earth’s oceans, that carried the first synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and other radar instruments operable in space. Despite these advantages, miniaturization of radar-carrying satellites was rather slow compared to satellites carrying optical devices due to the lack of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components as well as challenging design requirements for the satellite platform [5][6]. Representative use cases of space-based radar include altimetry, sounding, scatterometry, and so forth in the studies of land, cryosphere, and oceans. Biospheric monitoring is another useful application because radar has high sensitivity in detecting surface changes in a target area and discriminating mobile targets against a background [7]. This paper will consider mainly SAR because of its three-dimensional mapping capability through interferometry. The heritage of Seasat has influenced many of later SAR missions for decades, as listed in Table 1 [8][9][10][11][12][13]; for instance, Shuttle Image Radar (SIR) missions used spare parts of the previous Seasat mission onboard Space Shuttles to test SAR image applications in land use, geology, hydrology, and forestry [14][15].
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Nano/Microsatellite Market Forecast, 9Th Edition
    2019 NANO/MICROSATELLITE MARKET FORECAST, 9TH EDITION Copyright 2018, SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE. SPACEWORKS ENTERPRISES, INC., COPYRIGHT 2018. 1 Since 2008, SpaceWorks has actively monitored companies and economic activity across both the satellite and launch sectors 0 - 50 kg 50 - 250kg 250 - 1000kg 1000 - 2000kg 2000kg+ Custom market assessments are available for all mass classes NANO/MICROSATELLITE DEFINITION Picosatellite Nanosatellite Microsatellite Small/Medium Satellite (0.1 – 0.99 kg) (1 – 10 kg) (10 – 100 kg) (100 – 1000 kg) 0 kg 1 kg 10 kg 100 kg 1000 kg This report bounds the upper range of interest in microsatellites at 50 kg given the relatively large amount of satellite development activity in the 1 – 50 kg range FORECASTING METHODOLOGY SpaceWorks’ proprietary Launch Demand Database (LDDB) Downstream serves as the data source for all satellite market Demand assessments ▪ Planned The LDDB is a catalogue of over 10,000+ historical and Constellations future satellites containing both public and non-public (LDDB) satellite programs Launch Supply SpaceWorks newly updated Probabilistic Forecast Model (PFM) is used to generate future market potential SpaceWorks PFM Model ▪ The PFM considers down-stream demand, announced/planed satellite constellations, and supply-side dynamics, among other relevant factors Expert Analysis The team of expert industry analysts at SpaceWorks SpaceWorks further interprets and refines the PFM results to create Forecast accurate market forecasts Methodology at a Glance 2018 SpaceWorks forecasted 2018 nano/microsatellite launches with unprecedented accuracy – actual satellites launched amounted to just 5% below our analysts’ predictions. In line with SpaceWorks’ expectations, the industry corrected after a record launch year in 2017, sending 20% less nano/microsatellites to orbit than in 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • State of the Space Industrial Base 2020 Report
    STATE OF THE SPACE INDUSTRIAL BASE 2020 A Time for Action to Sustain US Economic & Military Leadership in Space Summary Report by: Brigadier General Steven J. Butow, Defense Innovation Unit Dr. Thomas Cooley, Air Force Research Laboratory Colonel Eric Felt, Air Force Research Laboratory Dr. Joel B. Mozer, United States Space Force July 2020 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this report reflect those of the workshop attendees, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the US government, the Department of Defense, the US Air Force, or the US Space Force. Use of NASA photos in this report does not state or imply the endorsement by NASA or by any NASA employee of a commercial product, service, or activity. USSF-DIU-AFRL | July 2020 i ​ ​ ABOUT THE AUTHORS Brigadier General Steven J. Butow, USAF Colonel Eric Felt, USAF Brig. Gen. Butow is the Director of the Space Portfolio at Col. Felt is the Director of the Air Force Research the Defense Innovation Unit. Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate. Dr. Thomas Cooley Dr. Joel B. Mozer Dr. Cooley is the Chief Scientist of the Air Force Research Dr. Mozer is the Chief Scientist at the US Space Force. Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FROM THE EDITORS Dr. David A. Hardy & Peter Garretson The authors wish to express their deep gratitude and appreciation to New Space New Mexico for hosting the State of the Space Industrial Base 2020 Virtual Solutions Workshop; and to all the attendees, especially those from the commercial space sector, who spent valuable time under COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions contributing their observations and insights to each of the six working groups.
    [Show full text]
  • Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, DC 20554 Application of Capella Space Corp. for Authority to Launch
    Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, DC 20554 Application of Capella Space Corp. Call Sign: For Authority to Launch File No. _____________________ and Operate a Non-Geostationary Orbit Satellite System in the Earth Exploration Satellite Service Application of Capella Space Corp. for Authority to Launch and Operate a Non-Geostationary Orbit Satellite System in the Earth Exploration Satellite Service William M. Wiltshire Dan Connors Paul Caritj General Counsel HARRIS, WILTSHIRE & GRANNIS LLP CAPELLA SPACE CORP. ൡ൩ൡ൩ M Street, N.W. ൤ൣ൨ Shotwell Street Suite ൨ൠൠ San Francisco, CA ൩൤ൡൡൠ Washington, DC ൢൠൠൣ൦ ൤ൡ൥-൤൨ൡ-൤൧ൢ൧ tel ൢൠൢ-൧ൣൠ-ൡൣൠൠ tel ൢൠൢ-൧ൣൠ-ൡൣൠൡ fax Counsel to Capella Space Corp. Sept ൡ൤, ൢൠൢൠ Table of Contents Background and description of services .......................................................................... 1 Description of system facilities and operations ............................................................ 3 A. Space segment ........................................................................................................... 3 B. Orbital information ................................................................................................... 3 C. Spectrum ................................................................................................................... 4 D. Ground segment and operations................................................................................ 6 E. Launch schedule .......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Proliferated Commercial Satellite Constellations Implications for National Security
    Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, together with 34 OneWeb communication satellites (Courtesy Roscosmos) Proliferated Commercial Satellite Constellations Implications for National Security By Matthew A. Hallex and Travis S. Cottom he falling costs of space launch Commercial space actors—from tiny of these endeavors will result in new and the increasing capabilities of startups to companies backed by bil- space-based services, including global T small satellites have enabled the lions of dollars of private investment— broadband Internet coverage broadcast emergence of radically new space archi- are pursuing these new architectures from orbit and high-revisit overhead tectures—proliferated constellations to disrupt traditional business models imagery of much of the Earth’s surface. made up of dozens, hundreds, or even for commercial Earth observation and The effects of proliferated con- thousands of satellites in low orbits. satellite communications. The success stellations will not be confined to the commercial sector. The exponential in- crease in the number of satellites on orbit Matthew A. Hallex is a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Travis S. Cottom is will shape the future military operating a Research Associate at the Institute for Defense Analyses. environment in space. The increase in 20 Forum / Proliferated Commercial Satellite Constellations JFQ 97, 2nd Quarter 2020 the availability of satellite imagery and Table 1. Planned Proliferated Communications Constellations communications bandwidth on the open Satellite Operator Proposed Satellites Satellite Design Life (Years) market will also affect the operating environment in the ground, maritime, OneWeb > 2,000 7–10 and air domains, offering new capabilities SpaceX Starlink ~ 12,000 5–7 that can address hard problems facing Boeing > 3,000 10–15 the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2019 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Land Remote
    2019 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation— Land Remote Sensing Satellite Compendium Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation NASA • NGA • NOAA • USDA • USGS Circular 1455 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Image of Landsat 8 satellite over North America. Source: AGI’s System Tool Kit. Facing page. In shallow waters surrounding the Tyuleniy Archipelago in the Caspian Sea, chunks of ice were the artists. The 3-meter-deep water makes the dark green vegetation on the sea bottom visible. The lines scratched in that vegetation were caused by ice chunks, pushed upward and downward by wind and currents, scouring the sea floor. 2019 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Land Remote Sensing Satellite Compendium By Jon B. Christopherson, Shankar N. Ramaseri Chandra, and Joel Q. Quanbeck Circular 1455 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DAVID BERNHARDT, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2019 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials JACIE as noted in the text.
    [Show full text]
  • Commercial Space Technology Roadmap
    Commercial Space Technology Roadmap Final Report funded through NASA grant number 80NSSC17K0330 for the NASA Emerging Space Office under NASA Research Announcement (NRA) Solicitation NNA15ZBP0001N-B1 October 2018 Authors Olivier de Weck, Ph.D | Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT He focuses on how technology-enabled systems such as aircraft, spacecraft, consumer products and critical infrastructures are designed, manufactured and operated and how they evolve over time. His research group has developed quantitative methods and tools with significant results for SpaceNet and HabNet simulation environments and impacted decision-making for complex systems in space exploration (NASA, JPL), aviation (Airbus), terrestrial exploration (BP) as well as sophisticated electromechanical products (e.g. Xerox, Pratt & Whitney, DARPA). He has co-authored three books and over 300 peer- reviewed papers to date, and has received 12 best paper awards since 2004. His book, Engineering Systems: Meeting Human Needs in a Complex Technological World, was the bestseller at the MIT Press in 2012 and has been translated to Japanese. He is a Fellow of INCOSE and an Associate Fellow of AIAA. From 2013-2018 Oli served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Systems Engineering. Currently, he is on a professional leave of absence from MIT serving as Senior Vice President for Technology Planning and Roadmapping at Airbus. Afreen Siddiqi, Ph.D | Research Scientist Dr. Afreen Siddiqi is a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Visiting Scholar and Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Siddiqi’s research interests are at the intersection of system analysis, planning and design, and technology policy for complex socio-technical systems such as spacecraft and human space exploration systems, critical infrastructure of water and energy, and national innovation systems.
    [Show full text]
  • ESPI Insights Space Sector Watch
    ESPI Insights Space Sector Watch Issue 9 September 2020 THIS MONTH IN THE SPACE SECTOR… FOCUS: COVID-19, 2020 AND EUROPEAN PRIVATE SPACE INVESTMENTS ................................................ 1 POLICY & PROGRAMMES .................................................................................................................................... 2 Vega returns to flight with the new rideshare service .................................................................................. 2 NASA takes a first step towards commercial lunar mining......................................................................... 2 White House releases SPD-5 on cybersecurity .............................................................................................. 2 ESA selects Airbus for Copernicus CRISTAL mission .................................................................................. 3 Italy signs Declaration with NASA to cooperate on Artemis ....................................................................... 3 France boosts space through its national relaunch plan ............................................................................. 3 OHB to lead the Hera planetary defence mission ......................................................................................... 3 BDI proposes sea-based small launch platform for Germany .................................................................... 4 Update of the Artemis funding requirements ................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ESPI Insights Space Sector Watch
    ESPI Insights Space Sector Watch Issue 8 August 2020 THIS MONTH IN THE SPACE SECTOR… FOCUS: EU SPACE BUDGET – A GLASS HALF FULL? ...................................................................................... 1 POLICY & PROGRAMMES .................................................................................................................................... 2 ULA and SpaceX selected to launch U.S. military and intelligence satellites ........................................... 2 Release of first U.S. Space Force doctrine ..................................................................................................... 2 New FCC licensing procedures for small satellites....................................................................................... 3 UAE will launch a navigation satellite in 2021 ................................................................................................ 3 Independent study concludes Department of Commerce best suited to take on STM leadership ..... 3 UK proposes UN resolution calling for a global discussion on responsible behaviour in space .......... 4 7th comprehensive dialogue on space between the US and Japan ........................................................... 4 Starliner first crewed mission no earlier than June 2021 ............................................................................ 4 Further increase in SLS development costs ................................................................................................... 4 Portugese Space Agency opens
    [Show full text]
  • Large Constellations of Small Satellites: a Survey of Near Future Challenges and Missions
    aerospace Review Large Constellations of Small Satellites: A Survey of Near Future Challenges and Missions Giacomo Curzi , Dario Modenini * and Paolo Tortora Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Fontanelle 40, I-47121 Forlì (FC), Italy; [email protected] (G.C.); [email protected] (P.T.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 16 July 2020; Accepted: 3 September 2020; Published: 7 September 2020 Abstract: Constellations of satellites are being proposed in large numbers; most of them are expected to be in orbit within the next decade. They will provide communication to unserved and underserved communities, enable global monitoring of Earth and enhance space observation. Mostly enabled by technology miniaturization, satellite constellations require a coordinated effort to face the technological limits in spacecraft operations and space traffic. At the moment in fact, no cost-effective infrastructure is available to withstand coordinated flight of large fleets of satellites. In order for large constellations to be sustainable, there is the need to efficiently integrate and use them in the current space framework. This review paper provides an overview of the available experience in constellation operations and statistical trends about upcoming constellations at the moment of writing. It highlights also the tools most often proposed in the analyzed works to overcome constellation management issues, such as applications of machine learning/artificial intelligence and resource/infrastructure sharing. As such, it is intended to be a useful resource for both identifying emerging trends in satellite constellations, and enabling technologies still requiring substantial development efforts. Keywords: large constellations; operations; traffic; regulation; spacecraft 1. Introduction The idea of a constellation of satellites appeared in the market about twenty years ago with Iridium and Globalstar as pioneering examples.
    [Show full text]
  • The Future of the European Space Sector How to Leverage Europe’S Technological Leadership and Boost Investments for Space Ventures
    The future of the European space sector How to leverage Europe’s technological leadership and boost investments for space ventures The future of the European space sector How to leverage Europe’s technological leadership and boost investments for space ventures Prepared for: The European Commission By: Innovation Finance Advisory in collaboration with the European Investment Advisory Hub, part of the European Investment Bank’s advisory services Authors: Alessandro de Concini, Jaroslav Toth Supervisor: Shiva Dustdar Contact: [email protected] Consultancy support: SpaceTec Partners © European Investment Bank, 2019. All rights reserved. All questions on rights and licensing should be addressed to [email protected] Disclaimer This Report should not be referred to as representing the views of the European Investment Bank (EIB), of the European Commission (EC) or of other European Union (EU) institutions and bodies. Any views expressed herein, including interpretation(s) of regulations, reflect the current views of the author(s), which do not necessarily correspond to the views of EIB, of the EC or of other EU institutions and bodies. Views expressed herein may differ from views set out in other documents, including similar research papers, published by the EIB, by the EC or by other EU institutions and bodies. Contents of this Report, including views expressed, are current at the date of publication set out above, and may change without notice. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made and no liability or responsibility is or will be accepted by EIB, by the EC or by other EU institutions and bodies in respect of the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein and any such liability is expressly disclaimed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Next Space Race—And How to Play It
    3/21/2021 How to Play the New Space Race | Barron's AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE COVER The Next Space Race—and How to Play It By Al Root Updated March 21, 2021 / Original March 19, 2021 Zoe Clark, AIT technician at Spire Global in Scotland, prepares a Lemur satellite for testing in a room optimized to check for radiofrequency inteference. Photograph by Robert Ormerod Listen to this article 14 minutes Like many kids, Luca Rossettini wanted to go to space. His wasn’t a typical childhood dream—one that fades away with age. Today, Rossettini, who was born in Vicenza, Italy, is an aerospace engineer with a doctorate in advanced space propulsion and a master’s in strategic leadership toward sustainability. He also served in Italy’s Folgore, an army paratrooper brigade. It’s an impressive résumé, but it wasn’t quite good enough to get him into space. After reaching the final selection stage for European astronauts—something that happens about once a decade and whittles 10,000 applicants down to four—Rossettini, then in his early 30s, fell just short. Disappointed, he did what anyone would do after getting so close. “I decided to build my own spaceship and go to space on my own,” he says. Rossettini founded satellite company D-Orbit in 2011. Rossettini is just one of many entrepreneurs now looking skyward for the next business opportunity. When Barron’s put space on the cover in 2017, there were few ways of playing the coming wave of space businesses. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings (ticker: SPCE) was more than two years from going public via a special- purpose acquisition company, or SPAC—still the vehicle of choice for many soon-to-be- https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-play-the-new-space-race-51616195373 1/8 3/21/2021 How to Play the New Space Race | Barron's public space companies; Viasat (VSAT) was one of the few public satellite- communication companies; and the best recommendations we could offer were defense company Lockheed Martin (LMT) and aerospace giant Boeing (BA).
    [Show full text]