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Commercialisation of Space and Its Evolution

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Commercialisation of Space and Its Evolution COMMERCIALISATION OF SPACE AND ITS EVOLUTION WILL NEW WAYS TO SHARE RISKS AND BENEFITS OPEN UP A MUCH LARGER SPACE MARKET? Report 4, May 2007 Rolf SKAAR, ESPI European Space Policy Institute 1 Report 4, May 2007 DISCLAIMER This Report has been prepared for the client in accordance with the associated contract and ESPI will accept no liability for any loss or damage arising out of the provision of the report to third parties. Short Title: ESPI Report 4, May 2007 Ref.: P16- C/20490-001 Editor, Publisher: ESPI European Space Policy Institute A-1030 Vienna, Schwarzenbergplatz 6, Austria http://www.espi.or.at Tel.: +43 1 718 11 18 - 0 Fax - 99 Copyright: © ESPI, May 2007 Rights reserved - No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without permission from ESPI. Citations and extracts to be published by other means are subject to mentioning “Source: ESPI Report 4, May 2007. All rights reserved” and sample transmission to ESPI before publishing. Price: 11,00 EUR Printed by ESA/ESTEC Layout and Design: M. A. Jakob/ESPI and Panthera.cc Report 4, May 2007 2 Commercialisation of Space Foreword The main purpose of this report is to investigate if new models for sharing risks and benefits may lead to more space activities. Also included in the study are ongoing activities to reduce the cost of access to space and other efforts to make space more affordable such that there will be more space related activities. Examples of such work are the privately funded launcher development by rich entrepreneurs in the US and the increased capabilities of smaller satellites developed by universities and small companies. European Space Policy Institute 3 Report 4, May 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Executive summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 1. Capabilities in the private sector………………………………………………………………………………… 8 2. Development of commercial satellite communication………………………………………………… 9 3. Satellite communication constellations………………………………………………………………………… 11 4. Development of commercial Earth observation ……………………………………………………… 13 5. Development of commercial satellite ground station services …………………………………… 15 6. Space Tourism ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16 7. Space transportation, commercialization of launchers………………………………………………… 18 8. Could dramatic changes happen to commercial space………………………………………………… 24 9. Lessons learned, commercial space and role of the governments…………………………… 27 10. Analysis of risks and benefits of proposed actions……………………………………………………… 30 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32 Report 4, May 2007 4 Commercialisation of Space Executive Summary The prime goal of this study was to Governments may gain twice if the investigate new ways and present proposed actions are implemented. They new role models for the will pay less for the space derived development of space systems. services they need, and they will help foster a globally competitive industry. By If Governments could be smarter, take far the most critical element is to truly more risks, and change some of their reduce the cost of access to space. policies, commercial space could grow faster and would become more Contrary to general belief, commercial affordable and therefore more useful. space business is already the major The first seven chapters deals with the space activity, in particular when space development of commercial space based applications are included as space activities organized by sector, including a business. The capabilities in the private chapter on Space Tourism. sector are such that any space activity which governments wishes to do, can also be done by the private sector. This The main recommendations of the is due to the fact that over several study are: decades Space Agencies and other Government Agencies have contracted 1. Governments should stimulate out the major portion of its space demand by being “smart customers” mission to industrial companies. and give industry flexibility both in implementation and in getting The major hindrance to more space additional revenues. activities and to more space business is the relative high cost of 2. Governments should invite industry access to space and of the and make serious efforts to really spacecrafts or satellites themselves. reduce the cost of access to space. A part of this study has therefore been 3. The current challenge with Galileo is devoted to ongoing activities to make analyzed and a way forward is space more accessible and more proposed based upon an adaptation affordable. Of special interest to reduce of the way Europe has developed its cost of access to space is the new meteorological satellites and entrepreneurial companies in the US, established Eumetsat. developing with mainly private funding new launchers. 4. The most daring proposal is found in Chapters 8 and 10. Assuming prices Also mentioned in the report is space of launchers can be brought tourism, initially sub-orbital tourism. If significantly down if sufficient the current development in sub-orbital number of same type of launchers tourism leads to also orbital tourism it are used every year, it is proposed to will have a major impact of both the cost develop a system for fully automated of access to space and the volume of assembly in orbit of future medium space business. to heavy mass spacecraft, using multiple launchers, one for each In particular, the cost of manned space individual subassembly. missions could be significantly reduced both for Governments and wealthy Finally in chapter 10, the benefits individuals if the entrepreneurs succeed and risks of the proposed actions are with their ambitious plans. Also the likely analyzed. development of mini satellites is European Space Policy Institute 5 Report 4, May 2007 analysed with their potential for needs, including both civilian and becoming much more capable. military use. This has led to the creation of new entrepreneurial companies, There seems to be a substantial DigitalGlobe and GeoEye, who have difference of mentality in the private designed, built and launched optical sector between the US and Europe in earth observation satellites which they the willingness to take risks in now operate using commercial ground developing commercial space stations and commercial data ventures. transmission to reach the end-users. In the US private sector invested several These companies have their risks billion USD in the so-called satellite reduced by being guaranteed a certain constellations for the Iridium and minimum sale of such pictures, however Globalstar networks. Now wealthy the companies have all technical risks entrepreneurs are investing in the including launch and satellite failure. development of new launchers as well as They basically make their profit from in space tourism. In Europe such high selling the remaining capacity for taking risk individuals or companies are not imagery to other commercial users. visible in space ventures, with the exemption of Sir Richard Branson with Both in Europe and recently also in the his Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space US, the military needs for secure, tourism company. encrypted satellite communication is now met by commercial companies who This study gives several examples of combine the secure military satellite new and different ways of sharing payload with the standard commercial the risks and benefits of space transponders using a common missions compared to the traditional geostationary communication satellite practice. (i.e. Skynet 5 and HispaSat). Another example is ground station This has opened both for more services for telemetry, tracking and commercial space activities and helped control (TT&C) and data reception is now create new space companies. being opened for global competitive commercial tendering, allowing any A key part to foster such paradigm shift satellite owner or potential satellite is that the customer, and in particular owner to have its satellites being ground government or space agency customers, serviced from a globally competitive may buy data or information or a industry with no need to make the particular service based upon investment for their own dedicated competitive bidding, and where the ground station. supplier is free to design the means to The chapter on commercial launchers produce the customers requirements and details the historic background of also to use the government contract as launcher development and the strength an “anchor contract” to develop a system of Ariane 4 and 5 in the global market to produce the desired data, information for launch of communication satellites to or service, and keep for himself the geostationary orbit. An analysis of the additional revenues for selling more potential of the new commercially under data, information or services to other development launchers, like the Falcon customers, using the same system. family from SpaceX is given with its possible impact on the European launch In the US, the government agency, industry. It is recommended that Europe National Geospatial Intelligence Agency establish a road map for bringing up a (NGA), now procures, through the Euro-Russian family of globally Clearview programme, optical pictures competitive low cost launchers. with very high resolution, fresh, newly captured, information (40 cm ground A possible paradigm shift for both resolution and 30 minutes after a pass) commercial and institutional
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