VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 3 www.spaceindustrybulletin.com Space Industry Bulletin Market analysis and business intelligence for the space community Identifying and minimising risks from UK spaceport operations ew technology is redu- perspective. People near to a cing the cost of access spaceport or near to a spacecraft Nto space, and there is an flight path should not be exposed opportunity for the UK to thrive to unacceptable levels of risk CONTENTS in this new space age. Market from a spacecraft launch. research reveals that the UK Methods for assessing the Industry news 2 could compete in a high value risks to individuals from a space - l Orbex reveals further satellite market to launch an estimated craft launch have been identified. customers 2,000 satellites by 2030, but be applied by any spaceport or Using zones of individual risk per l £18m for OneWeb to boost such activity means safety is an spacecraft operator when year can show where people may its global comms vision Virgin Galactic makes space for important consideration. launching from the UK. Depend - be exposed to unacceptable risks. l second time A key requirement for the ing on the operations being car - The use of individual risk per l Harpoon successfully captures government is that any space- ried out there is likely to be a year of a person being harmed space debris port or spacecraft operator need to ensure the health and also allows spaceflight risks to l Launch of rocket from high- should make sure that the risks safety of workers and the general be compared against other high altitude balloon makes space more to people from any spaceflight public from the hazardous fuels hazard industries and activities, accessible to microsatellites activities are minimised. used for spacecraft. such as aircraft transportation, l UK space industry is far ahead of There are a number of exist - There is also a need to make and large chemical sites, and other European nations ing health and safety legal re - sure that a spaceport location so on. quirements that might need to is suitable from a public safety l Full report page 6 UK launch operations 6 l Assessing the risk to individuals from UK spaceport operations Investors see value in technology Space industry regulation 8 l Applying for a future licence to tackle space debris challenge under the Space Industry Act Funding and financing 10 ver the years, more than greater than 10cm, some l Venturing into space debris –a 500 break-ups, explo - 900,000 objects from 1cm to new frontier sions, collisions and 10cm and as many as 128 million O l Entrepreneurship and private anomalous events have contribu - objects from 1mm to 1cm. investment in the space sector red to a total mass of over 8,400 Recognising that space debris tons of debris orbiting the Earth. poses an imminent threat in low - Satellite market analysis 14 Around 22,300 objects are er Earth orbit, and that the issue l What lies ahead for the regularly tracked by Space is only going to get trickier to re - smallsats market? Surveillance Networks, but even solve, new investment opportu - lites and aiding in their disposal. this is only a tiny fraction of the nities are likely to emerge, fo - And investors will pay higher Future missions 16 total debris in orbit. Statistical cused on areas such as data prices for businesses that have NASA solicitations 17 models estimate that there could gathering, the monitoring of achieved set milestones. ESA invitations to tender 20 be 34,000 objects with size scrap, extending the life of satel - l Full report page 10 UK Space Agency grants 22 THIS ISSUE IN NUMBERS... Ton8s o,f s4pa0ce 0deb ris €T1ota4l of1 topm 5 Comm6erc6ial 3smallsats G£ra1nts2 fro.m9 thm e UK Compa7nie1 s making £Cum1u4lati.ve9 Spm ace estimated to be investment deals launched over the last Space Agency in smallsats for the first Camp investment orbiting the Earth in 2018 seven years December time in 2018 through 2018 Page 10 Page 12 Page 15 Page 22 Page 14 Page 11 Industry news Orbex reveals further £18m for satellite customers its global K Space Agency rbex used the opening funding of £18 million of its new HQ and rocket Uhas been awarded to Odesign facility in Forres, OneWeb through the Scotland, and the public European Space Agency to unveiling of its Prime rocket, to aid the development of its announce further customers next generation satellite who will launch their satellites constellation. from the Sutherland spaceport. The system will be On Orbex Prime's maiden comprised of approximately flight from Scotland in 2021, the 650 satellites initially and rocket will carry an experi- scale to more than 900 mental payload from Surrey satellites over time. The vision Satellite Technology. This is that the deployment of the launch will represent an constellation could important first for the UK provide more commercial space industry, the planet, including regions 3D printed rocket engine, made affordable internet demonstrating the UK's end-to- currently considered remote or in a single piece without joins. connectivity to people and end launch capability with a UK inaccessible. Orbex says this gives the engine businesses around the rocket launching a UK satellite One of the leading an advantage over other rocket world. from a UK spaceport. companies in the European engines, which can suffer from OneWeb CEO Adrian Orbex also announced that space sector and strategic weaknesses associated with Steckel said: “Providing Swiss-based Astrocast SA, has investor in Orbex, Elecnor joining and welding. access to people selected Orbex to launch Deimos, has also confirmed Thanks to their novel everywhere has been multiple nanosatellites for the that it has contracted with architecture, Orbex claims the mission and vision development of a planet-wide Orbex for up to 20 satellite Prime launchers are up to 30% of OneWeb since the Internet of Things (IoT) launches. lighter and 20% more efficient very beginning. We will network. Astrocast’s satellite- The completed engineering than any other vehicle in the be able to realise this based IoT network will prototype of the Stage 2 rocket small launcher category, vision in part because of eventually include 64 is made from a specially- packing more power per cubic nanosatellites, spread across formulated lightweight carbon litre than many heavy eight strata above the Earth to fibre and aluminium composite launchers. They are designed to deliver IoT connectivity across and includes the world’s largest work with bio-propane. Harpoon successfully captures space debris he RemoveDEBRIS its Spacecraft Operations “This inspiring project shows satellite has Centre in Guildford. The that UK experts are coming up Tsuccessfully used its RemoveDEBRIS team is now with answers for this potential on-board harpoon capture preparing for the final problem. This mission is a system in orbit. The harpoon experiment, which is set to powerful example of the UK's was fired at a speed of 20m take place in March and will expertise in space technology, per second and penetrated a see RemoveDEBRIS inflate a and shows that by working target of satellite panel sail that will drag the satellite together our world-class material. into Earth’s atmosphere universities and innovative The harpoon and 1.5 metre identify a target cubesat. The where it will be destroyed. Chris companies can hugely target boom were designed by a RemoveDEBRIS satellite Burgess, harpoon lead engineer contribute to the government’s team at Airbus in Stevenage, platform was designed and at Airbus Defence and Space, aims for a highly skilled and the success of the harpoon manufactured by SSTL to house said: “Successful in- space economy through our modern firing marks the third successful two target cubesats and four demonstration of the harpoon Industrial Strategy.” experiment for the debris removal technologies: a technology is a significant step The US Space Surveillance RemoveDEBRIS project which net, a harpoon, vision based towards solving the growing Network tracks 40,000 objects has already demonstrated a net navigation using cameras and issue of space debris.” and it is estimated that there are capture experiment and trialled LiDaR, and a de-orbit dragsail. Chris Skidmore MP, minister more than 8,400 tonnes of its state-of-the-art LiDAR based The spacecraft is operated in of state for universities, science, ‘space junk’ in and around vision navigation system to orbit by SSTL's engineers from research and innovation, said: Earth’s orbit. 2 www.spaceindustrybulletin.com Industry news Virgin Galactic makes OneWeb to boost space for second time n its fifth supersonic comms vision rocket powered test important partnerships like realising global 5G Iflight, Virgin Galactic this one with the UK Space connectivity.” has reached space for Agency, ESA and a range of Science Minister Chris the second time. other important partners Skidmore added: “The Spaceship VSS Unity including our European and commercial potential for a reached its highest Canadian partners. cost-effective worldwide speed and altitude to “Thanks to this support, telecoms satellite system is date and, for the first we will focus together on next huge, and the UK space sector time, carried a third crew I am incredibly proud of my generation technologies that is playing a leading role in member on board along with crew and of the amazing teams will be game changers for delivering it. This new £18m research payloads from the at Virgin Galactic and The investment will go towards NASA Flight Opportunities Spaceship Company for meeting the significant program. providing a vehicle and an technical challenges of the The hybrid rocket motor operation which means we can project, putting the UK at the propelled the spaceship at Mach fly confidently and safely.