The UK has 2000 space SMEs but few have managed to scale. With the right incentives and regulatory environment the industry can go interstellar, says Andrew Turner Shipping in the 1700s, cars in the 1800s and aviation in the 1900s – throughout history London has been the global hub for financing era-defining technology. I believe… Continue reading How to get UK space SMEs beyond the final investment frontier
Some tech sectors are advancing fast, and others are moving at rocket speed, all will change how the World works, some will adjust the character of war, and potentially its nature too. Of these Quantum computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and Space are at the leading edge. Whilst Defence is driving all, Space needs more… Continue reading Elevating Space – the Defence Command Paper
OneWeb is accelerating in all sorts of impressive directions – clever orbits, optimised performance/cost business model, challenging the biggest players and expanding into new payloads, services, and capabilities. But will the UK Government seize the opportunity on a plate or will OneWeb follow other previous Great British inventions – overseas to be industrialised and monetised… Continue reading OneWeb – Covering the Earth
The importance of Space Domain Awareness (SDA) is rising logarithmically with the number of objects in Space. Systems that enable better understanding of the orbital environment are increasingly crucial to all activity above the Kármán Line and the consequences they generate for life on Earth. But plotting paths to orbit, penetrating through to beyond, knowing… Continue reading Seeing Clearly – the Importance of SDA
The Ukraine war has dramatically reduced Space launch capacity and this will not return anytime soon. Burgeoning demand has triggered a Global race to build facilities to capture the trade and several nations are considering their position (literally and metaphorically). China is one, recently investing in Djibouti with an eye on the regional market and… Continue reading The Rocket Launching Race
Missed by many, but on the 27th of January two bits of Russian space junk travelling at 26,000 kph, 984 km altitude above the Earth missed each other by 6m; this was a remarkable ‘escape’. If they had collided the resultant debris field would have been enormous, lasted for decades and obscured another part of… Continue reading Russian Space Junk Drama
Much has been written about the Virgin Orbit horizontal launch two weeks ago, above all, it shows how tough Space is. But no matter how challenging to achieve, a national launch capability is vital if the UK is to have a seat at the top table. Our unique geography enables an exciting mix of both… Continue reading Launch – a vital UK Space capability
The first priority of any Government is to protect its people and their way of life (values, ethics, customs and economic system). Whilst most thinking has focussed on Earth war, the effects in Space would be far more diffuse, devastating, and long-lasting. So, as Space is an increasingly intrinsic part of our everyday lives, adversaries… Continue reading Space War – Unconscionable, but needing more thought
The passing of lethal authority to the military is a matter of enormous gravity, must be clearly separated from civil and commercial activity and rescinded at the earliest opportunity – ambiguity can be catastrophic. But unlike the air, maritime, land and to a lesser extent cyber domains, there is far greater inter-dependency between civil, commercial… Continue reading Dual-Use – Balancing the Equation
On 7th December, the UN approved the call for a moratorium on anti-satellite destructive tests. The debris that tests cause adds dramatically to problematic levels in Space, which has been growing for decades and now seriously congests certain orbits; this must be addressed urgently. Whether tests cease or not, we must clean up Space which… Continue reading Space…Jammed with Junk…and Opportunity
