The overall international space context is changing fast, and a brave new world of challenges and opportunities is opening up. âCompetition is increasing; new entrants are bringing challenges and new ambitions in space; space activities are becoming increasingly commercial with greater private sector involvement; and major technological shifts are disrupting traditional industrial and business models in the sector, reducing the cost of accessing and using space. The combination of space data with digital technologies and other sources of data open up many business opportunitiesâ. 1 In the context of the above-mentioned quote, the EU Commission was making references to the EU member states; yet, these words can be safely extended to all countries.
As the flight of Wright brothers marks the beginning of the aviation age, the Sputnik is considered the beginning of the space age, to which this book made reference in various occasions. Incidentally, more time has lapsed now from the start of the space age than between the Wright brothers and the Sputnik; yet, due to the formidable challenges of the medium and the nonlinear evolution of the sector that requires a staggering amount of investments to make progress, the space industry itself can still be considered in its infancy.
If there is something that can be caught at first glance when looking at the space sector as a whole in the last sixty years is that the model for space exploration was based on the direct involvement of governments and the military and funnelled through ad hoc space agencies. It is only in time that a competing approach has slowly emerged, towards a model of publicâprivate partnership entailing a division of labour between the two. The following chapters try to shed light on this complex matter, and they are broadly organised as follows.
Chapter 2 presents a snapshot of the world space sector in the twenty-first century, in terms of its economic dimension and the traditional actors, the nation states, but also discussing a private sector increasingly important in all segments of the space industry. It examines the model that has consistently led the pursuing of space policies, the creation of a national space agency. It is a decade-old model that looks still in favour today, as the recent institution (July 2018) of the Australian Space Agency demonstrates well.
Chapter 3 deals with the space industry analysed under its specific business characteristics, to highlight what makes the space sector an industry in its own right, but also to show that the usual business models can still be applicable, mutatis mutandis. The chapter shows how the business case analysis and project management principles can work in this specific context. It also covers the structure of the sector under its traditional upstream/downstream structure, while leaving the considerations about a more modern, value-chain approach to the last two chapters.
Chapters 4 and 5 outline one of the aspects that have changed the most in the last two decades, the geography of space and its core players. More specifically, Chapter 4 covers Europe , both as a transnational body (the EU and ESA are the obvious topics here) and as the most relevant states in the space business, while Chapter 5 is devoted to the rest of the world, highlighting some of the most important playersâUSA, Japan , China and India . A brief conclusive section includes the forerunners and the emerging countries that are likely to join the space club in the near future. Each country profile contains a brief sector description, its traditional domains (national space agencies and their links with the domestic military complex) and modern, business-oriented aspects (satellites , imageries, ISS , outer space, launching facilities, ancillary services). It also covers the specific characteristics of each countryâs space sector, which is at times peculiar, as in the case of China , Japan and India .
Chapters 6 and 7 should be read together since theyâre both making reference to the same set of international laws and treaties as a regulatory framework. Said that, Chapter 6 treats more specifically security issues, both traditional and non-traditional. The space race started in the 1950s as a military endeavour with national security purposes, carried out by the defence sector. This was the birthmark of the space sector, which is still evident especially in those countries that have joined that race later (even though exceptions do exist). The chapter analyses how wide the security concept can be extended into space and in which way international laws have shaped (or not) space weapons in comparison with nuclear arms and IBMC. The final section is devoted instead to a different kind of security risks, space debris and environmental contamination.
Chapter 7 deals instead with space treaties and laws considered in their commercial and civilian conceptions, showing how this framework has changed in time to adapt to a fast-evolving environment. It is a fact that, while the private sector is now an important actor in space economy, international and national laws disciplining it are severely lacking. If commercial activities such as space tourism , space mining and crowdsourcing in the space sector have to become mainstream, many legal hurdles must be addressed and solved.
Chapter 8 discusses the ongoing trends that will likely shape the space sector in twenty-first century, such as the new generation of telescopes (giant telescopes as much as space telescopes ), nano-satellites like the CuSat, and the sectorâs new segmentsâspace mining and space tourism âthat now look on a growing trajectory. Finally, the chapter highlights one perspective often overlooked in books about space, the so-called citizen space. It is no novelty that, after a couple of decades of dwindling interest in space explorations after the hype of the Apollo missions , people are now getting again involved, as the example of ESA Rosetta proved. Initiatives like the World Space Week, established in 1999, are a good example. The UN-sponsored event has grown into the largest public space initiative on the planet, with more than 3700 events in 80 countries in 2017.
Chapter 9 makes a recollection of the space exploration of the Solar System until today and also explores the most visionary and futurist part of space activities, whose borders blur into science fiction. There is the possibility that in fifty yearsâ time humankind will live in a different world, where artificial, asteroid-size satellites with manned stations orbit the planet, private-funded missions are at work to establish the first colony on another Solar System bodyâMars or, less likely, the Moon âand compelling evidence of alien (albeit not intelligence) life has been found in the Earthâs neighbourhood (e.g. Europaâs oceans or Titanâs methane seas).
A brief section of conclusions (Chapter 10) deals with already planned for the year just started (2019) and more in general for the next decade. The 2020s look astonishing in terms of number and quality of the missions ahead, one of them among all: the search for alien life . But not all scenarios look equally promising. Among all those positive perspectives highlighted above, there are threats looming ahead and, apart from the most obvious ones, there are others that are not exclusively linked to space exploration âsuch as climate change and security issues. The already mentioned US Space Force is only one in a general trend that can reproduce in space a dangerous geopolitical instability that exists on planet. The growing problem of debris is another, and it is an excellent example of how, in all the so-called commonsâoceans, atmosphere and forestsâcooperation and a strong, internationally recognised legal framework is paramount to ensure a bright future.
The intended audience of this book is both practitioners in the field and scholars of international relations, economics, business and security studies. There are many books on space available, especially at this crucial moment, and this one intends to contribute to two aspects.
One is the thematic extent. Much of the present literature does not explore brand-new concepts (say, asteroid mining, or the plans for lunar bases) for the simple reason that they were topics virtually non-existent just a few years ago, and theyâre still the domain of specialised press or academic articles.
The other is the interdisciplinary character of the project. The majority of the books already in the press are written from the point of view of traditional security or from a business-economic perspective, but not considering both. However, a trans-disciplinary approach is essential in the case of the space sector, especially if considered in a future perspective, given the inescapable security aspects and the obvious economic implication of any initiative.
There are two more features to highlight. The first one is that, while there is an obvious progression across the chapters, first examining what there is on planet Earth under different points of analysis and then moving to the Earthâs orbit, the Solar System and farther on, the chapters themselves are meant to be read independently. A few inter-text references and footnotes facilitate this kind of approach, listing obvious connections.
Case studies are the second feature. The rationale is to provide a spotlight to some selected topics, which have become, or are going to become, critical, or, in other cases, that are important to understanding the zeitgeist of the space sector. One, for instance, analyses the way space missions have become everybodyâs interest and even entered primary schools (ESA Rosetta ). Another covers non-traditional security issues, such as the growing dangers of debris and the legal implication of collisions (e.g. the case of the Russian Cosmos 2231 accidentally destroying the satellite Iridium 33 ). The closing case study explores instead the rich links between science and science fiction, showing how the intersection between the two is wide (scientist-writers are a common feature) and that science fiction concepts often foreshadow real science missions. Moreover, since space does not belong to Western only, the case study engages in at least one alternative vision of humanity in space in Japanâs popular culture (the Gundam phenomenon).
For practical reasons, the references for the case studies have been listed separately for the rest of the book. While references that have been used both in the book chapter and in the single case studies are present in both lists, the ones exclusive to case studies have been given in the case study only.
There are a few limitations to acknowledge about this study. A conscious decision has been made of limiting to the bare minimum the technical aspects of a notoriously tech-heavy sector. This has been a difficult choice, because it has also meant to overlook a series of relevant topicsâsuch as the technical details of SpaceXâs innovative approach and factors related to space exploration . The author is well aware of this issue. However, if there is a trove of freely available information on the web for tech-savvy space lovers, there are not enough books that cover what can be defined âthe soft side of spaceâ, which addresses its social, economic and political aspects. This is the gap the present book is trying to fill, offering only a sketch of the more technical aspects together with suggestions for further reading.
The second limitation is its geographical cover. ...