How Space Tech can make governments and businesses smarter while improving life on Earth

Back in the late 1990s, we were excited if we could access the internet through a slow, unreliable dial-up service. Then came broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile internet. Now, we take the “anytime, anywhere” access offered by smartphones and watches for granted.

I believe we’re at a similar tipping point in the development and application of space technology (Space Tech). As I write, organizations are exploring everything from mining asteroids to 3D printing human organs in space. Some experts even predict that entire space cities may orbit Earth by the end of this century.

If we’ve learnt anything from the internet, though, it’s that a new frontier of technology can bring unforeseen costs, as well as benefits. So how can businesses unleash the full potential of space to improve their operations? And how can they do so responsibly, by improving life on Earth?

From a Cold War battleground to a way of paying for your coffee

I’m no expert, so I’ve been reading around this fascinating topic recently, as well as talking to EY professionals. And no doubt I’ll see lots of Space Tech startups showcasing their wares at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona (27 February to 2 March). Still, I’m only just starting to understand the role Space Tech already plays in our lives, and the scale of the opportunities it offers businesses.

Not that long ago, space was another battleground in the Cold War — so exploring it was the sole preserve of governments. That said, many of the consumer goods we use today have their origins in the space race, including water filters, LED lights and wireless headsets.

Then, in the mid-2000s, big commercial players such as SpaceX began to emerge. We have these pioneering companies to thank for the satnav we use on holiday, the TV we watch and the contactless payment that buys our morning coffee. But it’s only in recent years that growth in the sector has really begun to rocket.

That’s because technological advances have dramatically brought down the cost of venturing into space, leading to explosive growth in the number of startups and funding sources. In May 2021, there were more than 10,000 space-focused companies across the globe, reflecting a fifteen-fold growth over a decade. In the same year, annual private investment in the sector reached a record-breaking US$14.5b, up by over 50% on 2020. More players are expected to join the market as costs continue to fall.

Exploring the benefits to business

Members of this new generation of startups are launching satellite bus services and investigating wider infrastructure, including refueling stations and repair robots. They’re also harnessing microgravity to manufacture high-quality products, such as microchips and fiber-optic cable. One particularly ambitious startup, Varda Space Industries, says it plans to build “the world’s first commercial zero-gravity industrial park at scale.”

Space mining is another big growth area, with the market expected to triple in size between 2021 and 2026. And of course, someone has to clean up the “space junk” all this activity leaves behind: Nets and self-destructing robots are among the ideas being developed.

So, what do businesses outside of the sector stand to gain from these exciting developments?

As ever, the biggest benefits derive from data. Startups are applying the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools to analyze images from satellites and radar, along with data from heat and radio-frequency sensors. The resulting insights are detailed, precise and actionable — allowing companies across many sectors to make informed decisions in real time. EY has already identified 140 use cases across 10 industries — I’ve suggested just a handful here:

·??????Energy: Track and control vegetation growth near power lines to avoid outages, and decide when to swap from one renewable supply to another.

·??????Agriculture: Monitor crop development to improve yields and assess potential threats to harvests.

·??????Insurance: Predict weather risk, identify fraudulent claims and offer parametric insurance (where data from satellites automatically triggers a claim).

Using the view from space to improve life on Earth

For me, though, the most exciting application of Space Tech is in the crucial field of environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Earth Observation (EO) data sets can help organizations achieve their ESG goals by measuring, monitoring and reporting with a high level of accuracy. A tool developed by the EY Space Tech Lab in Australia has already helped one EY client to discover water leaks, for example. It’s also helped another to improve fire management by monitoring vegetation growth around remote infrastructure. In both cases, business outcomes improved in tandem with environmental ones.

Other EY teams are using data and modeling to create risk mitigation strategies for natural disasters such as wildfires. They’re also working with satellite providers to add imagery capabilities that allow clients to see greenhouse gas molecules and estimate their volume.

Meanwhile, according to the World Economic Forum, nearly all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals benefit from Space Tech. Satellite-to-cell phone technology can extend connectivity to remote, underserved areas, for example. And satellites help stop the US$73b-a-year illegal logging, fishing and wildlife trades.

Want to see what happens next? Watch this space

Space Tech indisputably offers enormous opportunities for businesses to become smarter and more productive while building a more inclusive and sustainable planet.

The EY Space Tech Lab can help them do it. As well as supporting organizations to achieve their ESG goals, it’s about to launch a platform for applications designed to boost productivity, efficiency, accuracy and predictability. As Anthony Jones, EY Oceania Assurance Innovation Leader & Space Technology Leader at EY Oceania, said in a recent blog: “I believe we’ll all be surprised by how quickly Space Tech will become central to business operations. Now it’s up to all of us to uplift our values and those of our organizations on Earth and in space.”

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The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.