Space the New Global Frontier

By Robin Austin, July 15, 2019 TRUTH WILL OUT on cio.com

How would you like to move to the Moon or Mars? “Urgency must be our watchword," Vice President, Michael Pence said at the recent National Security Council (NSC) meeting in Huntsville, Alabama making it unquestionably a renewed space race for the US. This time a global list of competitors are suited-up and on the field: Russia, China, India, the United Kingdom (UK), North Africa and United Arab Emirates (UAE) just to name a few. Nigeria plans to send its first astronaut into space by 2030 after having launched its first satellite on June 1st, 2019 from Kennedy Space Center Florida.

Massive Satellite Launch Just the Beginning

Living on Mars is not just a Star Trek episode anymore and CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to fund his colonization of Mars through the revenue he obtains from his current Starlink project. Starlink’s ability to provide global internet connectivity continued on May 23, 2019 with SpaceX’s launch of 60 additional constellations to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites now totaling 500. With each SpaceX launch the number of satellites placed into orbit quadruples. By launch number 30, Musk’s SpaceX plans to launch 1800 Starlink satellites expanding earth’s global internet service coverage especially with 5G on the way. The Federal Communications Commission has granted SpaceX permission to launch a total of nearly 12,000 Starlink satellites. “Space” is really getting crowded.

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is not to be left behind and Amazon’s Project Kuiper is only a “big toe” stuck in the space race pool of participants with only unconfirmed plans being developed. Although Bezos is behind, as technology leaps forward making satellites smaller and radio transmission more powerful, it may be possible for maximum coverage with fewer well placed satellites so later comers in the space race may still be able to compete if the early adopters don’t get there first. On the other hand, the orbital sky is getting very crowded and replacement satellites are part of Musk’s business model.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg Facebook’s Athena project is licensed by the FCC through PointView Tech, LLC a Facebook subsidiary and claims that Athena’s millimeter-wave radio signals will provide speeds of up to 10 gigabytes per second, ten times faster than those specified by Starlink; at least specified for now. Unfortunately, these millimeter-wave radio signals may be weakened and intermittent as they are transmitted through earth’s unpredictable atmospheric conditions. Many thousands of LEO satellites will be required to transmit so cooperation with Musk’s orbital satellite domination may be required. Musk’s Starlink may ultimately make him “King of the Hill” thus being first at the top with others having to buy band width from him or fight to topple him. At this point, Drones are more Zuckerberg’s project Athena’s device of choice.

Google’s Loon project relies on stratospheric balloons. Google in collaboration with Softbank is today partnering with Kenya’s telecom companies to deliver internet services from their atmospheric balloons. Softbank is building a drone of its own so Google may be deploying drones soon as well.

 Satellites beyond American companies

Five CubeSat’s Bi-spectral and Infrared Remote Detection (BIRD-1) satellites belonging to Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria and Bangladesh were recently launched by SpaceX Falcon9 Rockets. CubeSats are miniaturized satellites designed for space research and are typically constructed from off-the-shelf components of multiple cubic units. CubeSat Space Protocol (CSP) is a small protocol stack written in C Programming Language that follows the TCP/IP model containing a transport protocol, a routing protocol and MAC-layer interfaces. CSP is designed to ease communication between distributed embedded systems in smaller networks, such as CubeSat BIRD-1’s. They are the first of many satellites produced through a multinational program called the Joint Global Multi-Nation BIRDs Satellite project, or BIRDS Project through sponsorships and grants facilitating countries to build their first satellite.

BIRD-1 is a small (92 kg) boxlike satellite system with 2 solar-panel collectors that utilizes a neural network for data classification. With an inclusion of a stereo camera and two infrared cameras the BIRD-1 can acquire photosynthesis data for the early identification and diagnosis of vegetation conditions as well as the real time identification and variation in atmospheric conditions.

 Where is NASA in all this?

NASA’s purpose and mandate is to “explore space” and with the support from private space company partnerships, NASA’s 2030 goal is to establish “a permanent human presence on the moon” while laying the foundation for lunar scientific research. The Trump Administration has stated a new 5-year goal for NASA’s putting a human on the moon now called Moon 2024 along with a Mars 2022 scheduled launch continuing its Mars scientific discovery and robotic probative efforts. 

Space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, Canada totaling 15 governments in all formed The International Space Station Program in 1998 to cooperatively share international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launches, operations, training, engineering, and development facilities; along with communications networks, and the international scientific research community. Although somewhat complicated in nature, many private space companies have taken advantage of this agreement crossing international financial and scientific boundaries to obtain their share of the predicted 2030 $3-trillion space industry. 

The United Kingdom (UK) Space Agency (UKSA) through UK funding has agreed to be a partner to space and satellite manufacturers hence owning 6.5% of the current $384 billion space economy and providing space launches for the first time in history. In July, the UKSA signed partnerships with several US space and satellite companies of which the UK awarded Lockheed Martin $30 million to create and build an orbital launch site for small rockets. In agreement fostered by Highlands & Islands Enterprise an economic development agency, Melness, Scotland was the launch site selected.

Along with the UK currently having the largest number of smaller-satellite manufactures in the world, they also have extensive facilities to manage and operate those satellites once active. Bank of America predicts that the UK will grow overall from 6.5% to 10% thus owning $109 billion of the total $3-trillion space manufacturing business by 2030. “Money is actually being allocated to specific places for the first time,” Bleddyn Bowen, a space policy expert at the University of Leicester, told CNBC. “The UK government and the various parts of the UK space sector have been talking about this for 10 years.”

 Trump’s space race remnants of Kennedy

When asked, Vice President Pence stated that “America’s giant leap” is establishing a permanent lunar base near the Moon’s South Pole where an abundant supply of water ice is seen present in shadowed craters. Scientists will live and work at that lunar base to establish a human community while providing a further launch place for Mars and other planets. “The NSC, which helps steer and streamline the nation's space policy, has recommend that NASA's next crewed surface mission target that region,” Pence said. Although NASA’s is completely dedicated to continue America’s forward space exploration policy, The Trump Administration has opened the door for private companies to complete the Moon 2024 commitment if NASA falls short. The Trump Administration much like Kennedy in 1969 has strong convictions about America’s successful space goals by 2024 and although Pence says this is a very aggressive timeline, both Trump and Pence agree that it is doable. The President has demanded an “all-hands-on-deck approach.” When the private sector companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and others agree to meet Trump Administration’s 2024 mandate it is hard to subsidize NASA’s more than additional decade timeline. "NASA must transform itself into a leaner, more accountable and more agile agency,” Pence said finally.

The new space race is definitely underway with Russian Cosmonauts only being one group and one country competing with America for this historical swansong. America is competing globally with Russia, China, India, North Africa and United Arab Emirates (UAE) who the World Economic Forum has named “the country with the most competitive economy in the Arab world.” Since, no one has stepped foot on the moon since December 1972’s Apollo 17 mission when the 2 US astronauts became the last of 12 who had the honor to step foot on the Moon.

In 1972, the Vietnam War had taken center stage and the American people found little interest in space exploration when their boys were fighting and dying beyond their understanding. By President Donald Trump’s signing of the “Space Policy Directive 1” in December 2017 changing United States national space policy, a US-led Public/Private space exploration program and partnership became front and center for the Trump Administration. Now, US Policy stipulates a directive for an American human to return to the Moon and then continue with missions to Mars and beyond.

Who will live on the Moon in 2030? Will those who live there provoke tyranny and war to destroy the earth or will they peacefully build an international form of cooperative government allowing freedom and improving on the America we know and love? Common sense says that on the Moon there will be a greater risk for survival. The need for survival can make for strange bed-fellows who seek a core of coexistence, cooperation and sharing. Stranger things can happen.