Outer space is open for business
Conference seeks ways to attract more private enterprise ventures
A few miles from the Rice University campus where President John F. Kennedy pledged to land a man on the moon a half-century ago, more than 1,500 space enthusiasts from around the world have gathered this week to discuss the commercialization of outer space.
The global space economy, primarily due to satellites beaming television channels, GPS signals and other services, was about $320 billion in 2014, a panel moderator from the Tauri Group reported Tuesday during the opening of the inaugural Space Commerce Conference and Exposition at the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown.
These satellites are an important aspect of space commerce and provide ample commercial opportunities, but the SpaceCom attendees are dreaming bigger. They discussed spaceports, commercial flights to the International Space Station and other ways to get more people and products into space with less expense.
To make space viable for the private sector, they agreed, NASA cannot be their only customer.
“If we’re the only customer, we’ll never be success-
“Innovation is all around us right now in space. We have to grab it with both hands and take advantage of it, or it will just sweep past us.” George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic
ful in what we’re trying to do here today,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said.
Private industry is playing an increasingly important role in space, and space technology is solving problems on Earth. This crosspollination of industries is a central theme for SpaceCom, which runs through Thursday. Its goal is to connect people from the aerospace industry to those in energy, medical, satellite and communications, maritime and advanced manufacturing.
“Innovation is all around us right now in space,” Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said. “We have to grab it with both hands and take advantage of it, or it will just sweep past us.”
Among the current challenges, he said, is getting more vehicles, including Virgin Galactic’s, to pass tests to get them into commercial service.
Houston’s Johnson Space Center is already tapping into the commercial market locally. Director Ellen Ochoa said JSC has partnered with Houston Methodist to evaluate imaging of spaceflight hardware using a CT scanner attached to robotic arm. The scanner creates 3-D pictures that can be used to better diagnose malfunctions.
Space and deep water
Mark Gittleman, executive vice president of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, an engineering think tank that studies the intersection of aerospace, energy and medicine, cited similarities between exploration of space and of deep water. Both require bulky suits and complex structures working in harsh environments, for example, and he said advances in space technology can help energy companies cope with low oil prices.
Intuitive Machines, for instance, is applying spacecraft guidance, navigation and control techniques to help drillers be faster and more accurate.
More than 1,800 technologies have been spun off from NASA activities, Bolden said.
“As we speak today, NASA is partnering with American businesses on everything from 3-D printing to high-performance computing to small satellite technologies,” he said.
He also discussed NASA’s working relationship with SpaceX and Boeing to provide commercial transportation to and from the International Space Station. That includes human flight.
Mars in the 2030s
As commercial companies handle trips to low Earth orbit, NASA can focus on its Orion spacecraft and its goal to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s.
“At NASA we recognize that by working together across sectors and across countries, we will reach our goal of sending astronauts to the red planet in the 2030s,” Bolden said. “So we’re actively seeking out partners: industry partners, international partners, academic partners, citizen scientists.”
Mayor Annise Parker highlighted the city’s history in aerospace and Ellington Airport’s license to build a spaceport. Citing the city’s strong energy, medical and transportation industries, she called Houston a place where innovation can flourish.
Kim Slater, program manager of space science for Boston-based Draper, attended SpaceCom “to see where NASA and industry are progressing in the small satellite industry,” which she said provides data to solve humanitarian, commercial and scientific problems.
Draper is a nonprofit research and development company most known in the space realm for its guidance and navigation, which was recently used in NASA’s Orion flight test.
Slater has been to many NASA conventions and many commercial space conventions, and she said this one likely has the best representation she’s seen from both NASA and private industry.
“I think this is the first time I’ve really seen a good contingent from both sides working together,” she said.