Category: Satellites

Lift-off for Sutherland Science Festival with a SAT Roadtrip

matjazvidmar/ / Innovation, Outreach, Post, Satellites, science, Space, Travel

The Sutherland Science with Travelling Scholars is the inaugural issue of an upcoming Sutherland Science Festival. The festival has been held between 6th and 17th March 2018, roughly aligned with the British Science Week (9-18 March 2018). We have been invited along to support the festival with our trademark Space and Astronomy Tour (SAT) to engage with school and generals public on topics related to Astronomy and Space Exploration and Industry.

A Road 750 Miles Long…

As part of the festival programme, a mix of school and public events was delivered. In total, we travelled 1230km (approx. 750miles) and delivered a total of 14 different events and sessions. A map of all schools and venues in Sutherland visited by the tour is shown on the map below.

SutherlandMap

We have met with pupils from six primary schools in Sutherland, namely Scourie Primary School, Kinlochbervie Primary School, Durness Primary School, Tongue Primary School, Gledfield Primary School and Edderton Primary School. The classroom activities included Meteorite Handling, examining a Space Payload (Skylark 140 and 141 missions) and Constellation Making.

Amongst the secondary schools, the tour visited Dornoch Academy and Kinlochbervie High, at both of which we delivered talks about Space Exploration and Astronomy research (including interacting with the Space Payload and Infra-red Camera) as well as the emergence of Space Industry in Scotland, including many future academic and job opportunities. This tied in with the national SpaceCareers.uk programme of outreach.

We have also delivered two public events entitled From Dark Skies to Outer Space in the Kyle Centre in Tongue on Wednesday, 7th March and in The Hub at Bonnar Bridge on Thursday, 8th March. These events also included a mix of content, highlighting the current work across Scotland on access, research and utilisation of Space.

 

Meeting the Sutherland Community

The tour reached 191 people in total, of which nearly 75% (139) were children. We have also interacted with 37 other local residents outside the school visits, in particular through the two public events. Given this is a hard-to-reach remote rural community, such high numbers of attendees and high levels of engagement can be understood as a significant success.

Several very positive comments were received both from schools as well as from the public audiences. One of the attendees ever wrote as a thank you e-mail noting:

“I attended last night at The Hub in Bonar Bridge and I took my daughter along, we both really enjoyed the talk and she insisted we stop on the way back to look at the stars, Orion was in full view between the clouds…”How many is 1 with 22 zeros after it?” she asked. “A lot” was the best I could do.”

In many of post-event interactions, there were very specific references to the high value of our effort to reach out to the more remote communities. This is one of these comments:

“I thought I should drop you a line to say ‘thank you’ for making the effort to travel up to the Highlands to give your talk Dark Skies to Outer Space. […] We don’t get the same opportunities to take our kids along to these things as parents in the cities so it is very much appreciated when people like yourself make the effort to come up.”

We believe, however, that the public engagement interaction should be grounded in an open and honest two-way dialogue. In particular, in our engagement with the community at Tongue, we were informed of a severe lack of public discourse over the proposed Melness/Sutherland spaceport. It became clear that the developers have not been engaging the local community, past the direct landowners, in the development of the proposal. This led us to take steps to inform relevant stakeholders that a public forum over these matters should be initiated.

Sutherland (27).JPG

This project benefited from funding from a SpaceCareers.uk / UKSEDS public engagement grant and a significant investment through the British Science Association (BSA) Community Connecting Grant and BSA regional branch funds. We are very grateful for their support and this amazing opportunity to bring the cutting edge in Astronomy and Space Science Research, as well as the Scottish Space Sector development, to communities across Sutherland.

When will Space Mining be a “Thing”?

matjazvidmar/ / asteroid mining, impact, Innovation, research, Satellites, science, Space, Space Exploration, space resources, Video

Earlier this year I have been asked by the BBC to do a short comment piece about space mining opportunities and development timelines.

This was to accompany an introduction to the UK’s first space mining company, the Asteroid Mining Corporation.

Here is the resulting video (via BBC Science and Environment):

The 22-year-old running UK’s only asteroid mining business

BBCnewsStartClip

 

Outer Space – The Next Empire? (A Brief Interview)

matjazvidmar/ / arts, Edinburgh, Innovation, Outreach, policy, Post, research, Satellites, science, Space, Space Agencies, Space Exploration, STEM

Matjaz and Pippa’s CoDI show ‘Outer Space – The Next Empire?’ is on at 1.50pm, Saturday 5th August at the New Town Theatre (Fringe Venue 7).

Tickets: bit.ly/OuterSpaceEmpire

Tell us a bit about yourselves

Matjaz Vidmar – research student in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies Space Exploration and Industry in Scotland at The University of Edinburgh; science communicator at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and elsewhere; occasional blogger and writer; involved in many “out-there” ideas, including a project proposing a geostationary space station.

Pippa Goldschmidt – a “recovering Astronomer” with a PhD from The University of Edinburgh/Royal Observatory Edinburgh; worked on Outer Space policy in the UK Government, including puzzling questions such as “What is Outer Space and where does it start?”; now an acclaimed writer about science in fiction. Winner of 2016 Suffrage Science award (for women in science). Author of novels, short stories, poems and essays.

How does your CoDI show fit in with your research?

The exciting CoDI show we are hatching together fits perfectly with Matjaz’s work in trying to use arts to understand the role and importance of Space Exploration and Industry for society at large and Pippa’s creative work on how science and technology inspires and informs artistic expression.

Why is the topic ‘dangerous’?

The topic dares ask a question about what are we humans doing in and to Outer Space? In the not very distant future, humans will for the first time visit another planet (Mars). Later on we will likely establish some interplanetary outposts.

What does this mean for society down here on Earth? By reaching so far away from our planet, are we taking enough care over the possible harm we might cause to other planetary environment and life, and the possible harm we might do to ourselves?

Are Outer Space resources ours for the taking? Even if they are – who are “we”? Will it be whoever first plants the flag or do we come to a broader agreement on sharing?

How do we make sure we don’t choke our own planet in Space Debris, which is bits of disused space craft and rockets already swarming around the Earth and possibly increasing exponentially in the next few years?

Does it rightly have this label? Is the topic unjustly controversial? 

If Space Debris starts raining down on Earth, as outlined in one of Pippa’s stories, it will get pretty dangerous pretty quickly! And that is only one of the topics we will explore in the show! It may also get very dangerous for Space Dodos (whatever they are)!

The severity of danger is really in the eyes of the beholder, but we think we need to have an inspired and inspiring conversation about the scientific, technological and societal implications of exploration of Outer Space and how it touches upon other aspects of the everyday life of us Earthlings (as well as Martians!).

Describe your show in three words

Serious Space Fun

Why should the unenlightened Fringe-goer attend your show? What will they learn?

They will learn a bit about what we are up to in Outer Space and what possible futures await us.

There will be examples of how Scotland is “reaching for the stars” and how it contributes to more space waste. We will discuss whether humans are ready for space travel and if so, where you should buy your ticket!

We will talk about science, technology, ethics, politics, achievements, beliefs and imagination, mix them all together and throw in a big measure of drama and humour.

We will read some short stories and see if we can disentangle facts about Outer Space from Science Fiction.

To sum up, we will have some serious fun with some serious issues – and all in the name of science!

It is “Ignition” for UK’s Spaceport(s)!

matjazvidmar/ / policy, Post, research, Satellites, Space, Travel

The UK is well on its way to establishing the first set of spaceports outside the USA. Though the first Government consultation on the issue completed as far back as 2014 and preparations are well underway at several locations, the publication of the draft Spaceflight Bill in February has finally put on paper the future outlook for UK space access capabilities, with first launch activities scheduled for 2020.

The joined ministerial statement accompanying the launch of the draft Bill noted: “We want to see UK spaceports enabling the launch of small satellites from the UK, as well as sub-orbital spaceflights and scientific experiments. Our new laws will put British businesses at the forefront of these new space services and create jobs in communities that have not previously considered themselves to be part of our space sector.”

Instead of direct targeted government investment, which has been discussed in the past, the draft Bill is making provisions for a licensing scheme, enabling any spaceport operator to acquire permission for multi-phase launch from mainland UK, as long as they are satisfying safety requirements and having a viable business case. To assist the development of spaceports Government grants could be made available to successful applicants.

Though most operators are considering what is called a “horizontal launch”, i.e. a modified aircraft deploying a rocked powered 2-stage vehicle over the Atlantic Ocean after a “normal” runway take-off, the Bill is making provisions for “vertical launchers”, i.e. free-standing rockets, as well.

The scheme could see the establishment of a whole series of spaceports, with specialist airfields from Newquay in Cornwall, Snowdonia in Wales, and Sutherland, Campbeltown, Prestwick and Southern Isles in Scotland all separately attempting to bid for licences.

However, Stuart Macintyre from Orbital Access, who are developing a horizontal launch system to operate from the UK, sees potential for a more networked approach. He told the BBC recently that they “envisage a system of collaborating spaceports and a system of operators whose needs will describe the capabilities that are required at those spaceports.” In particular, as they would “need a diversionary site if for any reason we cannot land back at the runway from which we took off.”

But the Bill is not all about “health and safety”. The science minister, Jo Johnston, noted that “spaceflight offers the UK the opportunity to build on our strengths in science, research and innovation” and that “it provides opportunities to expand into new markets, creating highly-skilled jobs and boosting local economies across the country. That is why it is one of the key pillars of our Industrial Strategy.”

So, while not quite in the lift-off stage yet, the vision of UK spaceports clearly got to “ignition”!

 

This brief analysis was published in the May-June 2017 edition of the Popular Astronomy magazine by the Society for Popular Astronomy. Image copyright: Orbital Access.

New Space Strategies for “New Space”

matjazvidmar/ / Innovation, policy, Post, Satellites, science, Space

Two reports published over the past couple of months clearly indicate that the “New Space” concept has well and truly landed. “New Space” is the label attached to the radical shift in the Space Sector make-up, which is looking to exploit the advances in technology development and new sources of funding to establish rapid design, manufacturing and deployment of small, cheap and dispensable (or even replaceable) satellites for an increasing variety of applications, accessible to a growing number of users worldwide.

On 27th October, the OECD published its Space and Innovation report, analysing in great detail the current trends in the Space Sector and the variety of policy responses countries have been adopting. It suggests three approaches for state (and private) actors: reviewing policy in light of new developments, direct involvement in new (downstream) space activities and capturing spin-offs and technology developments. The report optimistically predicts that a new “the space sector seems to be on the verge of a new cycle of development”, with new scientific breakthroughs, technological achievements and a growing market for space(-powered) applications – and all very beneficial to the global economy.

The key contribution of the Space Sector to the economy is also recognised in the European Commission’s Space Strategy for Europe, published on the 26th October.  It sets out ways in which the EU seeks to boost growth in the sector and knowledge spill overs in other domains, both through flagship programmes such as Galileo (satellite navigation) and Copernicus (satellite imaging), science and infrastructure investment, as well as financial support for start-ups and spin-outs based on space-related technologies.

Hence Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, noted that although “Space is a key industrial sector in Europe’s economy, and a strategic asset supporting Europe’s autonomy of action at the global stage […], it needs more entrepreneurs and more private investment if it is to stay ahead of the curve.” This can of course only be achieved through public and private actors working together and pulling the (financial) weight.

Of course, these are long-term strategies and it is unclear in what way the UK Government will pursue them, though UK leadership in this area has been very strong in the past. If fact, UK National Space Policy, last updated in December 2015, is very much at the heart of the current OECD and EU thinking, however the changing global context, in particular the role of the UK in European affairs, may well jeopardise our hard-earned  position of global leadership in the Space Industry.

We may have to wait until next year’s UK Space Conference, this time in Manchester, to measure the strength of the new Government’s commitment to the sector and also global partners’ reaction to our changing position in the world.

 

 

This brief analysis was published in the January-February 2017 edition of the Popular Astronomy magazine by the Society for Popular Astronomy. Image copyright: European Commission.