Business space. Money is waiting in space, just launch a rocket

Even in science fiction, we find examples of space flights in which idealism is intertwined with commercialism. In HG Wells' 1901 novel The First Men in the Moon, the greedy Mr. Bedford thinks only of lunar gold, opposing his comrade's scientific position. Thus, the business concept has long been associated with the idea of ​​space exploration.

1. Iridium satellite phone

The global space industry is currently valued at approximately $340 billion. Financial institutions from Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley predict its value will rise to $1 trillion or more over the next two decades. The space economy is on a path similar to the Internet revolution: just as during the dot-com era, the brilliant personalities of Silicon Valley and a well-developed venture capital ecosystem created an explosive mixture exploding with new business ideas, so do startups based on bright billionaires such as Elon Musk's SpaceX or Blue Origin by Jeff Bezos. They both made their fortune during the com boom two decades ago.

Like the Internet companies, the space business has also experienced a "balloon puncture". At the turn of the century, geostationary orbit resembled the parking lot under the stadium where the Champions League final is played. The advance of the Internet overwhelmed and bankrupted almost the entire first wave of the space industry. Iridium Satellite Phone System (1) in the lead.

2. Microsatellite of CubeSats type

3. Space industry brands - list

from Bessemer Venture Partners

A few years passed, and space entrepreneurship began to return in another wave. arose SpaceX, Elon Musk, and a host of start-ups focused primarily on micro-communication satellites, also known as satellites (2). Years later, space is considered open for business (3).

We are entering a new era where the private sector offers cheap and reliable access to space. This could pave the way for new businesses and industries such as orbital hotels and asteroid mining. Most notable is the commercialization of methods for launching spacecraft, satellites, and payloads, and soon, probably, humans. According to a report by the investment firm Space Angels, a record amount of money was invested in private space companies last year. 120 investment companies type, which translates into funds in the amount of 3,9 billion dollars. In fact, the space business is also globalized and carried out by many entities outside the area of ​​traditional space powers, i.e.

The market remains less known than the US market Chinese space startups. It may seem to some that the issue of space exploration is completely in the hands of the state. It is not true. There are also private space companies. SpaceNews recently reported that two Chinese startups have successfully tested and demonstrated rockets as the basis for reusable launch vehicles. According to Reuters, it was decided to open the small satellite market to private companies back in 2014, and as a result, at least fifteen SpaceX startups were created.

Chinese space startup LinkSpace launched its first experimental rocket in April RLV-T5, weighing just over 1,5 tons. Also known as NewLine-1According to SpaceNews, in 2021 it will try to put a 200-kilogram payload into orbit.

Another company, perhaps the most advanced in the industry Beijing LandSpace Technology Limited Corporation (LandSpace), recently completed a successful 10-ton test Phoenix rocket engine to liquid oxygen/methane. According to Chinese sources, ZQ-2 it will be able to launch 1,5 tons of payload into a 500 km synchronous solar orbit or 3600 kg into a 200 km low earth orbit. Other Chinese space startups include OneSpace, iSpace, ExPace - although the latter is heavily funded by the state agency CASIC and only nominally remains a private enterprise.

A large private space sector is also emerging in Japan. In recent months the company Interstellar Technologies successfully launched into space Rocket MOMO-3, which easily exceeded the so-called Karman line (100 km above sea level). Interstellar's ultimate goal is to get it into orbit at a fraction of the government's cost. JAXA Agency.

Business thinking, or cost cutting, leads to the conclusion that doing everything on Earth and then launching rockets is expensive and difficult. So there are already companies that take a different approach. They strive to produce in space what they can.

An example is Made in space, which conducts experiments on the International Space Station with the manufacture of parts using 3D printing. Tools, spare parts and medical devices for the crew can be created upon request. Advantages great flexibility Oraz better inventory management on the. In addition, some products can be made in space. more effective than on Earth, for example, pure optical fibers. In a wider perspective don't need to carry either. some raw materials and materials for production, because they often already exist. Metals can be found in asteroids, and water to make rocket fuel can already be found in the form of ice on planets and moons.

This is also important for the space business. risk minimization. According to a study by Bank of America, one of the main problems has always been failed missile launches. However, since the beginning of the 0,79th century, space flights have become safer. Over the past twenty years, only 50% of manned launches have failed. In the 2016s, four out of five missions were unsuccessful, and in 5, the proportion of space companies fell to about XNUMX%.

School of Noise Reduction

While new rockets and spacecraft represent only a small portion, not the largest portion, of the space industry's total revenue - compared to satellite services such as television, broadband and Earth observation, spectacular rocket launches are always the most exciting. And to make a lot of money, you need emotions, marketing flash and entertainment, which is well understood by the aforementioned head of SpaceX, Elon Musk. Therefore, in a test flight, his great Falcon Heavy missiles he sent into space not a boring capsule, but Tesla Roadster car with a stuffed astronaut "Starman" at the wheel, all to the music David Bowie.

Now he's announcing he'll send two people into orbit around the moon, the first all-private space passenger flight in history. The original, similar to the Mask, selected for this mission, Yusaku Maedzawa, was required to make a $200 million down payment for a seat on board. This is the first part. However, since the total cost of the mission is estimated at $5 billion, additional funding will be required. This can be tricky considering Maezawa has been sending signals lately that she doesn't have the resources. This is probably why the loudly announced moon flight will not take place in the next few years. The question is, does it really matter? After all, the marketing and advertising carousel is spinning.

Musk is clearly from the school of business noise reduction. Unlike its main competitor, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space company Blue Origin. This one seems to follow another old business principle: "Money loves silence." It is unlikely that anyone has heard of Musk's claims that he will send a hundred people at a time in cute visualizations. starships. Less well known, however, is Blue Origin's plan to give tourists eleven-minute tickets this year. flies to the edge of space. And who knows if they will become a reality in a few months.

but SpaceX has something that Bezos doesn't. It's part of NASA's manned vehicle strategy (although Bezos did end up working with the agency on a much smaller scale).. In 2014, Boeing and SpaceX received orders from NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Boeing allocated $4,2 billion for development Capsules CST-100 Starliner (4) and SpaceX made $2,6 billion from a manned Dragon. NASA said at the time that the goal was to launch at least one of them by the end of 2017. As we know, we are still waiting for implementation.

4. Capsule Boeing CST-100 Starliner with a crew on board - visualization

Delays, sometimes very long, are common in the space industry. This is due not only to the technical complexity and novelty of designs, but also to the extremely difficult operating conditions of space technology. Many projects are not implemented at all, because they are interrupted due to problems that arise. Therefore, the start dates will be shifted. You must get used to it.

Boeing, for example, planned to fly to the International ISS in its CST-2018 capsule in August 100, which would correspond to the SpaceX Demo-1 flight in March this year (5). However, last June, a problem arose during testing of the Starliner starter motor. Shortly thereafter, Boeing officials announced that the company was postponing the test mission, known as Orbital (OFT), to late 2018 or early 2019. OFT was soon postponed again, to March 2019, and then to April, May, and finally August. The company is still aiming to make its first manned test flight to the ISS this year, officials said.

5. Extraction of the Dragon Crew capsule from the ocean after the March tests.

In turn, SpaceX's crew capsule suffered a nasty crash during ground testing in April of this year. Although the facts were reluctant at first to be revealed, after a few days it became clear that this had happened. Explosion and destruction of the dragon. , apparently accustomed to such situations, commented that this unfortunate development provides an opportunity to make the manned Dragon even better and safer.

"That's what testing is for," NASA CEO Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. "We will learn, make the necessary adjustments, and move forward safely with our commercial manned spacecraft program."

However, this likely means another delay in the timing of the Dragon 2 (Demo-2) manned test, which was scheduled for July 2019. flow and not explode. As it turned out in May, there are problems with the proper operation of the Dragon 100 parachutes, so everything will probably be delayed. Well, it's a business.

However, no one questions the capabilities and competencies of SpaceX or Boeing. Over the past few years, Muska has become one of the most active and innovative space companies in the world. In 2018 alone, it carried out 21 launches, which is about 20% of all world launches. He also impresses with achievements such as the mastery of technology restoration of the main sections of the rocket on hard ground (6) or offshore platforms. The repeated use of missiles is of great importance in reducing the cost of subsequent launches. However, it must be admitted that for the first time a successful landing of a rocket after a flight was carried out not by SpaceX, but by Blue Origin (a small New Shepard).

6. Landing main sections of the Falcon Space X rocket

A large version of Musk's main Falcon Heavy rocket - known to be already flight-tested - is capable of launching more than 60 tons into low Earth orbit. Last fall, Musk unveiled a design for an even larger rocket. Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), a fully reusable launch vehicle and spacecraft system designed for a future Martian mission.

In November 2018, the second rank and ship were renamed by Elon Musk to the aforementioned Starship (7), while the first rank was named super heavy. The payload to Earth orbit is at least 100 tons in BFR. There are suggestions that Starship-Super Heavy complex it may be able to launch 150 tons or more into LEO (low Earth orbit), which is an absolute record not only among existing, but also planned rockets. The first orbital flight of the BFR is initially scheduled for 2020.

7. Visualization of the Starship detachment from the Big Falcon rocket.

The safest spaceship

Jeff Bezos' business dealings with him are far less glamorous. Under the agreement, its Blue Origin will upgrade and refurbish Test Stand 4670 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to be able to test there. Rocket engines BE-3U and BE-4. Site 1965, built in 4670, served as the base for work on Saturn V running for the Apollo program.

Bezos has a two-stage test plan for 2021. Rockets New Glenn (name comes from John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth), capable of launching 45 tons into low Earth orbit. Its first segment is designed to be boarded at sea and reused up to 25 times.

Blue Origin has completed the construction of a new 70 sqm factory. m², designed to manufacture these rockets, is located near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Agreements have already been signed with several commercial customers interested in New Glenn. It will be powered by the BE-4 engine, which the company also sells to United Launch Alliance (ULA), a Lockheed Martin and Boeing company founded in 2006 to serve US government customers by launching payloads into space. Last October, both Blue Origin and ULA received contracts from the US Air Force to support the development of their launch vehicles.

New Glenn builds on Blue Origin's experience with the New Shepard (8) suborbital "tourist" craft, named after Alan Shepard, first American in space (short suborbital flight, 1961). It's the New Shepard, with seating for six, that could be the first tourist cruise vehicle to reach space this year, though... that's not certain.

Jeff Bezos said at the Wired25 conference last October. -

Elon Musk is known for promoting the idea of ​​making humanity "Multiplanetary civilization". Much is known about his lunar and Martian projects. Meanwhile, the head of Blue Origin speaks - and again: much quieter - only about the Moon. His company offered to develop a lunar lander. Blue Moon in order to deliver cargo and, ultimately, people to the lunar surface. It is possible that it will be introduced and taken into account in the NASA competition for lunar landers.

Orbital hospitality?

Color views on space tourism they may bring too many promises to judgment. This is exactly what happened to Space Adventures, which was sued by Austrian businessman and adventurer Harald McPike for the return of a $7 million bond paid for seats on the Soyuz mission around the moon. However, this does not stop subsequent marketers of extraterrestrial tourist expeditions.

The American company Orion Span, based in Houston, is working on a spacecraft project, for example, which it describes as "first luxury hotel in space"(nine). Her Aurora Station should be launched in 2021. A team of two will accompany generously paying clients who spend over PLN 2,5 million per night, which, with a twelve-day holiday, adds up to a total stay of around PLN 30 million. The orbital hotel is supposed to circle the Earth "every 90 minutes", offering "countless sunrises and sunsets" and unrivaled views. The trip will be an intense journey, more like a "real astronaut experience" than a lazy vacation.

Other bold visionaries from the Gateway Foundation, founded by former pilot John Blinkow and space mission designer Tom Spilker, who once worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, want to build Cosmodrome station. This will allow both scientific experiments conducted by national space agencies and space tourism. In a neat video posted on YouTube, the foundation showcases its ambitious plans, including a Hilton-class space hotel. The station should rotate, possibly simulating gravity at different levels. Those who wish are offered "membership" in the Gateway and participation in the drawing system. In return for the annual fee, we receive "newsletters", "event discounts" and a chance to win a free trip to the spaceport.

Bigelow Aerospace projects look somewhat more realistic - mainly because of the tests carried out on the ISS. She designs for space tourists flexible modules B330which decompose or "inflate" in space. The placement of two small modules in orbit added credibility to Robert Bigelow's plans. Genesis I and IIand, above all, a successful experiment with BEAM module. It was created using the same technology that was tested on the ISS for two years, and then in 2018 was adopted by NASA as a full-fledged station module.