The future low space economy with ESA’s Frank Salzgeber
Here’s the skinny: people don’t read long articles. Inspired by Nobiz’s 1 minute UX snacks, we’ve summed up the essentials in a quick-version read. However, we hope this juicy summary entices you to check out the full article 😉
Head of Innovation at ESA Frank Salzgeber has a point: “Building a rocket and then throwing it away after one use makes no sense. It’s like flying to Italy and throwing away the plane you flew in with.”
For decades, we’ve treated space as some futuristic, magical place where no rules apply, and Baby Yoda runs free. Our talk with Salzgeber suggested, however, that space is an untapped playground for establishing interplanetary business models and future economies.
Low space already provides so many GPS and telecommunication services that we take for granted today. But, more importantly, it possesses the potential to become a full-blown, sustainable economy complete with satellites, space stations, filling stations, recycle offices, warehouses, repair shops, etc.– if we could only start to see it as such.
Far ahead of those of us still equating space with Star Wars, ESA & Salzgeber seek out and support startups and businesses helping actualize a low space economy. Prime examples include ClearSpace-1, which aims to remove space debris (can’t have infrastructure without waste management!), and Lilium, which has created a promising eVTOL that could change how we travel in low space.
Ultimately, the low space economy isn’t being built to benefit us today; it’s being built to benefit those three or four generations into the future. And, considering we’re the ones building it, we might as well have a say in shaping how it functions and who it serves.
It’s been a while since we had an Above & Beyond write-up, but we’re happy that we could dust off the cobwebs and rocket into the new year with Frank Salzgeber. As Head of Innovation and Ventures at the European Space Agency (ESA), he oversaw the largest space entrepreneurship network in the world for 16 years by supporting what he calls the “crazy ones” or startups paving the future of how we work with and within space.
Space is an exciting topic so, naturally, Abovers had a lot of questions for Salzgeber — including some really ‘out there’ ones like “when will the first human be born in space?” In the chaos of curiosity, however, one red thread emerged when talking about the potential of interplanetary business models.
If “business models” and “economic opportunity” weren’t the first things that popped into your head at the mention of space, we don’t blame you. Considering only a few hundred people have actually been to space, it’s not exactly familiar or relatable territory for the majority of people.
Between media franchises like Stars Wars, the highly publicized (& commoditized) space race of the 60s, and the general normalization of “space” into today’s popular culture, space functions more as a fantasy commodity to the layperson than as a viable economic opportunity. After all, it’s difficult to imagine how to build a sustainable economy trading water on the moon when only 12 people have been there.
🌍 Space economy works like any here on Earth
The consequence of fetishizing space as something only few venture to (and infrequently at that) has led to some incredibly wasteful and unsustainable habits in the past. Salzgeber had a poignant analogy to sum it up: “Building a rocket and then throwing it away after one use makes no sense. It’s like flying to Italy and throwing away the plane you used to get there.”
While this single-use approach prevailed in the space missions and explorations of yesterday, the visionaries of today here on earth are looking to space to create a long-term, sustainable economy within the low Earth orbit (or low space). Complete with satellites, space stations, filling stations, recycle offices, warehouses, repair shops, a low space economy would be able to provide and, potentially, improve much-needed telecommunications services here on Earth.
🚮 Waste management vital to space economy’s success
Salzgeber pointed out that we would be pretty lost without GPS or Internet in this day and age, all services that heavily rely on satellites. In addition, more satellites up there would theoretically be able to support more telecommunications down here. What does it mean when everywhere in the world has 5G? While it’s fun to dream, providing that kind of access requires a lot of infrastructure.
And like any other infrastructure here on Earth, waste management is crucial to its success. Satellites crashing into debris from previous explorations would have disastrous consequences (worse than when Facebook & Instagram went down for a day!). Accordingly, a crucial component of ESA & Salzgeber’s work is supporting startups and other business ventures aimed at supporting the realization of a low space economy, starting with trash! One such example is the ESA-supported ClearSpace-1 mission, which aims to remove debris from Earth’s orbit with suicide robots that will hug trash out of orbit.
Clearing out debris doesn’t just ensure that there won’t be major disruption caused by collisions in the low space but also paves the way for smooth transportation of goods and, even, people. Another ESA-backed start-up Salzgeber mentioned was Lilium, which has created an electrically powered personal air vehicle capable of hovering, taking off, and landing (commonly referred to as eVTOL). Having a personal jet might feel very “The Jetsons,” but long delays in payload transport caused by satellites falling out of orbit reads more like “just another day in LA traffic.”
🚀 Business over national interests
In many ways, the development of a low space economy functions no differently than the development of economies here on Earth– a lot of structure, planning, and regulations must be created for things to work. However, the lack of borders and ownership in space offers us a chance to take the lessons learned in the failure of economic development so far (re: colonization, war, exploitation of workers just to name a few) and do better. Here is where ESA tries to differentiate itself from other space agencies. Salzgeber said that the upcoming space race, one in which a low space economy is actualized, should be less about nations and more about good business.
What exactly does “good” business look like in the low space economy? Accountability for starters. “If you shoot something into space, you should be responsible for cleaning it up,” says Salzgeber. As far as turf wars, he also acknowledges that nations will likely duke it out for the right to claim things, they should leave it to private businesses and banks to figure out the best system forward. Perhaps, the best word of caution Salzgeber had was to focus on the business model of the space economy, not the nation or nations creating it, because people will always try to make a quick buck, and those kinds of dubious endeavors will be the ones that harm us here on Earth.
The low space economy isn’t being built to benefit us today; it’s being built to benefit those three or four generations into the future. However, considering we’re the ones building it, we might as well have a say in shaping how it functions and who it serves. Perhaps, looking to space’s future can shed new light on how to solve the problems of today.
Above & Beyond events are held internally for the Above team. The learnings and take-aways are written by Renee Semko Gonzalez and edited by myself. Thank you to Frank Salzgeber for his valuable contributions. I can only hope that this article (and every other article we share) offers you as many ideas and inspiration as it has our team.
📣 Get access to a snappy monthly infusion of the best in design & tech. Sign up for our newsletter here. It launches soon, so don’t miss out.
✍️And if you are interested in speaking at the next Above & Beyond, send us a few lines here: zoey.tsopela@above.se
In the meantime, follow us here to stay updated on future Above & Beyond insights✌️
