Driving value from and for New Space
So, Friday was the last day of my time with the Satellite Applications Catapult. I took on the role of Strategic Commercial Account Director at this arms length government technology and innovation organisation primarily because of the opportunity to contribute to something 50 years in the making, namely the creation of a sustainable space data and space technology enabled economy.
© Descartes Lab; https://www.newscientist.com/article/2234262-hunt-through-satellite-images-of-earth-with-an-ai-search-engine/ AI can sort through satellite imagery to match man-made features
No one really needs a lesson in the many false dawns of that economy since the launch of Landsat (ERTS as it then was) in 1972 and despite the arrival of SPOT and the launch of other missions with improved sensors what came to feel like the near demise of it. Massive public and private sector investment in space technologies has underpinned the race for better (read more detailed, more frequent, more affordable, more accessible) regional and global information for policy makers to better understand the crises that have unfolded across the new millennium. The scale of that investment can be seen in the pipeline of launches slated through 2030.
Hence the role and the opportunity to support the UK space economy in a critical component of that future, the recognition of the value of that investment “up there” to businesses “down here”. If our space/geospatial/data/tech domain is genuinely to gain an ever broader footprint it must do so sustainably and that means in applications that deliver value to users on the ground. “Remote sensing”, even “earth observation” and certainly “geospatial” have long-proven barriers to entry and adoption in much of the wider commercial world. That has been changing and the chance to be part of that acceleration was a key part of the lure – getting to tell better stories to different audiences absent the tech mumbo-jumbo with a focus instead on end user benefits, the value proposition and the data value chain.
My experience may have been primarily in earth observation, location intelligence and PNT going in but eyes were also opened to how satcom and the new generation of LEO satellites can transform whole sectors of the economy. The capabilities of and synergies between these space assets open up new value and new opportunities across health and social care, maritime, multi-modal transport, supply chain and logistics, critical minerals, #agtech, #fintech, construction and much more.
I’d like to think in putting my consulting/advisory hat back on after nearly a year at that commercial coal face that eyes and minds have been expanded and that threads of interest and activity have been opened up that will bear fruit in the near future. And the great thing is you may be the beneficiary but you’ll likely not be aware of the role space data and space technology in that product or service you cherish or relish.
That is the excitement of space 4.0 or whatever number you give it – embedded and integrated tools, tech and data – it won’t scare the horses but it does warrant the scale of investment in applications that makes it sustainable.
This is fertile if sometimes complex ground to understand, navigate and maximise value from. If you think there may be some of that value in it for you but are unsure what it is and are unsure how that’s what I’m about!