How new satellite technology could help save the planet
Friday, November 26, 2021 | Chimniii Desk
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Key Highlights
- These applications include environmental regulation, sustainable agriculture, and humanitarian assistance.
- Since rockets and satellites have seen a radical change in cost and capability over the past decade, the cost of going into space is down almost tenfold, while the size of satellites has been lowered from tanks to shoeboxes, with the same or more functionality.
- That's when Spire alerts Iceye, who utilises its cameras to keep an eye out for untracked ships in the sky. '
- While the Seraphim Space fund has so far invested in almost 20 smaller and mid-sized players, including another sustainability-related investment today, the likes of Procure Space UCITS ETF, its US-listed old sister Procure Space ETF, and fellow US-listed SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF are picking and choosing among the larger satellite operator and aerospace behemoths for their portfolio.
- V2 comes into play here, according to Boggett, when the cost of sending anything into space is reduced from US$1,000 per kg to US$200 per kg.
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New applications for space technology are being made possible because to advancements in rocket and satellite technology. These applications include environmental regulation, sustainable agriculture, and humanitarian assistance.
Investors are more concerned about environmental and social issues, and the space business has been the target of some unpleasant attention recently.
A new infrastructure has been built in orbit around Earth thanks to technical advancements over the past decade. This infrastructure includes a variety of applications, including environmental regulation, sustainable agriculture, and humanitarian relief organisations.
Since rockets and satellites have seen a radical change in cost and capability over the past decade, the cost of going into space is down almost tenfold, while the size of satellites has been lowered from tanks to shoeboxes, with the same or more functionality.
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, along with the likes of Google's Sergey Brin and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, have made a significant impact on how computers function.
However, it is important to point out that private companies like SpaceX and Falcon 9 are still relying on the work of Nasa and academics in the field of rocket science, which is why the cost of travelling into space has dropped significantly in recent years.
Smaller and more affordable satellites have made it possible for even start-up enterprises to launch large numbers, as Mark Bogget, CEO of asset management Seraphim Space, says in a blog post (Manager).
A digital infrastructure in the sky is what we refer to as these constellations of satellites that are gathering massive volumes of data or providing communication at an extremely low cost.
They can now keep track of everything that's going on on our globe, from evil guys who dump effluent into a river to all sorts of criminal actions, and this gives us the ability to use resources more efficiently.
One of the best instances is Spire Global Inc (NYSE:SPIR), which recently went public in New York, and Planet Labs Inc, which is on the cusp of joining it via a SPAC merger.
To monitor and predict environmental change, Spire employs its constellation of 110 tiny CubeSats. It also provides maritime tracking services.
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Planet Labs and Iceye, on the other hand, use a constellation of satellites to picture the entire planet's surface to enable "change detection."
Documenting the existence and scale of Uighur Muslim internment camps in China, an Iranian missile facility, and unlawful Amazon deforestation was done using Planet's technologies.
The Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SSITportfolio )'s companies, Spire and Iceye, work together and separately on various projects.
24/7/365, Spire's tracking system precisely watches every ocean-going vessel's AIS tracking system.
Iceye's high-resolution cameras can see ships as small as 20 centimetres in diameter at any time of day or night, regardless of weather conditions on the surface of the earth.
When one of these boats wants to do anything naughty, they turn off their tracker, explains Boggett. That's when Spire alerts Iceye, who utilises its cameras to keep an eye out for untracked ships in the sky. '
The weight of whatever the ship just unloaded can be calculated by comparing the size and form of the boat's wake, or if an untracked boat meets up with another that has also turned off its tracker for possible illegal acts.
A wide range of industries can benefit from change detection, from determining how many bricks have been put on a building to ensuring the safety of heavy machinery on a construction site.
To follow up on an earlier agreement with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assist in monitoring and responding to maritime environmental risks, Iceye announced two new business alliances this month.
UNCTAD's study earlier this year detailed a wide range of significant uses of space technology, including telecommunications to rural locations, which SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon.com's Project Kuiper are touting as ESG credentials.
Public health case studies included the South African Space Agency's use of satellite data to locate informal settlement and monitor potential malaria and other pandemic hotspots; Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, which mapped hard-to-reach areas to implement infectious disease control measures; and the German Aerospace Centre's use of geospatial analytics to provide proof on air quality during the Covid pandemic.
Afri Scout, a satellite-powered app, is used in numerous African countries to help farmers better divide resources by using data from Radarsat remote-sensing observation satellites in agriculture.
Even before we get to 'V2' things like space solar farms, space agriculture, and the like, companies providing services today are what you might term 'V1.'"
While the Seraphim Space fund has so far invested in almost 20 smaller and mid-sized players, including another sustainability-related investment today, the likes of Procure Space UCITS ETF (LSE:YODA), its US-listed old sister Procure Space ETF (NASDAQ:UFO), and fellow US-listed SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF are picking and choosing among the larger satellite operator and aerospace behemoths for their portfolio.
When you see images of a Nasa rocket blasting off, which consumes 11,000 pounds of fuel every second, it's easy to see why environmental problems remain a source of concern for some investors.
In spite of the fact that the fuel consumption of the Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos rockets has been significantly reduced, they still generate a big mushroom cloud's worth of emissions as they sear up through the stratosphere, with an estimated 200-300 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
V2 comes into play here, according to Boggett, when the cost of sending anything into space is reduced from US$1,000 per kg to US$200 per kg.
There are so many new possibilities in space now that this is possible." So, for example, there may be data centres in orbit or even solar farms.
Many panels and a way to return the energy they generate to Earth are the two requirements for a solar farm in orbit. As a result, we will no longer be consuming fossil fuels. However, we're going to clean up our world, but we'll also be able to take advantage of a big resource that will be both cheap and environmentally friendly at the same time! At that moment, we were all driving electric automobiles. As a result, it has the potential to save our planet.
There's not enough land on Earth to grow enough food to feed everyone on the world. 'Think about agriculture in space' There's a lot we can do in space since there's so much of it.
This means that in V2, we're going to have to fix these issues."
The impact on the world will be enormous."
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