Daniel Smith, founder of the Scottish Government’s Astro Agency and Fire Arrow & Trade and Investment Envoy for Space, discusses recent sustainability initiatives to address the UK’s space sector and subsequent climate emergency.
The global space industry is growing at an incredible speed, and the value of space technology in our daily lives is uncontroversial. But like all other industries, there is also an increasing urgency to adopt more sustainable practices as governments aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This challenge also offers opportunities for the UK space sector, given its unique position to contribute to tackling climate emergency situations.
By embedding meaningful and sustainable practices now and exploring promising new technologies, insights from space will help all sectors better understand and respond to future environmental challenges.
The number of satellites in space is increasing
In just 10 years, the number of satellites orbiting the Earth has jumped from 1,000 to 10,000. Many send valuable data about our planets, including detecting crop diseases and moisture stress before they are visible to humans, monitoring potential landslide infrastructure, providing information on defense strategies, flagging illegal activities such as fishing, mining, and even human trafficking.
Innovation in the space sector supports almost every industry, the environment, the economy and society at large. Earth Observation (EO) from satellites has a major impact on daily activities, logistics, security and environmental efforts. Two-thirds of the 55 essential climate variables of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are measured satellites alone or mostly.
However, the number of satellites increases the congestion of some of the low Earth orbit (LEO), meaning it contributes to concerns about overcrowding and space debris. The industry must balance these essential insights with ensuring space and staying a safe ecosystem without damaging the planet in the process.
Expanding sustainability initiatives in the space sector
Luckily, the eco-friendly sector already has momentum. Beyond exciting space initiatives such as the Astracarta and the Earth and Space Sustainability Initiative (ESSI), the European Space Agency (ESA) has launched initiatives that include statements from the responsible space sector.
Meanwhile, the US-based Secure World Foundation (SWF) is holding an annual conference focusing on this topic. At the SWF conference, Astro Agency announced work on industry-first national space sustainability strategy, mapping work packages covering more than 20 years.
This is just the beginning to drive positive change. The next big leap is also based on innovation and industry-wide accountability, with sustainable efforts to implement effective spatial sustainability practices across the sector.
Adopts a complete value chain
Thinking about the net zero goals comprehensively means considering the entire value chain, from mission design to data access. From manufacturing satellite components to method and location activation, to how the generated data works, improvements can be made at every stage.
A single rocket launch has carbon footprint, but so are related activities such as spectator flights and extra fuel consumption due to rerouting ships. Fortunately, we are seeing the beginning of a change in thinking in this respect.
Investing in R&D and industry-wide collaboration
Small players are at the forefront of change. European entrepreneurs and startups are driving innovation in key areas such as space domain recognition, satellite refueling and aggressive debris removal.
Last year, the UK space agency, which is growing its space sustainability sector, announced £33 million in funding to drive investment, innovation and growth in high-power technologies across the UK space sector.
The £24 million of this fund has been distributed to eight projects, including:
Orbit Fab’s solution for satellite refueling and disposable satellite approaches. Lúnasa Space’s efforts ensure that satellites dock safely in response to an increase in space debris.
Furthermore, Scotland is building a smaller satellite than anywhere else in Europe. Companies such as Glasgow-based Spire Space Services have built and launched payloads that track debris on orbit and provide important insights into global soil moisture levels, defense, security and forest fires. Their aviation data helps airlines optimize their flight paths and reduce fuel consumption.
Another recent arrival is PCI Geomatics and DBA Catalyst, a Canadian geospatial company with offices in Edinburgh and Harwell. Catalyst supports everything from vegetation management to landslide warnings to flagging infrastructure weaknesses.
Outside of the UK space, companies like Hydrosat are developing satellites that utilize cutting-edge thermal infrared technologies and proprietary algorithms, verified through field testing, to provide timely information for more efficient irrigation and crop management practices.
Over 90 countries have taken up the global commercial space stage. But it is in Scotland that my own journey of space sustainability began with members of over 180 space business ecosystems. Supported by academia, we recognized the opportunity in 2020 to embed more sustainable practices for the first time.
Since then, Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force (ETF) has established a joint community that connects industry, government and academia in designing sustainable initiatives. In 2022, ETF was supported by Scottish companies, Astro Agency and Optimat, creating the world’s first space sustainability “roadmap.” This is used by our members every week as a blueprint to guide valuable, voluntary, open source contributions to this globally related topic.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the year is for followers of the Grassroots Space Sustainability Initiative, which is scheduled to take place in Space-Comm Scotland in December. This will provide a detailed update on the progress of ETFs as a transition to strategy from short-term tasks to medium-term tasks.
Watching the launch and LEO sustainability initiative
The satellites are small, inexpensive and long-lasting. But what about the launch vehicle? Industry giants like SpaceX and Honda have made headlines in their launches, but the UK has also achieved exciting milestones.
Based in Scotland, Skyrora has developed Ecosene, a rocket fuel synthesized from non-recyclable plastic. In collaboration with chemists from the University of Edinburgh and the Circulation Economic NGO, Skyrora engineers have developed a solution that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 45% compared to traditional kerosene. Skyora also deals with production emissions from 3D printed rocket engines, recovering up to 80% of rocket components since launch.
Meanwhile, Orbex Space has announced plans to use biopropane, which produces carbon emissions up to 96% lower than comparable space launch systems using fossil fuels. Additionally, SpacePort design and delivery expert Fire Arrow highlights their purpose to help international launch sites develop in a sustainable, responsible and advanced way.
Combined with the efforts being made by the sites that Rockets launch, things look promising. Saxavord Spaceport has also made great strides in embedding an environmentally friendly approach to spacecraft operations, and although Orbex’s Sutherland Spaceport has recently paused, it has positioned it as “the most environmentally friendly spaceport on Earth.”
Leo should also be considered as an integral part of the ecosystem or as Professor Moriba Yar at the University of Texas Austin University, often an extension of the Earth’s environment. Companies such as SpaceFlux, which specializes in Space Situation Awareness (SSA) and Space Domain Recognition (SDA), pioneer and manage the growing congestion of Earth’s orbit through a global network of advanced optical sensors, AI-based analyses, and short wave Ibrard (sware (SWARETING)).
Bold innovation and the use of environmentally friendly technologies are key to creating a more environmentally friendly space landscape. Also, sustainability must be embedded in every step of the value chain, from design and launch to Deorbit and data, for long-term effectiveness. Sustainability must become the norm rather than an exception, and be limited to emerging space players and countries.
About Daniel Smith
Daniel Smith is the founder of Astroagency, the world’s first space-focused strategic marketing company with over 70 clients in industry, government and academia. He is the Space Trade & Investment Mission to the Scottish Government and is the founding director of five space companies. He is a member of the United Nations high-level expert group on Data & Frontier Technology and the British Space Agency’s Sustainability Working Group. Daniel is also a producer of the fortitude of Apple TV documentaries and a trustee of Dnipro Kids, a charity supporting orphans in Ukrainian. His passion is to fill in technological innovation with public understanding to promote space as an important tool for life on earth.
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