Programs for Space Startups Programs for Space Startups
How to design a program and its mentoring for space startups.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
The cost of launch
Launch got 20 times cheaper
Per kilogram to low Earth orbit, Falcon 9 costs about a twentieth of the Shuttle.
- Space Shuttle $54,500/kg$54,500/kg
- Falcon 9 $2,720/kg$2,720/kg
From state to market
Government is no longer the only buyer
NASA’s share of US GDP fell from over 0.7% to about 0.1%.
Hardware takes time
Fund hardware in stages
Space hardware moves through long, costly test stages, so match support to each one.
- Design models and reviews
- Prototype engineering model
- Qualification vibration, thermal, vacuum
- Launch integration and operations
Launch and test access
Broker launch slots and test benches
Few startups can book these alone, so the program opens the doors.
- Rideshare launch slots
- Vibration and thermal vacuum tests
- Clean room time
- Ground station passes
Licensing and liability
Every private mission needs state authorization
Under the Outer Space Treaty, states must authorize and supervise private space activities.
- Who answers for a private satellite? Its state bears international responsibility.
- What does that state require? Authorization first, then continuing supervision.
Orbital debris rules
Plan the satellite’s end from day one
The FCC now wants LEO satellites deorbited within five years of mission end.
Export control
Spacecraft are dual-use items
EU law lists launchers, spacecraft, buses and some payloads; exporting them needs authorization.
- Space launch vehicles 9A004.a
- Spacecraft 9A004.b
- Spacecraft buses 9A004.c
- Certain payloads 9A004.d
Customers before launch
Meet operators and agencies early
Book sessions with satellite operators, space agencies and data buyers in the first month.
The mentor pool
Mentors who have flown hardware
Mix systems engineers with people from launch, regulation, government sales and hardware finance.
- Systems engineering design reviews and tests
- Launch and operations integration, ground segment
- Regulation licenses, spectrum, debris
- Government sales agencies and tenders
Measure progress
Track milestones, not only money raised
Hardware takes years, so follow technical and commercial proof along the way.
- Tests passed qualification steps done
- Letters of intent named customers
- Launch contract slot booked
- Runway months of cash left
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Jones, H. W. (2018) The recent large reduction in space launch cost 48th International Conference on Environmental Systems, ICES-2018-81, NASA Ames Research Center
- Weinzierl, M. (2018) Space, the final economic frontier Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(2), 173-192
- United Nations (1967) Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space Treaty), Article VI United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
- Federal Communications Commission (2022) Space Innovation; Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age, Second Report and Order, FCC 22-74 Federal Communications Commission, IB Docket Nos. 22-271 and 18-313
- European Parliament & Council of the European Union (2021) Regulation (EU) 2021/821 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items, Article 3 and Annex I (9A004) Official Journal of the European Union, L 206, 11 June 2021
Design for how space hardware grows
Fund in stages, open launch and test doors, and plan licenses early.