ROOM
3
Foreword
Gateway to a
world of future
opportunity
Clive Simpson
Managing Editor
Igor Ashurbeyli
Editor-in-chief
C
ompared to even a few years ago there
appears to be a growing shift in both
the perception of and ambition for what
can be realistically achieved by the
global space industry.
Nations that eschewed a space presence
in the past, perhaps because of cost, are now
attracted by an increasing array of commercial
opportunities and, in many cases, the absolute
need to be up there with the rest.
Miniaturisation is playing no small part in this
revolution as cubesats and nanosats begin to
deliver ever more sophisticated payloads at the
kind of affordable costs that were little more than
a pipe dream a decade or more ago.
Articles in this third anniversary issue reflect
the rapidly evolving global space scene, providing
a unique and diverse perspective into the
achievements, practicalities and visions of the future.
Nowhere is this better illustrated than by
Anthony Freeman, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, who dispels the view in ‘Big science
from small spacecraft’ (p. 18) that planetary
exploration is the domain of large multi-
payload spacecraft.
Emerging markets are eager to make their mark,
as Temidayo Oniosun, from Nigeria, describes in
‘Africa is open for business’ (p. 58), and Narayan
Prasad, coordinator of the ‘NewSpace India’ digital
platform, supports in his article ‘India’s dynamic
ecosystem for space entrepreneurship’ (p. 62),
In parallel, disruptive trends continue to shake
up the accepted way of doing things and in
‘On-orbit assembly will deliver major benefits
in the coming decade’ (p. 10) Iain Boyd, of the
Washington-based Science & Technology Policy
Institute, assesses how this might impact future
space missions.
And, in the aptly titled ‘Space invaders
initiate disruptive EO trends’ (p. 26), Gil Denis,
of Airbus Defence & Space in Toulouse, views
the convergence between defence needs
and commercial capacities as a challenge to
the paradigm of traditional leadership led by
governments and public organisations.
Bigger and more distant dreams are afoot too.
In ‘Space nation set to mark its presence in orbit’
(p. 33) Lena De Winne provides a report from
Hong Kong on the announcement in June that the
world’s first space kingdom, Asgardia, is preparing
to launch its inaugural satellite.
The Asgardia-1 nanosatellite will carry into orbit
digital messages from around 250,000 Asgardian
citizens and their families, marking the first stage
in a long-term vision to provide orbiting bases and
help protect Earth from space hazards.
Looking to deep space, Seth Shostak of
California’s SETI Institute suggests in ‘Science
searches for cosmic company’ (p. 76) that the
discovery of alien life is now more likely than
ever before, whilst astronomers Manisha Caleb
(‘Telescope targets enigmatic deep space mystery’
p. 80) and Robert Izzard (‘Binary stars and
their extraordinary lives’ p. 84) push back the
boundaries of cosmic astronomy.
This issue (number 12) marks the third
anniversary of
ROOM’s
publication, during
which time the magazine has matured in
reputation and global reach. Not only a valued
source of information,
ROOM
is also a forum
for informed comment and opinion. Its vision is
to support the worldwide community of space
engineers, scientists, students, post-graduates,
entrepreneurs and visionaries who are all
working towards common goals for the benefit
of all humankind.
To all our readers, contributors and subscribers
- thank you for your support over our first three
years and we look forward to exciting times ahead!
Clive Simpson
Managing Editor,
ROOM - The Space Journal
Nations that
eschewed
a space
presence
in the past,
perhaps
because of
cost, are now
attracted by
an increasing
array of
commercial
opportunities
