SES CEO Steve Collar’s Wednesday keynote at SATELLITE 2023 set the stage for a panel discussion on building a secure and dynamic future space economy, with leaders from SpiderOak, Rocket Lab, Redwire, Lockheed Martin, Orbit Fab, and Northrop Grumman.
Mike Gold, chief growth officer of Redwire, said the vision of space manufacturing — including organ printing in microgravity — requires sustained LEO presence: “In order to sustain that vision and achieve it, this only occurs if we continue to have a presence in Low-Earth Orbit. We need to continue this public-private partnership and continue to fund that so that we never give up on the legacy and the incredible work that the International Space Station started.”
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Lee Steinke of Orbit Fab argued that infrastructure development creates public awareness: “As you develop the whole space economy, you’re going to need all the dirty stuff that we do here — fuel depots, chemical supplies, metal mining, assembly and manufacturing, the ability to produce and manufacture things at scale.”
Robert Lightfoot of Lockheed Martin stressed communicating satellite value to the public. He recounted telling a non-space audience about GPS satellites: “Somebody said, ‘Why do I need GPS satellites anymore? I’ve got it on my phone.'”
Gold closed with a call for industry engagement on regulatory frameworks: “We must get the regulatory framework right. We are about now to enter Article Six of the Outer Space Treaty discussion. Industry must stand up and engage effectively with Congress and policymakers to ensure we get a regime that is inherently safe, supports interoperability and also creates an environment that can still be dynamic and innovative.” VS
