In an Internet of Things (IoT) world, we are more connected than ever before, and one of the big questions facing the satellite industry is what its future will be in this uber-connected world. KD Adamson, a futurist, author, keynote speaker and presenter, painted a vision of the future and what it means for satellite.
Adamson admits futurists like herself believe the world is going to change more in the next 20 to 30 years than it has in the last 200 years. The reason for this is the exponential growth of connected technologies, which means we are seeing change much more quickly than we are used to.
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Adamson points to quantum computing as something that could have a major impact. “For a start, it is going to render any type of security pointless because it will break world-class encryption in a second.” Another change Adamson highlights is nuclear fusion: “They reckon in the next three to four years, [Lockheed Martin] will have a working prototype of a compact nuclear fusion reactor about the size of shipping container. You are talking about limitless emission-free energy.”
Space
In terms of how it will specifically impact space, Adamson says we are now starting to see the beginning of a democratization of space. “Commercially it makes a lot more sense for us to move our dirty stuff off-planet. I think the satellite industry will have a huge role to play in that.”
Adamson believes space has always been the frontier for humans, but once you start to mine asteroids, space becomes an ocean between two countries rather than a frontier. “Instead of a frontier, space will become a waypoint and you will start to look at satcoms the way we look at terrestrial communications now,” she said. VS
