COVER STORY • The Future of Space as Global Commons • 3

T

he Fourth Industrial
Revolution Launches
into Space
Author Joshua Marciano

By Joshua Marciano

Scientific progress is driving the convergence of several emerging
technologies with disruptive consequences — both positive andnegative. To date, discussion of this convergence — dubbed the“Fourth Industrial Revolution” — has been in the context of terrestrial
manufacturing and industry; however, the impact of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution is equally apparent in space, where it is making
space more accessible, innovative, and useful to society.

The 4th Industrial Revolution & the Space Domain
The term Fourth Industrial Revolution describes the fourth major
shift in how humans produce goods and services. Klaus Schwab, thefounder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF),
identifies the first three industrial revolutions as 1) society’s use of“water and steam power to mechanize production”, 2) society’s use of“electric power to create mass production”, and 3) society’s use of“electronics and information technology to automate production”.
Efforts to characterize the Fourth Industrial Revolution occurring today
have proven somewhat elusive, with experts offering varying
definitions. Nevertheless, these definitions, despite their differences,tend to describe the convergence of several new and emerging
technologies that is producing a rapid, disruptive impact acrosseconomic sectors.
Technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution
include many of the “buzzwords” heard in industry, government, andthe media, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence(AI), 3D printing, cloud computing, and big data analytics. Other
Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies include robotics/autonomy,
nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage,
quantum computing, and augmented/virtual reality. These
technologies are alike in the rapid and widespread manner in which
they are transforming or promise to transform economic sectors.
Their impact is especially pronounced when they are combined,
resulting in entirely new production processes, management systems,
and government regulations, and facilitating unlikely business
partnerships.
While the Fourth Industrial Revolution is mostly associated withtechnologies and changes on Earth — especially in factories and othermanufacturing centers — it is also in full swing in the space domain.
Indeed, companies associated with the burgeoning space industry(estimated by Morgan Stanley to be worth approximately $350 billion)— are leveraging technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial
Revolution — from AI to energy storage — to offer innovative
products and services. In addition, government-sponsored research
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projects are facilitating the development of the next wave of disruptive
technologies to transform the space domain, such as nanotechnology
and biotechnology.

The Internet of Things
One of the technologies most closely associated with the Fourth
Industrial Revolution is IoT — a term used to describe networks of
inexpensive, ubiquitous sensors capable of collecting enormous
amounts of data. IoT applied to the industrial sector (known as theIndustrial IoT) enables applications like predictive maintenance,
production flow monitoring, inventory management, and logistics/
supply chain management. US market research firm Gartner estimatesthat 8.4 billion IoT devices were in use in 2017 and that 20.4 billion IoT
devices will be in use by 2020.
The space domain is experiencing a similar boom in sensor growththanks to the increased accessibility of small satellites and the rise ofmega-constellations. For many years, the trend in the space industry
has been to deploy constellations that feature a small number of large,
expensive satellites. The US Global Positioning System (GPS), forexample, features a constellation of 31 satellites. However, decreased
launch costs — driven in part by advances in 3D printing andmaterials science — and dramatic improvements in processing power,
data storage, camera technology, miniaturization, solar array efficiency,
and propulsion have made constellations with several small, lessexpensive satellites a more attractive option, especially for new spacecompanies trying to find their market niche.
This trend is readily apparent in the remote sensing segment, where
new market entrant Planet has been able to capture some ofestablished firm DigitalGlobe’s market share. DigitalGlobe (recently
acquired by Maxar Technologies) uses a constellation of just fivesatellites each worth hundreds of millions of dollars to provide highresolution imagery. Instead of challenging DigitalGlobe head on, Planet
has built a constellation of 193 low- and medium-resolution satellites(currently the largest privately-owned constellation) capable ofimaging the entire world every day. While Planet’s constellation cannot
take images of the same quality as DigitalGlobe, its anytime-anywhereavailability appeals to customers in the remote sensing market that
require “good enough” imagery at a moment’s notice. The Fourth
Industrial Revolution’s proliferation of cheap sensors has allowed
Planet to offer a unique service that complements — rather thandirectly challenges — DigitalGlobe’s higher-resolution satellites.
This trend towards larger constellations of smaller, less expensive
satellites is also evident in the satellite communications segment,
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where a handful of companies are proposing mega-constellations thatare many times larger than the one operated by Planet. In March 2018,
the US government approved SpaceX’s proposal for a 4,425-satellite
broadband constellation. The US government has also approved
applications from OneWeb (720 satellites) and Telesat Canada (117satellites) to build large broadband constellations within the last year.
Companies as diverse as Samsung (4,600 satellites), Boeing (2,956
satellites), Commsat (800 satellites), and Astrome Technologies (648satellites) have also discussed mega-constellations.
The proposed mega-constellations do not match the terrestrial IoT
in terms of volume — which, perhaps, is a good thing, as the
deployment of billions of satellites would almost certainly set off achain reaction of collisions that would render much of low-Earth orbit
useless. However, these mega-constellations do promise todramatically increase the number of active satellites in orbit(approximately 1,700 at present) to the point that their disruptive
impact will match or exceed the terrestrial IoT, especially when pairedwith cloud computing and AI to leverage the massive amounts of datacollected by these satellites.

Big Data, Cloud Computing & AI
The growing number of satellites in orbit — particularly remotesensing satellites — are collecting and relaying back to Earthenormous amounts of data, forcing companies to develop or acquirecomplex cloud environments to process and store the data. Planet’s
constellation alone collects over one million images (7-10 terabytes ofdata) every day and uses the Google Cloud Platform to process andstore the imagery collected. The ability to store petabytes of satellite
data in the cloud is a technical accomplishment in and of itself, but thesize of these databases makes them relatively useless if they must be
manually exploited by end users. Consequently, several companies areusing AI to turn the data sold by Planet, DigitalGlobe, and others into
intelligence that can be sold to a wide range of companies,
government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
According to Jeffrey Tarr, the former CEO of DigitalGlobe, there are
more than 100 different companies that seek to “make sense” of theremote sensing data collected by satellites — to include optical data,synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and radio frequency data. Some ofthese companies, such as Planet and DigitalGlobe, are trying to exploit
their own data, while others, such as Ursa Space Systems, purchasedata streams from other companies instead of operating their own
constellations. Regardless of where these companies get their data,
they all rely on recent advances in the field of AI — particularlymachine learning and deep learning — to process and analyze it.
Space companies are using large quantities of remote sensing datato train machine learning algorithms to perform tasks likeclassification, prediction, anomaly detection, and root-cause
identification, enabling several new commercial applications forremote sensing data. Among others, Massachusetts-based Tellus Labs
uses remote sensing data to monitor and model the world’s foodsupply, Montreal-based GHG Satellite uses hyperspectral imagery to
track greenhouse gas and methane emissions from industrial facilities,
and New York-based Ursa Space Systems aggregates SAR data fromvarious sources to evaluate the global oil and gas supply chain. Other

Photo 1: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket utilizes carbon fiber for the rocket’s outer shell and 3D printing forthe rocket’s engines.

companies, such as New Mexico-based Descartes Labs, collectmultiple forms of remote sensing data from diverse sources to offer
their clients customizable business intelligence, helping them topredict “what will happen when” in response to specific questions.

Materials Science, Augmented/Virtual Reality& 3D Printing
Other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies disrupting the spaceindustry include materials science, augmented/virtual reality, and 3D
printing, which are being used both individually and in tandem toincrease manufacturing efficiency and enable more capable rocket
engines.
In the area of materials science, space launch companies are
utilizing advanced materials — particularly carbon fiber and advanced
composites — to increase the durability and reduce the weight of theirrockets. The Electron rocket of US-based startup Rocket Lab features
an outer shell made almost entirely from carbon fiber. As a result, theElectron Rocket weighs only one third as much as other rockets withcomparable size and payload, which can save millions of dollars inrocket fuel per launch. Several other space launch companies are also
designing rockets that make significant use of advanced materials.
Examples include Florida-based startup Rocket Crafters Inc.’s
Intrepid-1 hybrid rocket (made almost entirely of carbon fiber
composites), SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket (which will feature a large
composite tank that stores pressurized liquid oxygen, as well as acarbon fiber upper stage), Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket (which willfeature carbon fiber parts like nose cones and fairings), and United
Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket (which will include carbon fiber
structures like payload fairings and interstage adapters).
Augmented/virtual reality is also being utilized by space companies
like Thales Alenia Space and Lockheed Martin to increase efficiency
when manufacturing and assembling spacecraft. For example, Thales
Alenia Space utilizes augmented reality in the form of tablets andgoggles that provide their engineers with a virtual image of a plannedsatellite assembly, as well as all the information they need for
assembling the satellite. Thales also utilizes virtual reality to simulate
the optimal clean room configuration for satellite assembly,
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COVER STORY 3
Photo 2: NASA/Bill Squicciarini

projects include sending a bottomless 3D printer into orbit that is
capable of printing constructions materials (e.g. trusses) and tools(e.g. telescopes), as well using space’s microgravity environment to
3D print fiber optic cables with fewer impurities that are up to 100
times better than terrestrially fabricated fiber optic cables.

Robotics, Autonomy & Energy Storage

NASA tests carbon nanotube coating (slot “D” on sample tray) to make spacecraft instruments
more sensitive without enlarging size.

integration, and testing. Lockheed Martin also makes robust use ofaugmented reality and virtual reality in the production of its spaceassets (e.g., the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and the GPS-3
satellite system), saving the company an estimated $10 million per
year. Two or three times per year, Lockheed Martin engineers perform
so-called “deep dive reviews” in which teams rehearse the entire
assembly of a spacecraft in a virtual environment. In addition to these“deep dive reviews”, Lockheed Martin engineers perform monthly
simulations of component assembly that allow them to identify themost efficient installation processes.
In addition to materials science and augmented/virtual reality, spacecompanies are also using 3D printing — the process of making aphysical object from a 3D digital model by laying down many thinlayers of material in succession — to lower spacecraft manufacturingcosts and to enable new capabilities. This trend is especially prevalent
amongst space launch companies developing rocket engines. For
example, Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket features 10 3D-printed oxygen/kerosene engines, each of which can be printed within 24 hours toenable rapid manufacturing cycles. Rocket Crafters Inc. also uses 3D
printing to manufacture its D-Dart hybrid rocket engine, enabling thedesign of combustion chambers with unique internal geometries thatavoid most of the excessive vibration and performance inconsistencies
typically associated with hybrid rocket engines. Finally, Aerojet
Rocketdyne uses 3D printing to produce the thrust chamber assemblyof its RL10 rocket, leading to a 70% reduction in the thrust chamber’s
part content and a 50% reduction in production time.
3D printing’s disruptive impact is not confined to terrestrial
manufacturing processes: the space industry is also exploring thebenefits of 3D printing in orbit. These efforts are being led by Made In
Space Inc., a California-based company that is best known forproviding the first 3D printer to the International Space Station (ISS) in
2014. Made In Space’s initial demonstrations aboard the ISS showedthat astronauts could use 3D printers to produce small parts, such as
buckles and wrenches, without the need to wait for a resupply
mission. The company is now working towards more ambitious featswith the support of both US government and private funding. These
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Space Systems Loral, a subsidiary of Maxar Technologies, andSpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Orbital ATK, are applying robotics,
autonomy, and energy storage technology to the space domain todevelop satellite servicing platforms capable of extending the lifetimeand upgrading the capabilities of satellites currently in orbit. Space
Systems Loral’s satellite servicing platforms are backed by US
government funding from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA), while SpaceLogistics’ platform is privately funded.
Space Systems Loral has secured contracts with NASA’s Restore-L
program and DARPA’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites(RSGS) program to develop robotic, solar-powered satellite servicing
platforms. For the Restore-L contract, Space Systems Loral will
collaborate with NASA to build a robotic spacecraft that will refuel the
US government-owned Landsat-7 satellite in low-Earth orbit sometimein 2020. The Restore-L servicing platform will feature an autonomous
relative navigation system, robotic arms, and a propellant transfer
system, all of which will be fueled by a system of deployable solar
array panels and battery storage. For the RSGS program, Space
Systems Loral will work with DARPA to develop a robotic servicing
vehicle ready for launch by 2021 that can perform cooperative
inspection and servicing of satellites located in geosynchronous orbit— some 20,000 miles above Earth. Because communications between
Earth and geosynchronous orbit experience significant latency, the
RSGS spacecraft will need to exhibit even more sophisticatedautonomy than the spacecraft assigned to the Restore-L mission. The
RSGS mission will also make use of solar arrays and battery storage
systems to power the robotic servicing vehicle. Space Systems Loral— in collaboration with Space Infrastructure Services — will be able
Photo 3: NASA

Artist’s rendering of the RESTORE-L platform servicing a satellite in orbit.

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to use the technology developed from RSGS for both commercial andgovernment missions for several years following the initialdemonstration in 2021.
SpaceLogistics offers services to satellites in geosynchronous orbit
through two main platforms — the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV)and the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV). MEVs dock with customers’satellites to provide the additional propulsion and/or attitude
adjustment (the direction the spacecraft is positioned in 3-dimensional
space) needed to extend its lifetime. MRVs are capable of deploying
multiple mission extension pods (MEPs) that can perform attitude
adjustments at a lower cost than the MEVs. In addition to deploying
the MEPs, the MRVs also feature a sophisticated robotics module thatenables basic repairs, detailed inspections, and the installation of newcapabilities. Both the MEVs and MRVs are capable of semiautonomous rendezvous and proximity operations and utilize solar
arrays and battery storage in tandem to power the spacecraft.

Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is a Fourth Industrial Revolution technology still
awaiting widespread commercial utilization in the space domain.
Within the broader field of nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)
are receiving significant attention because of their unique qualities andtheir potential widespread applications. CNTs are tube-shapedmaterials made up of a single layer of carbon atoms linked inhexagonal shapes that measure approximately 1 nanometer in widthand up to several centimeters in length. CNTs exhibit several uniqueproperties. For example, they have one of the highest strength-toweight ratios amongst known materials, are extremely flexible andelastic, and have high absorption rates (approximately 99%) ofultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared light.
Most ongoing research, development, and demonstration
associated with CNTs is funded by government organizations anduniversities. Experts at NASA believe CNT coatings in space-based
scientific instruments (e.g. telescopes) could lead to more accurate
observations by reducing the amount of stray light bouncing off ofsurfaces. South Korean researchers from the Gwangju Institute of
Science and Technology and Sogang University are exploring thepotential of CNT-electronic devices as a radiation-tolerant alternative tosilicon-based electronics. Finally, the Aerospace Corporation, afederally-funded research and development center associated with the
US Air Force, is exploring the use of CNTs as a conductive coating forsolar array panels to make them thinner, lighter, stronger, and more
flexible.

Biotechnology
Similar to nanotechnology, biotechnology represents another Fourth
Industrial Revolution technology still awaiting widespread commercial
application in the space domain. Most biotechnology research,development, and demonstration has been performed with the supportof US government funding aboard the ISS, where the microgravity
environment enables shorter development loops and new capabilities.
For example, California-based Amgen was able to develop its
osteoporosis drugs Prolia and Xgeva faster on the ISS than it would

Photo 4: NASA

Made In Space’s 3D printer was used to make tools aboard the International Space Station,such as this space-optimized Kobalt wrench.

have if the research was performed on Earth. Also, Indiana-based
TechShot will send a biofabrication lab to the ISS later this year to test
the 3D printing of organs like hearts that can only be made in a
microgravity environment. Biotechnology companies’ use of the ISS is
expected to continue to expand into the future and will become an
import venue stream for the ISS if it is commercialized after 2025, as
intended by the administration of President Donald Trump.

Challenges for the Future: Regulations & Standards
for New Space Technologies
As on Earth, the adoption and diffusion of Fourth Industrial
Revolution technologies in space are creating increasing pressure forthe development of updated government regulations and newindustrial standards. For example, in the United States, the trend
toward mega-constellations of smaller, less expensive satellites isalready challenging the antiquated licensing regimes used by theFederal Communications Commission (for communication satellites)
and the Department of Commerce (for remote sensing satellites). The
creation of robotic satellite servicing platforms has also necessitatedthe development of industry-wide technical and safety standards foron-orbit servicing operations.
To realize the full potential of Fourth Industrial Revolution
technologies in the space domain, policymakers should look inward to
identify and amend antiquated regulations that are stifling innovationand outward to identify areas where they need to convene industry
stakeholders to develop novel, consensus-based technical standards.
DARPA’s decision to establish the Consortium for Execution ofRendezvous and Servicing Operations as a forum for industry andgovernment to discuss standards governing on-orbit servicing
operations represents a step in the right direction; however, moremust be done — and quickly — to ensure Fourth Industrial Revolution
technologies continue to make the space domain more accessible,
innovative, and beneficial to society.
Joshua Marciano is manager, science and technology at International
Technology and Trade Associates, Inc. (ITTA).

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