TOP STORIES: SEPTEMBER 2017

9 October 2017

Each month we round up some of the top stories in space, entrepreneurship, innovation, finance and technology.

Here’s our round-up for September:

Moon or Mars: Why not both?

“The Trump Administration has an unprecedented opportunity to set the United States on a path that would exceed President John F. Kennedy’s legendary challenge to our nation to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth. Through a combination of innovative thinking, public-private partnerships, and new incentives, commercial (and potentially international) activities on the surface of the Moon may very well be stimulated, while simultaneously moving forward with sending initial human missions to the surface of Mars by the early 2030s.” Read the article here.

A human return to the Moon could be done with commercial or international capabilities, without jeopardizing a government-led humans-to-Mars program. (credit: Boeing)

Australia to establish national space agency

The Government of Australia announced Sept. 25 that it plans to formally establish a national space agency, a milestone sought for decades by the country’s space industry and other space advocates.. Read about it here.

Australia, one of the few major countries without a national space agency, has decided to establish an agency to support the country’s space industry. Credit: NASA

Muddling through space traffic management

“Space traffic management” is the cyber security of the space world. It is a hugely important public policy issue that underpins the successful future expansion of space activities, yet there is no agreement on its definition. Read more here.

“[A]t its core, space traffic management is a ‘super wicked’ public policy problem,” analyst Brian Weeden writes. “But with estimates of 16,000 or more satellites on the drawing board to be launched in the next decade, it is not a problem we can continue to kick down the road.” Credit: Shutterstock

SpaceX’s worldwide satellite broadband network may have a name: Starlink

SpaceX has filed trademark applications for the word “Starlink” to describe its planned satellite broadband network. SpaceX filed applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 21 to have Starlink trademarked for “wireless broadband communication services,” “high-speed wireless Internet access,” and other services related to its upcoming satellite network. Read more at Ars Technica.

Communications Technology, internet. 3D render

Bulgaria Sat striving to sell half of BulgariaSat-1’s capacity outside of Bulgaria and Serbia

Bulgaria Sat, the fledgling Bulgarian satellite operator whose first satellite launched this summer at a time when oversupply has driven prices down, is trying to sell half of its capacity to international customers in more challenging market conditions than first anticipated. – via SpaceNews

Featured image: BulgariaSat-1. Credit: SSL