Magazine_BEAST_2017_Edition_8_complet

#Science | Space
69
The space 4.0 vision growing in Luxembourg
From the foundation of Europe’s first private satellite operator, SES, in 1985, to the willingness of the government to become a
leading nation when it comes to asteroid mining and to draft a new space law, Luxembourg’s space industry has also seen many
developments over the years. Several American companies have settled in the country, namely Deep Space Industries, Planetary
Resources and even Asteroid Day, which produced the first ever 24-hour global broadcast about Asteroid Impact Hazard on June
30th. According to Rick Tumlinson, Chairman of DSI, «the future is built by the bold, and once again, as it did in telecommunications
and other areas of technology, Luxembourg is showing the sort of boldness that moves the world forward».
«Space is actually a new way to do business,
it creates a new economy composed of
cities, transportation, energy and finance.
Luxembourg has a strong history and
reputation in commercial space operations
and we are proud to be working with the
government, academia, and industry to
further develop the limitless potential of
the space resources market» added Chris
Lewicki, co-founder of Planetary Resources,
whose company settled in Luxembourg for
its R&D mentality and its ability to solve key
challenges such as extracting water from
asteroids and scale it. He plans to launch the
first commercial asteroid prospecting mission
by 2020. Luxembourg also attracts experts
from Asia, notably ispace. The European
subsidiary will be hosted in Luxembourg
City within the facilities of Paul Wurth InCub,
in collaboration with the Technoport, the
nation’s support program for innovative and
technology-driven companies. Through its
European office based in Luxembourg, ispace
intends to focus on business development,
R&D and on key technical services such
as payload development, engineering and
integration. «With strong technological, legal
and financial support, we are convinced that
Luxembourg is the best place for us to begin
our European operations» stated Takeshi
Hakamada, CEO of ispace but also the leader
of team HAKUTO, one of the finalists of the
Google Lunar XPRIZE.
And with Etienne Schneider’s participation
to several international conferences in
the space field last year, Luxembourg can
expect more companies to set foot in
the country. In New York City, he recently
promoted the Grand Duchy as a space
hub: «Luxembourg’s strategy is built on
support for advanced research activities
and technological capabilities, drawing on
the country’s existing expertise in the space
sector and its ongoing strategy of economic
diversification into future-oriented hightech
industries.» Mr Schneider added: «As
a world renowned financial business center,
Luxembourg offers incentives for private
sector companies seeking to develop space
mining opportunities. Our financial regulatory
system fully supports venture capital and
private equity investment within a wider
European framework». Earlier this year, the
Deputy Prime Minister, along with Crown
Prince Guillaume, also visited the West
Coast of the United States to announce
the set-up of a Luxembourg Space
Luxembourg space agency that will take into
account the particular needs of NewSpace
companies: «Within this agency, we will
create a dedicated space fund in order to
complement Luxembourg’s existing funding
measures based mainly on a grant approach.
We will either opt for a conventional venture
capital fund with a lifecycle of 10 to 15 years,
or for a kind of evergreen fund structure.
Regardless of which option we choose in the
upcoming months, we will continue to apply
our longstanding proven public-private
partnership approach through a mix of
institutional and strategic private investors».
The minimum financial commitment to get
the fund started is in the range of 70 to 100
million euros. The fund is mainly considering
early stage investments in innovative startups
as well as in more mature companies,
with a focus both on Luxembourg-based
enterprises in the space resources industry,
and companies developing substantial space
resources related technologies in the Grand
Duchy.
Moreover, South Korean, Chinese and
American experts have since then joined the
Board of SpaceResources.lu, and European
Space Agency enhanced its cooperation with
the country when it comes to cooperation
on asteroid missions, related technology and
space resources exploration and utilization.
ESA Director General, Jan Wörner stated:
«The SpaceResources.lu initiative perfectly
embodies my vision of Space 4.0 both as an
example of and a driver in a new paradigm of
conducting space activities».
BEAST MAGAZINE #8