The Future of Space has been one of the most consistent and longest running OODA Loop research themes, including the two prominent panels at the upcoming OODAcon 2023: 

• The Space Edge – Defining New Opportunities, Economies, and Risks; and
• The New Space Rush: The Final Frontier for the Economy and National Security. 

In the run up to these panels at OODAcon next week, following is a compilation of the space exploration milestones featured here at OODA Loop in 2023. 

Space Exploration Milestones of Note in 2023

SpaceX Successfully launches NASA Dragon 6 Crew on flight to International Space Station

On March 1st, SpaceX sent NASA’s next long-duration crew of the International Space Station about 72 hours after a first attempt was scrubbed due to a clogged filter in the launch system. Two NASA astronauts will be joined by a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates for a six-month science mission.

Player Ready? A Third Launch Attempt by Space Startup of First 3D-Printed Rocket Confirmed

An overview of the launch attempts, Relativity Space and the Terran 1 3D-printer manufacturing process. 

Space-Based Power Project Successfully Transmits Power To Earth For First Time

Sci-Fi fans and futurists have long envisioned a mechanism that would capture solar power from space, focus it and transmit it to earth as a way of providing more efficient energy for humanity. There are many theoretical potential benefits of this if it can be made to work, including less pollution and no fear that the source of power will ever run out. With the right architecture, space based energy transmitted like this could also make access to energy available with little or no infrastructure. Just set up a device in your yard and there is your power.  How might this work?  Dr. Ali Hajimiri, Caltech Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering and Co-Director of the Space-Based Solar Power Project explains how. 

Transporter-8, SpaceX’s Eighth Dedicated Smallsat Rideshare Program Mission 

On Monday, June 12 at 2:35 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched Transporter-8, SpaceX’s eighth dedicated smallsat rideshare program mission, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.  This was the ninth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 stage booster, which previously supported the launch of NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, and four Starlink missions. On board this flight were 72 spacecraft, including CubeSats, MicroSats, a re-entry capsule, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying spacecraft to be deployed at a later time.

Additional OODA Loop Resources

Commercial Space: Innovation, Regulation, and International Collaboration:   The upcoming OODAcon 2023 panel – “The Space Edge – Defining New Opportunities, Economies, and Risks” – will dig deep into the emerging opportunities, economies, and risks associated with the rapid development of space-based technologies, resource acquisition, and shift from the public to private sector.  After decades of stagnation, space innovation keeps pushing the boundaries of the possible with new firsts emerging on a monthly basis. Following is a compilation of OODA Loop original analysis and resources on the revolution evolution of the Commercial Space industry sector.

The Future of Space: National Security, Cybersecurity, and AI/ML: Exploring the new national security and economic realities of The New Space Rush will be the closing keynote discussion with Lisa Costa, the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of the US Space Force at OODAcon 2023.  Following is a compilation of recent OODA Analysis of the future of space, national security, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and machines learning – the implications of which OODA CTO Bob Gourley will be discussing with Costa next week.

For additional OODA Loops News Briefs and Original Analysis on Space Exploration, go to OODA Loop | Space

The Executive’s Guide to Space

The rapid pace of innovation in space is producing real capabilities which can be leveraged for businesses in every sector of the economy. There is a growing excitement over the many developments in the space industry, giving rise to many questions about how these developments will impact markets overall. This guide is meant to assist strategic planners in assessing developments in the space sector. For more see:  The Executive’s Guide To Commercial Use of Space

Security In Space and Security of Space

The last decade has seen an incredible increase in the commercial use of space. Businesses and individual consumers now leverage space solutions that are so integrated into our systems that they seem invisible. Some of these services include: Communications, including very high-speed low latency communications to distant and mobile users. Learn more at: OODA Research Report: What Business Needs To Know About Security In Space Also see: Is Space Critical Infrastructure, and the special report on Cyber Threats to Project Artemis, and Mitigating Threats To Commercial Space Satellites