Space to Earth Delivery

Currently most of the effort in the space industry is toward getting things into space. However, there will come a time when we will be trying to bring more stuff down from space. Materials mined from asteroids, completed manufactured goods, finished experiments, and other products that were mined, grown, or made in space will require a means to bring them back down.

Intuitive Machines' TRV (Terrestrial Return Vehicle)

NASA has already begun addressing this problem. Intuitive Machines' Terrestrial Return Vehicle is being created and is intended to begin testing on the ISS in 2016. The purpose of the vehicle will be to provide a quick means to deliver time sensitive experiments safely back to Earth where further analysis can take place which can't occur on the space station. The design is expected to be launched from the station and then maneuver to and land at the nearest spaceport.

Delivery from space is a very viable business opportunity. Especially since commercial space stations, primarily from Bigelow Aerospace, are only a maximum of 5-10 years away. While NASA is taking the approach of creating a special vehicle for the task that is not the only method or business model.

A delivery company from space could begin as simply an organizer. Buying space on returning capsules for materials from other space stations. This would actually change the business dynamic of commercial launches, who's operation generally relies on only one ticket, round-trip or one way, to one customer. As traffic increases one organization can purchase the trip up but then someone else can reserve the trip down.

The reason NASA and Intuitive Machines are creating a single miniature craft for the task of delivery from orbit is schedule flexibility. Renting space on a capsule is fettered with the schedule of the capsule launch. But cargo, particularly experiments, may have expiration dates. The TRV ensures rapid delivery whenever needed. Just like Amazon, same-day delivery is the holy grail.

So what is required for a technology that drops things from orbit on command and lands them safely? This is dependent on the cargo. The TRV is a smal craft for deliverying small experiments. The small size allows for multiple craft to be delivered to the ISS in a single launch. The TRV is also outfitted with a maneuvering system. It is basically a complete small spaceship.

TRV being launched from the ISS

The complete spaceship design for the TRV is acceptable for the current state of the art and the amount of cargo transported. But as time passes completely disposable spaceships may be too expensive. An alternate method could be something along the lines of a space gun which launches small capsules of goods which are delivered from locations in orbit. This would eliminate the need for internal propulsion of the capsules and may simplify capsule design from lifting body to the more common tear-drop shape. Though such a system would not be required for several decades. Until inter-orbit transportation and exchange is common. Basically the "space gun" would be the post office and there would be mailmen going around orbit picking up "packages" and delivering them to the "space gun."

Concept for blanket used in asteroid retrieval in space

Going even a step further and considering asteroid mining. At some point the materials within those rocks will have to be delivered to Earth if they are to have any value. The trouble is that most asteroids burn up as they enter our atmosphere. A method will have to be devised for delivering these rocks safely to the surface so their contents can be collected and sold. Something along the lines of an ablative blanket could be created which protects the asteroids from the heat of reentry. (similar to how asteroid miners plan to protect water rocks from the sun's heat) Or perhaps large skeletal landers could be created which have a heat shield and a parachute. These landers could be filled with mined material or raw asteroids and landed, then, perhaps, even reused.

While all the focus as been on getting into space the need to send stuff back is growing everyday. The ISS needs to return experiments. Planetary Resources may need to land rocks. Private space stations may need to return manufactured goods. There may even be a need to send parts down to earth to be repaired and returned at the next launch of a capsule.

In order to develop an economy in space a two-way exchange between Earth and space must be set-up. Getting up there is great, but it matters little to the world unless something comes back.

Necessity for Modularity

The cost to enter the space economy is high. It it is time, capital, and labor intensive. And yet large corporations and billionaires will not be able to develop the space industry to a point where it is a part of our culture.

With only a few large players in the game there's a limit to how many goals can be scored until everyone is crippled. Even innovative companies like SpaceX will reach a critical mass where they perform only particular duties in the industry. The industry will stagnate unless smaller players can become a part of it.

So what is a strategy that smaller companies and individuals could take in order to make a mark in the space economy.

Let's use a theoretical example, Space-Based Solar Power. This concept for powering the world has been around for decades. The concept of using an unobstructed view of the largest fusion reactor in existence (the sun) is very enticing. If space solar power could be implemented then it would solve many of the world's energy problems.

Here is the problem. Space based solar power requires huge initial investment. Basically the lifetime cost of a nuclear power plant is what it would take to build a comparable orbital solar array. This is not a feasible business plan. No matter how great the design or promising the impact 16-20 billion dollars up front is not something people rush to.

So how does one take something hugely expensive and reduce the cost. Break it up into little pieces. Small companies and individuals need to lay out strategies where what they invest in today will still be useful 10 years from now. In this way the cost of something huge can be spread over years and incrementally built. For orbital solar a specific direction might be to develop something similar to the orbital power plant where te company creates smaller modules to be attached to ships and stations to serve as a temporary power source. When a significant number of cells have been placed in orbit, years from the first, then the modules could be combined with transmitter to beam the power to earth instead.

Modularity has to be the foundation of any small company wishing to build big things. The giant one hit wonder is not feasible. They must find a way to break it down. A mars colony into single identical modules. A telescope mirror into hundreds of smaller mirrors.

Modularity, building small identical things that can become larger individual things is very scalable and adaptable. If a small company is making habitats for Mars and has simply created a small-tent-like module that connects to others, then the product is as available to a single fanatic as it is to a giant corporation. And the producing company is able to make money from selling one as easily as selling a hundred.

Breaking larger structures down into multiple pieces also decreases the complexity of the design and increases its adaptability. Imagine the difference between having to redo the plumbing of an entire space station or just of the new modules.

Every new private space company is adopting this idea of breaking down the grand dream into individual components that can pay for themselves on a small scale while remaining relevant on the large scale. Bigelow Aerospace is creating, not space stations, but space station modules. Planetary resources is not creating a single advanced asteroid hunting satellite but a swarm of small satellites.

Modularity reduces cost and ensures that a viable product is created more quickly. If anyone is considering creating a space company and they are not a billionaire, they must design the product to be modular and relevant for years. This ensures scalability, adaptability, redundancy, and early returns.

The dreams of launching an entire space station or colony in few shots can't be done by the entrepreneur in a garage. But sneaking into orbit bit by bit is very feasible. And as launches become ever more common the left over space will be more available and inexpensive. Space start-up have to do more with less until it can all be combined into a single system.

Micro-Launch Company

As technology continues to make things smaller and smaller satellites can now be created with vast capabilities that are about the size of your fist or smaller. Today these micro-sats are normally launched in conjunction with some larger payload. They just help to fill up a large rocket.

The trouble is that all launch systems of today are prohibitively expensive even if you are just piggy-backing. (The launch of a CubeSat can be over $100,000) The reason the launch systems of today are so expensive is because most rockets are enormously complex and expensive machines which only fly once and are then destroyed. They also require armies of support to get them prepared and launched and have to meet very special requirements for the satellite that they are launching. It is a very high risk business and an incredibly bloated one.

Large rockets used to be the only way to get anything into orbit. But since we now have micro-sats its time for a micro-launcher.

An opportunity exists to completely re-work the space launch mantra. Instead of big and expensive, launches could be made small and cheap with payloads of just 1-5 pounds using a small disposable launcher.

After all, since the payloads are cheaper and require less precision, a company can create a rocket that they, basically, just point at the sky and light a fuse. It could be made cheaply and with far less precision that any of the larger rockets. More or less it would be an upscaled hobby rocket.

Now, even hobby rockets are not cheap when one starts to reach for high altitudes. The company that works with micro-launches will have to be able to mass produce their vehicle in order to keep the cost down. Rockets that come off the assembly line in droves is not a practice anywhere in the space industry. This is where a scrappy start-up can get an edge.

Now if a company where to be capable of mass-producing orbital/sub-orbital rockets the single problem they might have is whether the demand will meet the supply. There are not a huge number of satellites being created today. The key in the beginning will be to create alternate reasons to launch. Things like space burials, (cremated remains) time-capsule launches, and other less scientific and broader market reasons to send a rocket to space. These alternate sources of revenue would be able to sustain a company until people realize that satellite launches are cheap enough that they can be performed by smaller hobby groups or even individuals. If the price to launch a CubeSat were brought down to under $10,000 then a whole DIY satellite industry would open up.

Up Aerospace is already working towards this goal of an affordable micro-launcher. They are starting like most new space companies by creating a sounding rocket that is able to launch small experiments into sub-orbital space.

The SpaceX Assembly Line

While the mass production of small launchers is a relatively unexplored option the main risk to this business would not be technical problems or even demand. It would be competition from reusable craft like Skylon or even a SpaceX upgrade that makes the micro-launcher too expensive. Reusable spacecraft are expected to bring the cost of orbital launches down to around $10-100 per pound within the next twenty years. It is doubtful that even a rocket with the benefit of economy of scale would be able to match that. It is like the difference between buying a Cessna or a 787 for one trip. If you have to buy the whole 787 for the trip then you will buy the Cessna. But if the 787 is just selling a ticket on one trip, then you will ignore the Cessna.

But though a mass produced disposable rocket may become too expensive, the lessons learned from that early part of the business would help to make a small mass produced reusable rocket. One would have to do some deeper number crunching to see what the margins would be like on this, but it is very likely possible. Not to mention that fact that some micro-sats will pay extra to not have to piggy-back on another satellite.

Overall, the concept of launching ultra-small payloads affordably is untouched. And though the door of opportunity might be closing it has the potential to give someone a chance to get their foot in the door of the industry at a cost significantly less that a full scale launch company.

Extra:
OTRAG was an early attempt at mass production of space launchers

Human Preservation Company

A company that preserves human genetics in space

One of the more exotic and maybe even "snake-oil" kind of businesses that could be pursued in the space industry of, not only tomorrow, but today is that of selling tickets on "Preservation Spacecraft."

This is basically the idea of creating a time capsule or "stasis pod." Customers would pay to have hair, blood, or some other genetic material stored/preserved on a spacecraft. In this way, it could start out be marketed as either preserving the human race, should our planet be entirely wiped out, being the "ambassador" should an alien race ever find the craft, or just as a way to satisfy personal ego.

Now this is a bit of an outlandish idea. But not unheard of. Many people have a desire to be preserved in someway. What better place to preserve something than in the nothingness of space? Many people also believe that the entire human race should have a few ways to mark our existence to extraterrestrials should we ever destroy ourselves. These are both legitimate reasons for some people to pay to have their genetic material sent to space.

As far as the technical aspects are concerned. A beginning company could simply create small satellites, such as CubeSats, which are outfitted to protect genetic materials from the radiation of space. This a relatively simple thing to accomplish. The spacecraft itself would also probably need some type of transmitter that can last for longer periods of time. This would be the cater to those that want to leave something for E.T. which they can find and recognize as from a technological society.

Where would these spacecraft be sent? Well, just starting out they could be sent into high Earth orbit. This would keep them in space for around a hundred years. As technology grows, these craft could begin to be sent out of the solar system like space probes have just begun to accomplish (Voyager). This expansion would be marketed as the "seeding of the universe" by humans. The company would be able to profess how the genetic material may start the advent of life on other worlds and the people that purchase the ticket for their DNA would be the "parents" of that life. (think Prometheus)

Understandably this business can be twisted, very easily, into some kind of fraud. Having people buy space for blood samples on a CubeSat that is sent into space and then burns back to Earth and no one would ever know. Or the genetic material could be launched and not appropriately protected so that it is obliterated by the cold and radiation of space. But if approached correctly this "preservation craft" does have a legitimate mission to many people. (it all depends on who you are)

Far in the future, should a company like this exist, its purpose most likely would be some type of "whole body" preservation. It would be a model like the cryonics companies of today, preserve entire humans for revival at a later date, either by humans or E.T.

There is no telling how profitable a business like this would be. It is has never been tried. Though such things have be performed for free on some launches, for dignitaries. But whether it is a complete business or not, perhaps it is an idea that companies, or even researchers, can adopt to help pay the large cost of space launches today. A little blood or hair is not a heavy thing to add to a spacecraft, but it may be worth several thousand dollars the customer that wishes to purchase a place for their DNA in a launch. (this actually creates another opportunity to create the protective containers for the material by yet another company, but we'll leave that to the reader to consider.)

Human preservation is something many people think about today. While we can't explore space completely yet, it is possible to send ourselves out into it and create a "human backup." This ideal is something that many people can relate to and creates a unique opportunity that can be explored immediately. From someone as low as a college student to as high as an experience business magnate.