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Three Emerging Trends in the Space Industry

by Sponsored Content

The following content is sponsored by MSCI

MSCI Space Exploration Index

Three Emerging Trends in the Space Industry

Over the past several decades, space and satellite technology has become the invisible foundation of our digital world. 1,700 active satellites are currently orbiting the Earth, and together, they enable many of the technologies we use on a daily basis.

Looking forward, this industry is on the cusp of a significant ramp-up. Recent technological breakthroughs have drastically reduced the cost of rocket launches, and by 2030, analysts expect the number of active satellites to increase by several magnitudes.

Greater satellite coverage is significant because it could unlock futuristic solutions like drone deliveries, or bring internet access to the world’s underserved. To help you learn more, this infographic from MSCI provides an overview of the entire space opportunity.

Emerging Trends in the Space Industry

The space industry is a broad opportunity set which can be divided into three segments.

#1: Products and services focused on orbital and sub-orbital spaceflights

This segment includes reusable launch systems, hypersonic travel, and satellite connectivity. Rocket reusability has the greatest potential because it could greatly lower the cost of launches going forward.

This table lists rocket launch costs in terms of USD/kg.

RocketManufacturerCost (USD/kg)
2016 Atlas VUnited Launch Alliance (ULA)*$14,100
2014 Ariane 5Airbus$6,900
2015 Falcon 9SpaceX$4,700
2020 Reusable Falcon 9SpaceX$1,800
Rapidly Reusable StarshipTheoretical model based on ARK estimates$200

*Joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Source: ARK Investment Management (2021)

(Read more...)

OneNav locates $21M from GV to map our transition to the next generation of GPS

by Danny Crichton

GPS is one of those science fiction technologies whose use is effortless for the end user and endlessly challenging for the engineers who design it. It’s now at the heart of modern life: everything from Amazon package deliveries to our cars and trucks to our walks through national parks are centered around a pin on a map that monitors us down to a few meters.

Yet, GPS technology is decades old, and it’s going through a much-needed modernization. The U.S., Europe, China, Japan and others have been installing a new generation of GNSS satellites (GNSS is the generic name for GPS, which is the specific name for the U.S. system) that will offer stronger signals in what is known as the L5 band (1176 MHz). That means more accurate map pinpoints compared to the original generation L1 band satellites, particularly in areas where line-of-sight can be obscured like urban areas. L5 was “designed to meet demanding requirements for safety-of-life transportation and other high-performance applications,” as the U.S. government describes it.

It’s one thing to put satellites into orbit (that’s the easy part!), and another to build power-efficient chips that can scan for these signals and triangulate a coordinate (that’s the hard part!). So far, chipmakers have focused on creating hybrid chips that pull from the L1 and L5 bands simultaneously. For example, Broadcom recently announced the second-generation of its hybrid chip.

OneNav has a totally different opinion on product design, and it placed it right in its name. (Read more...)

Family tracking app Life360 to acquire wearable location device Jiobit for $37M

by Sarah Perez

Popular family tracking app Life360 is investing in hardware. The company this morning announced the $37 million acquisition of Chicago-based Jiobit, the maker of a wearable location device designed for use by families with younger children, pets, or seniors. The $37 million is primarily in stock and debt, Life360 notes, but if certain performance metrics are met within two calendar years following the deal’s close, the deal price could increase to $54.5 million.

The Jiobit was first introduced on the market in 2018, mainly as a kid and pet tracker. The small, lightweight device can be attached to items kids wear or carry, like belt loops, shoelaces, and school backpacks, and appealed in particular to families who wanted a way to track younger children who didn’t yet have their own mobile device. Earlier this year, the company launched an updated version of the Jiobit ($129.99) that included a combination of radios (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular and GPS), as well as sensors, including an accelerometer/pedometer, temperature sensor and barometer.

The new antenna system was specifically designed to increase performance inside schools, stores, high rises and other challenging signal environments. It also leveraged the reach of low-power, wide-area (LPWA) wireless networks in order to better serve rural regions where cellular coverage is limited and spotty. And the new device was waterproof (IPX8) up to 30 minutes in up to 5 feet of water and had a longer battery life.

Image Credits: Jiobit

Life360 envisions adding the Jiobit to its existing family (Read more...)