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As the keynote speaker of the first Space Knowledge Summit, held earlier this month, NFLA Secretary Richard Outram spoke of the possibility in future co-operation between nations and people in making successful projects to generate renewable energy in space.
The Space Knowledge Summit[1] is a new annual astrosociology event held to ‘share bold ideas in space law, social impact, and finance’, with the aim of eradicating inequality in space. The theme for the first year was, A Design for Life: Worldbuilding & Equality in Outer Space.
The first rule of the Outer Space Treaty signed by the United Nations in 1967 [2] is that ‘the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind’, yet 95% of all nations and almost all human beings, save those with unlimited personal resources, do not have independent access to space.
Many of us are perhaps unaware of the daily demands we place on the satellites that orbit our planet, with our mobile phones, Internet, televisions, and electronic navigation aids all reliant on signals beamed from space, so it was especially significant that the Summit was held online as part of annual World Space Week, 4-10 October. This was first declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 to celebrate how space science and technology improve the lives of people on Earth.
Summit organiser, astrosociologist Helen Rankin, is the founder and executive director of International Space City, the first virtual commercial zone dedicated to advancing the space knowledge economy.[3] International Space City has a physical hub at Inverness Campus in the Scottish Highlands. Helen invited Richard Outram as Secretary of the UK/Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter to open the summit and speak about the imperative need to maintain peace in space.
Helen said: “Our eagerness to conquer new ideas has historically come at the expense of our environment and human rights, life and freedoms. Social sciences examine human behaviour, how people interact with each other, develop as a culture, and influence the world. Exploration without social sciences can only create new and exotic ways to repeat past mistakes and limit the progress of humanity.
“With space exploration we have an opportunity to do things differently. This could be an opportunity to move away from the normalised culture of violence and instead shift to a culture of peace. We are incredibly grateful to have Richard open the summit and share his vast experience of peace-making, to encourage and enable a new generation of astrosociologists to turn their ideas into peace action.”
Richard said: “I was delighted, and honoured, to be invited to be the first speaker at the first ever Space Knowledge Summit, especially as I have always had a keen interest in space after seeing the lunar landing at an early age and being part of a school astronomy club that built a reflecting telescope through which we took turns observing the Milky Way”.
As NFLA Secretary, Richard was conscious that establishing a ‘United Nations to generate renewable energy from space’ would be one means to promote peace.
Richard said: “At a time when we see increasing military tensions between the NATO states and Russia and China on Earth, we also see this Cold War replicated out in the vacuum of space with the world’s leading military nations establishing ‘space commands’ and launching more and more military satellites to prepare for the possibility of future warfighting in, and from, space.
“Would it not be wonderful if, instead of expending yet more resources on an endless military competition to develop ever more sophisticated and fiendish ways to kill one another from orbiting weapons platforms or moon bases, that humankind work and invest in partnership to access and share the resources that can be found in space?”
One such possibility might be to look to develop international projects to generate renewable energy drawn from the limitless power of our nearest star, the Sun. In June, researchers at Cal Tech, the California Institute of Technology, announced they had wirelessly beamed solar power from their Space Solar Power Demonstrator to Earth.[4] The research team has claimed that space-based solar could yield up to eight times more power than the equivalent panels placed any location of the surface of the Earth.
Richard also felt such a plan has another bonus: “For me it would also have the added virtue of shutting down the ill-informed cries of certain politicians, who complain that we will have no power when the sun doesn’t shine or that solar panels on farms cannot co-exist with sheep.”
Former British and European Space Agency astronaut Major Tim Peake only last month backed the idea of solar farms in space, speaking of the concept as “becoming absolutely viable” with the cost of launching complex and heavy structures, such as solar power farms, falling with the development of new launch technologies. The European Space Agency commissioned two concept studies earlier this year and is working to present a business case to the European Union in 2025.[5]
The theme for this year’s World Space Week focused on ‘Space and Entrepreneurship’, recognising the growing significance of the commercial space industry in space and the increasing opportunities for space entrepreneurship, and Richard wondered if the possibilities of ‘space entrepreneurship’ might ultimately extend to the establishment of co-operatives comprising ordinary Earth-bound investors providing financial backing to extraordinary renewable energy projects in space.
“Although it may appear science fiction, I can see a time in the future where it might be possible for the successful renewable energy co-operative model developed on Earth to be taken out of this world to enable people to back projects generating power from solar arrays in space. Can you hear me, Major Tim?”[6]
The Space Knowledge Summit can now be viewed via this link http://spaceknowledgesummit.com/
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For more information, please contact NFLA Secretary Richard Outram by email to richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk or mobile on 07583 097793.
1. The Space Knowledge Summit 2023 http://spaceknowledgesummit.com/
2. The Outer Space Treaty https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html
3. International Space City https://spacecityhq.com/biz-park/
4. Renew Economy, This is a first: scientists beam solar power from space to earth https://reneweconomy.com.au/this-is-a-first-scientists-beam-solar-power-from-space-to-earth/
5. The Guardian, Tim Peake backs idea for solar farms in space as costs fall https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/17/tim-peake-backs-idea-for-solar-farms-in-space-as-costs-fall
6. With sincere apologies to fans of pop icon David Bowie!
