For a whole generation, the space adventure was a magnet for cultivating dreams. But like many innovations (including that of the initial use of the Internet), what began as Defense projects, were increasingly turning to civilian use.
Today the synonym for conquering space is not Cape Kennedy, nor the Soyuz or Arianne platforms in Guyana. They are Elon Musk and his project Spacex, Robert Beck with his Rocket Lab or Richard Branson, with Virgin galactic, who emerge as the new leaders of this career that also promises trips to Mars or stays in space but is also cementing another industry that allows those extravagances of millionaires: technological innovation that was reducing the configuration of satellites and allowing a network low-altitude orbital for an ultra-fast global communications network.
Unlike previous commercial satellite implementations, these new series have machine-to-machine (M2M) Internet of Things (IoT) communication as key to their revenue strategy.. It is no longer around voice transmission, like at the beginning of the century. The technology consultancy Beecham Research esteem the annual growth rate for satellite IoT connections at 12% per year. Flying.
And at home? Pablo Vic Y Gerardo NataleThrough different paths, they were able to fulfill their desire for their hobby to become their work. They began their adventure back in 2004 looking for a way to lower the cost and make possible the launch of satellites from Argentina. Today, his project is finishing fine-tuning the details by launching prototypes from the platform near Miramar (Buenos Aires). Vic (47) today is the CEO of Tlon Space, an Argentine company whose purpose is to put nano-satellites into orbit using self-made rockets, such as the Aventura I.
The local path had been started by the entrepreneur Emiliano kargieman, founder of Satellogic, who came up with the idea of producing smaller commercial satellites geared specifically to communications. Vic explains that other launch vehicles were needed to use orbits more useful to the needs of the local market. “The key to all this development are the technological innovations that make it possible to reduce the weight of the satellites and other advances in the fuel used in the rockets that optimized the cost and use of each launch.”, Explains Vic. In turn, the demand for data transmission services for terrestrial observation began to grow: data on water, salinity, etc .; required by private and massive digital networks, involving millions of devices. Nano satellites today can weigh 1 kilo in the shape of a cube of 10 centimeters per side, thus reducing the cost of the service used since putting such an artifact in space costs between US $ 50,000 and US $ 70,000.
Another of the secrets in the development was to make the high-frequency vehicle lighter and test with the latest generation materials: the Aventura weighs less than a ton and its cost is already under US $ 500,000. The latest tests also cover fuel, to be able to propel the highest possible load more effectively. “We developed a new type of rocket fuel. It has micro pumps; the tank and the fuselage are made of carbon, developed with an Argentine space company that can insulate ultralight tubes ”, the CEO and project shareholder enthusiastically explains.
In all this true technological career, the world hero is Elon Musk (see box), who revolutionized the know-how and promoted the use of the satellite as a node in a communication network leveraged by artificial intelligence and Blockchain technology. The entry of new players is a clear democratization of access to space. It implies continuing on the path that he faced with so much vision Elon musk“, remarks Luis Monsegur COO of Tlon Space. Unlike what SpaceX does, Tlon Space’s competitive advantage is a much lower and flexible operating cost structure, even with developed patents.
The projector. The investment had three different stages: from 2005 to 2018, the entrepreneurs financed themselves. From then until last year, the goal was the development of technological nuclei and for this year, the launch of the launches. It is expected that, by next November, the entire system will be operational, after four orbital attempts to mature details.
Monsegur is optimistic about the final result of the project. “We are more than 60 partners, with an average ticket that depended on the time of entry of the investor. We carried out four rounds throughout these years with the intention of financing R&D spending. We cannot not mention exact figures but the total investment was of several million dollars and we have funds to finance the orbital attempts that we are going to carry out throughout 2022 in our spaceport “, concludes. Thus, while the new aero kings compete with each other, there is room for technology and passion to find their own diagonal.
by Marcelo Alfano
