Reaching for the Stars - remarks from Mr. Paul Steinmetz

 

 

The LACC and LTIO New York joined forces on May the 4th to host an evening of networking focused on the space industry. Guests enjoyed an evening at the Luxembourg House and remarks from Consul General, Mr. Paul Steinmetz. Below please find additional information from Mr. Steinmetz.

EVENT PHOTOS

 

Reaching for the Stars

• LUXEMBOURG’S SPACE ECOSYSTEM: For those who are not yet totally familiar with Luxembourg’s space ecosystem:
  
  
  • First, a bit of historical background: it all started with RTL in 1929 in media and telecom, but especially in 1985, with the creation of SES, Société Européenne des Satellites: a landmark for satellite telecommunications and still a global leader today with a big presence in the US.
    
    
  • Since then, further space-related services and businesses have developed alongside SES, giving birth to an entire space industry in Luxembourg.
    
    
  • Today, we have around 70 space companies and research bodies in Luxembourg, with 1200 people working for them.
    
    
  • The sector’s contribution to our GDP is among the highest in Europe. And this, only 5 years after we set up our Space Agency in 2018.
    
    
  • We have also been a pioneer in the industry, especially by adopting the first law on space resources within the EU in 2017. Our approach is bottom-up and clearly commercial.
    
    
  • We joined ESA in 2005 (17^th member). They are our strategic partner. Together we set up the European Space Resources Innovation Center (ESRIC) three years ago, a unique initiative in Europe.
    
    
  • We also participate in the ongoing UN efforts to codify space law through a revised treaty or other guidelines.
    
    
  • We are keen on bilateral partnerships: a founding member of US-led Artemis (now 20 States), we signed MOUs or intergovernmental agreements with US, Japan, Australia, and a dozen other countries, industrial agreements with NASA, and other space agencies. 
    
    
  • For instance, last October, Luxembourg and the US signed the “Global Commercially Contracted Satellite Communications Support Program” (GCC SATCOM SP), which will enhance NATO's space capabilities. The two countries will contract satellite communications capabilities through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). These steps demonstrate our shared commitment to the Atlantic Alliance. More recently, in February, Luxembourg announced it would utilize satellite technology developed by SES through this partnership, along the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). A second launch of the O3b mPOWER system happened a few days ago, with a third batch of two satellites to follow. The whole system will be operational this year.

• RECENT DEVELOPMENTS & OUR NEW SPACE STRATEGY: Since Luxembourg joined the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2005, Luxembourg's space policy and strategy have been reviewed every four to five years. Announced in December 2022, the new strategy for 2023-2027 is based on sustainability and 4 pillars:
  
  
  • Sustainability on Earth: how the space industry should benefit Earth and its earthlings, helping us address social and environmental challenges. Some examples: the emergency.lu platform by our Government and SES, Spire (weather data), Kleos (observation of shipping and planes), and Hydrosat (delivery of thermal data for agriculture). Btw: Hydrosat is an American company with its European headquarters in Luxembourg. It just announced $20 million in new funding to support the development of its satellites and analytics.
    
    
  • Sustainability in space: before it is too late, we must avoid the mistakes we made on Earth and aim for zero waste in space. This means avoiding excessive debris and preventing collisions. One example: NorthStar from Canada will now do this from Luxembourg. Other examples are Clearspace from CH, Space Recycling from Germany…
    
    
  • Sustainability in the exploration of space resources: In addition to the regulatory work I mentioned, our main tool in this area is research through ESRIC, the European hub for the development of sustainable utilization of space resources based in Luxembourg. It was our idea.
    
    
  • Economic sustainability: we need strong corporations, but for that, we also need a nurturing ecosystem, like ESA’s programs for Luxembourg (€127 million 2023-27), ESRIC’s research, other domestic labs, a proper national regulatory framework, talent development (two space masters at our University) and financial incentives (€110 million 2023-27 under Luximpulse e.g. +21%) and government or private (VC) levers for achieving growth. We are unique in that our government set up the Luxembourg Future Fund (LFF), which is co-managed with the EIF (EIB) and also the Orbital Venture Fund (managed by a US company). And now, the LFF 2 will succeed the LFF1 by doubling the effort with additional funds up to €200 million (the LFF1 was €150 million).
    
    

• EVENTS & INITIATIVES (RECENT & UPCOMING):
  
  
  • Luxembourg is home to many space events. Only in April, we hosted:
    • The 3^rd SpaceHack (a 3-day hybrid hackathon for 5 teams of 12, combining the expertise and skills of space and non-space talents in a collective entrepreneurial action. ESRIC is a key topic sponsor.
    • A professional space resources course was organized together with International Space University and Colorado School of Mines
    • Space Resources Week 2023: a 3-day hybrid conference connecting thought leaders from space agencies, research institutes, start-ups, and the industry.
    • Last year, ESRIC launched SSP, its Space Start-Up Support Program, the first worldwide incubation program dedicated to the utilization of space resources. The program provides funding up to €200,000. For the second call of the program, applications came in this year from 10 different countries, and five have been selected to be pre-incubated for a period of three months, including one from Canada.
  • A proper Space Campus will top off all these efforts, set to open in 2025 or 2026 and able to co-locate all the space companies.

• CONCLUSION:
  
  
  • Luxembourg can boast of a robust ecosystem and a multi-faced strategy in space. It is about funding, but not only: it is also about education/training and talent attraction, and having the necessary connections and critical mass with companies and research bodies operating in the various segments of the industry (space, ground, and various services), and of course, a business-oriented government supporting it all.
    
    
  • Just to give you two concrete examples of how this critical mass plays out: Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33 %), opened a Digital Center of Excellence in Luxembourg with support from the Ministry of the Economy and the Space Agency. They bring together digital engineers to deliver state-of-the-art products dedicated to space. They are 16 now but expect to be 25 by the end of the year and 50 in two years. They use the assets of Luxembourg’s ecosystem. They have a particularly relevant project for a financial center like Luxembourg: Space For Sustainable Finance, a venture aimed at collecting space data and using it to develop insights and indicators for the insurance sector and financial asset managers. The tool will help to verify self-declared ESG statements made by companies. 
    
    
  • Another example is an American one:Astroport Space Technologies, Inc., headquartered in San Antonio Texas, USA, and Interflight Global Europe, based in Miami but also headquartered in Luxembourg, announced a joint partnership to develop lunar construction and operations technologies needed for emplacing lunar surface infrastructure assets such as roads and landing pads in support of the NASA Artemis program and commercial missions for mining and establishing a permanent presence on the Moon. Astroport is developing lunar in-situ construction materials derived from regolith (Moon dirt) and the geotechnical engineering processes needed for surface site preparation for landing/launch pads, which is one of the first infrastructure elements required for permanent presence. Astroport was one of 5 companies competitively selected in 2022 by ESRIC for their first cohort of companies to go through the 3-month pre-incubation course.