New Space

The accelerated evolution in space industry has led to significant changes in the way space projects are conceptualized and executed. With greater reliance on the use of Commercial Off-The-Shelf and terrestrial technologies, space missions have become a major target for cyberattacks. To face these risks, it is crucial to enhance the cyber resilience of space systems through secure architectures that are tailored to the specific needs of each mission and based on a wide range of cyber threats. This article addresses this challenge by providing a holistic approach to building a Defensible Cybersecurity Architecture for New Space Missions. The five-step approach is based on understanding the mission context and (by extension) carrying out a risk analysis, to develop a mission-specific threat model using a cyber threat knowledge base. Within the framework of the generated model, the security architecture is implemented through a prioritized and layered application of security countermeasures according to “Zero-Trust” principles. Finally, monitoring and maintaining are carried out through the collection and analysis of security data, to continuously improve the relevance of the design. In addition, the application of the proposed approach on a FlatSat emulating an Earth-Observation CubeSat demonstrates its effectiveness in securing satellite projects.

With recent advancements in space exploration plans and human spaceflight, civilian participation is no longer imaginary. This study aimed at exploring young professionals' perceptions of space exploration and space medicine in Saudi Arabia during the Saudi Vision 2030 era. This cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were residents of Saudi Arabia with educational levels of high school or higher. In total, 341 participants completed the survey. The mean age of the participants was 23 years (interquartile range: 10). A total of 31.1% (106 participants) were medical students and 17.9% (61 participants) were physicians. Most participants (75%) had never heard of space medicine. Among physicians and medical students, more than 85% responded with “yes” and “maybe” when asked whether they will pursue a career in space medicine if given the opportunity. This is the first study to evaluate young professionals' perceptions of space exploration and medicine in Saudi Arabia during the Saudi Vision 2030 era. This study offered insights into the limited perception and expectations of the participants toward ongoing advancement in the space industry. Nevertheless, Saudi physicians' and medical students' perceptions of space medicine as a pursued sub-specialty in the future are very optimistic. Raising awareness about the importance of space medicine is highly recommended.

Many articles address the current space industry on the basis of a specific domain (technical innovation, infrastructure needs, etc.), but a few address the funding aspect of the new space economy, particularly as we transition from substantial public funding for space to private funding. Even now, the world is seeing a dramatic increase in the number of private companies focused on the exploitation of space resources, a trend that will only continue to advance. Accompanying this development has been a transition from generous public funding for space initiatives to private funding. Both these trends will also increase, significantly, as time moves on. As all the private actors require external funding to achieve their commercial aims, the need has developed for a bold new source of funding for higher risk private ventures related to the space resources industry. This article argues for the creation of an International Space Development Bank that would be structured, owned, and governed in a manner similar to analogous terrestrial multilateral development banks, but with a focused mandate to fund space- and space resource-related development projects and thereby help the space economy to achieve faster growth and reinforce best practices in regard to financing, cooperation, and oversight.

The United States now finds itself in the enviable position of dominating the global space launch market. For the past decade, launch rates have risen from a dozen per year to weekly. The vast majority of this increase in activity has taken place on Florida's space coast and specifically at Cape Canaveral. Space Force officials now suggest that the launch rate at their range will approach daily cadence, a situation that offers to create a significant number of logistical challenges. This article explores those challenges and proposes a number of physical, legal, financial, and regulatory solutions.

Across the globe, government, military, and commercial interests are rapidly expanding into the Cislunar service volume (CSV). As missions into Cislunar space become increasingly common over the next decade, the need for reliable positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) infrastructure in the CSV is frequently discussed on the international stage, for which some states have started to propose policy frameworks and technical solutions. NASA's proposed Artemis series of missions may be the most publicly well-developed plan for Cislunar exploration and development, including plans for a Lunar Gateway space station as well as a permanent research station on the lunar surface. PNT systems allow a spacecraft to accurately determine its location and orientation, calculate trajectory corrections, and maintain precise clock time. On Earth's surface and within the geostationary orbit, PNT is commonly achieved via Global Navigation Satellite Systems such as GPS or GLONASS. Currently, there is no standardized PNT system for spacecraft operating in Cislunar space; the United States and other nations have expressed interest in developing this technology to facilitate future space missions. Possible architectures for a Cislunar PNT system include an expanded or augmented system of Earth-orbiting navigation satellites, a network of lunar-orbiting satellites, Earth- or Moon-based surface beacons, and combinations of the above. Technical efforts to develop these systems are ongoing. However, the international political landscape that underpins these activities remains fragmented. In this study, we examine key stakeholders in the creation of a Cislunar PNT system. We also identify and analyze the critical international debates and policy issues that will be relevant in the development of this infrastructure, such as military versus civil involvement, signal characteristics and requirements, possible restrictions on who can access the signals, varying levels of international cooperation, and discussions around system interoperability to offer insights that can help guide ongoing policy development in this area.