Commercial use of space is the provision of goods or services of commercial value by using equipment sent into Earth orbit or outer space. The commercial space industry is experiencing unprecedented growth fueled by technological advancements and reduced launch costs. In particular, the scale of commercial activity in outer space is expanding significantly, combining with artificial intelligence, robotics, remote operations and other technological capabilities and connectivity to offer opportunities from digital mapping and resource discovery to enhanced communications, remote health services and resource and environmental management, as well as emerging potential in space mining and engineering.
According to the Space Foundation (www.spacefoundation.org), the space sector has experienced massive growth in investment activity over the past decade. Between 2012 and 2021, total annual investment grew to more than $10 billion from $300 million. Commercial space revenues totalled $445 billion in 2023, 5.4% higher than in 2022. By the year 2035, the space economy is projected to have grown to $1.8 trillion.
This space commercialisation open house event (held on October 29, 2024) was for students curious about space commercialisation, autonomous vehicles, rocketeering, lunar and Mars habitation, space mining, space tourism, robotics engineering, avionics, electrical engineering, satellite manufacturing, systems engineering, space finance, and more. Students from across UBC (Keevil, Electrical Engineering, Applied Science, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Sauder School of Business, and more) attended – around 120 people registered for it.
“Given the overall success of this event, efforts will next focus on hosting a high-calibre aerospace-focus careers day at UBC in 2025, hopefully featuring groups like Boeing, Airbus, SpaceX, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), NASA, MDA, CAE, and others. The proposed careers day event would not only connect students to potential future employers but also showcase our talented students and the various participating departments at UBC.”, said UBC Keevil and Sauder instructor Carlos da Costa, who hosted this event. When Carlos mentioned this to the crowd at the open house event, there was enthusiastic interest in showcasing such an event at UBC.
This open house event was pleased to welcome:
Moderator: Dr. Carlos da Costa, Adjunct Professor, Sauder Business School, Finance Division / Sessional Lecturer, Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at UBC
Special guest speakers included:
Raman Chawla – Project Manager (Scientist/Engineer) ISRO – Indian Space Research Organisation July 2016 – April 2023. Raman worked as a Scientist at ISRO (India’s space agency) for six years, where he played a pivotal role in developing electric propulsion engines for geostationary satellites. Raman was also involved in India’s Moon missions (Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3), contributing to the Failure Analysis Committee for Chandrayaan-2 and working on trajectory design for Chandrayaan-3.
Bruno Geoffrion – General Manager, Moon and Mars Industries Inc. Bruno served as a SpaceX Engineer from 2007 to 2015, contributing to the innovative work of the company during that time. Following his tenure at SpaceX, Bruno transitioned into the role of Engineering Manager at Virgin Orbit from 2015 to 2017.
Jeff Plate – CEO of interstellar Mining. Jeff is a founding contributor to the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), based at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Labs, which advises the US Government and NASA as a recognized expert on space mining and exploration.
Three UBC Clubs were also featured:
Mars Colony – an engineering team that researches and develops space-based technologies from infrastructure development to resource utilisation in pursuit of Mars colonisation (https://ubcmarscolony.com/).
Representatives: Douglas Zhu (Captain | UBC Mars Colony) and Heidi Snow (Chemical Lead | UBC Mars Colony)
UBC Rocket – founded in 2016, with the goal of pushing the boundaries of university rocketry technology and teaching students the complexities of rocket design, manufacture and launch (www.ubcrocket.com).
Representatives: Naomi Goizueta-Serrano & Kiara Kozak (Co-Captains | UBC Rocket)
UBC Rover – an engineering student design team consisting of members across many disciplines who are passionate about engineering, robotics, and the future (https://ubcrover.com/).
Representatives: Conor O’Neill & Myra Wei (Co-Captains | UBC Rover