As executive chairman of this year’s highly anticipated Space-Comm Expo Scotland event, 维珍银河公司的博天堂入口创始人, 威尔·怀特霍恩, remains highly optimistic on the sector’s lofty ambitions
两天, 今年秋天的9月11日和12日, the eyes of the global space community will be on Glasgow, 因为该市举办了太空通讯博览会, Scotland’s largest-ever exhibition for the space community.
The fact that it is being hosted in Glasgow is testimony to the central role Scotland now plays in the UK’s commercial space initiatives.
威尔·怀特霍恩, 维珍银河的创始人, 他自己就是博天堂入口人, 是今年活动的执行主席吗. 作为航天事业的热情倡导者, Whitehorn has little patience with people who argue that we have way too many problems right now on Earth to worry about space.
“What people who say things like that fail to realise is that our space initiatives are absolutely crucial to the continued existence of humans on this planet,他认为. “We certainly could not feed the nearly seven billion people alive today without the information that is being beamed down constantly from the current generation of satellites. 它们在全球粮食生产中的作用现在至关重要.
“Without GPS to co-ordinate the logistics of transporting food, much of what is produced around the world would rot in the ports,他补充道.
Whitehorn points out that it is no longer a fantasy to think that solar energy can be beamed down to Earth via microwaves from space.
“This technology exists today and in the next five years or so, we will see a tremendous revolution in the way we generate energy. The only way we will get planet Earth to net zero will be through moving power generation off the ground and into space. 这不仅是可行的，而且正在发生. The next generation of satellites are already on the drawing board,” he says.
He points out that the series of Acts passed by the US Congress to open up space to commercial space launches and satellite production, along with similar commercialisation efforts in the UK and Europe, 是否彻底改变了整个行业.
“We simply could not have reached the position that the space industry is in today without opening the field up to industry and private initiatives. Launches were costing Nasa around $2 billion every time the shuttle launched. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has cut that by a massive 90% and that cost is still falling,” he notes.
Cheap launches are fundamental to the development of the global space industry, and Scotland is at the forefront of UK and European launch ambitions.
“What we are seeing today is an absolute explosion of innovation in this sector. We have reached the point where humanity is now totally reliant on the space industry. For me, 就我个人而言, getting power generation off the planet and outside the atmosphere, so that we are no longer generating greenhouse gasses in our hunger for energy, will be one of the biggest wins the space sector will produce.
“互联网, 流媒体电影, 社交媒体和人工智能革命, 更不用说加密货币挖矿热潮了, is leading to the massive proliferation of energy-hungry data centres worldwide.
“Already one-third of the power that Ireland produces, for example, is consumed by data centres. This demand can only grow as the AI revolution takes hold. Getting cheap power from space with zero CO2 implications is an absolute necessity, and this is just one of the things that the space industry will do for Planet Earth.”
Whitehorn points out that the Scottish space industry is thriving and is one of the fastest-growing space sectors in Europe. “格拉斯哥在卫星建设方面处于世界领先地位. Scotland is home to the world’s newest spaceport in the Shetland Isles,” he says.
“它将成为极地轨道的战略发射台. We already have multiple launch vehicle operators stepping up with groundbreaking technologies,他补充道. “I have even had major law firms contacting me, wanting to get involved in this burgeoning industry.”
同时, 博天堂入口以世界级的葡萄酒而闻名, downstream data capabilities and technology for deep space missions. It is home to over 150 space companies and the sector is underpinned by government, 业务, 集群和大学.
Space-Comm Expo Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government, 英国航天局, UKspace, 博天堂入口企业, 博天堂入口南部企业, 高地和岛屿企业, and Space Scotland with plans to attract international delegations and visitors from across Europe and the global space community, 与启动, 中小企业及初创企业.
Until this year, the Space-Comm Expo event was held in Farnborough. It is now expanding to a series of events in Glasgow, London and Dubai.
This showcases the importance of Scotland in the UK’s commercial space initiatives. Scottish-based companies will be to the fore alongside international exhibitors, 产品演示, 主旨发言人, 多个会议厅和圆桌, 还有一对一的交流机会.
太空通讯博览会免费入场. 如欲登记或查询参展商资料，请浏览: space-comm-scotland.co.uk
来源: 《博天堂官方入口》