The Satellite Industry Association estimates that the turnover related to the production and sales of space-based positioning devices amounted to $97.4 billion in
2019.
13
This data does not take into account the revenues of all those services that
use GPS for different applications on smartphones, tablets or PCs, where satellite
georeferencing is an integrated and transparent feature to the final user, as well as
an essential element for the accuracy of the service offered – in short, where GPS
is fundamental to the value of the product. This is an immense spillover effect
14
whose financial evaluation is practically impossible. In addition, satellite georeferencing will be vital for the future digital society, which promises to make our
physical surroundings accessible to any digital devices through sensors on nearly
everything in the world. This ecosystem is called the Internet of Things (IoT).
15
It
basically is a digital layer that connects the world with new and revolutionary
applications, such as autonomous-driving cars.
16
The Space Economy 1.0 has generated several products of daily use. One of the
most recognized is Teflon, a material commonly used in clothing and kitchen pots.
However, Teflon’s origins are not quite so clear. The discovery of this fireproof
polymer is often attributed to NASA, which used it in the Apollo program.
17
But
it was actually created by DuPont in 1941 and utilised for the atomic bomb, as it
was capable of absorbing the corrosive uranium hexafluoride
18
within the isotope
enrichment process. Only afterwards did NASA use Teflon inside the astronaut
suits.
On the other hand, one of the most important spillovers of the Space Economy
1.0 is largely unknown to public opinion. It lies inside all the microchips that have
been powering all our electronic devices for daily use since the seventies. This is
the so-called Viterbi algorithm, a calculation method invented by an Italian engineer, Andrea Viterbi,
19
who emigrated to the US in the thirties. He founded the
Qualcomm Corporation, one of the biggest companies worldwide for the design
and production of microchips. Viterbi started his career at NASA working with
Werner von Braun. He was in charge of the signal transmission between the control center and the Explorer 1, the first American satellite. Thanks to his works at
NASA, he developed a mathematical algorithm that would later be used in all
13
https://sia.org/news-resources/state-of-the-satellite-industry-report/.
14
Economic term to categorize a phenomenon for which an economic activity aimed at benefiting a certain sector or a territorial area produces positive effects even beyond these areas.
15
https://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/internet-of-things/.
16
https://www.mckinsey.com/features/mckinsey-center-for-future-mobility/overview/
autonomous-driving.
17
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/science/f_apollo_11_spinoff.html.
18
Kotler, Philip, and Waldemar Pfoertsch. 2010. Ingredient Branding: Making the Invisible
Visible. Cham: Springer-Verlag, 157.
19
Chiaberge, Riccardo. 2000. L’algoritmo di Viterbi. Sperling & Kupfler.
Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad 87
2019.
13
This data does not take into account the revenues of all those services that
use GPS for different applications on smartphones, tablets or PCs, where satellite
georeferencing is an integrated and transparent feature to the final user, as well as
an essential element for the accuracy of the service offered – in short, where GPS
is fundamental to the value of the product. This is an immense spillover effect
14
whose financial evaluation is practically impossible. In addition, satellite georeferencing will be vital for the future digital society, which promises to make our
physical surroundings accessible to any digital devices through sensors on nearly
everything in the world. This ecosystem is called the Internet of Things (IoT).
15
It
basically is a digital layer that connects the world with new and revolutionary
applications, such as autonomous-driving cars.
16
The Space Economy 1.0 has generated several products of daily use. One of the
most recognized is Teflon, a material commonly used in clothing and kitchen pots.
However, Teflon’s origins are not quite so clear. The discovery of this fireproof
polymer is often attributed to NASA, which used it in the Apollo program.
17
But
it was actually created by DuPont in 1941 and utilised for the atomic bomb, as it
was capable of absorbing the corrosive uranium hexafluoride
18
within the isotope
enrichment process. Only afterwards did NASA use Teflon inside the astronaut
suits.
On the other hand, one of the most important spillovers of the Space Economy
1.0 is largely unknown to public opinion. It lies inside all the microchips that have
been powering all our electronic devices for daily use since the seventies. This is
the so-called Viterbi algorithm, a calculation method invented by an Italian engineer, Andrea Viterbi,
19
who emigrated to the US in the thirties. He founded the
Qualcomm Corporation, one of the biggest companies worldwide for the design
and production of microchips. Viterbi started his career at NASA working with
Werner von Braun. He was in charge of the signal transmission between the control center and the Explorer 1, the first American satellite. Thanks to his works at
NASA, he developed a mathematical algorithm that would later be used in all
13
https://sia.org/news-resources/state-of-the-satellite-industry-report/.
14
Economic term to categorize a phenomenon for which an economic activity aimed at benefiting a certain sector or a territorial area produces positive effects even beyond these areas.
15
https://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/internet-of-things/.
16
https://www.mckinsey.com/features/mckinsey-center-for-future-mobility/overview/
autonomous-driving.
17
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/science/f_apollo_11_spinoff.html.
18
Kotler, Philip, and Waldemar Pfoertsch. 2010. Ingredient Branding: Making the Invisible
Visible. Cham: Springer-Verlag, 157.
19
Chiaberge, Riccardo. 2000. L’algoritmo di Viterbi. Sperling & Kupfler.
Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad 87