Ethereal Choices!
Platform and Space
Thanks for your love and support for the various initiatives being planned by Centre of Excellence for Digital Transformation at IFHE Hyderabad. Please send a message or simply reply to this email if you would like to be part of future events. You can read about our recent One Day Symposium on “Digital Transformation of Informal Sector Challenges and Opportunities for EdTech '' jointly organised by Centre of Excellence for Digital Transformation and Freidrich-Ebert-Stiftung India Office. in the previous week newsletter
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DTW
During the Week, India’s first dedicated think-tank on space — Spaceport SARABHAi was launched in Bangalore. Spaceport SARABHAI’s name is a homage to the founder of Indian Space Program and give India an international voice in SpaceTech ecosystem.
I wrote abut Space Industry where I focussed on three dimensions- Data Management , Transportation and Manufacturing.
Space seems to be the new Wild West and companies/governments seems to be scrambling for control. New spaces like Space (pardon the pun) create opportunities as the regulators are usually late to catch up with the innovative start ups and risk capital looking for new frontiers. With regard to SpaceTech, we could look at two dimensions- First, exploiting space as a new resource ecosystem and Second, using space as away from land and its laws.
First, Space provides new areas for economic activities which could be in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. For example, need for rare earth elements (REEs) which are required for the growth in Electric vehicles (EVs), utility-scale electric production and storage, and the Internet of Things (IoT) seem to be driving interest in near space mining. We are fast approaching both technological and economic viability of space mining and potential avenues for addressing them. This would also require close coordination between investors, large companies, national space programs as well as national governments.
In secondary sector, tremendous potential is for creating platforms to enable material research and manufacturing in near space. There are multiple start-ups working in material and product supply, science and engineering and of course in space medicines. In services sector, there is potential for Transportation Platforms including launch vehicles and space stations for manned and unmanned space travel. And if you are wondering how are those tens of thousands of satellites would reach their respective orbit then look no further as AgniKul wants to be leading developer of space launch vehicles. Of course, there are national space agencies including ISRO who can play a major role in manufacturing and launching these manned or unmanned vehicles but increasingly this task is being outsourced to smaller nimbler start-ups.
Second, using Space as an extra-judicial space and thus avoiding the earth based regulations seems to have caught people’s imagination.
While Elon Musk might be planning for colonising the Red Planet Mars but others are already planning for the new currency for the red planet.
Then , there are new business opportunities to create space based infrastructure without any need for land based infrastructure.
Spire Global announced a new partnership with SpaceChain, a space-as-a-service solutions provider developing the world’s first decentralized satellite infrastructure (DSI). Together, the two are launching a mission to "demonstrate the feasibility of blockchain technology computation in spaceand resolve land-based centralized infrastructure issues." By deploying a solution in space, Spire and SpaceChain aim to maximize data security and increase the resiliency of computing operations. The Decentralized Satellite Infrastructure (DSI) can be built and ran without any need for land-based infrastructure. “Space is the next frontier for businesses, and through Spire’s satellite infrastructure we are taking global collaboration to the ultimate vantage point,” says SpaceChain co-founder and CEO.
-The Space Investor, Oct 2021
To conclude, there is potential for space-for-earth and space-for-space economies and entrepreneurs and risk capital is looking forward to an exciting future.
OTW
Over the Weekend, Peeranchervu Runners hosted runners to some catching up over breakfast at our local breakfast adda near Peerancheruvu Lake.
PCR as we are known in Hyderabad running circles conducts an annual anniversary run on first Sunday of December but unfortunately could not host runners this year because of resurgence of Covid19. We decided to keep the spirit alive and caught up with each other over some hot South Indian breakfast and tea. Many of us are also planning to participate in the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2021 on 19th December 2021 and this week happened to be the last week of preparation before we get into “tapering”. Unfortunately, I stumbled during the run and got an abrasion on the right knee which required a visit to a nearby clinic for some primary care. That story is for another day.
Anyways, it brought back recollection of an interesting thought by Ryan Holiday in his book, The Obstacle is the Way. He elaborates on Marcus Aurelius’ idea that “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way”. Most of the times we squirm and complain about what has been taken from us and are unable to appreciate what we have. Perhaps, sometimes we need to surrender to go ahead. This is different than giving up. I still intend to run on 19th December 2021 but completely comfortable with the idea that there are things beyond our control and there is no point fretting about it. Sometimes you need to be relieved from your own self and accept “what happened would happen”. Irshad Kamil has many brilliant pieces but this part from his best in RockStar captures it much better.
मुझपे करम सरकार तेरा, अरज तुझे,
कर दे मुझे मुझसे ही रिहा
अब मुझको भी हो दीदार मेरा,
कर दे मुझे मुझसे ही रिहा
मुझसे ही रिहा
-Kun Faya Kun, Irshad Kamil, Rockstar (2011)Deo volente (God Willing ) as the ancients would say.
I Love You
Shailendra
Thank you Sir for sharing all things space in this newsletter. So much more to read up on this! I'm sorry to hear about the stumble, hope you feel better soon and of course the run on 19th will go well - god willing! Great to see the Ryan Holiday reference - also one of my favourite books :)
thanks for the wonderful advice sir. cant wait to see you on 19th. get well soon and recover fast.
Hope to meet you soon.