- 8 months ago
Space Race 2.0 The Push for Global Broadband Access
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00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30...
01:00Stephen Rogers is SVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Ariane Space.
01:04Let's welcome them.
01:10Thank you.
01:29Thank you.
01:30Thank you so much for being with us, both of you.
01:32For those of you just joining us in the room, I think I should give your names once more.
01:36Julie Zoller, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs for Project Kuiper at Amazon, and Stephen Rogers,
01:41SVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Ariane Space.
01:43Thank you again for being with us today.
01:46Now, to give our audience a bit of context, Ariane Space and Project Kuiper are both part of the emerging
01:52technology of LEO satellite broadband.
01:56Last year, they signed the largest ever commercial rocket deal.
02:01So, can I start by asking you perhaps, what's your current state of play?
02:05What type of progress are you making for your separate but connected initiatives?
02:09Julie, do you want to start us off?
02:11Thank you, Nadia.
02:12It's just a delight to be here with you and to be here with Stephen today at VivaTech.
02:17So, Project Kuiper is Amazon's global broadband LEO system, low-Earth orbiting satellite constellation.
02:28It consists of over 3,200 satellites in low-Earth orbit, plus innovative customer terminals and an extensive ground segment.
02:38We are delighted to have a partnership with Ariane Space because, as you can imagine, launching 3,200 satellites is
02:48quite an endeavor.
02:49And so, we announced that in April of 2022.
02:54Since that announcement, there's been quite an innovation surge across Europe in 13 countries.
03:07industries related to our launch contract have blossomed in Italy and in Sweden, where we have our dispensers that we're
03:18making for Project Kuiper.
03:19As far as Project Kuiper goes, when I first started in three years ago, we had fewer than 100 people
03:27on the project.
03:29Today, it's over 1,400.
03:31We announced in March our innovative customer terminals, which you can see at our booth here.
03:38And we also shipped our first two Protoflight satellites to Cape Canaveral.
03:45So, we're making fabulous progress.
03:48I've never seen anything like it in the industry.
03:51Some incredible milestones there.
03:52Stephen, how about yourself?
03:54Bonjour à tous.
03:56Bonjour, Nadia.
03:57Bonjour.
03:57Thank you, Julie.
03:59Hello.
04:00It's an honor to be here with you.
04:02We are deeply honored that we signed an agreement on April 5th, 2022, with Kuiper, with Amazon, to provide 18
04:13launches.
04:14And our job at Arienspace
04:17Is to help our customers reach their orbit
04:22And the way that we do that
04:24Is through using enormous rockets
04:28And we launch them from French Guiana
04:32At the European Launch Facility
04:35That has been there for over 40 years
04:37And it is an extremely proud accomplishment for Arienspace
04:45But for the 600 companies all across Europe
04:50As you mentioned, 13 countries contribute to this rocket
04:55This Arienspace rocket
04:57And thousands and thousands and thousands of people
05:01All over Europe have been working for years
05:04To get ready for this
05:06And so Arienspace has been launching such rockets
05:12For over 40 years
05:14And Amazon chose us because
05:17Partly this experience
05:18Partly because we've designed this new Arien 6 rocket
05:23And I'm going to give you an idea
05:26The African male elephant
05:30Weighs about 6,000 kilograms
05:36This rocket can lift up more than 3 African elephants
05:42From a standing still position
05:45To 10,000 kilometers an hour
05:49Within 2 minutes
05:5028,000 kilometers an hour
05:54In about 8 to 9 minutes
05:57And we can talk a little bit more about how this technology
06:02Is perfect to help a constellation like Kuiper
06:07Get into the right orbit
06:08Those elephants won't know what's hit them
06:10And as the LEO satellite space industry
06:14Is quickly innovating
06:15That's also ushering in more operators
06:17And more guidelines
06:19So are these factors making space safety
06:23Harder to achieve perhaps?
06:25And are there specific efforts that you're pursuing
06:27Around space safety and sustainability
06:29For the responsible use of space?
06:31That's an essential question, isn't it?
06:34Do you have to start with us?
06:35No, absolutely
06:36It's a very important question
06:38The safety of space is a concern for all of us here in the room
06:43Maybe some of you have heard of the Kessler effect
06:46Which is something that we need to avoid at all costs
06:50The Kessler effect is when there is a collision of debris
06:55Which cascades and becomes a chain reaction
06:58Which ultimately would not allow us to operate in space anymore
07:03So imagine in low Earth orbit
07:06You have pieces of debris
07:09Which are traveling at 25,000 kilometers an hour
07:12It really destroys other pieces of communication equipment
07:16For example, that might be there
07:17So what are some of the things that we do at Ariane Space
07:22In order to prevent that?
07:24I spoke a little bit about the new Ariane 6 launcher
07:27We have a reignitable upper stage
07:30That allows us, first of all
07:33To position the satellite in multiple orbital planes
07:38So it reignites, puts different planes, different satellites
07:43And then we use the third reignition
07:46To de-orbit the upper stage
07:49So that we don't leave any debris
07:51Ariane Space was also one of the first signatories
07:54During the Paris Peace Accord in 2021
07:57To promote net zero in space
08:00And we continue to work with our partners
08:04To ensure that European access to space is guaranteed
08:08And that we reduce debris as much as possible
08:12In fact, there's a very cool mission
08:15For which we're going to be doing in 26
08:18With a company called Clear Space
08:21Whereby we literally launch a grabber
08:24Whereby we're going to grab a hundred kilo piece of debris
08:28In orbit and then de-orbit it
08:32And so it's the first time that that's going to be done
08:35So it's very exciting
08:36And we're very proud of working with Amazon and Kuiper
08:40Because they're taking some very serious steps
08:43To mitigate exactly the same things
08:46Tell us about that
08:47Thank you
08:49Space sustainability has been a core tenant
08:53For the Kuiper project from day one
08:56Our mission depends on having a healthy space environment
09:02Now and into the future
09:04And so when we chose our orbital altitudes
09:08When we designed our satellites
09:10And when we determined how we were going to operate them
09:14It was all with space safety in mind
09:16We chose orbital altitudes
09:19Where we can de-orbit our satellites
09:21At the end of mission life
09:23In less than one year
09:25And we put propulsion systems on our satellites
09:29So that we could avoid debris that's in space
09:32Safely navigate during our mission life
09:36And then bring our satellites down
09:38We're committed to sharing our location information
09:43With other operators
09:44And to sharing how we're going to maneuver our satellites
09:49So that everyone knows where we're going and when
09:53We think that's essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability of space
10:00And in terms of sustainability
10:02It's an Amazon core commitment
10:06We started the 2019 climate pledge
10:11To get to net zero carbon emissions across our company
10:15By 2040
10:1810 years before the UN commitment
10:24And Kuiper is part of that
10:27And we're busy working on reducing our carbon impact
10:32Of Project Kuiper
10:33As part of Amazon's overall commitment
10:36Fascinating stuff
10:37Now the emergence of satellite broadband
10:40Is also changing the pace
10:41And reliability of connection throughout the world
10:44To help close the digital divide
10:47So where do you each see
10:49The greatest need and or impact
10:51For this growing capability and technology
10:54Do you want to start us off, Julie?
10:58Connectivity is missing across the globe
11:03There are unserved and underserved communities
11:06In developed and developing countries alike
11:10The scale at which Amazon operates
11:13We feel a commitment to helping to solve big problems
11:18On behalf of customers
11:20And so when we looked at the lack of broadband
11:24That communities were experiencing
11:27And the impacts that has on education
11:30Employment opportunities
11:33The ability to access government services and so on
11:38We decided it was time for us to do something about it
11:42And that's the genesis of Project Kuiper
11:46Providing broadband services
11:49To people across the globe
11:52Is good for society
11:54And it's good for business
11:56We feel we're uniquely capable
12:00Of delivering low-cost consumer devices
12:05And so we put a lot of innovation
12:07Into our customer terminals
12:09That will be delivered
12:13With Project Kuiper services
12:15Stephen, what's your take on the impact
12:18Of increased connectivity
12:21During the past two decades
12:24I've been working for communication satellite companies
12:28All over the world
12:29And the most dangerous job in the world
12:33Is to be a fisherman
12:37And very often
12:38They don't have any communications
12:40They don't have any SOS button
12:42They don't have a bank account
12:44They don't have an insurance policy
12:47And so being able to have a connection
12:50Inform your family
12:51That you're going to be home in two days
12:53Instead of tomorrow
12:55Makes a huge difference
12:56I don't know about you
12:58How you feel when you don't have connectivity
13:00With the internet
13:01But I feel it
13:04I spoke to a friend yesterday
13:05Who was in Bangalore
13:06He didn't have internet connectivity
13:08For eight hours
13:09He was going nuts
13:10And we take connectivity for granted
13:15But even in the home of Silicon Valley
13:19In California
13:2280% of the utility network
13:26The electricity network
13:27Is connected
13:28The rest is not
13:31And the only way
13:32That you can connect those locations
13:34Is satellite
13:35Because it just doesn't make economic sense
13:39To deploy cellular technologies
13:42So there's a huge opportunity for growth
13:45Whether it's schools
13:46Or government services
13:48Whether it's on ships
13:49Whether it's in aviation
13:51There's a lot of opportunity there
13:53And so the digital divide is real
13:56And we have a lot of work to do
13:57Wonderful
13:58We have time for one last question
14:00Since the Leo industry is growing as a whole
14:03What does hiring
14:05And the current workforce
14:07Actually look like now
14:08Are you finding the talent pool
14:10Deep enough to hire the people you need
14:13As quickly as you need
14:18We are always looking for great people
14:21If there's an engineer
14:24If there's someone here
14:26Who's a great marketeer
14:29Recruitment at arienspace.com
14:32Please feel free
14:33Many people think that it's only engineers
14:36That can apply
14:37That have very specific physics
14:39Or mathematics degrees
14:40We need those people too
14:42But there's a whole range of skills
14:46And people that we're looking for
14:48That's number one
14:49Number two
14:51Is the people that work for Arienspace
14:54And the companies that we work with
14:57They do this because there is a deep passion
15:00For what we do
15:02There is a real love in the mission
15:06For helping our customers
15:08Using amazing technology to get to space
15:11So for example
15:13We launched the James Webb telescope
15:15Which you may know
15:17If you haven't seen it
15:18Go look at the pictures
15:19It's just iconic
15:20And why would a NASA mission launch
15:25With a European rocket?
15:26It's because of this unbelievable reliability
15:30And performance
15:31That we've shown again and again
15:32So what happens is
15:34Young people
15:35They might not know who we are
15:37But they find out about the James Webb telescope
15:40They see how by injecting that telescope precisely
15:44We double the life of the telescope
15:48That's really worthwhile
15:49And then they contact us
15:51But please do reach out
15:54We need you
15:55A clear call to action there
15:56Julie
15:57We've assembled a world class group of scientists and engineers
16:05To build Kuiper
16:06And I can't emphasize enough
16:10The need for our science, technology, engineering, and math pipeline
16:16To grow so that we have the talent
16:19That we need to work on projects like Kuiper
16:23I'm on a committee in the United States
16:27For the Federal Aviation Administration
16:29And the first task that they gave us this year
16:33Was to help the FAA
16:36And the space industry
16:38Increase the STEM pipeline
16:41And do so in a way that is diverse and inclusive
16:45And so we're working on that
16:49We're working on that with the White House Space Council
16:53And we're helping programs that not only encourage kids and young adults
17:02To go into engineering and science as a career field
17:05But also technicians
17:08We're all in need of technicians
17:11To perform jobs that don't require degrees
17:16But do require that technical acumen
17:18And as Stephen mentioned
17:20There's such a passion for space missions
17:24And there is such a passion for connectivity
17:28And is that a reason also to upskill the task
17:32The workforce you already have
17:34Yes, we do have programs for helping bring employees
17:39From one level of skill set
17:42Or one type of skill
17:44Up into a completely new career field
17:47Amazing, thank you very much
17:50We're going to have to leave it at that
17:51Unfortunately, we're running out of time
17:53But thank you both, Julie Zeller and Stephen Rutgers
17:55For having been with us
17:57In such an inspiring and insightful conversation
18:01Thank you both
18:02Thank you, Nadia
18:03Thank you, Nadia
18:05And with that, it's time to take a short break
18:07We'll be back in just a few minutes
18:09For our next double session on health tech
18:12The first is entitled
18:13Future Living, Ethics and Opportunities of Biohacking
18:16So if you can, stay with us
18:19Thank you
18:24Thank you
18:25Thank you
18:25Thank you
18:37Thank you