OTTAWA – The global space economy is booming and opportunities abound for the Canadian space industry – but government support is vital to realizing this potential. That was the message delivered by Euroconsult Canada Managing Director Nathan de Ruiter to the Space Bound 2022 conference, hosted by Space Canada at Ottawa’s Bayview Yards building.
De Ruiter opened his “Canada’s Space Economy: Light The Lamp” presentation by detailing the robust health of the global space market. Based on Euroconsult’s data, this market – which includes commercial space revenues and government procurements from the private sector – was worth $337 billion in 2021, and is projected to grow by 74% to 2030, reaching a value of $642 billion. He then outlined what he called “the Big Six opportunities for the space sector … (and) where we see the prospects for Canada.”
One of the Big Six Opportunities de Ruiter spotlighted was broadband connectivity, both for moving customers in aircraft and ships, and ‘fixed’ broadband customers in underserved rural and remote areas. “In Canada, only 53% of rural communities have high speed broadband,” he said. “There’s a lot of programs and a lot of steps still to be taken to provide true broadband connectivity for everyone in Canada.”
Another big opportunity for the Canadian satellite industry is Earth observation, in a wide range of areas. “We’ve seen a lot of new investments, new constellations come to the market providing different kinds of data sensor types,” said de Ruiter. Promising applications include agriculture, environment monitoring, and location-based services, among others; all aided by enhanced analysis powered by artificial intelligence-driven systems.
A further opportunity is the provision of satellite services for Internet of Things (IoT) and direct-to-smartphone applications. A case in point: “A few months ago Apple announced that they are developing the provision of emergency satellite services to the new iPhone 14,” de Ruiter said. The fact that Apple is investing in bringing satellite connectivity to smartphones is extremely significant to the satellite business, he noted. “It’s going be a tremendous upside to our industry.”
Meanwhile, space exploration continues to be a major market for the Canadian space industry. “The key thing that we today see is this overall recognition from space agencies that the way to Mars is (by) building a sustainable lunar presence first,” said de Ruiter; a realization that is driving NASA’s Gateway Moon-orbiting space station, on which an MDA-built Canadarm3 will be installed. But more opportunities need to be sought and backed financially by Canadian space companies — and the federal government needs to play its part in driving this growth through leadership and investment in the industry. “We need to be ambitious,” said de Ruiter. “We need to dream.”
The bottom line: Canada has the tools and talent to share in the global satellite industry’s projected prosperity, but our industry needs continued government funding and participation to keep us in the game.
“I think Canada’s very well positioned,” de Ruiter concluded. “There is a really clear opportunity here for us to grow our space economy … but the government role remains crucial.”