Virgin Galactic Test Flight Failure Sets Industry Back

I will start this month by passing our condolences to the family of Michael Alsbury, who tragically lost his life in the Virgin Galactic test flight incident that made front pages all over the world. We also wish his fellow pilot Peter Siebold a strong recovery. The failure of this test flight is a major blow, not just to Virgin Galactic, but also to this nascent industry of space tourism. However, this shows that, if we did not know already, to execute such ambitious plans is far from easy This incident, in fact, could possibly set back Virgin Galactic years.

The space industry is littered with human tragedy. It is an industry of often-breathtaking vision, but there is also often a human cost, as this most recent news shows. Virgin Galactic will do well to recover from this.

It has been a tough few weeks for the space industry as a whole. We have also seen the high profile launch failure of the Antares rocket which recently exploded just seconds after it lifted off from a Virginia launch pad. Again, this was a story that made news beyond space and industry publications. It shows once again that making technology work in this sector is difficult and when things go wrong, they tend to go wrong in a pretty dramatic way. We wish both Virgin Galactic and Orbital Sciences all the best as they try and put these incidents behind them.

In this last edition of Via Satellite for 2014, we look at where satellite can really make a difference in terms of education. We highlight case studies all around the world from Mexico to Kenya to India, and how satellite is reducing the educational divide in many countries. While I started by talking of the human cost, the benefits we, as a global community, derive from satellites is huge. Satellites better peoples’ lives, and this story shows the technology working at its finest. We also talk to a number of CTOs of major satellite operators and look at their potential wish list for new tech in 2015.

The industry continues to perform strongly across a number of verticals, but as recent news shows, it is an industry that is incredibly complex and getting things right in space remains a huge challenge. But, it is a challenge we must embrace as we look to create better societies and communities going forward.