Ireland’s government releases its space strategy goals through 2025
The new colonial movement: Ireland today released a national space strategy designed to encourage the growth of a commercial space sector by 2025.
You can download the actual report here [pdf].
They want to increase both public and private investment by 50% by 2025. Whether that means investment in private companies or simply a growth in a government bureaucracy is uncertain, based on my reading of the report. It appears their goal is to grow the private sector, but they will be using European Space Agency approaches for doing so, which tend to favor government growth and control rather than developing an independent commercial industry.
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Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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The new colonial movement: Ireland today released a national space strategy designed to encourage the growth of a commercial space sector by 2025.
You can download the actual report here [pdf].
They want to increase both public and private investment by 50% by 2025. Whether that means investment in private companies or simply a growth in a government bureaucracy is uncertain, based on my reading of the report. It appears their goal is to grow the private sector, but they will be using European Space Agency approaches for doing so, which tend to favor government growth and control rather than developing an independent commercial industry.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
There I was, reading Ireland’s space policy paper, when I come across the term “Space 4.0.” It was like coming face to face with a lion in Africa without realizing that I was on safari.
“What the heck is that?” I shout out loud, but no one had an answer.
Except the interweb thingy, where I hunted down an essay that gave me some historical context:
https://room.eu.com/article/Space_10_to_Space_30_from_Gagarin_to_market_growth
“Space 1.0: how it all began”
I interpret this as meaning: governments trying some ideas to see what they like or can do successfully. Rejected ideas include: NERVA engine, supersonic retropropulsion reentry, expandable space station modules, and Mars Direct.
“Space 2.0: Private space research or attempt #2”
I think this means: commercial enterprise trying some of the ideas the governments did not finish. These include: supersonic retropropulsion reentry and expandable space station modules. SpaceX is proposing to perform a version of Mars Direct.
“New hope: Space 3.0”
I think that this means commercial enterprise tries out its own ideas to see what they like. The essay specifies establishing a colony on Mars, but a colony on the Moon or mining asteroids seem to also fit this definition. It may be that these are still done for the benefit of the governmental customer.
From the Irish report:
This sounds to me like commercial companies finally become the primary customers for the commercial space companies, but that they still work with governments on products and services that the various governments want.
It seems that Ireland, Luxembourg, and a lot of other countries want their industries to get in on this action, when it comes.
From the Irish report:
Robert wrote: “It appears their goal is to grow the private sector, but they will be using European Space Agency approaches for doing so, which tend to favor government growth and control rather than developing an independent commercial industry.”
My takeaway from the report is that they believe that the private sector will naturally outgrow government dependence, largely through the technology exchange between the space and non-space domains. Section 5.5 presents action items that intend to make Irish space-related companies and their capabilities known not just within Ireland or among the ESA countries but worldwide. ESA seems to be a first stage in their attempt to get involved in the space-active industry. As section 1.2 points out, they have been a member of ESA since 1975, and now they seem to have asked themselves what that has brought them and how it can bring them more than merely what they contribute. After 45 years of membership, their one-minute video only mentions six companies that have benefited.
I think they are looking for more, and they can only get it if they evolve beyond ESA and its government-limited budget.
Their report presents many action items and includes performance measurement indicators in Appendix 1, suggesting that they are serious about doing this.
It looks to me that Ireland wants something similar to what Luxembourg is trying to do, but Ireland is going about it differently. Ireland is trying to grow more internally, starting and developing its own companies with its own workforce and education system. Luxembourg is attracting foreign companies to do business inside their country.
Ireland’s method only works when the space economy grows, and it does not grow fast or well when there are only governments and their limited budgets as the major customers. It will grow quickly and well when commercial companies buy each other’s products and services, which is why Ireland is looking forward to and counting upon Space 4.0.
What will they call it when the consuming public are buying space products?