Three U.S. small space companies establish offices in Luxembourg
Capitalism in space: Three U.S. small space companies have now established offices in Luxembourg in order to take advantage of the financial backing that nation is willing to afford.
The government of Luxembourg announced Sept. 27 that CubeRover, Hydrosat and Made In Space will all establish facilities in the country, in many cases working with local universities and companies. The work those companies do in Luxembourg will range from development of robotic arms to small planetary rovers.
“The success of our development strategy for the space sector, including the recent launch of the Luxembourg Space Agency, is confirmed once more with the settlement in Luxembourg of three space companies that plan to employ up to 85 people in the Grand-Duchy by 2023,” said Étienne Schneider, deputy prime minister and minister of the economy of the Luxembourg government and the driving force for the country’s recent space initiatives.
The largest agreement, in terms of jobs created, goes to Made In Space. That company, best known for additive manufacturing work on the International Space Station, plans to work on a low-cost modular robotic arm for in-space applications, and will create up to 50 jobs in the country.
They did not mention what the terms are of Luxembourg’s financial support, but I suspect it is most helpful for these companies.
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Capitalism in space: Three U.S. small space companies have now established offices in Luxembourg in order to take advantage of the financial backing that nation is willing to afford.
The government of Luxembourg announced Sept. 27 that CubeRover, Hydrosat and Made In Space will all establish facilities in the country, in many cases working with local universities and companies. The work those companies do in Luxembourg will range from development of robotic arms to small planetary rovers.
“The success of our development strategy for the space sector, including the recent launch of the Luxembourg Space Agency, is confirmed once more with the settlement in Luxembourg of three space companies that plan to employ up to 85 people in the Grand-Duchy by 2023,” said Étienne Schneider, deputy prime minister and minister of the economy of the Luxembourg government and the driving force for the country’s recent space initiatives.
The largest agreement, in terms of jobs created, goes to Made In Space. That company, best known for additive manufacturing work on the International Space Station, plans to work on a low-cost modular robotic arm for in-space applications, and will create up to 50 jobs in the country.
They did not mention what the terms are of Luxembourg’s financial support, but I suspect it is most helpful for these companies.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four 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 or subscription:
4. 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.
Although the article did not say what the benefits are for these three companies, having them working with local universities and companies will be a benefit for the country. The article specifies some of the benefits that these three companies will bring to Luxembourg:
Made In Space will create perhaps 50 jobs there, developing a low cost robotic arm, which undoubtedly will compete with designs similar to Canadarm2.
CubeRover will develop small (2 kg or so) lunar or planetary rovers there, meaning more jobs and space engineering experience in one of the challenging areas of space exploration.
Hydrosat will set up its headquarters there and apparently do its R&D work in Luxembourg.
It is clear to me that Luxembourg is trying to become a new space technology center, just as the Los Angeles area was an aerospace technology center from before 1940 or as Mojave is a space technology center today. These areas attract engineers who want to work on state of the art aerospace projects.
Unlike Australia, whose CSIRO executive director for the Digital, National Facilities and Collections group, Dave Williams, says should “push” some of its industries into specific space work ( https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/australian-agency-pushes-australia-to-join-nasa-gateway-project/ ), Luxembourg is offering incentives for foreign investment in their country to increase its footprint in the space industry. One advocates top-down direction (dictatorial), and the other provides incentive for bottom-up enthusiasm (liberty).