The Changing Face of Space Economics

Stuart Martin
CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult

RECEPTION
6:30 pm
Lobby adjacent to McMurtry Auditorium
Duncan Hall

LECTURE
7:00 pm
McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall

ABSTRACT
“Space is not what it used to be.” This might sound like a lament for the golden days of Mercury and Apollo, but actually it refers to an emerging recognition that the space sector is undergoing revolutionary change that could bring similar dreams to the fore once more. But it’s not the Governments and their agencies setting the visions, with their budgets ever more constrained. Increasingly, it is the private sector that is leading the way with commercial businesses, both large and small, finding new ways to capitalise on the technologies developed over the last 60 years, and bringing a whole new class of products and services to the market—both up in space and down here on the ground. With this change comes great opportunity, but it requires new ways of thinking, new financing mechanisms, new supply chains and new regulatory environments. The recently announced, crowd-funded Lunar Mission One is an example of commercial innovation enabling exploration and science. What new models might we see and what will succeed? How can business, government and science adapt, to first drive and then capitalise on the economic development of space?

BIO
Stuart Martin was appointed CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult in January, 2013. Prior to this, he was a partner at Logica (now CGI), a large European business technology company where he was responsible for the worldwide space business, a position he had held since 2006.

During his time at Logica, Stuart held a range of engineering and management functions, mainly in the fields of satellite navigation and meteorological processing before moving onto more strategic business roles in 2003. More recently, Stuart held the position of Vice Chair of UK Space, the UK trade association for space business, was a member of the council of Eurospace (the European equivalent), and was three-time chair of UK judges for the annual European Satellite Navigation Competition, aka Galileo Masters.

Stuart holds a BSc in Physics from Imperial College, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institute of Physics in 2013.