Munich New Space Summit

It was the first congress entirely dedicated to the topic of New Space and we were able to meet many new people and discuss the latest developments in the space sector.

One thing became clear: regardless of whether we are talking about New Space, Next Space or the commercialisation of space, there is a lot going on in the European space sector and there are many fascinating ideas that are particularly exciting for the user community outside the space sector. Galileo, IRIS2 and LEO PNT, for example, are opening up innovative solutions for many areas outside the space sector, be it agriculture, finance, mobility or others.

Our vision at the DLR Galileo Competence Center is to develop space technologies not just for the sake of space, but to reach the target markets and create the necessary synergies between research, industry and politics in order to shape future challenges and opportunities in Europe. For this reason, we were delighted to be part of the event.

The conference focussed heavily on the political and general discussions surrounding New Space. On the one hand, there were calls for New Space not to be about ‘new vs. old space (companies)’, but for all players in the space sector to work together to shape the new developments. On the other hand, there were also arguments in favour of a more confrontational approach, which is essentially a new and counter-model to the classic approach.

Despite the different definitions of New Space throughout the conference, certain points crystallised that are decisive in the overall discussion on the phenomenon of New Space.

• Space for the win. The external relevance of space is constantly growing and new markets are emerging.
• Less requirements. The era in which something had to be perfectly developed before it could be tested is over. Failure is expressly encouraged. Products should become cheaper.
• Risk driven approach. Increased competition leads to and promotes innovative pressure.
• More stakeholders. New players enter the field and old ones want to secure their place.
• New space is more space for the same money. New pricing models such as ‘pay-as-you-go’, individualisation of services and scalability play a role.
• New space turns into legacy space. New Space has grown up. Space X is an example of how designated New Space companies are establishing themselves, strongly influencing the market, learning from experience and adapting their project management.
• New Space for everyone. Everyone should be included. Whether old or new, large or small, internal or external, public or private.
• New space for a new, better future. There is growing interest in the benefits of space technologies for society's transformation challenges.
• New Space is democratising space. New technologies and new business models facilitate access to space and opportunities for democratic co-determination.

The national space agencies from Croatia, Portugal, Austria, Germany and France were also in attendance. They spoke in favour of creating an ecosystem for new space companies. The aim is to improve the availability of venture capital in order to minimise risks for investors. At the same time, they also want to pursue an anchor customer model. The public sector should open up and buy products that are already available on the market as a service instead of always having to take on the design, launch and operation itself. This is intended to unlock innovation potential.

Other insights that we were able to take away from our visit to the Munich New Space Summit: