20 | the world today | february & march 2016

New space race

SpaceX Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal Mission: ‘Sooner or later, we must expand life beyond this green and blue ball – or go extinct’ SpaceX is a pioneer of commercially fund-ed rocketry. In 2012, SpaceX became the fi rst commercial company to launch and dock a robotic vehicle with the Interna-tional Space Station and deliver cargo. Its Falcon Heavy rocket, currently in develop-ment, is designed to carry humans into space, with the possibility of missions with crew to the Moon or Mars.

Virgin GalacticSir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Mission: The ability for more people to cross the fi nal frontier of space will be key to human advancementVirgin Galactic is planning in 2017 to start a cut-price, on-demand satellite launch service using a rocket fi red from under the belly of a Boeing 747. Separately, a fl eet of SpaceShipTwo space planes is planned to take two crew members and six passengers on a sub-orbital tourism fl ight. More than 700 people are said to have bought tickets priced at $250,000. In October 2014, an experimental SpaceShipTwo craft explod-ed after launch at 45,000 feet, causing the death of a pilot.

Blue OriginJeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon Mission: To enable mass travel from the ‘blue planet’ to space at lower cost and with greater reliabilityBlue Origin has developed a reusable rock-et, New Shepherd, which will takes a four-person capsule on a sub-orbital journey, including four minutes of weightlessness. Blue Origin is involved in several collabo-rations with NASA and is developing a new rocket engine for Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Bezos has a vison of millions of people living and working in space.

OneWebJeff Wyler, internet social entrepreneur Mission: to enable aff ordable internet access to the whole world OneWeb aims to launch a constellation of 720 satellites to provide internet access to millions around the world from 2019. Jeff Wyler came up with the idea after experi-encing the diffi culties of providing a ter-restrial telephone service in rural Rwanda. His answer was to provide a global com-munications network using satellites that would orbit closer to earth than the geo-synchronous satellites typically used for telecommunications. The project is backed by Sir Richard Branson and Sunil Bharti

Mittal, the Indian mobile phone mogul, among others.

AxelspaceYuya Nakamura, micro-satellite pioneerMission: cut-price satellite launches Japan is not known for its space technology start-ups, but Yuya Nakamura, who found-ed Axelspace in 2008, is fi lling the gap with the goal of producing Cubesat satellites at 10-20 per cent of the cost of the US equiv-alent. Axelspace buys many of its parts off the shelf and automates processes that are typically done by hand. Typical clients would be shipping fi rms who need obser-vation of icebergs in Arctic shipping lanes at reasonable cost.

KickSatZachary Manchester, aerospace engineering studentMission: Let’s Kickstart the personal space ageManchester has developed a personal sat-ellite, known as a Sprite, which is as small as a biscuit and weighs less than 100 grams. By raising money from Kickstarter he hopes to send a ‘Kicksat’ into space which would launch hundreds or thousands of Sprites, at an individual cost of just a few hundred dollars. The Sprites will transmit t o earth a personalized text message.

Space odditiesIn the past, space technology relied on huge amounts of government funding. Today rich individuals, universities, commercial companies and even penniless geeks with a good idea are reaching for the stars

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| the world today | february & march 2016

ed after launch at 45,000 feet, causing the by Sir Richard Branson and Sunil Bharti

20 | the world today | february & march 2016 | the world today | february & march 2016

The Only Game in TownCentral Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse

Mohamed A. El-ErianIn this provocative and insightful book, one of the world’s most influential economic thinkers provides an accessible analysis of the state of the world economy and where it is headed. Illuminating the growing internal contradictions, the constraints that are undermining growth and prosperity, and the radical overhaul in thinking that is required, Dr. Mohamed El-Erian lays out a road map for growth.

16 b/w illus. Hardback £18.99

IslamismWhat it Means for the Middle East and the World

Tarek OsmanIn this provocative, vitally important work, Egyptian political economist Tarek Osman examines the political, social and cultural battle currently raging throughout the Middle East, offering an insightful analysis of Islamist movements in the region and what their thinking, operations and future portends for the region and the Western world.

8 pages of b/w illus. Hardback £20.00

Digital RebelsIslamists, Social Media and the New Democracy

Haroon UllahIn this wide-ranging investigation of the role of social media in the tumultuous uprisings of the Arab Spring, the author reveals the unique impact of Twitter, Facebook and other social media in today’s Muslim world. Looking forward he identifies trends across the Muslim world and the implications of these for regional and international politics.

10 b/w illus. Hardback £18.99

Black Wind, White SnowThe Rise of Russia’s New Nationalism

Charles CloverIn this timely, thought-provoking study, the former Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times argues that a dangerous ‘Eurasianist’ ideology in modern-day Russia helps to explain the sometimes perplexing actions and ambitions of Vladimir Putin and explores what it portends for the future of the Eastern European nations.

Hardback £25.00

The Elements of PowerGadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age

David S. AbrahamA natural resource strategist creates an unrivalled portrait of the rare metal trade, illustrating how growing demand for these ingredients, which are increasingly at the heart of electronic, military and renewable-energy technologies, contributes to economic, environmental and geopolitical instability.

3 b/w illus. Hardback £20.00

In Praise of ForgettingHistorical Memory and Its Ironies

David RieffInformed by his extensive experience reporting on bloody conflicts around the globe, David Rieff ’s compelling new book questions the importance of collective memory. Arguing that rubbing raw historical wounds neither remedies injustice nor confers reconciliation, this is a must-read for anyone concerned with ethics, politics and history.

Hardback £14.99

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