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+--- Thread: UK space race investment is heating up + Someone paid $28 mil to travel with Bezos (/thread-10476.html)
UK space race investment is heating up + Someone paid $28 mil to travel with Bezos - C C - Jun 12, 2021
UK space race investment 'is heating up'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57444380
EXCERPTS: A UK firm that was the world's first dedicated space technology investor is preparing to list fund shares on the London Stock Exchange. The public will be able to invest in a portfolio of new private space firms through Seraphim Capital's fund.
The news comes amid a public consultation on establishing a UK national space strategy. The space industry is one of the UK's fastest growing sectors, worth £14.8bn a year. The government said in March it wants to "make the UK a meaningful actor in space".
"There is a massive global appetite from investors, but the majority of new space companies are still private, from SpaceX downwards, so the public market struggles to invest in the space sector," Mark Boggett, chief executive of British venture capital firm Seraphim Capital told the BBC.
[...] Mr Boggett's view is that space is no longer just about rockets or satellites. "It is about a new digital platform in the sky," he said. In recent months, there has been increased interest in the satellite industry, with tech firms like SpaceX and London-based OneWeb launching small satellites - known as nanosats - into low Earth orbit.
The plan is to use large constellations of nanosats to enable satellite internet, as well as collecting Earth observation data like weather, heat signatures and atmospheric gas composition to help farmers, for example, and to monitor things like flood defences, traffic and construction sites.
The idea is that nanosats will enable many smaller firms to gain access to space and benefit from space technologies. [...] "The UK space space is heating up and it's also global. The UK needs to be at the forefront if it is going to thrive so that we don't get left behind."
[...] Another key topic is the creation of spaceports in the UK, says Mr Whitehorn. "It will give the country its own sovereign launch capability," he said. "Instead of sending satellites to Russia or French Guiana or the US, we can literally send them down the road to Cornwall."
[...] The Council's focus is on working with environmental groups to ensure that the UK space industry will grow in a way that supports the government's net-zero carbon emission ambitions. "Launch is the missing piece of the jigsaw for the UK's vibrant space value chain [and] satellite data brings so many benefits to society and helps to monitor climate change, however the process of reaching orbit must be pursued in a way that contributes to net zero ambitions," he said... (MORE - details)
Someone is paying Blue Origin $28 million to go to space with Jeff Bezos
https://www.slashgear.com/someone-is-paying-blue-origin-28-million-to-go-to-space-with-jeff-bezos-12677839/
INTRO: If you were wondering how much it would cost to hitch a ride into space alongside Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin has the answer. Bidding for the first passenger seat on the inaugural crewed flight of New Shepard has closed, and it turns out there are some space enthusiasts with very deep pockets.
Bezos, of course, is just one of those people: after all, he set up Blue Origin himself, using some of the proceeds from Amazon. He announced earlier this month that he would be on the first New Shepard crew, along with his brother Mark Bezos.
At the time, the auction for the first passenger seat on the spacecraft was already underway. When Bezos shared his news, bidding was at an already-impressive $2.8 million. Today, the auction closed, and the winning bid is ten times that amount.
Bidding ended at $28 million, Blue Origin says, with bids received from nearly 7,600 registered people across 159 countries. The final proceeds will actually go to the Blue Origin foundation, “Club for the Future,” which aims to encourage young people to undertake careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
What we don’t know, at least yet, is who the winning bidder actually is. Blue Origin says that will be released “in the weeks following the auction’s conclusion.” (MORE)