Space Frontier Research Articles

Critical Mass and Mature Equilibria for Two-Sided Platforms, and the Strength of the Externalities Between the Sides

Abstract Critical mass is central to the development of two-sided platforms. It is the level of participation on both sides that is required to have the platform grow on its own force to a mature equilibrium. Despite this commonly understood dynamic, a formal definition of critical mass is missing in the literature on two-sided platforms, except for a proposal by Evans and Schmalensee (2010. “Failure to Launch: Critical Mass in Platform Businesses.” Review of Network Economics 9 (4)) who defined critical mass not as a single combination of platform sizes, but as a frontier in the two-dimensional space of those levels. We set out a demand model for two-sided platforms, propose a measure for the strength of the externalities between the sides and define critical mass in terms of this externality parameter. Our definition is more in line with the way critical mass is defined for one-sided networks. We also set out the conditions that must be met for the occurrence of critical mass.

A disappearing frontier?: An ethnographic study of the labour of imagination of SpaceX fans and space creators in South Texas

Outer space is often described as a frontier – an unsettled, mysterious or wild place that should be explored and eventually inhabited. The metaphor evokes a pioneer spirit and a sense of freedom, but it is also bound up with violent histories of settler colonialism and social injustice. Although the frontier narrative remains prevalent in political, commercial and media discourses in the United States and elsewhere, we know little about whether the public understands space exploration in this way. We also lack studies about how those working to popularise space exploration and make it comprehensible to a global audience understand and apply the frontier narrative. A long-term ethnographic study of their work shows that their understandings of the space frontier are refracted through everyday forms of sociality and experience that they cultivate near Boca Chica in South Texas, where SpaceX builds and tests Starship prototypes. The labour of imagination performed by SpaceX fans and space creators upends the problematic myth of the frontier and points towards alternative ways of understanding space exploration.

Space and cybersecurity: Challenges and opportunities emerging from national strategy narratives

Modern societies are increasingly dependent on space technology. The number of activities that rely on space infrastructure includes global positioning and communications systems, financial transactions and global trade, public and private scientific research, environmental monitoring and fore-casting, and audio-visual entertainment. Within the security and defence domain, this reliance becomes even more pronounced as satellites enhance command, control, communications and intelligence, surveillance, and recon-naissance (C4ISR), missile defence, or advanced autonomous systems. Furthermore, ongoing advancements in science and technology are opening new frontiers in outer space, promising significant economic potential through ventures like space travel and space mining. Considering the geopolitical implications of the dependence on space technology, the objective of this study is to examine how Western countries and organizations understand space within their strategic thinking. By conducting a comparative analysis of the most recent national security strategies and security and defence space strategies released by a sample of Western countries and organizations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the European Union and NATO, this study aims to discern the narratives employed to depict the space domain and to identify the key trends within it, with a specific focus on the interplay between space and cybersecurity.This exercise will facilitate the identification of areas where enhanced collaboration among the selected actors is feasible or where competition may define their relationships. Consequently, it will help determine the potential for a coordinated response to collective challenges.

Space Nursing for the Future Management of Astronaut Health in other Planets: A Literature Review

Introduction The idea of exploring space excites more than one person, and not only astronauts but health professionals are also not indifferent to it because for a long time, human healthcare in space has been a priority directly involving the nursing profession; however, there is not much information available on this subject that it’s becoming more relevant every day. Objective This study aims to explore, review, and analyze existing literature to identify the basic needs of astronauts, nursing roles, and the challenges they will face in the context of human space exploration. Methods A literature review was conducted with bibliographic evidence of documents annexed to the following databases: WoS, MEDLINE through PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, CINAHL-EBSCO and Google Scholar. Previously, a search strategy was designed with descriptors: “Astronauts,” “Space Flight,” and “Nursing in Care,” using Boolean operators “OR” and “AND”. The languages were English and Spanish, there were no restrictions on the type of document and date of publication. Results 23 documents were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The following results found in the present review have been categorized into 8 thematic areas: historical background, conceptual models and nursing theories applied to space, space environment, physiological changes in space flights, health problems and risks in space, nursing care in space and management of nursing care in space. Finally, future challenges of space nursing. Each of these categories is presented below. Conclusion Space Nursing has been constantly developing and its interventions will be required along with the advances in space exploration. It encourages innovation, implementation, building a knowledge base, and discovering new modalities of human healthcare to reach the frontiers of space.

Astrophysical and planetary sciences: Exploring the local interstellar medium and the next space frontier

Astrophysical and planetary sciences: Exploring the local interstellar medium and the next space frontier

Between Sea and Sky: Understanding Liability for Private and Commercial Space Operations

The legal framework for commercial space activities has been an emerging issue in recent decades. Understanding and addressing liability in space activities is crucial for the sustainable and responsible development of the commercial space industry, analogous to laying the foundation for a sturdy structure that can withstand the challenges of the ever-evolving space frontier. This article explores the concept of liability for private and commercial space launches and its importance in ensuring the safe and responsible operation of activities in space. Examining liability in lex maritima and commercial space law involves drawing parallels between the regulations governing both domains and uncovering potential opportunities for learning from existing legal frameworks. The analysis considers liability in various maritime zones, such as the territorial sea, high sea, and deep-sea bed, and draws comparisons to liability in the territory, space, and celestial body. It discusses the challenges and implications of addressing liability in space activities, including the allocation of liability, the protection of public safety, and the preservation of space as a shared resource.

Discovery of a German V-2 Rocket Fall Site in the Area of Chodzież, in Greater Poland

In the 1930s, in the town of Peenemünde on the northern edge of the Usedom Island in the Baltic Sea, the Germans established a military research centre to work on rocket engines. In Peenemünde, the Aggregat 4 – the first ever rocket to cross the space frontier – was constructed and launched. However, it went down in history under the name V-2. This weapon was the world’s first ballistic missile used in combat. At the end of World War II, V-2 rockets were a technological marvel of the time. Reaching supersonic speeds, they were an unrecognized design for the Allies in terms of control and targeting principles. They were a weapon almost impossible to shoot down. The RAF’s destruction of the Peenemünde facility in 1943 was the reason for its relocation to the Heidelager military training ground in the village of Blizna, Subcarpathian province, out of the range of Allied aviation. Threatened by the Soviet Army’s offensive, it was moved again in 1944 to the Heidenkraut training ground in Wierzchucin, Kuyavia-Pomerania province. As a result of archaeological work in the area of Chodzież, in northern Greater Poland province, the so far unknown site of the fall of a German V-2 rocket fired from the Heidekraut training ground, from a distance of 108 kilometres, has been located. Analysis of the finds, the appearance of the fall site and GPR surveys lead to the conclusion that a version of the rocket with little or no explosive material exploded in Chodzież. The current state of research into the active use of the Heidenkraut training ground at the end of the War leads to the conclusion that the Chodzież region, located in northern Greater Poland, was a zone of not very intensive experimental firing of V-2 rockets. Much more intensive was the firing of the Kalisz region located in southeastern Greater Poland. Further research into the sites of V-2 rocket falls both in Greater Poland and in other parts of Poland may contribute to a better understanding of the poorly known German experiments with ballistic missiles. The Polish lands are particularly interesting in this regard, as they were training grounds for rocket experiments at the end of World War II.

Neural inference at the frontier of energy, space, and time.

Computing, since its inception, has been processor-centric, with memory separated from compute. Inspired by the organic brain and optimized for inorganic silicon, NorthPole is a neural inference architecture that blurs this boundary by eliminating off-chip memory, intertwining compute with memory on-chip, and appearing externally as an active memory chip. NorthPole is a low-precision, massively parallel, densely interconnected, energy-efficient, and spatial computing architecture with a co-optimized, high-utilization programming model. On the ResNet50 benchmark image classification network, relative to a graphics processing unit (GPU) that uses a comparable 12-nanometer technology process, NorthPole achieves a 25 times higher energy metric of frames per second (FPS) per watt, a 5 times higher space metric of FPS per transistor, and a 22 times lower time metric of latency. Similar results are reported for the Yolo-v4 detection network. NorthPole outperforms all prevalent architectures, even those that use more-advanced technology processes.

Integrating Atmospheric Science Research in Chemical Education: Utility of Primary Research Articles in Fostering Student Interest in Meteorology

Atmospheric science research has seen significant advances in facilitating the generation of knowledge and promoting a scientific understanding of global meteorological issues and concerns with the advent of technological progress across many disciplines, including the physical and biological sciences and the breakthroughs in computational and modeling methodologies. This has resulted in a rich library of scientific literature showcasing knowledge creation and a deeper understanding of natural phenomena and their linkages to the sustenance of life embodied by the extensive systems of the hydrosphere, biosphere, and even the frontiers of outer space. This article outlines how primary research in atmospheric science can be integrated into chemical education by furnishing connections and synchronicity with chemistry, bridging the concepts, discoveries, innovations, and their immediate importance to science and society. A general overview is given on how topics or themes in general chemistry courses can utilize the power of scientific research articles on atmospheric science, fostering students' interest in meteorological concepts and related fields. A non-exhaustive list of primary research literature highlighting breakthroughs related to a specific chemistry theme serving as templates for chemical educators is provided to enable the students to see real-world applications. Integrating research into science education is an effective strategy to promote scientific thinking and literacy and should be a catalyst for the global drive for sustainability.

Efficient Error Estimation for High-Level Design Space Exploration of Approximate Computing Systems

This article presents an error estimation technique for a data-flow graph (DFG) representation of an approximate computing (AC) circuit. The technique, which may be used during the high-level design of digital circuits, estimates error metrics for the outputs of the approximate circuit. The proposed technique receives as an input, output error characterizations of arithmetic modules in a high-level library. The error modeling of a library module is accomplished by dividing the input (operand) ranges into intervals and then characterizing the output error for different combinations of these input intervals. Subsequently, the error for each combination is stored in a lookup table (LUT). The module error models are integrated into a design space exploration (DSE) framework to evaluate different combinations of exact and approximate realizations of various operations in the DFG. The DSE, which performs error calculation and propagation from inputs to outputs of the target DFG, may be used to explore trade-offs between the output error and other design metrics of the approximate circuit, e.g., energy efficiency. The efficacy of the proposed method is assessed for three image processing benchmarks. Results for these benchmarks demonstrate that the framework can efficiently generate the Pareto frontier (PF) in the trade-off space of accuracy versus energy efficiency for the targeted benchmarks. Compared to a purely simulation-based exploration, the proposed technique provides an average of 92 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times$</tex-math> </inline-formula> speed improvement.

On the potentially transformative role of auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo in quantum chemistry: A highly accurate method for transition metals and beyond.

Approximate solutions to the ab initio electronic structure problem have been a focus of theoretical and computational chemistry research for much of the past century, with the goal of predicting relevant energy differences to within "chemical accuracy" (1 kcal/mol). For small organic molecules, or in general, for weakly correlated main group chemistry, a hierarchy of single-reference wave function methods has been rigorously established, spanning perturbation theory and the coupled cluster (CC) formalism. For these systems, CC with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples is known to achieve chemical accuracy, albeit at O(N7) computational cost. In addition, a hierarchy of density functional approximations of increasing formal sophistication, known as Jacob's ladder, has been shown to systematically reduce average errors over large datasets representing weakly correlated chemistry. However, the accuracy of such computational models is less clear in the increasingly important frontiers of chemical space including transition metals and f-block compounds, in which strong correlation can play an important role in reactivity. A stochastic method, phaseless auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (ph-AFQMC), has been shown to be capable of producing chemically accurate predictions even for challenging molecular systems beyond the main group, with relatively low O(N3 - N4) cost and near-perfect parallel efficiency. Herein, we present our perspectives on the past, present, and future of the ph-AFQMC method. We focus on its potential in transition metal quantum chemistry to be a highly accurate, systematically improvable method that can reliably probe strongly correlated systems in biology and chemical catalysis and provide reference thermochemical values (for future development of density functionals or interatomic potentials) when experiments are either noisy or absent. Finally, we discuss the present limitations of the method and where we expect near-term development to be most fruitful.

Exclusion in the City Space: the Italian Experience

This article draws attention to the problems of exclusion and building frontiers in urban space. At the same time, the focus of the study is concentrated on the systematic nature of the formation of cultural exclusion zones at different time intervals in the history and culture of the Apennine Peninsula, that is, on the territory of the modern Italy. The reflection of exclusion in the city, which occurs throughout the urban history of Italy, is reflected and fixed in the history of Italian culture and art and in the phenomena of building physical and symbolic boundaries, marginalization and appropriation of space associated with this phenomenon.&#x0D; This work is intended to prove the need to transform the erroneous position that exclusion is characteristic only of a modern city, a megapolis as a product of globalization, while the exclusion of an individual in an urban environment and the development of urban civilization are two interrelated and simultaneous processes that are developing over the centuries.&#x0D; Taking into account the affects and experience of fixing exclusion in the urban cultural spaces of the Apennine Peninsula, the author comes to the conclusion that the history of urban culture fixes the presence of exclusion, which is characteristic of the individual living in the urban space from the very moment the city appeared and the corresponding subject-centric urban culture, the existence in which unfolds in the space of subordination, overcoming borders or resistance to the social order it gives rise to. All of these factors also affect the identity of the subject of urban everyday life. Italy, traditionally understood as the cradle of civilization and world culture, provides one of the most representative experiences of building, fixing, reflecting and experiencing exclusion in the urban environment due to the evolutionary process of changing and crossing different cultures.

Commodity and the commons: accumulations of capital on the space frontier

ABSTRACT Designated as one of the global commons, outer space steadily matures as a commodity frontier at which to propel the designs and imaginaries of capitalist economy. While plans to mine the Moon, massify space tourism and colonise Mars are still works in development, the routes of its conquest expand exponentially down here on Earth, as its spectacular proceedings are mediated into a range of images, events, artefacts, samples, and experiences that disperse across the productive and reproductive ambits of terrestrial cultures. These spin-off commodities herald the evolution of the high-tech structures of power that seek to seize control over shared natural and social resources and temper the ways in which the species assembles around the commons of space. I attend to the endeavour to incorporate space into the capitalist world-system by exploring the cultural logics that precede and underpin its expansions along its ‘final frontier’. Highlighting the role of commodity in more-than planetary accumulations of capital, I suggest that its proliferation is not merely an outcome of nascent forms of technological imperialisms as they set out to claim their cosmic share, but a vital resource from which to thrust their appetites for production, consumption, and destruction out there.

Pushing the Frontiers of New Space in India

New SpaceVol. 10, No. 1 EditorialPushing the Frontiers of New Space in IndiaNarayan PrasadNarayan PrasadAddress correspondence to: Narayan Prasad, PhD, Spaceport SARABHAI, 258, 12th Main, AGs Layout, Bangalore 560061, India E-mail Address: narayan@spaceportsarabhai.orgSpaceport SARABHAI, Bangalore, India.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:16 Mar 2022https://doi.org/10.1089/space.2022.29043.npAboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View article"Pushing the Frontiers of New Space in India." New Space, 10(1), p. 2FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 10Issue 1Mar 2022 InformationCopyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Narayan Prasad.Pushing the Frontiers of New Space in India.New Space.Mar 2022.2-2.http://doi.org/10.1089/space.2022.29043.npPublished in Volume: 10 Issue 1: March 16, 2022PDF download

Manipulating the design space to resolve trade-offs: Theory and evidence

Trade-offs between design goals have traditionally been studied using optimization approaches, which assume a fixed formulation and framing of the design problem. We propose a novel set-theory framework of design spaces to model the role of problem reformulation and reframing in resolving design trade-offs. The framework predicts mechanisms by which the designer can alter the boundaries and structure of that space to alter or avoid Pareto frontiers in the original space. Empirical evidence from interviews with designers identifies eight distinct trade-off response mechanisms aligned with the framework's predictions. The framework and interview results provide a foundation for developing methodologies that encourage design space restructuring to avoid unnecessary design compromises and sacrifices. • Trade-offs between design goals are traditionally studied as optimization problems. • We use set theory to model role of designer's problem reformulation and reframing. • The framework predicts how the designer can alter the structure of the design space. • We collect interview evidence from designers that have faced trade-off situations. • We identify eight trade-off responses that align with the framework's predictions.

The Space Force and the National Security Act: All New Endeavours Suffer Growing Pains

The article details the history of the National Security Act (NSA), the National Security Council (NSC), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the newly created Space Force (SF) in correlation to a changing political and international landscape from the 1940s to 2021. Primary and secondary sources were reviewed and included military and intelligence experts, interviews, as well as the foundation documents and laws for the NSA. Comparatively, the NSA and these organizations are examined in parallel to the evolving international political landscape. Also, these organizations all faced similar confrontations which include, but are not limited to, the reassignment of different roles, bureaucracy, and chain of command. Yet, the NSA and the creation of these intelligence organizations as well as the new branch of the military, the Space Force, are proactive measures for the United States to maintain efficacy, advantages, and potency in the domain of space which, from a military perspective protects satellites. It also includes the temporal use of individuals getting gasoline at gas pumps and the use of cell phones. Even so, all new ventures like the SF and the foundational NSA experience challenges, controversy, confrontations, and, at times, harsh critiques. Yet, the NSA’s broad-reaching security framework is still relevant and malleable to twenty-first-century policy, intelligence, and military needs. The NSA can and has met the current and future security threats like terrorism, and the new frontiers of space. Additionally, the newest member of the intelligence community, the Space Force, is a critical component to the United States military and intelligence presence in space.

The New Frontiers of Urban Space in a Glocal World between Pandemic and Immigration

Global cities have historically been the symbolic meeting place of the longstanding relationship between immigration and globalization. But the pandemic has challenged this historic relationship. The virus has had an unprecedented impact on global economic immigration, it has altered the dynamics of international population movements. Global cities, never so dark and silent, are the iconoclastic representations of the crises produced by the health emergency. The concept of space and time changes in the international geopolitical landscape, but also in everyday life, from homes to offices, from city streets to the suburbs. Faced with the “network of bits” that connect everything, passing beyond physical borders, the architecture of the cities, the places of life and work is destined to adapt to new urban planning and new ideas of living space. The aim of this paper is to analyse from a geopolitical perspective the evolution of urban space in the new post-pandemic normality in a glocal world.

A Geography of Blood Meridian: Primitive accumulation on the frontier of space

The attempted extirpation of Indigenous populations has been an enduring condition of the ‘idyllic proceedings’ of primitive accumulation. For Marx, such acts of evisceration characterised the dawn of the era of capitalist production. Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness of the West, is read here as one such ‘annal of mankind’ written in ‘letters of blood and fire’. More pointedly, by contributing to an interdisciplinary approach to world literature covering literary studies, geographical studies and political economy, it is argued that Blood Meridian should be considered a quintessential novel of the racial and historical geography of the frontier economy and its spatial expansion within the uneven conditions of capitalist development. This is evidenced through the real spaces and historical occurrences that shaped capitalist expansion recounted in the novel. The latter include the racialised acts of scalping Native Americans licensed by the state between the 1840s and 1850s in Mexico through the actions of the Glanton Gang; the slaughtering of the buffalo that reached its peak in the 1870s marked in the novel by bonepickers that trawl the calcined architecture for skeletons to turn into commodities for the West; and the systematic mapping and simplifying practices conducted through outposts of appropriation on the frontier, such as Fort Griffin, which signal the barbed-wire fencing of rangeland into ranches. The meridian of bloodiness marked by these racialised acts is therefore revealed as an intrinsic aspect of the literary economy of primitive accumulation.

A Case for Electron-Astrophysics

The smallest characteristic scales, at which electron dynamics determines the plasma behaviour, are the next frontier in space and astrophysical plasma research. The analysis of astrophysical processes at these scales lies at the heart of the research theme of electron-astrophysics. Electron scales are the ultimate bottleneck for dissipation of plasma turbulence, which is a fundamental process not understood in the electron-kinetic regime. In addition, plasma electrons often play an important role for the spatial transfer of thermal energy due to the high heat flux associated with their velocity distribution. The regulation of this electron heat flux is likewise not understood. By focussing on these and other fundamental electron processes, the research theme of electron-astrophysics links outstanding science questions of great importance to the fields of space physics, astrophysics, and laboratory plasma physics. In this White Paper, submitted to ESA in response to the Voyage 2050 call, we review a selection of these outstanding questions, discuss their importance, and present a roadmap for answering them through novel space-mission concepts.

Multi‐criteria supply chain network design using interactive decision maps

AbstractGrowing concerns about sustainability lead decision‐makers to include in the supply chain network design, environmental and social impacts as well as economic objectives, which requires a balanced multi‐criteria approach. In this paper, a multi‐objective mixed integer model for a regional supply chain network of a fish processing industry is developed. The model and decision‐making process is analysed using approximation and visualization of Pareto frontier in criteria space in the form of Interactive Decision Maps. For test purposes, the data of the network of tilapia fillet processing in West Paraná, Brazil, are used. A reasonable strategy is formulated, representing a compromise between different conflicting criteria in the supply chain — profit, carbon dioxide emissions, number of suppliers, number of hired workers, costs and revenue.