The Next Level of Sustainability in Space
The Global Network On Sustainability In Space, GNOSIS, asked Angela Mathis, CEO of ThinkTank Maths, to join its Steering Board to add her practical experience, insights, and global connections to the expertise of the existing board members. GNOSIS focuses on space sustainability and brings scientists and industry together to understand and tackle the challenges of space debris, space weather and orbital congestion. As ThinkTank Maths has a track record and is currently investing in the space sustainability domain, the cooperation will help to shape the next phase of GNOSIS’ journey.
GNOSIS, which currently has 356 members, is trying to forge and stimulate a community to push forward innovative science, capabilities and solutions to preserve the safe operating environment of space. The network’s initial funding is through the Science and Technology Facilities Council – which means it is research-led. GNOSIS therefore identifies areas where new research could have an impact, and brings people together to stimulate science collaborations.
According to Katherine Courtney, Chair of the Steering Board at GNOSIS, although space object datasets are accessible, they are gathered for specific purposes that may or may not have anything to do with monitoring and managing the space environment. In her view, data analysis, data sharing, data mapping, and data transparency are the key to unlocking progress. “The reason we wanted Angela to join is because we wanted someone with experience of big data challenges and data analysis expertise on the board, as well as enthusiasm and passion for preserving the unique space environment,” said Katherine. As space surveillance and space situational awareness are about creating trusted decision intelligence from many different datasets, the GNOSIS network is keen to engage with data analysis experts as well as promote new cross disciplinary collaborations. This is in harmony with ThinkTank Maths’ approach to space domain awareness (SDA). GNOSIS also strives to have a mix of diverse voices, both in terms of gender, background, and the size of participating businesses.
“Board Members wanted Angela on the Steering Board, after seeing her attitude, strong vision for the sector, and how proactive she is.”
Katherine Courtney, Chair of the Steering Board at GNOSIS
Angela joins the Board to help to set ambitious targets to be able to measure success. She will participate in providing governance and oversight to help the programme team make decisions on best use of the funding they receive as well as maximise the impact of the GNOSIS programme. The Board members also create, attract, build the reputation, advocate and amplify the mission critical message of the network by participating in workshops and knowledge exchange forums.
“Going forwards, we will focus on continuing to build and serve the needs of the members and build our network, but at the same time expand the scope into social sciences and other aspects of space sustainability – with a deliberate intent to grow our international connections,” said Katherine.
Angela is pleased to join the network to help GNOSIS steer the next phase of its mission. GNOSIS has achieved what it originally set out to do. She believes that the Space Environment now demands the urgency and focus of a ‘Manhattan Project’.
“We need a global forum to bring together the most motivated, humble, curious and creative brains on the planet to work together with urgency to create the necessary partnerships, science, knowledge, technology, thinking, legal frameworks and solutions to the space environment. We must strive to create irrefutable and transparent evidence to ensure governments and legislators at a global scale can take appropriate action and guide the space industry to build their business models, and act with informed stewardship of the Space Environment”
Angela Mathis, CEO ThinkTank Maths
GNOSIS SPACE has built the foundations over the last three years – reputation, credibility and a global network to become the Manhattan Project of Space.
That is a far-reaching vision and mission. It is certainly an appropriately ambitious target for the next phase of GNOSIS.
ThinkTank Maths secures funding for SST Project
ThinkTank Maths Limited (TTM) secured financing for the development of enhanced Space Maths for space surveillance and tracking (SST).
The overcrowding of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is a rapidly growing problem due to the proliferation of satellites endangering vital economic and societal activities. To achieve economic continuity and security along with lower insurance costs, the position uncertainty of space-objects in LEO has to be reduced. Enhanced orbital trajectory prediction and object collision risk reduction will help safeguard both commercial and military assets and operations.
TTM is achieving this through novel abductive inference methods to fuse complex heterogenous data sets. This capability will reduce satellite fuel burn from unnecessary avoidance manoeuvres extending the operational life of spacecraft. Generating less space debris will support safe and sustainable development of LEO.
TTM is developing an SST solution with novel Space Maths – a mathematical framework and context specific algorithms. These go beyond the current use of statistical analysis methods; Gaussian distribution or stochastic modelling (random probability distribution) to deal with uncertainty and risk in LEO.
Our software automatically collects data from a variety of sources to give enhanced position accuracy for space objects. Through TTM’s augmented intelligence system (TRA™) we can provide decision intelligence at the speed of relevance to satellite operators, ‘because modelling the past does not predict the future’.
TTM has worked since 2018 with Dr Moriba Jah, Associate Professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Privateer Space. Dr Jah is a globally recognised subject matter expert, space environmentalist and astrodynamicist.
The project consolidates TTM’s relationship with SaxaVord Spaceport; together we will develop safe and accurate orbital insertion services for SaxaVord launch clients.
TTM’s technology is fully aligned with Space Scotland’s Sustainable Space Roadmap, and creates competitive Scottish/UK Space Surveillance and Tracking capability for global Government and commercial markets.
The Next Level of Sustainability in Space
We are exited to announce ThinkTank Maths Norge AS. Our new daughter company based in Stavanger, Norway
We are pleased to have Grethe Moen and Gunnar Espeland join us as our Non-Executive Directors. Both Grethe and Gunnar bring to our Board their strategic experience and insight as we make plans to work with Norwegian industry, academia and Government to create vital new technology and sovereign capabilities particularly in the New Space and the Energy Transition sectors. https://w2.brreg.no/enhet/sok/detalj.jsp?orgnr=827055832
Grethe Moen
Ms. Moen has close to 40 years of experience in leadership positions within the oil, gas and energy industry, including 25 years (1982-2007) with Equinor (Statoil) and four years (2007-2011) with Shell Europe. From 2013 to 2021, she served as CEO of Petoro AS, the Norwegian State-owned oil company managing the State Direct Financial Interest in Joint Ventures (SDFI/SDØE), and previously as Vice President of Petoro from 2011 to 2013. Since 2021, Ms. Moen is the owner and CEO at VITE Energy AS. In 1999, she served as Chairman of the Board in Navion AS and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of NEO Energy (UK) (since 2020), TGS AS (since 2021) and OKEA AS (since 2021), as well as of several Technology Start-Ups.
Gunnar Espeland
Mr. Espeland is partner/lawyer and head of Simonsen Vogt Wiig law firm Stavanger-office and is specialized within commercial law, project development, joint ventures and corporate law/corporate governance. His experience includes close to 20 years practice within the oil and gas industry, and his practice includes assistance to start-up companies within technology development and energy transition. Mr. Espeland holds various board of director positions.
SaxaVord Space Traffic Management Consortium
The SaxaVord UK Spaceport (Unst, Shetland) is taking advantage of its exceptional geographic position as a small satellite launch site with access to near polar, Sun-synchronous orbits, to become a comprehensive Northern Space Launch and Observation Centre.
SaxaVord Spaceport, ThinkTank Maths Limited (TTM) and Dr. Moriba Jah have committed to collaborate as the SaxaVord Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Consortium to create commercially viable SDA/STM services based on scientifically robust capabilities (abductive inference and analysis), which ensure the safe and sustainable use of Space. Moriba Jah is a world expert and thought leader in dealing with collision risks to satellite constellations due to ever-increasing space traffic and debris orbiting in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO). The SaxaVord SDA Consortium will deliver assured SDA services to commercial and Government clients – giving them insight and confidence from their data to make complex manoeuvre decisions and protect their assets – this is known as decision-quality insight at the speed of relevance. ThinkTank Maths is reducing the current level of uncertainty in the assumed position of a space object and its predicted orbit. The ARGUSGraph, our SDA platform, also uses TTM’s Trusted Reasoning Architecture (TRA™) to fuse vast heterogenous data sets from our powerful digital library of space domain data. The SaxaVord SDA Consortium is also exploring innovative sensing partnerships to help to more accurately detect, track, and characterise space objects. Together we aim to create an end-to-end space domain decision intelligence capability – a leading provider of assured Space Traffic Management services to satellite constellation operators – and a determining element of the UK and its allies’ sovereign SDA capability.
The Consortium will also offer a range of launch support services to the New Space industry.
ThinkTank Maths has supported the SaxaVord Spaceport since our first meeting in May 2018, bringing our commercial contacts at ArianeGroup (France) to Shetland in the summer of 2018 to help the Shetland Space Centre define an operations concept and assess the range of missions possible for its Spaceport project in the frame of a three-month study.
In my exploration of wicked problems requiring the creation of solutions that are allergic to viral prejudice used by most as a flawed way to remove the inherent uncertainties, the universe led me to the intellectual tavern called Think Tank Maths for a much needed drink.
Moriba Kemessia Jah
Moriba Kemessia Jah
Moriba Jah is an associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin where he is the holder of the Mrs. Pearlie Dashiell Henderson Centennial Fellowship in Engineering.
+ Learn MoreRegister Today for Our Space Cafe Scotland by Angela Mathis on 1 July 2021
Space Café Scotland : Scotland will ‘lead by example’ to develop Sustainable New Space Economy. Scotland has end-to-end Space capabilities, we can try things out – like a ‘living lab’, says Kristina Tamane.
Thank you to our guest speakers: Daniel Smith, Moriba Jah, Massimiliano Vasile and Kristina Tamane. And to everyone at SpaceWatch.Global, AstroAgency and the Scottish Space Leadership Council for their partnership, input and support: https://lnkd.in/d9RhBvs
ConocoPhillips and ThinkTank Maths sign new agreement
ConocoPhillips and ThinkTank Maths sign agreement for the second phase of Ekofisk R&D project
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS and ThinkTank Maths Limited have entered into a new R&D agreement to continue the development of an innovative, ‘augmented intelligence’ geo-steering decision-support software, which aims to support drilling operations in the Ekofisk field on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Background:
ThinkTank Maths Limited is an established and recognised provider of innovative operational solutions based on its unique mathematical research and data analysis capabilities in several high-performance Engineering sectors; aeronautics, defence, space, transport and oil and gas.
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS carries out exploration and production of oil and gas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS is both an operator and a licensee in several producing fields on the Norwegian Shelf.
