Earth observation missions collect crucial data that is used to monitor climate change. Given the large volume of data collected, and the carbon footprint associated with it, data storage is a topic of debate. Experts have hypothesised about moving data centres to space, as a more secure and sustainable way to store data. More recently there has been a growth in the commercial use of space linked to companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Private projects such as Starlink, a global internet system, are under development. These three scenarios have in common the number of satellites planned to be launched, which will greatly increase. Starlink alone aims to send 42,000 satellites for its constellation. As a result, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) will be crowded with ever growing numbers of spacecraft.

The series of visualization represent an imagined system based on the current issues surrounding humanity’s relationship with space. The development of new technologies related to space exploration continue to contribute to the advancement of science and benefit numerous fields. Based on the previous research, three main narratives are expected to play a role in the future of space: Earth observation missions, big data storage in space and asteroid mining. These systems showcase humanity’s current environmental and political aspirations for space. However, the unregulated growth of the space industry could have real implications for Earth and its orbit regarding satellite congestion, geo-political conflict, the exploitation of resources for materials and energy and other environmental concerns. This project aims to contribute to the creation of a legal framework for space activities by envisioning a regulating entity in space.

The new network will regulate novel space activities such as asteroid mining by limiting the number and the kind of spacecraft being produced. In this scenario, NODE 1 spaceport becomes an independent entity, physically detached from Earth, supporting the existing space missions. Apart from being a legislative body in space, the spaceport’s main functions include the recycling, manufacturing, maintenance and launching of spacecraft. Furthermore, a Medium Earth Orbit civilian-owned data storage network challenges the current earth-based data centre paradigm to a more sustainable, free for all approach.

The spaceport constitutes an attempt to effectively manage and reduce the space debris orbiting Earth, while aiding existing and future space missions. It provides the necessary infrastructure to recycle and reuse inactive space items, and to transform floating debris into useful spacecraft. Alternatively, active satellites will be supplied with extra fuel in order to prolong their lifespan. In comparison to earth based spaceports, Node 1 spaceport will greatly reduce the amount of fuel required per launch given the lack of atmospheric drag in space. Therefore, it serves as the ideal base between Earth and interplanetary missions. A network of data storage modules in Medium Earth Orbit store and relay data via laser to and from the Node 1 spaceport, ground stations on Earth and other interplanetary spacecrafts.

The project was developed within the context of TU Delft.

KOOZ What prompted the project?

TP | JV The project was sparked by a personal fascination of space exploration and an investigation on the physical impacts of data collection from earth observation missions. The importance of such missions through technologies such as remote sensing is undeniable, as they allow unique conditions on Earth such as the ozone layer to be constantly and accurately monitored, leading to crucial treaties as the Montreal Protocol in 1987 to be constituted in order to prevent further damage caused by various human activities.

However, through researching the requirements of storing and processing large datasets (also known as big data), it became clear that the carbon emissions produced by data centres, along with the resources needed to facilitate the launches of satellites have caused tremendous impacts on the environment. All data centres alone contribute to 0.3% of global carbon emissions. Moreover, thousands of satellites that will be launched in the future by private companies such as SpaceX will cause Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to be crowded with ever growing numbers of spacecraft. In a worst-case scenario, known as the Kessler syndrome, the collision of two fast moving objects in LEO is enough to trigger a chain reaction capable of partially or totally destroying all orbiting spacecraft.

These issues fuelled speculation on data storage in space and the creation of a Node 1 spaceport in Low Earth Orbit as a more sustainable launch base for spacecraft to be constituted. By questioning the current exploitations of resources on Earth, the idea of shifting extractions through new methods such as asteroid mining allows us to ultimately look at interplanetary missions as a means to preserve Earth and its resources.

KOOZ What questions does the project raise and which does it address?

TP | JV One of the first questions that the project attempted to explore was whether the negative impacts caused by data storage on Earth could be avoided by attempting to store data in space, due to its conditions that would not require constant cooling systems. Such studies then lead to further explorations of the history, logistics and future of satellite launches, which allowed for several other questions to be raised regarding the physical resources required by such large operations. Specifically, the realisation that most of the fuels required for satellite launches and the emissions produced per launch are solely required to penetrate through Earth’s atmosphere guided us to question whether a spaceport in Low Earth Orbit would present a more sustainable location for a spacecraft launch base.

Another crucial question which allowed the project to explore the notion of space debris as a possible threat towards future space launches was how Low Earth Orbit would be affected if it is inhabited by countless satellites. Furthermore, the current lack of regulation in space also encourages the possibilities of private corporations and uncooperating nations exploiting such conditions for financial gains, which fundamentally lead to the question: who owns space?

Ultimately, the project seeks to address these questions through an architectural intervention within a system that would act as a single institution which attempts to set certain frameworks of space activities and introduce a decentralised approach towards interplanetary missions where all can benefit from, including the planet itself. Nonetheless, such approaches will ultimately not be successful as long as major nations and space exploration companies do not agree to cooperate.

KOOZ What are in your opinion the greatest challenges in preserving outer Space as a true Global Commons?

TP | JV As frequently observed in the exploitation of resources on Earth throughout history, financial gains will remain one of the greatest challenges in the exploration of space by private companies. The ability to prevent such exploitation of resources is especially vulnerable in space, where the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which remains one of the only few constitutional legal frameworks for space law, only constitutes a number of inexplicit rules suggesting that space activities shall be limited to peaceful purposes and establishes that space shall be free for exploration and use by all nations.
In contrary, the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 launched by the United States further reinforces the inequality between space-exploring nations and developing nations by constituting that a “United States citizen engaged in commercial recovery of an asteroid resource or a space resource under this chapter shall be entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource obtained, including to possess, own, transport, use, and sell the asteroid resource or space resource […]’’.

Based on our research we see that such regulations will only attract private companies to compete with each other in order to gain access to the seemingly unlimited resources awaiting to be retrieved in space and sold on Earth, rather than encouraging all nations to cooperate for a greater common goal. Such possible threats fundamentally lead us to imagine Node 1 as a regulating space entity which aims to take control of these operations and distribute the possibility that space has to offer through civilian uses and free-for-all approaches.

KOOZ How does the project approach the role and power of architecture within Space?

TP | JV The project rethinks infrastructure in space as an active element with the capacity of adapting and regenerating materials and energy for its ongoing processes. Rather than approaching building in space as a singular construction sent from Earth, Node 1 was developed to be a self-sufficient unit to aid other operations in space. On the one hand, architecture is used to create a circular economy in space, which encompasses the harvesting, manufacturing, and recycling of materials and goods. The intention is to alleviate the effort of launching spacecraft trough the atmosphere by transferring the construction processes to the site, Low Earth Orbit. This systems mode of operating aims to set a new precedent for space construction and to raise awareness of the space debris issue. On the other hand, the infrastructure stands as a free-for-all production site, a decentralised entity which permits any nation to make use of its facilities and thus have direct access to space.

KOOZ How does this sit in relation to greater geo-political forces? To what extent can we talk about architecture in spaces as embassies?

TP | JV To this day, only a handful of nations have been able to venture into space. The huge efforts required to access space are prohibitive for many, allowing only the most powerful nations or companies to be able to invest in their space programs. In a way, Node 1 spaceport can be interpreted as an embassy for planet Earth, seeking to increase and distribute the representation of other nations throughout the planet and allow diverse uses of outer space, be it the decentralised ownership of data collection from earth observation missions, or free-for-all approach to the distribution of resources extracted through asteroid mining.

KOOZ In her recent conversation with Paola Antonelli, Neri Oxman mentions that we will not have earned Mars until we can prove that we have taken care of this planet, what are your thoughts on this?

TP | JV In our opinion, regardless of the scope of the operation, Earth should always be the number one priority in space exploration missions. In the past, such missions have allowed data to be collected in order to better understand various lives and conditions on Earth, and we believe that the same approach can be achieved through current and future missions on Mars. In a way, we are exploring Mars in order to further understand the origin of life and gain additional knowledge in order to preserve Earth. However, the challenge is whether humans could achieve such milestones without further exploiting the rapidly decreasing resources on Earth, hence the project’s attempt to reimagine the ways in which materials and resources are harvested, manufactured, or recycled for future space exploration missions.

KOOZ What is for you the power of the Architectural Imaginary?

TP | JV Similar to the countless number of questions raised by humans prior to space exploration missions, this project began by asking questions that had no answer and speculating on possible scenarios based on current issues surrounding such topics. Throughout this project, we found that simply asking more questions rather than trying to present a single solution has allowed us to explore the possible answers limitlessly without being constrained by various technical issues.

Such speculative approach allowed the result to slowly manifest itself naturally as the project progressed, with the final outcome of different architectural elements that are all intertwined within a system. Without architectural thinking, such products could not have been manifested in physical forms and allowed the system as a whole to be understood through a coherent series of images and visualisations.