Space Economy

As human activity expands beyond Earth’s surface, it will be necessary to transport more provisions, fuel, equipment, and materials into space (‘upmass’) to support this growth and in some cases, like with waste, transport items back down to Earth (‘downmass’). Players in this logistics industry niche must heavily scrutinize shipments for the products and packaging contained within, accounting for dimensions, weight, moisture content, and each item’s endurance in terms of pressure, extreme temperature, and the lack of gravity.

Additionally, somewhat like ground transportation but less flexible, logistics providers must also limit deliveries governed by stringent space and weight restrictions on rockets and shuttles, planning far in advance the shipments to be loaded. We here at DHL anticipate a growth of shipments destined for space. With this, we foresee an increased diversification of products delivered and also modular standardization of packaging and containers that adequately protect products while minimizing volume and weight. Meanwhile, development of bigger space vehicles and alternative launch mechanisms will help transport more cargo, reduce lead times, and enable cost reduction through economies of scale.

The development of satellite constellations – groups of satellites working together – in space provides opportunities and benefits for supply chains on the ground.

Global connectivity is the biggest use case, with constellations like Starlink currently being installed to provide internet access in places that currently lack good connection. For logistics providers, this will enable continuous real-time updates from sensors, even if a shipment is in the middle of a desert or an ocean.

Another use case is forecasting and resilience. With improving camera and computer vision technology, satellite constellations can monitor developments on the ground and send data for analysis. For example, tracking crop growth can help supply chain teams forecast the number of trucks needed to meet this year’s agricultural harvest. Similarly, observing the growth and direction of forest fires and hurricanes can trigger supply chain diversions to mitigate risk.

Satellite constellations can also improve privacy through quantum communication. Devices have already successfully transmitted unhackable information from China to Europe via a quantum satellite. A network of this type of satellite can safely pass highly sensitive supply chain information between any two points on the planet.

Through their collected data, satellites can help logistics providers optimize supply chains and provide better services to customers.