{"id":18997,"date":"2017-04-10T22:16:53","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T14:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/luxembourg-sets-its-sights-on-space-resources-with-seattle-as-launch-pad\/"},"modified":"2017-04-10T22:16:53","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T14:16:53","slug":"luxembourg-sets-its-sights-on-space-resources-with-seattle-as-launch-pad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/luxembourg-sets-its-sights-on-space-resources-with-seattle-as-launch-pad\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxembourg sets its sights on space resources, with Seattle as launch pad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Luxembourg
Luxembourg\u2019s Princess Stephanie and Prince Guillaume bend down to get a good look at Planetary Resources\u2019 Arkyd 6 mini-satellites during a visit to the clean room at the company\u2019s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luxembourg\u2019s royal heir and its top economic official got the grand tour of the Seattle area today, deepening a business relationship that could someday turn far-flung asteroids into the next commercial frontier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exciting field of space technology could enable many more partnerships and economic success stories between Luxembourg and Seattle,\u201d Prince Guillaume told a VIP gathering at Seattle\u2019s Space Needle.<\/p>\n

Luxembourg?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t underestimate the tiny country nestled between Belgium, Germany and France: Over the past few decades, Luxembourg has built itself into a financial powerhouse as well as a center for Europe\u2019s satellite industry. Now Luxembourg\u2019s government and investment companies are aiming to do it again, with asteroid mining.<\/p>\n

Asteroid mining?<\/p>\n

The idea of harvesting valuable resources from asteroids may sound as way-out as the idea that Luxembourg could lead the way for building asteroids into an industry. But that\u2019s why Prince Guillaume and his wife, Princess Stephanie, are making a swing through Seattle, San Francisco and Silicon Valley this week: to do a reality check on present and future investments.<\/p>\n

\"Planetary
Planetary Resources\u2019 CEO and president, Chris Lewicki, at left, shows Luxembourg\u2019s Princess Stephanie, Prince Guillaume and Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider around the company\u2019s offices in Redmond, Wash. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year, the government and one of the country\u2019s top banking institutions, the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Nationale de Cr\u00e9dit et d\u2019Investissement or SNCI, put \u20ac25 million ($26.5 million) into Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company based in Redmond, Wash.<\/p>\n

Deputy Prime Minister \u00c9tienne Schneider, who is also Luxembourg\u2019s economy minister, said the investment translates into a 10 percent share of the company. Luxembourg is also partnering with Deep Space Industries, an asteroid mining company headquartered in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

Both partnerships were forged under the aegis of Luxembourg\u2019s \u20ac200 million ($212 million) SpaceResources.lu initiative, which follows the same playbook used for the financial and satellite industries: Grab the \u201cfirst-mover advantage\u201d in an emerging marketplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that we will not get any money for the next \u2026 I don\u2019t know how many years,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s an investment into the development of this new activity, because we believe in the activity. We are sure that it\u2019s not a question of if it will happen, but a question of when it will happen. And then we will be in the forefront.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planetary Resources was founded in 2012 to be in the forefront as well: Its near-term business model focuses on Earth observation satellites, but those satellites will help blaze a trail for more advanced spacecraft with the ability to seek out promising asteroids and extract water as well as other potentially valuable materials.<\/p>\n

\"Arkyd
Planetary Resources\u2019 Spencer Anunsen discusses the toroidal structure of the Arkyd 200 spacecraft while another company engineer, David Gerhardt, looks on. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If the water from a medium-sized asteroid could be efficiently extracted and converted into rocket propellants, the potential payoff could be measured in billions of dollars, if not trillions, Platinum and other precious metals could add billions more to a space rock\u2019s value. All this assumes, of course, that there\u2019ll be a need for in-space refueling and manufacturing by the time Planetary Resources\u2019 mining operation gets off the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe space mining is still a long way from commercial viability, but it has the potential to further ease access to space and facilitate an in-space manufacturing economy,\u201d Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak wrote in a note to investors last week. \u201cSpace mining could be more realistic than perceived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planetary Resources is planning to have a prototype space telescope known as Arkyd 6 launched later this year on an Indian PSLV rocket, and the first asteroid-hunting Arkyd 200 spacecraft could head out into deep space as soon as 2020.<\/p>\n

During today\u2019s grand tour, the Luxembourg delegation \u2013 including Prince Guillaume and his wife, Princess Stephanie, as well as Schneider and about a dozen other officials, business executives and journalists \u2013 toured Planetary Resources\u2019 headquarters in Redmond. The royal couple donned hairnets, booties and coveralls to check out two Arkyd 6 satellites that are undergoing preparations for launch in the company\u2019s clean room.<\/p>\n

The tour group also saw how Planetary Resources is using 3-D printing to fabricate spacecraft components, and using \u201cflatsats\u201d to test satellite electronics well in advance of launch.<\/p>\n