Free Public Lectures

The Space Age began sixty years ago with the launch of the first Earth-orbiting satellites, but now we are entering Space 2.0 as the commercialisation of space becomes big business. The global economic turnover associated with space is now reckoned to be more than a trillion dollars per annum, with all manner of benefits accruing to everyday users who are largely unaware of what space is doing for them. Duncan will discuss the different types of Earth-orbiting satellite – from communications relays 35,800 km above the equator through the global positioning system constellations to low-Earth orbit platforms flying only a few hundred km above our heads – and what sorts of services they are making feasible. Duncan works at the Centre for Space Science Technology in Alexandra, analysing Earth observation imagery obtained from satellites, aircraft and drones. Duncan’s research has focused largely on asteroids, comets and meteors, but he has also been involved in planning missions to Mars and the search for life elsewhere.