Lockheed Martin, the defense and aerospace giant, predicts 2025 will usher in a wave of groundbreaking trends in space-based technologies.
Space allows for transformative technologies to be leveraged in numerous ways that are very unlike terrestrial technologies, Lockheed Martin said. This includes anything from internet connectivity, air traffic controls, military operations and much more where billions of people rely on satellites for functionality.
The 10 most important space-based trends that will shape the technological future in 2025 include:
- Integrated artificial intelligence
- SATCOM
- Proliferated satellite constellations
- Interoperability and connectivity
- Nuclear space propulsion and power
- Connecting domains through space data
- Human-lunar exploration
- Climate and weather monitoring
- Space-based quantum communication
- Advanced manufacturing
Proliferated satellite constellations will help to enable 5G space-enabled connectivity, monitoring of climate change and extreme weather. Source: Lockheed Martin
AI and SATCOM
AI will play a role in all space-based technologies, Lockheed Martin said, as it is integrated into space systems both in orbit and from ground-based command and control stations. This will help accelerate decision making, enable autonomous operations and enhance situational awareness.
SATCOM — space-based 5G and beyond internet connectivity — is accelerating in influence rapidly but in 2025 it could make the first steps toward reality, according to Lockheed Martin. Satellite constellations supporting cellular networks could manage data in space and integrate more devices and transport more data at higher speeds around the world, even to remote locations.
Constellations and interoperability
Proliferated satellite constellations are being adopted quickly and could make an impact in 2025, Lockheed Martin said. These use hundreds of smaller satellites in multiple obits to lower the cost of connectivity in space, can be deployed rapidly and offer high flexibility. When used as a large constellation, it can provide resilience in the face of threats or other anomalies.
These satellites will also help to provide data for weather monitoring and climate intelligence and can be used to model severe weather to provide understanding of the climate for daily life and military operations.
Interoperability and connectivity, meanwhile, could be used to provide seamless and efficient interaction between air and space integration systems. This will be an important technology as the military and commercial aerospace industry adopts unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), satellites and other technologies.
Nuclear power propulsion could carry spacecraft faster and more efficiently for long-term missions. Source: Lockheed Martin
Nuclear space propulsion
To harness more efficient propulsion and power in space, Lockheed Martin and others are working on using nuclear power to enable spacecraft to take off and return to Earth as well as other planetary bodies. The company is working on:
- Nuclear thermal propulsion
- Nuclear electrical propulsion
- Fission surface power
These technologies will cut travel times significantly as well as allow for longer trips for spacecraft that are much larger in mass.
Data, manufacturing and quantum computing
These technologies will allow space-based data gathering and processing technologies in real-time while increasing decision-making and rapid response across all domains.
Quantum computing is the next step in increasing these response speeds and promises profound increases in processing speed and information per photon, Lockheed Martin said.
These will be enhanced by advancements in manufacturing like:
- Advanced robotics
- 3D printing
- Light-based manufacturing
These technologies will increase the space products' quality and reduce costs, the company said.
Lunar missions
Finally, NASA is working to establish a human presence on the Moon and the Artemis missions will help to build that community and establish a base on the lunar surface.
Lockheed is developing the Orion spacecraft, which will be a deep space vehicle that can transport astronauts and feature technology such as life support systems designed for long duration missions, deep space communications and protection from cosmic and solar radiation.
