Lets talk. Lets cooperate. Lets work together. Can you see where this is going?

MilSpace 2008 just seemed to be one long call for cooperation between different nations and space powers. It seems everybody wants to talk, everyone wants to share costs and make the most of the space assets available to them. Many speakers spoke about creating an environment and neighborhood where everyone works together in policing space and making sure it runs like clockwork.

Can this work though? Can space be this kind of Utopia? Can it be this one place where all nations get together and work together for a common goal? It certainly sounds like a nice idea, but is it realistic? The cynic in me might argue that we don’t always work together on Earth, why will things be any different in space?

The issue of attracting young people to the space industry was the theme of more than one presentation on day two of MilSpace 2008 in Paris.

Speakers agreed that space technologies are more important than ever, but attracting young people into the industry remains a very real issue. While kids growing up in the 1960s were inspired by witnessing men walk on the moon, today’s children do not have the same inspiration. Does space-related news and events even register on their radars the way it once did? I think we know the answer to that one.

While space-based technologies are playing a more important role in defense as well as everyday life, the industry needs to work harder on getting that message into young people’s heads.

MilSpace 2008 seems to be a very different beast than a year ago. I was reading through my notes for MilSpace 2007, and a lot of that show seemed to be about issues such as weaponization in space, expanded military space capabilities and space being the next frontier for warfare.

In 2008, the emphasis has shifted to cooperation and using space technology to everyone’s overall benefit. Or maybe the Paris air has gotten to me?

A French government report about space defense policy published in mid-2007 recommended increased investments in military space capabilities. But the report has led to little action, said retired Gen. Bernard Molard, defence and security advisor to the CEO, EADS Astrium. “We are used to beautiful words with no action,” he told the audience.

However, Molard generally was positive and gave an upbeat assessment of French political thinking towards military space spending in the future, as there seems to be an apparent willingness on the behalf of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration to increase its investments in military space. A white paper on defense and national security due to be published soon is set to lead to increased investments in military space capabilities, Molard indicated.

However, while the talk is impressive, Molard remains somewhat cautious until new initiatives are set in stone. Words may be impressive, but they are just words at this stage. Over to you, President Sarkozy.

On a beautiful hot summer day (It feels like summer) in Paris, the SMi MilSpace 2008 show opened with speakers discussing changes and developments in the European military space arena.

The key word in most of the morning presentations was “dual,” as multiple speakers discussed marrying different needs, including a strategy that involves the military and commercial sectors working more closely together. In the case of many European nations, a dual space policy will allow them to own national assets, yet at the same time part of an integrated European space policy. Everyone wants to promote the European message but at the same time not lose sight of their own national interests and, critically, maintain some level of independence over space policy.

For the first time I remember in the three years I’ve attended the show, an exhibitor used live video feeds in its booth. I’m sure among all the exhibitors filling four separate gigantic halls, there are others that use live content in their demonstrations, but it always struck me as weird that companies touting the latest in broadcast technology relied on taped content for their demonstrations.

So if at least one company can find a way to use live content, is it too much to ask that another unnamed technology provider at least update it’s taped content and stop broadcasting the same basketball game — played in 2000 — as part of the endless loop of content in its booth?

While high-definition (HD) services have not yet taken off commercially in the way most technology suppliers — or anyone else — had hoped, that does not mean the companies have slowed down their development efforts. One company is ready to introduce more affordable HD newsgathering platforms for local news stations — many of whom are still trying to figure out how to get the return on investment on the HD upgrades they have installed in the past several years, and one of the most impressive pieces of work I’ve seen to date has to be HD video on a Sony Playstation Portable screen and on an iPhone-size screen.

On the mobile front — another area where the technology development is outstripping commercial acceptance — the launch of the ICO G1 satellite has created a little bit of excitement among companies banking on mobile TV to drive future revenues. One of ICO’s more ambitious mobile TV trials took place in Las Vegas a year ago and the efforts are continuing in other areas of the globe. If all goes well with checkout, trials with the spacecraft will begin in September, but the companies would not speculate when this could lead to revenue-generating operations.

There does not seem to be any single issue that will dominate the 2008 NAB show or any single idea that is creating any excitement. The show floor is packed as usual, but the attendees are not being driven to any single booth featuring the latest must-have technology that will change the future of broadcasting.

All the usual suspects can be found – high definition, mobile services, compression, etc. Two of the first four booths I visited touted the latest in space-based IP, but while the technology providers continue to made impressive advances, there is only so much they can do to drive the consumer markets, one executive said. At some point, their customers — the content deliverers — need to make business cases compelling enough so the end users will begin to spend the money on the services. Until then, the technology advances will continue to just be an interesting thing to look at on the show floor.

Terrestrial interests lost their attempt to gain access to C-band spectrum but were able to get several countries around the globe, including many in Africa, to allow WiMax deployments as long as they do not interfere with satellite operations. This allowed the terrestrial players to claim a measure of victory in their battle with the satellite industry, and it looks as if WiMax players believe they ultimately will win the battle.

According to Rob Kubik of Motorola and the WiMax Forum, more than 90 countries have issued licenses for WiMax deployments, and the industry is ready to move forward in Africa. “We’re not really at war, but the reality is that WiMax will be deploying in [C-band].”

It doesn’t make sense that countries that are dependent on satellite services would make way for widespread WiMax deployments that could interfere with satellite operations. But it looks as if the terrestrial players may be winning the marketing war with African governments in terms of which technology will be able to provide affordable communications services.

Satellite players need to do a better job of countering the “WiMax hype,” according to one pro-satellite speaker, but it could also be that many African governments are willing to take a chance on another technology rather than continue to wait for satellite players to live up to their promises.

The best panel of the show featured a debate between satellite operators (the ones that bothered to show up, but more about that later) and their customers that serve the African market. The satellite operators said all the capacity they have is being snapped up, and they simply have nothing else to offer.

But this explanation did not pacify customers. Peter Bretherick, managing director of Telemedia of South Africa, said he wants to buy more capacity but he sometimes even has problems getting the satellite operators to return his calls. “The satellite operators are getting too big,” he said. “We would welcome new players to the market.”

There are new players willing to enter the African market, but according to Shawkat Ahmed, chief commercial officer for Yahsat, they new companies are being hampered by the operating practices of the established operators. Yahsat has two satellites under development and would like to order a third, but there is not any spectrum available over Africa. The established operators hold many of the orbital slots and spectrum and have filed plans for spacecraft, but they have not yet put anything in orbit. These “paper satellites” are keeping companies that want to put real spacecraft in orbit from doing so, Ahmed said.

The best question that could not be answered: Why did T. Ahmed-Rufai, CEO of Nigcomsat, not show up for the panel? He was listed in the program and was reported to have been seen on the show floor prior to the panel, but he did not make it to the stage.