Future Trends in Space Education: Building up Capabilities and Foster the Creation of Competitive Space Education in Bulgaria

This paper searches and explores the next steps for the space education and space industry in Bulgaria. The reason is simple it is time to move away from the monopolies of a few huge companies and open up opportunities for new players. It is certainly plausible that newly created SMEs could create radically new solutions in the fields of space transportation, exploration, commercialization of resources and bring innovation to the sector. Through the exponential growth of technologies such as biotech, nanotech and material sciences, AI and robotics, neuroscience and medicine, the world is changing dramatically. It is time for the space sector to start moving forward with the same pace. This paper represents the author’s point of view of the space sector from a different perspective. The document does not give a concrete plan for the development of the national space program of Bulgaria when it comes to detailed steps and proposal of concrete niches. This will require a whole new research and could be the next step of this analysis. The article aims at presenting new logic for restarting the Bulgarian national space industry. It is not detailing the exact path but rather proposing logic for developing one. DOI: 10.4018/ijstmi.2012070104 International Journal of Space Technology Management and Innovation, 2(2), 66-74, July-December 2012 67 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. article aims at presenting new logic for restarting the Bulgarian national space industry. It is not detailing the exact path but rather proposing logic for developing one. The space sector is changing rapidly in the last few years. The emergence of new trends such as space tourism and the success of new private space companies in different fields of space science and technology have created the need for innovative educational programs. The paradigm has changed rapidly, pushed forward by the advancements in certain fields of science and technology, literally happening at exponential rate. All innovations based on this progress have created new types of industries, changed the company culture inside many leading organizations, and improved the lives of millions of people around the world. Just think about the impact that the smartphone had on global society – young people in many remote areas who never had access to the Internet, now can learn and stay informed through their phones. Even in Africa the number of PCs per capita is significantly lower than the number of smartphones per capita. Another example is the development of 3D printing technology which could redefine the manufacturing of products and industrial elements (“The printed world”, 2011). The space sector has always been part of the global high-tech industry. It has enabled services so important for the modern society, such as navigation, Earth observation, telecommunication, that its strategic role is indisputable. Due to the growing impact of the exponential technologies such as AI & Robotics, Nanotechnology, Biotechnology & Neuroscience, different sectors of the high-tech industry had to adapt to the rapid change and learn how to be constantly innovative in order to maintain market position. Companies that failed to foresee a given tech trend lost their share extremely fast. One important example is Nokia – from telecommunications leader, Nokia became secondary-level player, due to missing the trend of development of the smartphone industry (Huuhtanen, 2012). Most high-tech organizations accept the fact that the innovation is their only salvation in a business sense (Intel is a clear case in this sense). On the other hand, Space has always been extremely difficult field for developing new business ideas and realizing those into practice. The harshness of the space environment has required the companies to make huge investments, associated with high probability of failure, uniquely customizable solutions and lack of mass production capability. This continues even today and makes most space organizations less flexible and much more traditional in their development. The “flight proven” terminology has for long time prevented the rapid implementation of new technologic solutions. Although part of the high-tech sector, the space companies have significantly slower reaction and adaptability when it comes to simple but decisive Change. This is another reason why in the last two decades the progress in space exploration and space business development did not meet even close the expectations of the investors and the global community (referenced to space companies and not space asset users).