A successful fourth test flight of Starship by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a renewed focus on European space sovereignty with a full order book for Ariane 6… space news is bustling. To discuss these developments, we spoke with François Dubrulle, an entrepreneur with over thirty years of experience in the aerospace industry. He is the founder and CEO of Qosmosys, a private company dedicated to the peaceful development of the lunar economy. Here, he shares insights into his project and answers our questions.
The European Scientist : You founded Qosmosys with the goal of space exploration to improve humanity. Can you share your ambition and the concrete projects you are working on? Should we consider you a start-up in the “New Space” ecosystem?
François Dubrulle : We believe that space exploration, specifically activities beyond geostationary orbit (36,000 kilometers above our heads), is an uncharted territory where a controlled and profitable economic activity can emerge. Everything is yet to be invented because this economy does not yet exist.
It is a story of pioneers that requires rigor to overcome a considerable number of technical challenges to operate space systems far from our planet. Qosmosys has decided to become a pioneer among pioneers by focusing on all the devices that need to be deployed in orbit around the Moon and on its surface to prepare this economy. We must act quickly and with benevolence, ensuring that what we do first benefits the inhabitants of the Earth.
Qosmosys, in collaboration with Airbus, designs complex space systems that require a high degree of reliability because, once in space, they must function flawlessly all the time. Therefore, we do not belong to the “New Space” ecosystem, which is driven by disposability and accepts a low-cost iterative approach at the expense of in-flight reliability. This is unthinkable for distant missions.
Our transport vehicle, which we call ZeusX, meets these highest reliability standards because failure is not an option. The economic value of the payloads to be deployed on the lunar surface is too high to take technical and operational risks.
TES. : Last week was the 4th test flight of Starship, the manned spacecraft that SpaceX plans to send to Mars. This time the booster not only succeeded in launching the upper stage into orbit but also returned to the ground, enabling its reuse. What are your comments on this achievement? Has Musk’s persistence and his team’s finally paid off?
F.D.: I would not call it an achievement because SpaceX is not the only one company doing remarkable things in this industry. Admittedly, one can admire the continuous progress of this extraordinary launcher, but with Starship, SpaceX aims at something different: captivating the media scene and therefore creates a dematerialized version of the “commodity fetishism” dear to Guy Debord. It’s a unique situation in this industry, which, contrary to what one might think, has its feet firmly on the ground. Elon Musk is elsewhere, in a perpetual quest for new investors to follow him in a quest for Mars that is entirely purposeless to my opinion. When the dream of colonizing other planets crashes against the wall of reality, Musk will leave his followers to (mis)manage his disillusions. Then everyone will move on to something else.
TES. : Early July should see the return of the Ariane 6 launcher. Despite the four-year delay in the launcher’s service and complaints from the Germans about the project’s high cost, Philippe Baptiste, president of CNES, was delighted with a full order book and the return of European space sovereignty. What is your opinion?
F.D.: We all need heavy launchers to better escape the Earth’s gravity. It is vital that Ariane 6 is a success as a reliable and powerful resource to access space remains scarce, therefore controlling such access is a critical factor for any defined political or economic area. It seems to me that the challenges will lie in the capacity to maintain this resource in the long term, as maintaining a responsive and stable industrial organization is a difficult challenge, especially since the European domestic space market is weak compared to the United States or China. Therefore, we should rejoice in Arianespace’s busy manifest, as they have continuously shown great talent to manage crisis situations in the past.
TES. : Qosmosys is headquartered in Singapore but also has locations in Toulouse and Houston. Does this position allow you to compare and judge the strategies implemented by the two main players in the space sector? What lessons do you draw? What do you think of other major competitors (China, Russia)? Does space exploration benefit from healthy competition?
F.D.: Qosmosys is positioned in countries that represent its future, both from a commercial and strategic perspective. The comeback to a bipolarization of space conquest is an unavoidable element that we consider for our development. More specifically, China and Russia, but also India, not only represent very high-level competition but also raise questions about how humanity intends to manage extraterrestrial resources because we are inevitably confronted with the famous “tragedy of the commons” if we are not careful. In the absence of coercive regulation, it is Qosmosys’ duty to remain lucid and to endorse a true policy of self-responsibility. We must set an example. These are not just lofty words, believe me, as the new space era will demand us to solve by anticipation big challenges which will be forced with patience and determination to comply to the decisions of peoples and their leaders.
TES. : In the Manifesto on the Qosmosys website, you quote Carl Sagan: “Our exploration of the cosmos will be the greatest of all human adventures.” What meaning do you give to this statement? Some are not convinced of the utility of space exploration; what do you say to them?
F.D.: Curiosity is consubstantial to the human race, and it has given rise to so many great achievements that have brought our civilization out of a permanent state of nature. So space exploration useful? By projecting our curiosity into space, I believe we face ahead the most unexpected and phenomenal scientific discoveries that may make humanity better. At the same time, as we move further from our Earth into the deep space, we realize our uniqueness in a universe that surpasses us and must make us question our ability to preserve it.
Further reading
“Yes to the AI Act, but with moderation” – Thierry Berthier (interview)
“The Greens are having a Coyote moment” Steven E. Koonin (Interview)
Nuclear power takes off (Part 2): the ongoing evolution of reactors
“Obesity : are carbohydrates the problem ?” Gary Taubes (interview)
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