Seraphim Space Technology Investment Trust PLC gives access to first

Launching the Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SSIT) on the markets this summer could not have come at a better time in terms of public consciousness about the space industry.

The July initial public offer in London for what is the first listed space technology fund came in the same month as Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos took off to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, or just beyond.

But with environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns more important to more investors than ever, the criticisms of a space tourism race between billionaires from the likes of Prince William has perhaps caused some investors to think twice about this industry.

However, as Mark Boggett, chief executive of the firm that manages the trust, Seraphim Space (Manager), says, dismissing the space sector because of headlines about Bezos and Branson means potential investors could miss out on many companies developing technologies that are doing many positive things to help the planet.

What’s more – if you read all the way to the end – he says the industry is positioned to have a major positive impact on the planet.

Boggett feels pictures of billionaire space tourist astronauts are distracting from the impact their companies have made in helping lower the cost of going to space.

“The cost of going to space has fallen by nearly 100 times – that’s to a large part down to SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.

“Yes, that makes it more feasible to be able to go to space for fun but, more importantly, it makes it more feasible to commercially do things in space.”

Not only has rocket travel become a lot cheaper, but there has also been a revolution in satellite industry, with a reduction from the size of a school bus to that of a shoebox, with a corresponding reduction in cost.

“Bringing those two things together opens up space to a whole range of new opportunities – in particular that it’s now feasible to launch constellations of hundreds or even thousands of satellites – this is the game changer,” says Boggett.

“These constellations are gathering vast quantities of data or providing communication at a low cost – what we refer to as a digital infrastructure in the sky.

“That is enabling them to monitor our planet, to allow us to use resources more efficiently, to catch bad actors who are dumping effluent into a river, to monitor all sorts of environment-damaging activities – there is no longer any place to hide, a global audit to hold companies and countries to account.”

The portfolio, which as of the end of 2021 stood at 21 companies, is hugely diverse, with each one addressing markets estimated in the billions of dollars, including:

• Spire Global, which uses its constellation of over 100 small CubeSats to gather…