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Project Bromo: Europe’s Answer to Starlink

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

December 4, 2024

Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo have initiated talks to establish a joint satellite venture, codenamed Project Bromo, aimed at challenging Elon Musk’s Starlink. Inspired by the success of MBDA, a multinational missile manufacturing consortium, the project aspires to unify Europe’s fragmented satellite industry into a formidable global player.

Key Facts about Project Bromo

MBDA Model Inspiration: The project draws parallels with MBDA, a successful missile manufacturing alliance co-owned by Airbus, Leonardo, and BAE Systems. MBDA’s structure has been a benchmark for collaborative ventures across borders.
A Long-Awaited Partnership: While a potential collaboration among Europe’s satellite makers has been hinted at for years, Project Bromo represents a tangible step towards achieving a unified approach to revitalising the struggling sector.
Competing with Starlink: With Starlink dominating low Earth orbit using low-cost small satellites, Bromo seeks to shift the focus of Europe’s satellite makers from high-cost geostationary satellites to the competitive low Earth orbit market.
Pooling Resources: Rather than a buyout of assets, the joint venture plans to combine the satellite operations of the three companies into a single entity, leveraging collective expertise and resources.

Amid the optimism surrounding Project Bromo, Airbus faces significant internal challenges. The company announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs, approximately 7% of its Defence and Space division, by mid-2026. The cuts are expected to disproportionately affect its €2 billion space systems business, particularly in France, Germany, and potentially the UK and Spain. Thales, meanwhile, is planning to eliminate 1,300 space-related roles.

Despite these setbacks, the companies insist these measures will be achieved through voluntary redundancies.

The collaboration among Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo reflects a growing urgency to unify Europe’s aerospace sector. Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo and former Italian Minister of Environmental Transition, acknowledged in July that the companies were striving to build a cohesive European space alliance.

Project Bromo isn’t Europe’s only effort to counter Starlink. In 2022, satellite internet operators OneWeb and Eutelsat announced a merger, creating another potential challenger to Musk’s dominance in satellite internet.

While Project Bromo signifies a bold step forward, the journey to establish a European satellite champion will be lengthy. Decades of stalled efforts to consolidate Europe’s satellite industry have highlighted the complexities of governance, competition, and resource sharing. Still, the ambition of Project Bromo offers a glimmer of hope for Europe’s space sector, promising to transform its competitive landscape and assert its presence in the global satellite market.

Google’s Willow Chip: Quantum Leap In Computing Power That Defies Time Itself

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

December 11, 2024

A Breakthrough in Quantum Computing

Google has introduced “Willow,” a revolutionary quantum chip capable of solving problems so complex that even modern supercomputers would require an astronomical 10 septillion years to complete them. In stark contrast, Willow accomplishes these tasks in just five minutes, marking a monumental leap in the race to develop functional, large-scale quantum computers.

How Willow Works

The power of Willow lies in its ability to harness quantum mechanics — the physics governing subatomic particles — to perform calculations at unprecedented speeds. Traditional supercomputers process information in binary bits (0s and 1s), but Willow employs qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously. This capability allows quantum computers to solve complex problems exponentially faster than classical devices.

One of Willow’s most significant advancements is its capacity to reduce quantum errors — a persistent challenge in quantum computing. Google achieved this by increasing the number of qubits, enabling more precise and stable computations. This breakthrough addresses an issue researchers have been working on for nearly 30 years. Google calls it a major milestone on its journey toward building a “large-scale useful quantum computer” that could transform industries like healthcare, logistics, and cybersecurity.

What It Means for the Future

Quantum computing is seen as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it holds the promise of faster drug discovery, optimization of supply chains, and advances in AI. On the other, it raises concerns about the potential to crack existing encryption methods, posing a threat to global cybersecurity. Tech giants like Apple have already responded by upgrading their encryption to be “quantum-proof,” ensuring that sensitive data remains secure even as quantum technology advances.

For now, Willow remains a prototype, not yet ready to tackle real-world applications. Experts predict it will take years — and billions in investment — before quantum computers reach the scale needed to address practical problems. But for Google, the unveiling of Willow represents a crucial step forward. As Google Quantum AI stated, “Willow takes us significantly further along that path toward commercially significant applications.”

With quantum computing now moving from theory to tangible progress, Willow’s debut could be a defining moment in the evolution of technology, one that challenges the very concept of time in problem-solving.