Can Orbex Hold on to Its Design Secrets?

Industrial espionage is a huge problem in the world of rocket construction and space engineering. Can Orbex maintain its security and ensure the technology does not fall into the wrong hands?

Can Orbex Hold on to Its Design Secrets?

Space programs and military industry have always had an intimate relationship. They both serve as forums for countries to show off their power and advancement, often in an effort to drum up patriotic fervor among the population. The technology frequently overlaps as well. America recruiting Nazi Germany’s top rocket scientists in the aftermath of World War Two gave them the edge to outrun the Soviets in the Cold War space race. Indeed, both military and space technology research frequently produce leaps in popular technology that help drive the advancement of civilian consumer goods. It’s no surprise then that space technology often falls under the umbrella of national security, and with good reason.

Today’s Space Race and Technology Leaks

Industrial espionage is certainly not the loudest form of warfare that states engage in, but the stakes are often very high. Using embedded agents or recruiting sympathizers enables governments and private enterprises to steal valuable data from rivals, often without the other party realizing. Rogue states like Iran and North Korea often have a limited talent pool and weak economies to draw on for their research and development work. Often, it’s easier to just steal technology and reverse-engineer designs to be reproduced at home. That’s why businesses like Orbex that work with sensitive data need to ensure the right safeguards are followed to minimize the chance of data being illicitly lifted.

Orbex Founder Presents a Risk to the Business

Based in Scotland, Orbex was founded in 2015 by Danish entrepreneur Kristian von Bengtson. The self-declared space king has developed a reputation for erratic behavior over the years, which has often imperiled his business interests. His work on the Mars One project was met with widespread derision after he suggested using reality TV contestants to populate Mars. More concerning, he was professionally and personally close to Peter Madsen, the entrepreneur and fellow Dane who murdered the journalist Kim Wall onboard his private submarines during an interview she was conducting. Large companies usually prefer a steady respectable personality to an oddball who was on very friendly terms with a murderous psychopath. Bengtson’s presence at Orbex could be precisely the kind of vulnerability an agent would leverage to gain access to valuable patents.

Space Technology for Military Might

Orbex is the kind of company that agents and hackers target. It possesses data for many technologies, but doesn’t have the oversight or security level of a military institution. A country like Iran is just the kind of rogue state that would pursue Orbex for its patents: the country is pursuing both nuclear and space programs at the same time. Ultimately, they will need a sophisticated rocket design to provide a reliable delivery system for a nuclear warhead, should they ever harness atomic technology. Should Orbex designs for a suitable rocket propulsion unit fall into their hands, the results would likely prove disastrous.