Rafal Modrzewski (ICEYE) and Renato Panesi (D-Orbit) on space: The new wild west

This conversation took place during Endeavor Week, five days of events and gatherings in New York City where members of our community from over 45 countries explored innovations and trends shaping global venture capital. Offering a Spotlight on Space, Endeavor Entrepreneurs Rafal Modrzewski, CEO of ICEYE, and Renato Panesi, co-founder and CCO of D-Orbit, discussed the changing spacescape in a conversation moderated by Marta Ghiglioni, Director of Entrepreneur Experience at Endeavor Global.

The space race was once a two-player game. It evolved over decades to allow a few additional entrants, but only in the past few years has it become a truly global pursuit. Major tailwinds including technological innovations leading to lower development and launch costs, and AI’s ability to process large amounts of data, have democratized access to space. We now see space exploration and innovation coming out of Italy, Argentina, Bulgaria, Poland, and beyond.

Rafal Modrzewski and Renato Panesi joined Marta Ghiglioni to discuss their companies’ roles in charting the next frontier, and how traveling beyond Earth might help us save it…if we can only agree on how to legislate the universe.

Key Takeaways

• DEMOCRATIZING ACCESS TO SPACE: Ukrainians crowdfunded the purchase of an ICEYE SAR satellite, rewriting the rules of who can access space technology and why. This bold move signals a new era where cutting-edge technology is no longer the domain of governments and corporations alone, but a resource that communities can unlock to shape their own futures. It’s an example of grassroots innovation meeting high-tech possibilities, democratizing access to tools that can influence the course of history.

• FRESH EYES ON EARTH: From space, we can observe and protect our planet. ICEYE owns and operates the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation, which enables unprecedented access to accurate images of any location on Earth – every few hours, day and night, in any weather. ICEYE’s story began with tracking Arctic ice melt to open safer shipping routes like the Northern Sea Route, and expanded to monitoring Amazon deforestation and urban infrastructure. More recently, the company predicted volcanic activity in Iceland and partnered with the Icelandic government to issue evacuation warnings. Within a week, the volcano erupted. ICEYE regularly provides near real-time hazard and damage data on natural catastrophes such as floods and wildfires for commercial and non-commercial organizations.

• MAKING SPACE SUSTAINABLE: As we expand into space, ensuring its sustainability becomes paramount. D-Orbit is pioneering space logistics, from satellite launch to in-orbit servicing and eventual disposal. By monitoring and forecasting orbital debris, addressing malfunctions, and developing recycling capabilities, they aim to prevent orbit congestion and build a more sustainable space economy.

• SPACE IS UNIVERSAL, GOVERNMENT IS LOCAL: Working in Europe’s space industry means navigating a maze of regulators: 27 national agencies within the EU, the European Commission (its executive arm), NATO (a military alliance overseeing space defense), the European Space Agency (an intergovernmental body driving exploration), and more. To see the space industry flourish in Europe, we need to work across borders and create a unified market.

• BRAVE NEW WORLD… OR THE WILD WEST? It’s an exciting moment in history, which Rafal compares to when the Wright Brothers invented, built, and flew the first successful airplane. Space is now a domain not only limited to government research, but also an operational zone that will have tourists, mining, commercial companies, governments and more. But this comes with risks, as technology is moving faster than legal frameworks. “Think about the moon…” Renato explains, “Whoever comes first gets [it]. It’s frankly not acceptable.”

Watch the video for Rafal and Renato’s full discussion, including predictions for the space industry in the coming years, and an exploration of the technology behind their pioneering companies.