Shipbuilding can be a bellwether for manufacturing mindsets – from traditionalism to disruptive innovation A long time ago, some of my earliest copywriting and idea development work was for many of the industrial shipyards in Denmark. Hopefully, it wasn’t my fault that many of them subsequently went out of business, as they got squeezed and out-competed by lower-cost, larger-scale yards elsewhere – mostly...

It’s deliciously easy to techno-drool about a plethora of new satellite-based capabilities. But have we thought the business model through? In praise of engineering prowess In February 2022, SpaceX successfully assembled a 400ft rocket using a trio of giant robotic arms, in an impressive ballet of engineering dexterity and prowess. This involved quickly and effectively stacking the different components, using technologies far beyond the...