because the American monopoly was seriously affecting commercial
competition.
Political constraints have always affected the Space Economy and will remain
so as long as it depends on public investment. But something is changing. We can
consider the economic model of space exploration on two tracks. The Space
Economy 1.0 has already established itself thanks to the satellites that have been
launched in the last two decades. On the second track, a Space Economy 2.0 – yet
to start – would be based on the exploitation of extraterrestrial resources that
would benefit the Earth’s economy and support human life far from the planet.
This second track will only become viable and self-sustainable when new forms
of space exploration bring positive and stable financial flows. At that point, goals
such as landing on Mars, lunar settlements or the extraction of extraterrestrial
resources could be of real commercial interest.
Today, we are still far from the Space Economy 2.0. This is why experts should
avoid making generic statements about imminent planetary conquests, which produce the same unattainable expectations about space exploration as were seen in
the last century.
To contextualize the importance of the Space Economy 1.0, we can quote some
figures from so-called downstream
9
activities – i.e. applications in the commercial
and consumer markets that were derived from space assets. According to the
Satellite Industry Association (SIA), space-based telecommunication services
generated a turnover of $123 billion in 2019, of which $92 billion came from TV
broadcasting and the rest from telephony and the Internet.
10
The economic value
is absolutely impressive, but it must be considered in the global turnover of worldwide telecommunications, which was estimated at $1.44 trillion in the same year.
11
Thus, in the telecommunications sector, which is the main satellite application
area, Space Economy 1.0 is worth about 8% of the global market.
This quantitative data does not demean the potential economic importance of
space systems. According to Bryce Space and Technology, an analytics and engineering firm, space ventures attracted $5.7 billion in financing during 2019, surpassing the $3.5 billion totalled the previous year.
12
This proves that the satellite
economy can move large capital while still representing a small share of the global
market.
9
This term refers to industrial operations carried out downstream of a specific production process; in this case, space provides resources such as electromagnetic emission or a photo of a
region of land.
10
https://sia.org/news-resources/state-of-the-satellite-industry-report/.
11
https://www.statista.com/statistics/322995/worldwide-telecom-services-spendingforecast/#:~:text=Global%20telecommunication%20spending%20is%20forecast,Pacific%20
region%20is%20the%20most.
12
https://brycetech.com/reports/report-documents/Bryce_Start_Up_Space_2020.pdf.
86 Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad
competition.
Political constraints have always affected the Space Economy and will remain
so as long as it depends on public investment. But something is changing. We can
consider the economic model of space exploration on two tracks. The Space
Economy 1.0 has already established itself thanks to the satellites that have been
launched in the last two decades. On the second track, a Space Economy 2.0 – yet
to start – would be based on the exploitation of extraterrestrial resources that
would benefit the Earth’s economy and support human life far from the planet.
This second track will only become viable and self-sustainable when new forms
of space exploration bring positive and stable financial flows. At that point, goals
such as landing on Mars, lunar settlements or the extraction of extraterrestrial
resources could be of real commercial interest.
Today, we are still far from the Space Economy 2.0. This is why experts should
avoid making generic statements about imminent planetary conquests, which produce the same unattainable expectations about space exploration as were seen in
the last century.
To contextualize the importance of the Space Economy 1.0, we can quote some
figures from so-called downstream
9
activities – i.e. applications in the commercial
and consumer markets that were derived from space assets. According to the
Satellite Industry Association (SIA), space-based telecommunication services
generated a turnover of $123 billion in 2019, of which $92 billion came from TV
broadcasting and the rest from telephony and the Internet.
10
The economic value
is absolutely impressive, but it must be considered in the global turnover of worldwide telecommunications, which was estimated at $1.44 trillion in the same year.
11
Thus, in the telecommunications sector, which is the main satellite application
area, Space Economy 1.0 is worth about 8% of the global market.
This quantitative data does not demean the potential economic importance of
space systems. According to Bryce Space and Technology, an analytics and engineering firm, space ventures attracted $5.7 billion in financing during 2019, surpassing the $3.5 billion totalled the previous year.
12
This proves that the satellite
economy can move large capital while still representing a small share of the global
market.
9
This term refers to industrial operations carried out downstream of a specific production process; in this case, space provides resources such as electromagnetic emission or a photo of a
region of land.
10
https://sia.org/news-resources/state-of-the-satellite-industry-report/.
11
https://www.statista.com/statistics/322995/worldwide-telecom-services-spendingforecast/#:~:text=Global%20telecommunication%20spending%20is%20forecast,Pacific%20
region%20is%20the%20most.
12
https://brycetech.com/reports/report-documents/Bryce_Start_Up_Space_2020.pdf.
86 Space Economy: A Business On the Launch Pad