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New Era, New Wealth: Space Economy's Best Kept Secrets
Frontier Focus Reveals All in Its First Must-Read Edition
Garrett Pettit
November 14, 2023
Frontier Focus Newsletter
Your Comprehensive Guide to the New Space Economy
G. Pettit here,
Welcome to the first edition of the Frontier Focus Newsletter, your top source for political, economic, and social developments in the New Space Economy and other emerging markets.
From breaking industry news and event announcements, to labor market reports and financial analysis, the glorious future has never been closer, nor a more entertaining read! Our mission is to collect and distill only the most newsworthy, exciting, and inspirational info for your weekly updates on the Second Space Age.
Join us on this journey into new frontiers.
This Week’s Next-Gen Newsflash
🚀 - An independent review board commissioned by NASA has dubbed its ambitious Mars Sample Return program to have an “unrealistic” budget and schedule, dampening hopes to obtain the first ever Martian soil sample before 2030.
🔭 - Together, two NASA telescopes discovered one of the farthest known black holes.
🇳🇴 - With Europe facing launch bottlenecks, Norway takes charge in opening its new Andoya Spaceport.
State of the New Space Economy
The final frontier is no longer a domain exclusive to government agencies. Commercial space companies, ambitious non-profits, risk-happy tourists, and the expansion of Earthbound industries into space-based assets have kindled an economy worth the title, and far more sophisticated than most might guess.
It wasn’t that long ago that SpaceX was on the verge of bankruptcy, yet now brandishes a valuation close to $150 billion, with a B. Risky and capital intensive like few other fields, yes, but it’s clear now more than ever that space is a market where money can actually be made.
This gradual realization over the past few decades has fueled a surge in aerospace investment that has led to new innovations, sprouted countless scrappy startups, and produced some impressive figures.
Some 2021 US data highlights:
Space tourism, satellite constellations, private space stations, in-space manufacturing and refueling, and ultra heavy lift rockets are the cutting edge innovations that will define the space economy of the 2020s.
And while the industry is still heavily reliant on government contracts at the taxpayer’s expense (which is a global standard), commercial revenues are making a case for a stickier, more robust industry than previous decades have experienced.
Perhaps the best is yet to come.
International Insights
With the United States launching nearly more payload than the rest of the world combined, and aerospace affinity ingrained in its very culture - from fighter jet formations at summertime airshows to space shuttle toys filling the hands of children across generations - it’s easy to forget that the space economy is a worldwide effort with international innovation, each corner deserving some recognition. Sometimes, the best work is done at the edge of the map.
This week’s focus will be India.
Onlookers observe the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander
The world’s new most populous country has made some major headlines this year, from becoming the 4th nation in history to land on the Moon, to hinting at a national name change. But if there’s one constant for the latest Hindi headlines, it’s space.
On top of outcompeting the seasoned space program of Russia in a race to the lunar south pole, becoming the first country in history to land on it, India launched its first ever mission to the sun barely a week later. Carried by the Aditya-L1 rocket, its payload contained scientific instruments designed to study solar winds and their impact on Earth.
Over the summer, India even signed the US-led Artemis Accords, swearing to the safe exploration of the Moon and usage of its resources. Even Russia, America’s longstanding space partner aboard the International Space Station, has not been signed onto the Accords. These are significant shifts in the geopolitical landscape of the international space economy.
While the concept of “borders not existing from space” is a pleasant thought, the truth is that the worldwide aerospace industry (and its lucrative ties to national defense) is about as sovereign as sovereign can get.
Trade secrets, technology regulation, and political motives have been the standard since the start of the Space Age. Born during the height of the Cold War, this industry has politics and secrecy in its very roots.
And now, a new Space Race seems to be brewing between the US-led Artemis Accords, and Anti-Western countries such as China, Russia, and Venezuela, all having formed their own separate lunar pact and dismissed the Artemis Accords as the neocolonialism for space.
It is of no surprise that emerging geopolitical and economic powerhouses like India are being courted to one side or another. With India’s onboarding to the Artemis Accords, it’s clear that the power dynamics of the global space industry are beginning to shift.
Given heightened tensions with Russia (and ally China), an aerospace industry squeezed by international sanctions, and a string of recent high-cost technology failures, the Western countries that have long cooperated with Russia on spacefaring matters are beginning to seek partnerships with countries they view as more reliable partners.
These partnerships will determine critical national security agreements, economic and technological cooperation, and space policy and exploration for decades to come.
With a string of major space-based wins under their belt, and an economy hungry to diversify beyond its traditional textiles, manufacturing, and energy sectors, India is well positioned to grow into an aerospace leader.
Diplomats, investors, and entrepreneurs alike would be wise to keep an eye on this emerging space power!
SpaceInfo Club
Special thanks to our partners at SpaceInfo Club! As one of the fastest growing space creators on Instagram, at over 100k+ followers, their platform has helped define and inspire the online space community.
If you’re a space creator or entrepreneur looking to find your tribe, or just a space enthusiast on the hunt for more out of this world content and merchandise, don’t hesitate to check them out.
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