The new space economy

What created the new space economy?

Since the beginning of space exploration 60 years ago, there has been an involvement of private space companies. The recent reduction in cost of access to space has significantly boosted space business and space economy, allowing more companies to enter this sector. The engagement of private companies in space activities results in a decrease of the cost of access to space, and this attracts even more commercial companies. The rise in opportunities is also a reason for this growth.

New trends

Sustainability

There are now many opportunities for communication companies. Many platforms in space provide Earth observation data, which is great because it can help with sustainability: in fact, there is a need for smarter use of our planet’s resources.

Earth applications

Another area of interest is the use of properties of space, for materials processing and for applied research or manufacture in the field of pharmaceutical products and medicine.

Space tourism

There is also space tourism. There will be a lot of services that could be provided by private companies. Base construction and maintenance, logistics supply to the base, in-site resource utilisation, power systems, and more.

Reusability

Reusability is an important trend in the new space economy. It means that you no longer throw away equipment costing a lot of money and you can amortise the investment. This also helps with sustainability, because there will be less waste of materials and less pollution. 

One thing to always keep in mind is that all these activities must be sustainable, both in the atmosphere and on Earth. One example on how this can be done is: reuse of components of launch systems. It is also important that the production of debris is taken down.

The importance of technology

Technology is a key enabler of space economy: there are opportunities to adapt different technologies coming from different fields and make them viable for space. As a matter of fact, most of the technology that is used in space at the moment was created for non-space use. Now, the opposite is happening as well. The ability to reuse products and services across different and large markets lead ultimately to the ability to create space assets that deliver higher offerings at lower costs within time.

It is important for companies to be careful: as space activities are constantly increasing, companies need to preserve space for future’s generations, while at the same time meeting the needs of the current generation. 

New space economy in Italy

In Italy, there are more than 250 startups and SME, that can react fast and have an advantage due to the cheaper costs of electronics. 

Moreover, the big players are very important to this sector, because they provide infrastructures and knowledge.

The Italian supply chain is, in fact, very organised and complete, from top to bottom.

Intesa San Paolo is dedicating a call, Up2Stars, to this, to accelerate the birth and growth of innovative startups. 

The search for new talents

As opportunities in this sector grow, and companies look for ways to expand and become more sustainable, there is a need for new talents. In fact, companies are now looking to find placements for new roles that are being created, and they are looking to fill them with young talents, coming from a space background but also from different sectors. 

Sky Hunters is an executive search firm specialised in the aerospace industry. We recruit c-level employees by creating compelling story-telling for companies and attracting the best talents in the industry. 

Learn more about us and contact us here: https://theskyhunters.com/sky-hunters-an-executive-search-firm/

Sources: https://learning.edx.org/course/course-v1:EPFLx+new-space-economyX+1T2022/home

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