Commercial Space

The commercial space market, also known as the private space industry or NewSpace, is experiencing strong growth. This burgeoning sector encompasses activities such as satellite manufacturing, space tourism, rocket launches, satellite services and space exploration initiatives driven by private companies. Players like SpaceX and Blue Origin on the launch side, or Planet and Maxar with their in-orbit satellite constellations are revolutionizing the industry, making space more accessible and cost-effective. The demand for satellite internet, Earth observation, and space-based services has fueled investments and technological advancements. With the rise of reusable rockets, commercial crew missions, and ambitious plans for space mining and Mars colonization, the commercial space market is poised for exponential growth, promising exciting developments and opportunities into the future. 

News & Analysis

May 24, 2023
Virgin Orbit will close after its assets were bought by four bankruptcy bidders including Rocket Lab and Stratolaunch.
May 23, 2023
NASA’s LROC has captured what appears to be images of debris scattered on the Moon at the planned landing site of ispace’s lunar lander, which crashed in April.
May 22, 2023
ULA returned its first Vulcan rocket to the launchpad on May 22 in preparation for a static test firing of the booster’s dual BE-4 main engines.
May 19, 2023
SWISSto12 has received a contract to build three small geostationary communications satellites for Inmarsat.
May 18, 2023
A hydrogen leak during qualification testing of a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket upper stage was not due to a problem with the test stand.
May 24, 2023
Virgin Orbit will close after its assets were bought by four bankruptcy bidders including Rocket Lab and Stratolaunch.
May 23, 2023
NASA’s LROC has captured what appears to be images of debris scattered on the Moon at the planned landing site of ispace’s lunar lander, which crashed in April.
May 22, 2023
ULA returned its first Vulcan rocket to the launchpad on May 22 in preparation for a static test firing of the booster’s dual BE-4 main engines.
May 19, 2023
SWISSto12 has received a contract to build three small geostationary communications satellites for Inmarsat.
May 18, 2023
A hydrogen leak during qualification testing of a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket upper stage was not due to a problem with the test stand.
May 17, 2023
Cybersecurity startup Arqit Quantum said May 17 it will sell its satellite business once touted as a new-space partnership with now-bankrupt Virgin Orbit.
May 16, 2023
NASA plans to announce a second industry partner to provide astronaut ferry flights between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface on Friday, May 19.
May 16, 2023
Viasat’s KA-SAT satellite in Europe is still under attack more than a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.