Space is no longer the domain of just a few.
The commercial space business is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years. The global space economy grew 8% to $546 billion in 2022 and is projected to climb another 41% over the next five years.
The number of commercial launch and reentry operations carrying humans is a small proportion of the overall number of commercial space operations—about 10% in 2023—but it is growing. This growth has been driven both by space tourism and by government missions conducted by commercial launch and reentry operators
Companies are seeing continued revenue growth from commercial space assets and governments around the world boosting expenditures, according to a report from the Space Foundation
By the year 2035, the space economy is projected to have grown to $1.8 trillion. The commercial spaceflight sector primarily generates revenue by launching satellites into Earth’s orbit, facilitated by providers deploying satellites into Low Earth Orbit and Geostationary Earth Orbit.
Commercial space exploration is not limited to specific industries; it has the potential to benefit diverse sectors of the economy. As the sector’s capabilities expand, businesses across industries will find innovative ways to leverage space-based data and connectivity, unlocking new opportunities for growth.
The future commercial space sector is also not limited to satellite commerce or tourist transit. For example, space mining is a possible enterprise.
While speculative today, the possibility of mining resources like water or Helium-3 on the moon could become a reality as technology advances, potentially revolutionizing resource access.
Asteroid mining is also in development. The asteroid belt in our solar system contains ~8% metal-rich (M type) asteroids and 75% volatile-rich carbonaceous (C type) asteroids. The denser metals in asteroids, including platinum group minerals and REE’s, are distributed relatively evenly throughout the asteroid body, simplifying the mining process as drilling can be relatively shallow (i.e., not into the core) for ore grades to be surprisingly high.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Commercial Space Operations Training, a 2-day course designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the commercial space industry, covering key concepts, regulations, technologies, and operational considerations.
Participants will delve into the intricacies of commercial space missions, including launch operations, satellite deployment, space tourism, and related activities.
Overall, Tonex offers Tonex offers four dozen courses in Aviation-related courses that cover a myriad topics, such as:
- Accident investigation
- Flight safety systems
- Space law
- Communications
- Rocket operations
- Environmental testing
- Commuter and on demand operations
Some of our popular Aviation courses include:
Overview of Airport Ground Operations for Safety Inspectors
Advanced Aircraft Accident Investigation Workshop
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.