At least since SpaceX got into the business, private space travel has been on the upswing. According to Bryce Tech, a total of 16 private providers have launched 223 rockets since the beginning of 2021 – SpaceX alone sent 135 rockets into orbit. Before the boom in private space companies, it was mainly authorities and state-owned companies that launched rockets – they recently had around 184 launches. Leading the way here is China’s space program prime contractor, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), with 101 rocket launches. It is followed by Roskosmos (45 launches), the space agency of the Russian Federation.
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However, private sector and state actors in space travel are often closely intertwined. In the fiscal year 2022 alone, SpaceX accepted NASA orders with a volume of two billion US dollars. Only NASA’s own research laboratory for jet propulsion at the California Institute of Technology can boast a larger order volume. Companies primarily specializing in aeronautics, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are also among the largest contractors for the US space agency, as shown in the infographic by Statista and Technology Review.
(Image: Statista)
Billion dollar business for investors
Global investments in space startups also show that private space travel is now a billion dollar business. According to data from Space Capital, US companies are particularly popular with investors – 47 percent of all investments since 2014 have flowed into the United States. Another 28 percent went into Chinese companies.
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In our weekly column we present numbers, curves and diagrams from technology and science.
Space 2.0 stands for a new boom in the conquest of space, which is primarily shaped by companies, including an increasing number of start-ups. With new technologies and business models, commercial actors ensure that innovations in space travel gain momentum. This development is new insofar as space travel was previously financed almost exclusively by state actors and operated by a few established companies.
(bsc)
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