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OPINION:
With every click, tap or swipe we make on our smartphones, tablets and watches, our personal connection to space becomes larger each day. That’s because the handheld devices that dominate our lives are part of an orbital architecture that leverages position, navigation and timing services from space and make up the largest market sector of a $613 billion global space economy.
Whether we are ordering home delivery, paying a bill or navigating to a restaurant, our daily and personal connectivity to space deserves greater public appreciation.
Touted as the ultimate high ground for national security, space has often been underestimated for its contributions to expanding our nation’s economic strength. The public perception of space is associated mainly with government agencies such as NASA, but that doesn’t give enough credit to the growing role of the space industry as a catalyst for fueling economic growth and pioneering innovation.
The facts are hard to ignore.
Today, the private sector accounts for 78% of the global space economy. Several factors support this allocation to the commercial sector: increased space access, dependability and efficiencies that drive down operational costs. Space capabilities have also been used more extensively in wide-ranging industries such as manufacturing, health care, commerce and transportation. It’s not an exaggeration to say that continuous and reliable access to space is now a necessity rather than a luxury.
Driving all of this impressive growth is the most powerful of market forces: demand.
Modern customers require global insight, unbroken connectivity and instantaneous speed. Space architectures and systems are no longer optional to meet this growing demand. More countries and companies are deploying their architectures and systems to leverage space for economic and security advantages.
The global space economy has proved remarkably consistent and resilient for nearly two decades. From 2005 to 2024, the space sector averaged nearly 7% yearly growth. Unlike markets that react to consumer fads or market pressures, space stands up to fluctuations, even those as significant as COVID-19, and it generally outpaces average global inflation.
Space Foundation’s recently released analysis of the five-year compound annual growth rate indicates that this positive trend will likely continue, with the global space economy reaching $1 trillion by 2032. This data indicates that space investments stand the test of time.
It’s important to note that the U.S. continues to be the lead investor in the space economy across commercial, civil and military sectors. It’s also building global capacity and expanding the cadre of participants in the space ecosystem through initiatives such as the United States Space Force’s Combined Space Operations and the NASA-led Artemis Accords.
Although an American foothold remains, the rise of international players in space, such as China and Russia, will challenge the status quo. Moreover, rapid shifts from technology innovations such as artificial intelligence will further transform the global space economy to the point where it will be unrecognizable a decade from now.
Central to this competitive and innovative landscape is having a qualified workforce ready to fulfill the increasingly complex operational needs and demands within the commercial, civil and military spaces. The jobs created in this environment are not just for engineers and rocket scientists but now include investors, welders, programmers, lawyers, designers and jobs we cannot imagine today. These are blue- and white-collar positions that have to be filled today and in years to come.
Space Foundation’s 20 years of comprehensive research, consultations with global economic and geopolitical authorities, and more than 50 comprehensive data points in analyzing the global space economy give no signs that this pace or its opportunities will slow down.
Through it all, robust collaboration among commercial, civil and military sectors, along with our international partners, will be force multipliers that drive economic opportunities and continued market expansion and make it easier for us all to have confidence in the future.
Like our universe, the space economy is without limits.
• U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle (retired), Ph.D., is the CEO of Space Foundation. Before joining the organization in July 2023, she served as the commander and technology executive of the Air Force Research Laboratory based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
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