Final frontier: 6 opportunities in the space economy

The falling cost of reaching orbit is turning the space economy into a set of investable markets spanning launch, connectivity, AI infrastructure, defense and eventually manufacturing.

• The space economy is valued at $630 billion and is expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, with most revenue opportunities likely to arise in downstream activities such as communications, Earth observation, logistics, navigation and defense rather than launch itself.
• SpaceX accounted for 90% of payload placed into orbit in 2026, up from about 5% a decade earlier, while the cost of reaching low Earth orbit fell from $54,000 per kilogram during the Space Shuttle era to $2,700 today.
• Starship could carry 100 to 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit versus about 23 tons for Falcon 9, potentially enabling orbital AI data centers within five to 10 years, although latency, radiation and deployment costs remain obstacles.
• Satellite connectivity is expanding beyond broadband for rural areas, aircraft and ships; the market could reach roughly $40 billion by 2030, while direct-to-device services could allow ordinary smartphones to connect directly to satellites.
• Geopolitical and defense spending could accelerate demand: the U.S. Space Force is seeking a $70 billion fiscal 2027 budget, and the Space Development Agency awarded L3Harris a $955 million contract for 18 missile-tracking satellites.
• Zero-gravity manufacturing and high-speed space travel may benefit from microgravity and abundant solar energy, but the authors place these opportunities on a 10-to-30-year horizon rather than within the next five or 10 years.

Takeaway: Investors should focus on companies enabling downstream space applications and distinguish near-term commercial opportunities from longer-duration possibilities such as orbital manufacturing, travel and mining.