178 space missions in 2022
The rapid technological development that the world has experienced over the last ten years has contributed to the development of investments related to the “space economy”, driven by the expenditure of private companies, at a time when investments in this sector were previously limited. to governments initiatives around the world, the most recent Data indicates that the year 2022 saw 178 space missions, 90 of which were carried out by the private sector, as SpaceX, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, controlled the largest share of space missions. private sector missions by performing 61 space missions in 2022.
The space economy is worth $469 billion
Bank of America forecasts the space industry to grow by more than $1.4 trillion by 2030, while the American Space Foundation has seen the size of the ‘space economy’ grow to $469 billion at the start of 2022, registering the fastest growth since 2014, as it returns The majority of investment activity is in the space industry, civilian business spending, military spending and government spending .
Countries that dominate space investments
Earth’s atmosphere is filled with more than 11,000 objects that have been launched since the beginning of the human invasion of the outside world, while the United States of America dominates space investment, possessing more than 50% of these objects , more than 5,500 objects, followed by Russia with 3,600 objects. , then China with 731, Great Britain with 515 and Japan with 300 bodies.
Objects sent into space are split between satellites, manned and unmanned spacecraft, communications tools and spaceflight equipment, and SpaceX has helped the United States, in the mission to establish its dominance in space.
86 countries are looking for space
Although more than 86 countries in the world seek to reach space, until 2022 there were only about 11 countries capable of sending objects into space, using their own vehicles, led by America, Russia and China, while the rest of the countries must use launchers that Produced by these eleven countries, the aforementioned countries also control the main sites that send satellites, vehicles and other objects into the space.
Where is the activity of the space industry distributed?
Digital transformation expert, engineer Rabih Saadeh, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia Economy” that the majority of business activity the space industry is currently witnessing is related to specific products and services, ranging from communications, Internet, television, surveillance and defense, missile tracking and espionage, with ambitions to achieve a manned landing on Mars Earth, in addition to making space tourism trips.
He also pointed out that the maturity of satellite technology through reusable missiles has reduced the cost of launching the satellite to around $60 million, compared to $200 million previously, as this has been accompanied by a decrease significant in the cost of production of satellites, which is expected to witness the year 2023. Continued growth in the size of the “space economy”, which could exceed the 500 billion mark, despite the negative event whose industry witnessed recently when the giant SpaceX “Starship” rocket exploded minutes after launch.
The reason to insist on carrying on despite the losses
Saadeh pointed out that many people are unaware of the reason for the insistence of SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, to continue its attempts to send the “Star Ship” missile intended to transport goods and personnel to the moon and Mars, even though the cost of rebuilding and designing this missile is $100 million. However, the aforementioned amount is very small compared to the money that should be realized if this deal is successful, revealing that the next few years will see the start of operations for the extraction of rare minerals located between the Moon and Mars, which are worth hundreds of quadrillions of dollars, because the Moon will be the first station in operation.Mining and extraction of the element ” helium-3″, thanks to which future nuclear fusion reactors will operate on Earth.
Enjoy quadrillions of dollars
Saadeh explains that there are about a million tons of “helium-3” on the Moon, with a price per ton of billions of dollars, pointing out that SpaceX is betting on reducing the cost of transporting minerals to Earth, from $60,000 a kilo via the NASA spacecraft, to less than $100 via the “Star Ship” rocket, which is the lowest cost that can be recorded, and this is what will allow Elon Musk, in successful, benefit from the influx of quadrillions of dollars from space and make fantastic profits.
Rare metal control
Saadé concludes his speech by emphasizing that the generous investments currently taking place in the space sector are not only linked to Internet services, communications, television broadcasting and the military field, an engine of economic growth on Earth, considering that the 2023 will see more investors heading into space.
Every dollar generates ten
And the director general of the European Space Agency, Joseph Ashbacher, had revealed earlier, during an exclusive interview with the site “Sky News Arabia Economy”, that any euro invested in the space sector, the return on this one fluctuates between 5 to 6 euros. , and can go up to 10 euros, (which means that each dollar can generate up to ten), according to the results of studies carried out by independent consulting companies, which have assessed the feasibility of investing in the space sector, indicating that investments in the space sector have outperformed investments in other sectors.
Ashbacher explained that decision-makers in European countries have increased their investments in space programs, because the European Agency obtained 17% additional funding after a meeting it held last November with officials, and the percentage is considered as important in the midst of the crises the region is currently experiencing. , as he says.
Huge profits for a risky investment
For his part, says Dr. Ali Al-Idrisi, professor of economics at the Arab Academy of Maritime Transport, said in an interview with “Economy Sky News Arabia” that the idea of ​​an investment race in space between countries, or even private companies such as Amazon or SpaceX, is to engage in a risky investment adventure, which can lead to enormous profits, despite the fact that investing in this area requires huge funding, while earning income requires patience for many years, and this ultimately leads to a series of bankruptcies for companies operating in this field.
Successful businesses go bankrupt
According to Al-Idrisi, the latest to join the list of bankrupt companies in this area is Virgin Orbit, a satellite company that filed for bankruptcy a few weeks ago, a subsidiary of Virgin Galactic and founded by the billionaire Briton Richard Branson, after failing to launch the last satellites. , and to obtain the necessary funding to continue its activities, pointing out that Virgin Orbit was one of the few companies that managed to reach space, but was unable to achieve the required rate of satellite launches to generate sufficient revenue, in addition to the setback it suffered in January 2023, when it failed: one of its missiles failed to reach orbit, due to high engine temperature, which resulted in the loss of nine small satellites.
Al-Idrisi stressed that investing in space will remain an idea despite the losses amounting to billions of dollars, because what we see today is only the beginning of the developments that this sector will experience in the years coming.
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