Final frontier: 6 opportunities in the space economy

The space economy is already a $630 billion market, projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, driven by falling launch costs and expanding applications beyond just rockets. Most revenue will come from downstream businesses like satellite communications and Earth observation, not launch itself.

Key opportunities include orbital data centers, which could alleviate land and power constraints faced by terrestrial facilities, and direct-to-device satellite connectivity that may transform the mobile broadband market. National security spending, particularly on missile defense and surveillance, will also be a significant catalyst. While zero-gravity manufacturing and ultra-fast space travel are longer-term prospects, the declining cost of access to orbit makes them increasingly plausible. Investors should focus on the infrastructure and service layers as launch costs continue to decrease.