OPENSPACE 24: The Future of Space Exploration | Page 27

THE FUTURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION
PRIVATE COMPANIES WILL
CHANGE THE ECONOMICS
OF SPACE
Rather than powerful nations, the contenders in the future space race are tech
startups and private businesses. “The traditional way of working with government-
funded entities will no longer be feasible in the future. Private companies will
launch faster and cheaper. The whole industry has to change the cost model,”
said Paul McNamara, LISA Pathfinder project scientist.
Private ventures are leading the way. On March 2017, SpaceX for the first
time managed to send a rocket into space that had been launched before. The
Falcon 9 rocket with its reusable booster lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space
Center in Florida to carry a satellite, SES-10, to orbit.
Nevertheless, experts still foresee that government agencies will continue
leading the “one of a kind” missions. “Space exploration will remain a field for
international and national space agencies. I don’t think there will be a commercial
interest in this type of space missions as they are very costly and imply huge
risks,” said Paolo Ferri, head of the Mission Operations Department at the European
Space Operations Centre (ESOC).
Experts also foresee a democratization of space infrastructure and
technologies. “Physical spacecraft will become commodities, allowing affordable
access to space from countries and companies from around the world,” said
Peter Dubock, former ESA Inspector General and RHEA Group’s strategic advisor.
“There will be a much greater emphasis on services making use of spacecraft
infrastructure. There is significant room for the growth of smaller companies in
this area, although services designed for a mass market will still be dominated
by giant players,” added Dubock.