Roid Rage Speculation Doesn't Ship
Jul 10, 2025
Krystle Caponio, Chief Business Officer at AstroForge, shares her insights on the current state of the space economy. She argues it's driven more by Earth-based demand than off-world speculation. The conversation highlights outdated incentive structures and the importance of adapting business strategies for long-term success. Krystle also discusses technical breakthroughs like electric propulsion, efficiencies in launch costs, and future asteroid mining missions, expected to begin by the late 2020s.
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Space Economy Is Earth-Facing Today
- The "space economy" is mainly selling space-enabled services back to Earth, not an independent off-world market today.
- Communications, launch, and Earth-observation data dominate current value creation.
Three Pillars Of Today's Market
- The modern space market breaks down into launch, satellite manufacture, and selling data to Earth customers.
- Those three categories capture almost all current commercial revenue streams.
Asteroid Mining Targets Earth Buyers
- Asteroid mining companies sell into Earth's markets for now, not to off-world colonies.
- Until sustained off-world populations exist, buyers remain terrestrial.
