HBR IdeaCast Understanding the Space Economy
May 28, 2019
Sinéad O'Sullivan, a space economist and entrepreneurship fellow at Harvard Business School, reveals how space plays a crucial role in various industries, from agriculture to autonomous vehicles. She discusses the booming Earth-facing space economy, driven by lower launch costs and new entrants like Amazon and SpaceX. The conversation dives into the competitive satellite landscape and the exciting yet challenging prospects of asteroid mining. O'Sullivan emphasizes that as many companies race to occupy orbital space, we might actually be running out of room.
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Trillion-Dollar Space Economy
- The global space economy is projected to reach $1 trillion in 20 years.
- Growth is driven by Earth-facing applications and the potential of space mining.
Two Space Economies
- There are two distinct space economies: one focused on Earth and the other on space exploration.
- The Earth-focused economy uses satellites for services like telecommunications and imaging.
Space Real Estate
- Competition for satellite slots in space is increasing, similar to airport slots for aircraft.
- A secondary market exists for these satellite spots, highlighting their value.