As space exploration continues to advance, the space economy has maintained its place as one of the hottest topics globally in 2022. According to Euroconsult, the size of the space economy for 2022 was $464 billion. Considering that many are eyeing the new economy centered around space, it looks like the theme will retain its focus in 2023 as well.
Space-related technologies are essential to our daily lives. Although it was only initiated in the late 1950s, today we are heavily dependent on space technologies. In fact, the sector has grown strongly.
As we continue to explore the possibilities of this new industry, it will open up a world of opportunity for entrepreneurs and corporations alike. So far, satellite manufacturing, launch capabilities, ground operations and services have all expanded. As the space economy continues to evolve in 2022, we can expect a host of new opportunities for businesses. These include orbital manufacturing, which uses 3D printing technology to create products in space, as well as space tourism and mining operations. Today there are many private companies around the world offering products, services and solutions to space-related problems or needs.
Let’s take a look at the top space industry stories from the past year:
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has shown us the importance of earth observation capabilities and also communication practices in the war zone.
We all remember the first images of the Russian army vehicles seen near the Ukrainian border via Maxar Technologies (an Earth observation company from Colorado, USA, which was sold to Advent International for $4 billion).
Blue Origin made a successful journey with six people. The crew spent 11 minutes in space and a few minutes in microgravity before parachuting back to Earth. Blue Origin’s main competitor, Virgin Galactic, did not fly its SpaceShipTwo in 2022. The company cited the supply chain and labor issues as an excuse for the delay.
The development of this economy has been driven by private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, which have already made significant investments in space-related technologies and infrastructure. To date, they have launched hundreds of satellites and created reusable launch vehicles, reducing the cost of accessing space.
NASA has finally launched SLS, the first mission for its Artemis 1 new moon program, after many attempts that were delayed first due to technical problems and then due to the Florida weather. After a 25-day mission, the Orion spacecraft successfully landed on Earth. Not only is the US government looking at opportunities on the moon, but a private Japanese company, ispace, has also expressed interest. Ispace prepared and successfully launched a lunar rover with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to collect lunar soil and rocks and they plan to land back on Earth in April 2023.
The news didn’t just come from space! Earth-based industries were also trying to keep up with technology and innovation. Apple has announced that the new iPhone 14 now has satellite signal capability for emergency situations! Customers can connect to a satellite when there is no local mobile operator and either make a quick call or send an SMS in an emergency.
China: The biggest concern
In addition to advances made by private companies, investments by governments around the world also impacted the space economy in 2022. Countries like China, the United States, and India have all invested billions of dollars in space exploration, developing their own space programs, and launching their own satellites.
The biggest concern for the sector has been the development of China’s space industry for some countries. Between 2019 and 2021, China doubled its number of satellites in orbit from around 250 to a whopping 499. In 2022, China attempted to launch 64 rockets, 62 of which made it into orbit. In comparison, the success rate for the US was 72 out of 78.
On November 29, 2022, the Shenzhou 15 mission was launched from China with three Chinese astronauts.
With its recently completed space station called Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace” in Mandarin, and with this successful mission, China became the third nation to operate a permanent space station. But it’s important to emphasize that China is now the only country on Earth operating a space station without the support of other countries.
I was fortunate to hear European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Joseph Aschbacher at George Washington University. He gave insights into ESA’s Agenda 2025. According to Aschbacher, the space industry in Europe is currently well-trained and ESA is not afraid of shifting this workforce to the private sector because it would like to see more and more companies producing in the space industry and able to take on more responsibility.
He also mentioned that the ongoing situation in Ukraine or future crises do not pose a threat to space projects as the space industry is not fragile. People are aware of its importance and benefits.
Developments in Turkey
Türkiye’s space industry is another example of the great developments on both the public and private side. The Turkish Space Agency (TUA) announced its lunar exploration program, which is one of the main goals of Turkey’s national space program. It also released more details about the project, namely a hard landing. The Swedish Institute for Space Physics (IRF) will also join the mission with a space instrument.
During its orbit around the moon, the Lunar Neutrals Telescope from Turkey’s AY`-1 spacecraft will study how the stream of charged particles from the sun and the solar wind interact with the lunar surface.
Private industry in Türkiye has also grown very quickly. A hybrid propulsion system is currently being developed by DeltaV for the Türkiye lunar mission, which is one of the main goals of Turkey’s national space program. The “HİS” is said to be the world’s first hybrid propulsion system to be used in a space mission.
Plan-S and Hello Space are the Cube-Sat initiatives in Türkiye. Hello Space plans to broadcast its first Cube-Sat “Istanbul” in May 2023. That said, we need to pay more attention to the team at Plan-S, as they built their own satellite in nine months (yes, nine months) and placed it in orbit in 2022. They have just successfully launched their second test satellite, Connecta T1.2. The company plans to develop Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for communication and earth observation services.
The year 2022 has been exciting for those who follow space closely. However, 2023 has begun with two failed launch attempts, the first Virgin Orbit and the latest ABL Space Systems.
Virgin Galactic, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s private spacecraft company, has a Boeing 747-400 passenger plane – even one carrying a roughly 30-ton Virgin Orbit Launcher One rocket under its wings, and it was the first attempt from British soil. His attempt failed on January 9th. Recently, ABL Space Systems, a Californian start-up, failed on January 10th near the coast of Alaska. ABL’s RS1 rocket ‘broke up prematurely’, after which there was an ‘anomaly’.
Despite these failures, space experts are not at all afraid of the future of the space industry.
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