A rising space industry will create new jobs and products

One of the most significant reasons behind the recent space boom is that satellite launch is becoming cheaper.

Satellite launch costs dropped from more than $100,000 per kilogram in the 1980s to $2,500 per kilogram in 2010 with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 satellite launch, according to a May 2022 report from financial services firm Citi.

Companies like SpaceX use LEOs, which differ from traditional geostationary (GEO) satellites not only in cost to manufacture and launch but also proximity to Earth.

GEO satellites cost millions to make and launch due to their size and placement above the Earth. LEOs, on the other hand, are smaller, costing much less to manufacture, and don’t need to launch nearly as far as GEO satellites. Indeed, GEO satellites are more than 22,000 miles from Earth, while the Starlink LEOs orbit around 250 miles away from the surface.

“They are much closer, and that makes a big difference in how they’re used and what you can do with them,” said Bill Ray, an analyst at Gartner.

Companies such as Apple, Samsung and Google, spending billions developing mobile phones over the years, kickstarted the development of small antennas, batteries, chips, processors and radio equipment that have helped make LEOs more cost-effective.

“If we go back to Iridium, which is a low-Earth orbit satellite system launched in the 1990s, they paid about $17 million per satellite,” Ray said. “Starlink pays about $200,000 per satellite. That’s mainly because of mobile phone technology going in there. It has made it much cheaper, and that’s really important.”

As mobile phone technology enabled smaller and more cost-effective LEOs, SpaceX instigated reusable rockets, reducing the cost of space flight, said Phil Brunkard, an analyst at Forrester Research.

“Now that we can actually afford to put more satellites up into space and we can put them into low-Earth orbit, that creates a new market of opportunity,” Brunkard said.

The applications of cheaper launches also translate to more futuristic opportunities like space tourism. For years, space has largely been accessible only Now, Kedis Ogborn said the opportunity has been equalized to where everyday citizens have access to space. Indeed, in 2021 Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin flew 14 people into space and is planning for more.

Kedis Ogborn said as launches evolve to become cheaper as well as more routine, reliable and reusable, they will drive the space industry forward and open up more business opportunities.

“This launch equation — that it is becoming more tangible — is really what I personally think is driving the boom,” she said.