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From stocks to meteorites, the space economy is up for grabs

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To Mars—and beyond ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
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On Point | TODAY'S NEWS. TOMORROW'S INSIGHTS
On Point | TODAY'S NEWS. TOMORROW'S INSIGHTS
Doing business in space
In the news
• The price is right. You’d expect meteorites colliding with Earth to sell for hefty sums, but the objects they hit bring in even more. A doghouse struck by a meteorite (luckily, the inhabitant, a German shepherd, wasn’t hurt) recently sold for $44,000 at an annual meteorite auction, whereas the space rock itself fetched only about half the price. It’s extremely rare for meteorites to strike anything when they land on Earth, so when they do, whatever they hit acquires high value. A car hit by a meteorite in 2007 sold for a record $230,000. [CNN]
• Game-changing tech. The share prices of some space start-ups are drifting back down to earth after being propelled into the stratosphere by amateur traders last year. Still, companies are developing truly game-changing space technologies, which could push the space economy to double to $900 billion by 2030. The rising demand for smaller satellites that closely orbit the Earth drives much of investor forecasts. A handful of companies, for example, have successfully launched smaller payloads into space on smaller rockets. [WSJ]
“We have to stop thinking about ourselves as space companies and start thinking about the actual services that we’re providing.”
On McKinsey.com
• Humans on Mars. The idea of human settlements on Mars isn’t farfetched, but it will take massive technological innovation, says Lockheed Martin’s Joe Landon. “We are investing quite a bit to make the systems needed,” says Landon. “There has been extensive exploration beyond the moon, and even beyond Mars, using robotic spacecraft.” The next frontier will be to develop technologies to sustain humans in space and during lengthy space flights, such as propulsion technology for faster travel and AI systems that allow astronauts to live and work in space with limited support from Earth.
• Space is a place. And it’s a place that will need all kinds of businesses, Landon says. To establish a robust industrial sector in space—mirroring that on Earth—governments and leading companies need to collaborate to bring services, talent, and entrepreneurial savvy to space ventures. For example, to launch a scientific mission to the moon, a national space agency may not need its own communications links, power, or transportation; instead, it could buy them as a service. Read the full interview to learn more about creating value in the space sector.
— Edited by Rama Ramaswami   
See the future of space
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by "McKinsey On Point" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 12:10 - 31 Mar 2022