There’s room, and money, in space

I’m not a space person, you know.

Like, if you were to ask me what’s the difference between a geostationary satellite and a geosynchronous satellite, and which of the two might yield higher returns on investment, I might either ignore you like a panda at a zoo would shrug off visitors or quickly consult a web search engine.

But I need to pull up my socks. For, space travel, which for years has been a privilege extended to only a few superfit pilots, is expected to become possible for even ordinary folk in the not-so-distant future.

Not that I fancy my chances of getting pitchforked into a geostationary orbit any time soon. But, as a business journalist whose beats are aviation and aerospace, I can’t ignore space anymore, given private firms’ determined forays into the field.

Make no mistake, space is on course to becoming a huge market on earth. The “space economy” now makes returnsminded investors drool.

Recent investments in the space sector have been made by renowned companies and space unicorns (that is, startups specializing in space that are valued at $1 billion or more).

For example, Google Inc and Fidelity International invested in US commercial space company SpaceX. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp invested in another US firm OneWeb. More investments came from smaller enterprises and private investors.

Last year, private investors invested $3.9 billion in commercial space companies, according to a report from investment firm Space Angels, and a record number of 120 venture capital firms made investments in space ventures last year, the report found.

All this would mean, if you are willing to part with $250,000 or up to $800,000 without batting an eyelid, you can buy yourself a space jaunt.

According to a recent report in Daily Mail of London, Bark (www.bark.com) of the United Kingdom, will help arrange space flights as well as in-flight accommodation and entertainment for travelers.

All that has to wait, however, until the first space hotel,

But commercial aerospace thrives on new ideas and quick decision-making, he said.

“Changing terminals and services requires high costs, a long time and a complicated process, thus those companies that take the lead in winning the recognition of users first will get a huge advantage,” he said.

“The enterprises that make faster decisions will be the winners. The low-earth orbit resources are limited, and the number of satellites that can be accommodated will not be too many. Everyone needs to follow the principle of preemptive strike.

“Enterprises that are not familiar with the aerospace sector, or those that started late with a slow launch frequency, may not be able to get the right frequency and orbit resources.”

It’s not as if the private sector is running away with all the commercial aerospace opportunities out there. Stateowned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp will start to launch its first group of satellites for what is called Hongyan constellation, and it will ultimately have more than 300 low-earth orbit satellites.

Currently, there are at least 17 low-earth orbit constellation programs that consist of over 100 satellites in operation. Unlike geostationary-earth orbit satellites, which are positioned around 36,000 kilometers above earth and mainly used for mobile phones and global positioning system or GPS applications, the low-earth orbit satellites, however, will serve industries with less intensive demand for information.

Dylan Taylor, founding partner of Space Angels, a global network of commercial aerospace investors and entrepreneurs, said space is one of the hottest industries with significant growth potential, and investors may hit pay dirt in areas like satellite launch rockets and earth observation.

The United States accounts for nearly half of the total revenues generated by the global commercial satellite launch market. It is driven largely by US aerospace manufacturer SpaceX.

Analysts say SpaceX and European aerospace manufacturer Arianespace have effectively created a duopoly in the satellite-related space business. But that might change sooner or later as Chinese companies are expected to pose a challenge.