Space Economy Hit $469B in 2021: Space Foundation

The global space economy added up to $469 billion in 2021, the Space Foundation said Wednesday. Based on past growth rates, it should hit $639 billion by 2026 and expectations of a trillion-dollar global space economy by 2040 are "reasonable," the foundation's Lesley Conn said in a webinar regarding the release of its space economy report. She said commercial space sector revenues were up 9% from the foundation's revised 2020 figure. A chief driver of space economy growth has been commercial space products and services, with that sector up 283% since 2005, she said. She said budget allocations by non-U.S. governments are up 246% since 2005. Conn said Africa and Latin America are seeing significant space investment. She said the space economy took roughly a 5% dip in the first six months of this year in reaction to international and general market conditions. She said launch attempts and successful launches are at a record high. There were more identified satellites, 1,022, launched in the first half of 2022 than in the first 52 years of the space age, she said.