The Business Of Space

Dreams, schemes and opportunity as space opens for tourism and commerce. Twentieth century space exploration may have belonged to state-funded giants such as NASA, but there is a parallel history which has set the template for the future. Even before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, private companies were exploiting space via communication satellites - a sector that is seeing exponential growth in the internet age. In human spaceflight, too, commercialisation is making itself felt. Billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have long trumpeted plans to make space travel a possibility for ordinary people and those ideas are inching ever closer to reality. At the same time, other companies plan to mine the Moon for helium-3, or asteroids for precious metals. Science writer Andrew May takes an entertaining, in-depth look at the triumphs and heroic failures of our quixotic quest to commercialise the final frontier.

Essential reading for building owners, facilities managers, architects and surveyors, this book will also prove useful on business management and facilities management courses, and for those studying architecture, surveying and real estate management.

With the ongoing transformation of the space sector into the Business of Space, this book offers insight into the changing dynamics of the sector as it develops from a predominately government and military led phenomenon to one comprising a more mixed set of public and private sector players.

Transformational new growth remains the Holy Grail for many organizations. But a deep understanding of how great business models are made can provide the key to unlocking that growth. This text describes how companies can achieve transformational growth in new markets or, simply put, how they can seize the white space.

For hundreds of thousands of years, humanity focused on space as a location. Today, space is not just a destination-it is a domain, an ecosystem, an enabler of progress, and quite possibly the most valuable industry of the twenty-first century.Three things you need to know: Space as an industry is notoriously complex-which means it's misunderstood. Space influences and benefits nearly every other industry on the planet. Accessing space has never been easier.Space investor and entrepreneur Robert C. Jacobson provides a comprehensive overview of this spectacular industry, allowing everyone on Earth to understand the integral role space plays in our lives and how it will continue to transform the world. Over one hundred industry experts share exclusive insights, presenting a 360-degree view of the wide-ranging space industry, its emerging opportunities, investment potential, benefits on Earth, and more.Space Is Open for Business provides a framework for those outside of the industry to understand the critical context that led to the commercial movement known as NewSpace, illustrating how private sector trailblazers have evolved this $350 billion global industry and how NewSpace's exponential growth will lead our world into a new era of progress.Foreword by David S. Rose Founder, New York Angels | Associate Founder, Singularity University"A sweeping guide that will inspire you to think big about space, the space economy, and your role within it."Matthew C. Weinzierl, Ph.D., Harvard Business School

This book provides an overview of key topics related to space business and management. Case studies and an integrative section are included to illustrate the fundamental concepts and to build intuition. Key topics in the field, such as risk management and cost management, are covered in detail.

Space was at the center of America’s imagination in the 1960s. President John F. Kennedy’s visionary statement captured the mood of the day: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." The Apollo mission’s success in July 1969 made almost anything seem possible, but the Cold War made space flight the province of governmental agencies in the United States. When the Apollo program ended in 1972, space lost its hold on the public interest, as the great achievements wound down. Entrepreneurs are beginning to pick up the slack—looking for safer, more reliable, and more cost effective ways of exploring space. Entrepreneurial activity may make create a renaissance in human spaceflight. The private sector can energize the quest for space exploration and shape the race for the final frontier. Space entrepreneurs and private sector firms are making significant innovations in space travel. They have plans for future tourism in space and safer shuttles. Solomon details current US and international laws dealing with space use, settlement, and exploration, and offers policy recommendations to facilitate privatization. As private enterprise takes hold, it threatens to change the space landscape forever. Individuals are designing spacecraft, start-up companies are testing prototypes, and reservations are being taken for suborbital space flights. With for-profit enterprises carving out a new realm, it is entirely possible that space will one day be a sea of hotels and/or a repository of resources for big business. It is important that regulations are in place for this eventuality. These new developments have great importance, huge implications, and urgency for everyone.

This book looks at the space industry from a business perspective, with a focus on international competition. The space industry traces its origins to the middle of last century as a government/military domain and the author now looks at the ongoing evolution of space exploration and travel, and projects the future of the industry.