With its innovation of cost lowering, a cycle could be operated for multiple companies, where lower costs imply a lower price, thus increasing demand in a limited-sized market. SpaceX's success in lowering costs for the space industry caused a boom in the small satellite launches to low-Earth orbit, which is synonymous with the New Space Economy. A while after the Falcon 9 became operational, data from Euroconsult showed that the small satellite market had a compound annual growth rate of 23% from 2009 to 2018.
Meanwhile, within the downstream sector, technological transfer serves as the main spillover. The space industry has opened doors to technological innovation, such as the integration of the GPS system that is used by corporations like Uber. It is able to create new industries, especially those in telecommunications, meaning that it is able to generate employment, multiplying its economic value.
Negative Externalities Arise
Neil Armstrong once said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The industry that stemmed from a rivalry between two nations is predicted to bring a positive outlook in the future, with a predicted value of $1.8 trillion by 2035 (World Economic Forum, 2024). Although, as it is an industry operating with high costs and highly oriented on profit, negative externalities are sure to follow.
Within the last two decades, the innovations driven by New Space made the number of satellites launched to orbit see a steady rise, but that ultimately caused space debris to rapidly increase. In March 2022, the US Space Force tracked more than 25.000 identifiable debris objects varying in size, with untracked ones predicted to be hundreds of millions (ESA, 2021). It could produce a chain reaction of in-orbit collisions, which would make the supposedly finite space become limited. Other than that, the potential collisions could also crash into active satellites or even sabotage mission launches of spacecraft  (Weeden, 2012). There needs to be an even more advanced monitoring system by the government and private industries for space traffic management.
Other than that, concerns about the environment are always raised when talking about aerospace. Rocket engines do not emit the same gas and particles into the atmosphere (e.g., Dallas et al., 2020; Ross & Sheaffer, 2014; Ross & Vedda, 2018; Ryan et al., 2022; The Aerospace Corporation, 2022). The Falcon 9 that was launched by SpaceX has potentially released greenhouse gases exceeding 28.000 tonnes. Â In 2018, the amount of black carbon that rockets emit to the stratosphere was similar to those released by global aviation, even with rocket launches having a lower intensity of launches (Buchs, 2022). With these concerns raised, even if the government no longer acts as the only stakeholder of the industry, they need to become an active agent in implementing regulations to minimize the externalities caused by private actors and launch into a more sustainable space economy.
Space: The Final FrontierÂ
     The shift from government-led explorations into a free-market driven system has opened doors to huge spillovers and technological innovations. The new space economy marks a monumental shift for humanity's technological progress and global economic opportunity.  The government not only collaborated with private companies, they arrived at a stage where their missions and satellite launches depend on private companies such as SpaceX.
However, this rapid growth is not without consequences. Issues of negative externalities should be addressed and highlight the need for a more regulated industry. Nevertheless, the benefits and potential of the new space economy far outweigh its challenges. As humanity embraces the space economy, it no longer becomes the final frontier, but a dynamic and integral part of human-life.
REFERENCES:
Buchs, R. (2022). Ensuring the environmental sustainability of emerging space technologies. In M.-V. Florin (Ed.) (2023). Ensuring the environmental sustainability of emerging technologies (Edited volume). Lausanne: EPFL International Risk Governance Cente.
