For most of the twentieth century, space was a government monopoly. Economics were essentially irrelevant because the customer was the public sector. Commerce, if it existed at all, was little more than a footnote. That is rapidly being replaced by a construct organized around services, subscriptions, and recurring revenue.
For half a century, selling to space essentially meant winning a government contract. The procurement cycle was long, the paperwork was immense, and the buyer pool was minimal. If you weren’t in the Lockheed, Boeing, or Northrop ecosystem, you largely were playing from behind from the onset. The recent appearance of the current launch revolution has changed that considerably, particularly in the low orbit sphere.
Seven years after beginning the process of manufacturing the Starliner at KSC and almost fifteen laps around the center orb since its announcement, Boeing has dropped yet one more shard in the socket of the commercial crew program. It turns out that some of the parachute chord they tossed in the machine has weaknesses that could be catastrophic. There’s also a small matter regarding protective tape that covers wiring harnesses.
Barely one year ago Astra Space became the first launch company to begin trading on the Nasdaq. A couple of fairly well-known Seattle area individuals helped to prop up the transaction via a SPAC-based offering that resulted in an initial valuation of more than $2 billion and generated approximately $500 million in cash. The ultimate plan at the time was to have nearly daily launches by 2025.
Maritime Launch recently received the go ahead to initiate the establishment of a small to medium launch center on the tip of a peninsula on the east side of Nova Scotia. Initial objectives are to begin with suborbital operations and build the infrastructure, government support, and client base from that point. The proposed first mission is tentatively set for Q2 of 2023 utilizing a small-class Reaction Dynamics vehicle with a 150 kg max payload rating. Plans to expand to medium capacity launches will follow with a cadence of about 8-10 per year.