Commercial space

Beyond exits: Entrepreneurs look back on forming and selling space startups
In recent commercial space acquisitions, founders largely have remained with the businesses they established or moved on to form new space companies. Two exceptions are Roccor co-founder Doug Campbell and Scott Larson, who co-founded UrtheCast and Helios Wire.

Study: As space industry offers more services, government missing out on opportunities
A new study by the Aerospace Corp. says there are growing opportunities for national security agencies to buy commercial services.

DoD space strategy highlights role of private sector
DoD says the growth of commercial space capabilities has added complexity to the space operating environment.

Venture capital slowdown a concern for military space programs, analysts warn
Todd Harrison: “If we want to be competitive we don’t want to lose this vital part of the space industrial base.”

Op-ed | U.S. should think about the space economy as a single entity
Government and industry leaders have to bridge the gap between government and commercial space.

Space industry group warns small companies will not survive crisis without stimulus
CSF President Eric Stallmer: “The large companies will weather the storm. I’m worried about their suppliers."

Op-ed | Proliferated LEO is risky but necessary
The world is moving inexorably to proliferated constellations. This is a logical progression and generally a good thing. But like many good things, it is not without risks.

2010-2019: The decade in space
It was a decade of enormous change. When it began, SpaceX was on the ropes, cubesats were teaching tools, NASA’s lunar ambitions were back on hold and no one in Washington was calling for a Space Force.

Foust Forward | The perils of prediction in spaceflight
The end of the year, and especially the end of a decade, prompts reflections on what’s taken place over the last 12 or 120 months. But it’s also an opportunity to look ahead and try to predict what will happen in the year or decade to come.

Op-ed | Growth is great but innovation is the real investment
While the physics associated with getting into orbit have not changed, the people, methods and ways we access and enable space have evolved. Credit the fuel of federal policy changes and innovation environments as the real force multipliers.

Cruz criticizes House for lack of action on commercial space legislation
The chairman of the Senate’s space subcommittee said Oct. 31 that his counterparts in the House seemed uninterested in working on legislation to modernize commercial space regulations.

Companies express varying interest in NASA’s ISS commercialization plan
NASA’s announcement of a new low Earth orbit commercialization strategy has prompted varying degrees of interest from companies, but even the most ardent supporters caution that the “devil is in the details.”

LEO commercialization studies show wide range of markets and demand
Studies of commercialization of low Earth orbit performed by a dozen teams last year have left NASA with little consensus on the potential demand for commercial use of the International Space Station or follow-on facilities.

Suppliers hope to tap into growing space market
A supplier base of hardware and service vendors sees opportunities for new business from the growing number of satellite and launch vehicle ventures, even if space remains a small part of their overall business.

Why a Space Force could be good for business
Wallis Laughrey, vice president of space systems at Raytheon, said a Space Force could help better align contractors with DoD space needs.