The space economy, a fast-growing sector

If you think the space economy is an astronaut-only affair, all orbiters and satellites, you are sorely mistaken. The sector has grown incredibly in recent years, thanks in part to the Tech giants who have decided to bet on it(CNN). There’s Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and even Amazon patron Jeff Bezos, who last July-without being a professional astronaut-completed an 11-minute supersonic trip aboard the capsule designed by his Blue Origin(The Post).

New frontiers Around the space economy, new fields of application have sprung up such as meteorology, digital, precision agriculture and industry. It is no coincidence that the space economy has also entered the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which allocates more than 1 billion euros to it and aims to make Italy one of the leading countries in the sector(International Affairs). With Earth observation infrastructure, it will be possible to have accurate information about water and the atmosphere, thereby increasing the share of energy produced from renewable sources. Through satellite infrastructure we will be better able to combat climate change by predicting hydrogeological disruption, detecting fires, monitoring air quality and the state of the coastline. Not forgetting the field of health and possible applications in telemedicine(Linkiesta).

• The space economy needs rules(Republic+).

Space jobs In short, this is a steadily growing industry: according to estimates presented last spring by the Council Presidency, this new economy could be worth about $1 trillion by 2040. In Italy, according to the CEO of Thales Alenia Space, the Italian-French bigwig in the aerospace industry, the total value amounts to about 2 billion(Repubblica). The effects of this growth will be seen above all from an employment standpoint: in fact, it is estimated that the investments envisaged by the NRP will lead to a 20 percent increase in the number of workers currently working in this sector (which now numbers about 7,000). A 15 percent jump in the number of employed people over the next five years.

• Space plans, what Italy is going to do(Courier).