https://spacewatch.global/space-economy-1/space-economy-featuring-articles/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:50:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/space-economy-1/space-economy-featuring-articles/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-achievement-is-not-capability-spaces-next-industrial-test-is-repeatability/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78046
Written by Alexandru Marian
Technical success does not automatically create industrial capability. Alexandru Marian examines why repeatability, from supply chains and production to governance and security, is becoming the next competitive test for the space sector.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-space-unromanced-no-passport-no-moonshot/ Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78032
Written by Raoul Cardellini Leipertz
The space sector calls itself international, but passports, visas, sponsorship rules and nationality restrictions still determine who can study, travel and work within it. In Space, Unromanced, Raoul Cardellini Leipertz asks what the global competition for talent looks like when not everyone is allowed to enter the race.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-orbital-venturing-chapter-6-endgame/ Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77974
Written by Jascha Langenberg
Reaching maturity is not the end of a space start-up’s journey. Chapter 6 explores how companies shift from R&D to financial discipline, the realities of IPOs and M&A, and what a successful exit can look like in Europe’s space sector.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-gray-space-pixxel-from-students-dream-to-winning-bet-hyperspectral-opportunities-for-europe/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77911
Written by Christophe Bosquillon
From a Bengaluru student dormitory to US government contracts and a $100 million Series C, Pixxel bet early on hyperspectral Earth observation. Christophe Bosquillon asks what its trajectory can teach Europe as the hyperspectral market approaches a potential inflection point.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-recap-europe-signs-the-blueprint-then-someone-asked-who-was-missing/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77840 ESA signed two competing architecture studies for the EU's future Earth Observation Governmental Service - one led by Leonardo, one by ICEYE. Two hours later, a question from the floor exposed who wasn't in either consortium. From the final day of World Space Business Week and the Summit on Earth Observation Business.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-europe-doesnt-need-more-projects-it-needs-a-market/ Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77507
Written by Niels Buus
Europe knows how to fund projects. Building markets is harder. If its space companies are to compete globally, standards, procurement, infrastructure and strategic continuity may matter as much as another funding programme.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-europe-keeps-talking-about-a-funding-gap-is-that-really-the-problem/ Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77483
Written by Niels Buus
Europe’s space sector wants investors to take more risk. But not every company struggling to raise capital is evidence of a funding gap. Sometimes the harder question is whether the opportunity is investable at all.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-recap-wsbw-day-one-the-money-is-here-the-business-models-arent-finished/ Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77692
Written by Torsten Kriening
Five days after the International Space Summit set Europe's ambition, WSBW spent Monday asking who pays for it. Aschbacher confirmed ESA will put a crew transportation decision to ministers in Rome. The financing panel confirmed many listed space companies trade well below IPO. And from Riyadh to Luanda, two very different answers to what sovereignty actually means. Torsten Kriening's day one recap from Paris.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-leo-economics-are-decided-in-the-chipset-not-the-launch-bay/ Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77515
Written by Ian Lankshear
Launch cadence may dominate the headlines, but the economics of LEO connectivity are increasingly decided on the ground. Ian Lankshear argues that custom silicon, common terminal architectures and scale will determine which networks can reach mass-market adoption.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-everyone-uses-space-so-why-does-space-still-struggle-to-make-its-case/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77369
Written by Walter Peeters
Space infrastructure underpins everyday life, yet its benefits and economic returns often remain invisible to the public. An ISU-led study proposes a three-phase roadmap to build awareness, understanding and long-term support for space exploration.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-europe-has-discovered-the-customer-now-it-has-to-buy-something/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77309
Written by Niels Buus
Europe has learned how to fund space technology. The harder challenge is turning capability into customers, orders and sustainable businesses. At ESA’s Space for Inspiration, procurement emerged as the missing link.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-imagine-a-starbase-europa-would-that-even-make-sense/ Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77208
Written by Christophe Bosquillon
Could Europe ever build its own ‘Starbase’? Christophe Bosquillon examines the geography, infrastructure and regulatory constraints standing between Europe and reusable super-heavy launch.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-space-unromanced-starry-eyed-and-underpaid/ Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77165
Written by Raoul Cardellini Leipertz
The space sector thrives on passion, but too often expects early-career professionals to finance that passion themselves. Raoul Cardellini Leipertz examines how unpaid internships, low-paid opportunities, and the hidden cost of gaining experience shape who can afford to build a career in space. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-opinion-washington-is-building-a-space-academy-eight-weeks-ago-europe-liquidated-one/ Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=77127 President Trump's executive order of 28 August creates no campus and appropriates no money. One overlooked clause seals the proposed academy off from allies entirely - and it lands eight weeks after a Strasbourg court liquidated the International Space University. Torsten Kriening on the question Washington has answered and Europe has not yet asked.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-space-unromanced-the-price-of-looking-up/ Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76628
Written by Raoul Cardellini Leipertz
Space talks endlessly about attracting the next generation. But behind the promise of meritocracy lies a quieter barrier: who can actually afford the education, opportunities and unpaid experience required to enter the sector?]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-orbital-venturing-chapter-5-organising-for-success/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76442
Written by Jascha Langenberg
Reaching industrial scale creates a new challenge for space start-ups: the organisation itself. Chapter 5 explores how founders, teams and structures must evolve as a start-up grows – and why the habits that enabled early success can eventually hold a company back.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/08/spacewatchgl-analysis-indias-space-industry-push-pays-off-with-successful-launch/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76319
Written by Edd Gent
India’s efforts to grow a globally competitive private space industry are beginning to pay off, with a successful orbital launch by startup Skyroot Aerospace on 18 July.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-analysis-a-space-programme-or-just-a-subscription/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76056
Written by Timo Krone
Why strategic autonomy in space is no longer measured by launches, but by control over infrastructure. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-europes-innovation-problem-isnt-innovation/ Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=76027
Written by Judith Delany
Europe produces world-class research, engineering and ambitious space projects. So why do so many ideas struggle to become commercial success stories? This opinion argues that the answer may lie not in technology, but in the handover between the communities responsible for turning innovation into reality.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/07/spacewatchgl-opinion-the-space-economy-now-wears-a-uniform-is-europe-ready/ Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=75794 Fifty-three percent of the world's government space spending now goes to defence. Analysing ESA's Report on the Space Economy 2026, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening argues the space economy has become a defence economy - and that Europe, an order of magnitude behind the US and China, must now decide whether it will be a shareholder or a customer. ]]>