Recently there have been several successful public launches of reusable space vehicles by SpaceX and Blue Origin. This prompted me to ask: What is the future of space activity and travel, and what opportunity, if any, does this potentially have for manufacturing in the United States?

Current commercial space industry

Activity in the commercial space industry is already significant. The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) reports that worldwide, the satellite industry revenues reached $203 billion in 2014. That’s a 4-percent increase from the prior year during which satellite manufacturing and ground equipment represented $74.2 billion in revenues (the remainder was in satellite services and launching). The SIA also estimates the satellite industry has grown 2.3 times in the last decade. Comparatively speaking, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimated the overall aerospace and defense market during 2014 at $729 billion in revenues, a 3-percent increase from the prior year.

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