Analysis
Payload’s take on what you need to know about the news of the day.
The Space Economy Reaches $546B, The Space Foundation Says
It’s that time again—the Space Foundation has released its report on the state of the space economy through Q2 2023, and it’s reporting big numbers for the past year. According to the authors, the space economy reached $546B in 2022 despite turbulent global markets, and they’re only predicting more growth in the coming years. The…
Seraphim Releases Space Index
Seraphim, a leading space VC firm HQ’d in the UK, has released its yearly index on funding and acquisition activity across the space industry. Seraphim’s tracking data shows signs that investment activity is bouncing back from the economic woes and restrained capital markets of last year. Deals, deals, deals: The trailing twelve months (TTM) analysis…
Mitchell Institute Encourages the Development of Counterspace Capabilities
It’s about time for the US Space Force to start seriously building out its counterspace capabilities, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies argues in a report released yesterday. The report looks at what threats US assets face in space, particularly from China, and encourages the USSF to start building out its own arsenal of military…
Deloitte Releases SpaceTech Report
Deloitte released its SpaceTech report this morning, which reviews the most active and quickly-growing segments within the space industry. The report is intended for readers who are leaders in their own industries but remain in the dark about the progress that’s been made in space over the last decade. “In previous decades, a thoughtfully developed…
McKinsey Expects a Shortfall in Launch Capacity
The space industry is preparing to send tens of thousands of satellites to orbit in the coming decade, building out large constellations across the spectrum of possible capabilities. They may run into a bottleneck, however, when it comes to booking tickets to space. This morning, McKinsey released its analysis of the demand for launch services…
RAND Releases Human Spaceflight Regulation Report
A moratorium on regulating human commercial spaceflight—aka space tourism—is set to expire in October, and the folks at the FAA are at a crossroads: to renew or not to renew? In a report published this week by RAND, researchers determined that the commercial human spaceflight industry has progressed far enough that it’s time for the…
Deloitte Releases Report Predicting Industry Growth
This morning, Deloitte released a forecast on the potential for growth within the space industry. The report, which pairs market data with a survey of space industry leaders, is intended to give execs in other industries the background they need to incorporate space into their businesses. Bottom line upfront: “For space to grow, and fulfill…
Predicting SpaceX’s 2023 Revenue
Ed. note: This analysis was authored by Mo Islam, Payload’s cofounder and a former Wall Street analyst. This is an educated best guess, not based on access to any SpaceX internal data or proprietary info! We’re attempting the impossible yet again: predicting SpaceX’s revenue. Before we get into Act 2—aka 2023—we’re revising our 2022 projections,…
“Navigating Uncertainty” Space VC Webinar Recap
Last week, Payload cofounder Mo Islam had the pleasure of sitting down with three top VCs: Anton Brevde from Prime Movers Lab, Michelle Volz from a16z, and Shahin Farschi from Lux Capital. The hour-long conversation covered the state of the economy, the fundraising environment for space companies, and predictions for 2023. We’ve curated some of…
Space Capital Publishes Q4 2022 Investment Report
Space Capital has released its final quarterly report on the 2022 investing landscape. It was a tough year for fundraising, as the froth drained from the free-flowing capital markets of years past. Though the space industry saw receding levels of capital deployment, the report’s authors remain optimistic about the sector’s ability to bounce back. 2022…
Aerospace, Defense M&A Sees Second Busiest Year Ever
2022 was the second largest year of ADG deal-making on record, according to a comprehensive analysis published Wednesday by market intelligence firm HigherGov. BTW…ADG = aerospace, defense, and government, and M&A = mergers and acquisitions. With this one simple trick—using ADG and M&A rather than writing the phrases out in full—we’ve given you seconds of…
2022 Orbital Launches, by Country
Here’s our official graphs of launches by country in 2022, along with a look back at activity for the seven years prior. These visualization stands on the shoulders of a giant, Jonathan McDowell, who did great work in cataloging space activities in 2022. The increase in the US’ number of launches can primarily be attributed…
Exclusive: Euroconsult Values 2022 Space Economy at $464B
In its flagship Space Economy Report published this morning, Paris-based Euroconsult finds that the space market grew 8% in 2022. This report is the gold standard for market intelligence on the end-to-end space economy, from upstream manufacturers to downstream service providers and end users across civil, military, and commercial space. The space value chain… …as…
