Space Report 2023 Q1 Released by Space Foundation
Space Foundation has released The Space Report 2023 Q1, which shows continued strength across the U.S. space industry despite tremors across the wider economy.
“We must broaden the number of people from all levels of society who can encourage — even insist — that governments around the world recognize and fund space programs and work diligently to maintain the peaceful use of outer space for all countries and their citizens.”
Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor.
The industry logged six straight years of growth in the U.S. space workforce in 2022, with select workforce categories growing at an annual rate of 1%, despite a tight job market driving keen hiring competition. Employment in private sector jobs closely tied to the space industry reached more than 155,000 last year — the highest level since 2009 — with NASA and space-related military personnel adding another 45,000 employees.
Much of the growth in the space industry has centered on 10 U.S. states profiled in the Space Report 2023 Q1 edition. The states each have deep aerospace roots and are pivoting to meet the needs of fast-moving space startups. Warning signs about workforce availability are growing more urgent for the space industry, with a significant drop in undergraduate enrollment at American colleges and universities in space-related fields, including science and engineering, according to a survey of higher education institutions.
Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor writes in the Q1 edition that ensuring continued growth across the space industry requires a campaign to better inform the public of the benefits derived from activities in orbit and beyond. “We must broaden the number of people from all levels of society who can encourage — even insist — that governments around the world recognize and fund space programs and work diligently to maintain the peaceful use of outer space for all countries and their citizens,” Zelibor stated.
Space Report 2023 Q1 Findings
From a budget standpoint, a significant portion of industry growth can be attributed to continued strong U.S. federal spending on civil and military space programs. Congress has shown bipartisan support for continued space spending, with the Pentagon planning more than $30 billion for space programs in 2024 and NASA asking for more than $27 billion, including $8 billion for Moon to Mars programs and the related 2024 lunar flyby of Artemis II astronauts. A NASA study found that federal spending on civil space programs triggered $71 billion in economic activity across America in 2021.
Investment activity was healthy in the first quarter of 2023, with 12 space-related acquisitions/buyouts, 28 minority venture/private equity financings totaling approximately $681 million in funds raised, and five public equity-related transactions raising $78 million in gross proceeds.
Record activity in commercial space industries, contributing to records set for payloads sent to orbit in 2022 and orbital launch attempts, continues to drive a global push for new spaceports to add launch capacity. The Space Report found a 48% increase in the number of proposed spaceports over four years, with nations around the world developing spaceport policies and courting launch providers and other space industries with the intent of expanding their access to orbit.
The Space Report 2023 Q1 edition also examines the race to develop commercial space stations, with testing of designs showing early promise for firms ahead of full-scale manufacturing. Work is also underway for a string of proposed spacecraft to service satellites in orbit. The Space Report looks at how on-orbit servicing could be tailored to meet big needs even as the industry shifts toward smaller spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
(Source: Space Foundation news release. Images provided)