Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier

An exploration of the dynamic transformations and future possibilities of the space industry.

Space is the next great, untapped market opportunity, and it’s undergoing a commercial revolution right now. No, it’s not hotels on Mars or day trips to orbit (yet), but it’s still an awe-inspiring transformation driven by innovation, creativity, and new technology. A wave of companies led by gutsy entrepreneurs with big dreams about our opportunities beyond the atmosphere is the driving force for creating humanity’s space future.

But it’s not happening through dreams alone. The space economy is just that--an economy--impelled by the same laws of supply and demand as any business. The authors, who teach a wildly popular course on the topic at Harvard Business School, explain how this market is forming, why it’s forming so quickly (as access to space becomes dramatically more affordable and routine), and how it’s fast becoming an increasingly important source of value for businesses across industries, and for society as a whole, propelling us once more toward the moon and beyond.

Weinzierl and Rosseau bring to life this revolution through the players you’ve heard of--Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin--and many you haven’t, like Astroscale, founded by an IT executive who quit his job to start a company to clean up space junk.

With clarity and rigor, Weinzierl and Rosseau get past the breathless hype to explain what’s real, what’s not, what comes next, and how you can be part of the burgeoning market in the endless black ocean of space.

Matthew Weinzierl is the Joseph and Jacqueline Elbling Professor of Business Administration in the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School, where he also serves as senior associate dean and chair of the MBA program. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Brendan Rosseau is a teaching fellow and research associate at Harvard Business School, where he helps lead the Economics of Space project. He has helped develop and teach the school’s first space-focused course, including publishing numerous case studies on leading space companies and organizations. His work and opinions frequently appear in leading popular press outlets, such as The Washington Post, National Public Radio, Newsweek, and others.