(Image source: Photo.com)
On April 26, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that SpaceX is working on solving the problem of space refueling its two-stage launch vehicle, Starship, by the end of next year. He stressed that these technologies are essential for the realization of life on a planet other than Earth.
Breakthroughs in space refueling technology are essential for deep space exploration, meaning that spacecraft can be continuously refueled in space, greatly extending flight distance and time.
SpaceX's Starship is the largest manned spacecraft in human history, with a capacity of 100 people, and it is also a key transportation vehicle for Musk to achieve his ambitious goal of human settlement on Mars.
Musk has said on social media that Starship will enable humans to survive on multiple planets, including not only Mars, but even the Moon. "Starship will land on Mars in five years," he said.
SpaceX lost Starship on its third test flight, and the mission ended early. At the end of March, SpaceX announced that the fourth Starship spacecraft test was scheduled for May.
With the continuous development of space technology, commercial space companies are becoming an important force in space exploration. In addition to SpaceX, other companies such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are also actively developing space technology to advance the commercial space industry.
Global commercial space revenue distribution
According to the distribution of global commercial aerospace revenue, it is mainly concentrated in the downstream satellite service industry. In 2020, revenue from satellite services was $293 billion, revenue from satellite operations was $13 billion, revenue from space equipment manufacturing was $4 billion, revenue from ground services was $3 billion, and revenue from space launch was $1.7 billion.
The development of commercial aerospace has broad prospects
Judging from the expectations of netizens for the aerospace industry, people are generally optimistic about the commercial application of aerospace. According to iResearch's survey data, nearly one-third of netizens believe that more space technology will be used for civilian use in the next 1-3 years.
The mainland's commercial aerospace industry has begun to take shape, with a market size of about 1,020.2 billion yuan in 2020. With the continuous improvement of mainland aerospace technology and the abundance of downstream application scenarios, the commercial aerospace market will gradually improve. It is estimated that by 2024, the size of the mainland commercial space market will reach 2,406 billion yuan.
Commercial aerospace is one of the high-tech fields, which is challenging and widely driven, characterized by high technology, high risk, high efficiency and long cycle. The mainland's commercial aerospace market has huge potential and is expected to become a trillion-yuan emerging industry. Yang Yiqiang, chief designer of the Zhongke Aerospace Rocket series, said: "In the development of commercial aerospace, whether it is the R&D and manufacturing services of rockets and satellites, the core one is to keep an eye on market demand, and the second is to provide more economical and reliable services. Therefore, for rockets, it is necessary to break through various core technologies in the short term and further reduce the launch price.
Zhu Zhengxian, chief technology officer of Galaxy Aerospace, believes that commercial aerospace, as a representative of new quality productivity, can promote the construction of a "space-ground-air integration" network layout and open up a new development track, which is the key to the future industry. Commercial aerospace will effectively drive information, new materials and other related industries, and reshape new momentum and new advantages.
According to a research report released by Huatai Securities, commercial aerospace is one of the opportunities for Chinese companies to occupy an important position in the world's important hard technology fields. Looking forward to the future, 6G technology will achieve global coverage without dead ends for the first time, satellite communication is the only choice, and satellite Internet is expected to be focused on the development of 6G research and development. In addition, many provinces and cities in China have frequently introduced favorable policies to help the growth of the commercial aerospace industry.
Prospective Economist APP Information Group
For more research and analysis of this industry, please refer to the "Analysis Report on Market Prospect and Investment Strategic Planning of China's Commercial Aerospace Industry" by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute
At the same time, the Prospective Industry Research Institute also provides solutions such as industrial big data, industrial research reports, industrial planning, park planning, industrial investment, industrial mapping, smart investment promotion system, industry status certificate, IPO consulting/fundraising and investment feasibility study, and specialized and special new small giant declaration. To quote the content of this article in any public information disclosure such as prospectus and annual report, formal authorization from Qianzhan Industry Research Institute is required.
More in-depth industry analysis is available in the [Prospective Economist APP], and you can also communicate and interact with 500+ economists/senior industry researchers. More enterprise data, enterprise information, and enterprise development are all in the [Qichamao APP], the most cost-effective and most comprehensive enterprise query platform.