20.03.2023
The competitiveness of ESA’s Geo-return policy
The global space sector is undergoing a revolution comparable to that of the digital revolution from the 1980s, the consequences of which will affect all parts of society for decades to come.
While current estimates of the world’s space economy stand between €350 – €450 billion, the future is even more promising with forecasts predicting the value to reach as high as €1 trillion before 2040. Space serves many economic and societal uses beyond spaceflight itself, including weather forecasting, food, agriculture, disaster mitigation and management, climate change, energy, transport, insurance, and security…the applications of space are seemingly endless. Countries that don’t secure their independent space capabilities now will become strategically dependent on those that do – and economically deprived from leadership in the ‘NewSpace’ sector.