“The space industry is outgrowing the billionaires who made it famous.
Why it matters: Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson helped put the space industry on the map, but today, a significant amount of growth seen in the industry is propelled by smaller companies.
- The narrative that the space industry is a place for the ultra-rich to throw some money around for fun is now being supplanted by the idea that space is a place for a variety of investors and companies to strike it rich.
- “The industry has really evolved quite a bit,” Eric Stallmer of Voyager Space Holdings told me. “I don’t think it’s a billionaire’s game anymore.”
Driving the news: SpaceX’s recent crewed flight was hailed as an American moment, not a personal win for its founder, a sign that these companies are becoming more important than their billionaire backers.
- Virgin Galactic’s public offering, for example, is expected to be a harbinger of more space companies going public soon.
Where it stands: Seeing the industry as a playground for Musk, Bezos, Branson, and others helped spark public and investor interest in the sector. But today, billions of dollars are being invested into a variety of companies from many sources.”
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Source: https://www.axios.com