Why there is still so much to explore here on earth within the space sector.
Almost 60 years after man (officially) reached the moon, there is still a black hole of information surrounding the space sector. Our mind may wander to Star Trek, Darth Vader, rockets or astronauts, but Space is so much more.
The Spacetech sector has registered sustained growth over the last couple of years – in 2019, the global revenue from the space economy amounted to €360 billion[1] – based on two major markets: upstream and downstream.
- The upstream market focuses mainly on activities that lead to the development of space infrastructure, including R&D, production of satellites and launchers. Europe, with a mere 11% of the market[2], still has a long way to go. It is the world’s 4th space power in terms of spacecraft production by region after the USA (41%), China (21%) and Russia (18%).
- The downstream market covers commercial activities based on the use of data provided by space infrastructure, such as broadcasting, communication, navigation and Earth observation and this is where it gets interesting.
The relationship between the two markets is closely linked, but in recent years there has been a clear development in the downstream market, where start-ups and large companies that base their technology on AI, IoT, Big Data or Quantum Computing see a window opportunity in a sector yet to be explored. The revenue in the downstream market in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), for instance, reached €150 billion and is expected to increase to €325 billion in 2029.
Never ones to miss out on a opportunity, the IoT Tribe team and our partners, supported by the European Commission, will bringing start-ups that want to explore either market into the Tribe. Our three acceleration programmes over two years – June 2020, November 2020 and April 2021, will bring new start-ups and new business ideas to boost exploitation of Spacetech across industries.
As ever, our programmes are equity and cost-free for startups. If this sounds like the next frontier for you, join us at our side event at the ESA Phi Week here or apply here for our acceleration programme, before the 22th of September.
We hope to see you on our next Mission!
