Race to Space

Around the world, established companies and start-ups alike are working on new applications and developing innovative business models. “The race to space is underway, with different manufacturers and operators launching ever more satellites every year,” says Joachim Kirsch, Senior Partner for Aviation and Aerospace at Porsche Consulting. That was hardly conceivable until just a few years ago. The satellite business and access to space were considered the realm of governments and their space agencies. But this has changed, for a number of reasons. As Kirsch explains, “Cost-efficient small-scale satellites, some of which have a mass of well under 100 kilograms, are enabling relatively economical access to space.”

They are joined by new launch systems that carry payloads for a fraction of previous costs. “Small launchers—just like small satellites—will become an integral part of the space economy,” predicts Christian Schmierer, Co-CEO of the German start-up HyImpulse, in conversation with Porsche Consulting. “They’ll function like taxis by sending individual satellites quickly, directly, and comparatively cheaply into the desired orbits. That will enable rapid replacement of single satellites in larger constellations.”