Space Technology Industry Update - March 2025
The space technology sector has seen significant developments in the past 48 hours. NASA's SPHEREx space telescope successfully launched on March 12th aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This $488 million mission aims to map the entire sky in infrared light, studying the evolution of galaxies and searching for ingredients of life in our galaxy.
In a major industry partnership, SKY Perfect JSAT and NTT DOCOMO unveiled a new Universal NTN Innovation Lab to conduct technical trials around 5G non-terrestrial network technology. This collaboration highlights the growing convergence of satellite and terrestrial communications.
Emerging competitor Logos Space has stirred interest after filing an application with the FCC to construct and launch a LEO network of 3,960 satellites. The company, founded by former Google and SpaceX executives, plans to focus on enterprise customers with a constellation designed for resiliency and security.
Market analysis firm Northern Sky Research released a report projecting the global space economy to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030, up from $424 billion in 2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 6.84%.
On the regulatory front, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is conducting its second mishap investigation into SpaceX's Starship program this year, following an explosion during a test flight on March 10th. This incident briefly disrupted air traffic in parts of Florida and the Caribbean.
Industry leaders are responding to ongoing supply chain challenges. GE Aerospace's CEO Larry Culp cautioned against expectations of near-term relief, despite some progress in fixing ailing suppliers.
Compared to last month's report, we're seeing accelerated activity in satellite constellation deployments and increased focus on integrating space-based and terrestrial networks. The industry continues to grapple with regulatory scrutiny and supply chain issues while pushing forward with ambitious technological advancements.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
