Space Transportation
Is it the new norm?
News of new space tourism programs is ravaging the world these days. Right now, this opportunity is reserved for the world’s richest. However, will it stay the same forever? Is space travel, that is, visiting the earth’s outer atmosphere, going to be a commonplace destination for travelers soon? The answer to these questions seems to be pointing towards a bright future.
Companies Trying to Make the Dream Come True
Virgin Galactic (SPCE)
Virgin Galactic is a space company founded in 2017. This company has made a spacecraft, called Spaceship II, in collaboration with its sister company. Spaceship II has 17 windows that allow passengers to have a perfect view of the Earth during the flight.
Virgin Galactic is one of the world’s first commercial airlines. This company provides space flights for individuals and researchers. In its latest mission, Unity 22, Spaceship II carried the founder, Richard Brandson, into space. This trip was a unique experience for Branson himself, but it also increased the public confidence in the safety of the flights to a considerable extent.
Virgin Galactic has not yet managed to earn any money selling space flight tickets to passengers. This company’s income statement in 2020 revealed the net revenue for Virgin Galactic to be 238 thousand dollars. This makes its gross profit a mere 65 thousand dollars which is not much considering its scale.
However, analysts believe that this company is on its way to great heights. In fact, according to forecast, Virgin Galactic’s revenue will be over 57.34 million dollars in 2022 which has an increase of 1,792%. The stock for Virgin Galactic is currently sold for $31.15 per share. However, this stock has recently suffered a significant drop from $55.91 in June 2021.
Space X
Space X is the second runner in the private space travel race. This company was founded in 2002 by the billionaire Elon Musk. Space X has had 127 total launches so far, 89 of which have resulted in a landing. This company has created several space crafts, each of which fulfills a particular purpose. There are also several flight plans for potential passengers to choose from.
Firstly, there is the flight to the earth’s orbit. This flight takes you about 300 kilometers up and allows you to watch the incredible view of the earth from high above. The spacecraft used for this mission is called Dragon. This spacecraft carries up to seven passengers. Space X also is capable of delivering people and cargo to the International Space Station. The Dragon can carry loads of up to 6000 kilograms.
Second, Space X’s Starship takes people to the moon. The Starship has been chosen to take part in NASA’s mission to the moon called Artemis. This mission aims to send the first woman and the next man to the surface of the moon. The Starship is even able to reach Mars and take some people with it. The trip to Mars takes about six months, and interestingly enough, the Starship can refuel mid-flight.
After all these years, Space X exclusively belongs to Elon Musk and a selected few. Many investors are interested in taking part in the Space X venture. For these people, not all is lost. There are several indirect ways that one can invest in the future of space travel.
Blue Origin
Another multi-millionaire and another private space company, Blue Origin, is owned by Jeff Bezos and was founded in 2000. The first space flight by Blue Origin was done on June 20, 2021, carrying Bezos, his brother, and several other people to space.
Blue Origin’s goal is to make space travel a feasible idea for everybody. To reach this goal, this company intends to use rockets used several times, therefore saving huge sums of money and lots of energy.
Blue Origin is yet another space travel company owned by an individual who made his fortune building the Amazon giant shopping website. However, investors must keep their eyes peeled for the day Bezos decides to take Blue Origin public.
Orion Span
Orion Span was a startup company based in the United States. This company’s goal was to start the first space hotel in the lower orbit of the earth. Having its own space station, it could accommodate guests up to 12 days in orbit and charge them 9.5 million dollars. However, Orion Span could not get enough funding to build its space station and announced closing its operations in 2019. Since then, this company has been making its claims that the first space hotel will open in 2022, but no evidence on an actual station can be seen.
Boeing (BA)
Unlike the other companies, Boeing takes its fame and fortune from its years of experience in the aviation business. Boeing is the largest exporting company in the United States and provides over 150 countries with various sizes of airplanes.
Boeing’s spacecraft, the Starliner, is designed to carry seven passengers to the International Space Station and back. The idea of this project started when NASA expressed its desire to have space taxies for transporting its crew and equipment among private companies.
Boeing intended to test Starliner’s unmanned flight to the ISS on July 30, 2021. However, this test flight had to be postponed due to some problems with the Space Station.
Boeing’s stock is currently traded for 231.64 dollars per share. This stock has grown exponentially since last year this time, which was $158. Boeing’s revenue is reported to be 78.93 billion dollars in the current year, 2021. This sum is forecasted to have 13% of growth and reach 89.23 billion dollars by next year.
Bigelow Aerospace
Bigelow Aerospace is founded, led, and financed by one man: Robert Bigelow. Mr. Bigelow started his company to use the expandable space habitats initially designed and then abandoned by NASA.
This company has had two space missions so far: Genesis I and Genesis II. Genesis I started its launch in 2006, in which it successfully flew to the lower orbit of the earth. Less than a year later, Genesis II made its way to orbit. Communications with these two space crafts went on for over two years, much longer than anticipated. Both spacecraft are still in orbit and will someday get close enough to be burned by the atmosphere.
In 2020, Bigelow Aerospace had to lay off almost all its 88 employees due to financial problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Mr. Bigelow, this company intends to re-hire its employees in the near future. However, this is bound to the financial situation of this company.
Sierra Nevada Space Systems
The Sierra Nevada is yet another space company almost entirely owned by individuals Faith and Eren Ozmen, Turkish immigrants turned into billionaires.
This company has been working on the development and manufacture of space crafts and space habitats. The result is Dream Chaser Spaceplane, a reusable spacecraft capable of carrying passengers and cargo to the lower earth orbit. Shooting Star is a space transport vehicle designed to be attached to Dream Chaser to increase its capacity. There is also LIFE, Sierra Nevada’s space habitat, which is still in the testing phase.
In 2020, Sierra Nevada announced that it is creating Sierra space, a new company with eyes on transport and accommodations in the lower orbit. This company is going to be a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada for now. However, the prospect of it entering the stock market is not far-fetched.
Orbital Sciences Corp.
Orbital Sciences was an American company specializing in the design and manufacture of small and medium-sized rockets. This company was purchased by Northrop Grumman and became a subsidiary of this company. Northrop Grumman is a multifaceted company active in various areas.
The space division of Northrop Grumman employs over 23,000 employees in 48 states and several overseas locations. One of the significant roles of Northrop Grumman is space security. Space security includes secure communications, missile defense, and advanced technologies.
The stock for Northrop Grumman is traded for $363.16 per share. This stock had steady growth since last year, this time when it was 325.1 dollars. Northrop Grumman has claimed to have 35.81 billion dollars to revenue in the current year, 2021. This revenue, too, is forecasted to have a steady 4% growth by 2022.
Made In Space
Made In Space was founded in 2010 to enable humanity to live and work in space sustainably. The first result of this company’s efforts was to invent the world’s first zero-gravity printer and 3D printer. These devices were then donated to the International Space Station (ISS) and are currently being used.
In 2020, Made In Space was acquired by Redwire, a venture that has started purchasing smaller space companies. The terms of this contract have not been disclosed yet, but what’s obvious is that Made In Space will continue with its current projects. In the meanwhile, the two companies have chief operating officers.
Space Transportation Market Size
The market size for private space launch companies was analyzed to be 9.88 billion dollars in 2019. This market is projected to be 32.41 billion dollars by 2027, which is to experience a 15% increase. Of course, with the space launch race that has started recently among several private companies, these numbers might change considerably.
