Commercial Space Industry

The space industry refers to economic activities related to the manufacture and delivery of components that go into Earth's orbit or beyond. The space industry is a subset of the U.S. aerospace industry and U.S. strength in aerospace has helped to provide U.S. strength in space. Bolstered by a large research and development establishment, the commercial space industry has a manufacturing component and a services component. This book focuses on the global commercial space manufacturing sector (launch vehicles, spacecraft, satellites, and parts and equipment). The space industry also builds space ports, ground stations, and ground equipment. Together, the space and ground infrastructure enables a much larger space services sector that includes satellite telecommunications and broadcasting services and satellite remote sensing. The space industry, broadly defined, is an important part of the U.S. industrial and technology base.