The Oxford Handbook of the New Space Economy

Abstract This handbook on the “New” Space Economy (NSE), for the first time in one place, offers a comprehensive and timely analysis of the contemporary space economy. The “new” is characterized by commercialization, greater participation of the private sector, innovation, and increased engagement of national governments. Using multiple approaches, the volume conceptualizes the intellectual boundaries of an emerging field of inquiry, characterized by continuity and change and involving terrestrial and extraterrestrial activities. It covers the fundamental economic, institutional, and technological dynamics and assesses the socio-economic impact of the NSE. Largely a US and European phenomenon, the evolution of the NSE in other spacefaring nations and regions such as Russia, China, India, Eastern Europe, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Argentina is also examined. In the 42 accessible chapters, divided into five thematic parts, both academics and practitioners systematically address the changing institutional arrangements, interactions between public and private actors, and the role of innovations and entrepreneurship in the NSE. As constellations of satellites for Earth observations, telecommunications, the internet, GPS, and other civilian applications tackle climate change and monitor natural disasters, the unsustainability of space activities due to orbital congestion and space debris is also a reality. The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty, which views space as a “global commons,” needs revisiting to address regulatory challenges in space mining and other uses of extraterrestrial resources. Collectively, this handbook advances the state of knowledge in an authoritative way on the dynamics of an emerging new space economy, identifies key stakeholders, and opens up future research areas for policymaking.