The Commercial Space Race Heats Up: $634B Space Economy Accelerates in 2026

The global space economy has reached $634 billion, and 2026 is shaping up as a pivotal year for commercial space. SpaceX's Starship continues to achieve milestones, satellite megaconstellations are expanding global connectivity, and NASA's commercial space station partners are advancing toward deployment. From launch to orbit to lunar exploration, the space industry is transforming from a government monopoly into a thriving commercial ecosystem.

SpaceX Starship: Redefining Access to Space

SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, has achieved its orbital flight milestones and is now focused on achieving full reusability — the key to making space access dramatically cheaper. The company completed over 150 Falcon 9 launches in 2025 alone and is targeting even more ambitious cadence with Starship. Each successful flight brings closer Elon Musk's vision of making humanity multiplanetary, with uncrewed Mars cargo missions planned for the 2026-2028 window.

Satellite Internet Goes Global

Starlink has grown to 4.6 million active subscribers across 100+ countries, becoming the dominant satellite internet provider. Amazon's Project Kuiper has launched its first operational satellites and aims to deploy a full constellation of 3,236 satellites by 2029. The competition is driving down costs and expanding connectivity to remote regions, ships at sea, and aircraft. In-flight WiFi powered by satellite internet is now standard on major airlines.

"We're witnessing a fundamental transformation of the space industry from government-led exploration to commercially driven infrastructure. Space is becoming a utility." — Space Foundation, State of Space Report 2026

Commercial Space Stations

With the International Space Station scheduled for decommission around 2030, NASA has awarded contracts to Axiom Space, Blue Origin's Orbital Reef, and Vast to develop commercial replacements. Axiom has already attached its first module to the ISS, with plans for a fully independent station by 2028. These stations will serve as research labs, manufacturing facilities, and potentially even tourist destinations, creating new markets in low-Earth orbit.

Return to the Moon

NASA's Artemis program remains on track, with Artemis II planning to send astronauts around the Moon in 2026 and Artemis III targeting the first lunar landing since Apollo. Meanwhile, private lunar missions from ispace and Intuitive Machines are building the groundwork for a permanent lunar presence. The global race to establish lunar infrastructure is driven not just by science but by the Moon's potential as a stepping stone for deeper space exploration and resource utilization.