Going to outer space with new space: The rise and consequences of evolving public-private partnerships

Abstract

What explains the commercialization of key government space projects through the incorporation of New Space? The newer generation of private companies have seen a significant increase in government contracting as they become instrumental for national security missions and high-profile civil projects. The turn to New Space companies, particularly those entrepreneurially-driven and privately funded, deviates from the governments' historical reliance on more traditional private partners. We argue that the turn towards New Space was neither inevitable nor monocausal, but rather the product of the confluence of the upstart sector's cost-efficient service offerings and rising public profile, which coincided with a period of renewed international competition. New Space firms indeed distinguished themselves by offering affordable products, an innovative production process, and a unique brand of prestigious reputation otherwise unavailable at national programs and older aerospace companies. However, these services were only deemed necessary for integration with the public sector because of the heightened importance of security and national status amidst a perceived return to great power competition. A new generation of public-private partnerships offered the only strategy for spacefaring states to attain and maintain a competitive position in an environment where non-state actors can match government accomplishments and capabilities. However, the utility of current integrative policy threatens to globalize not only the strengths but also the weaknesses of New Space, undercutting the very goals their adoption was meant to achieve.