Innovation Trends in the Space Industry

Book excerpt: Ever since their inception, space activities have been innovative, but not driven by commercial considerations that is, until the end of the Cold War, when the commercialization of space escalated. As a result, the direction of the innovation changed in order to leverage new business opportunities, which reached a turning point in the 2010s. This book discusses the developmental trends of the world space sector in detail, by analyzing their long-term evolution, and studying why this innovative industry sometimes experiences technological and organizational delays. Innovation Trends in the Space Industry also provides a framework to diagnose more accurately the potential technological threats that are currently faced by existing space tech manufacturers. Moreover, this book, with an economic perspective, provides a close examination of the space sector. It also contributes to enriching innovation management theory by leading us to better understand industry emergence shaped by customers, to reinterpret technological and organizational inertia in high technology activities, and to refine disruptive innovation trends.