SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology Commercial Space Exploration - Clelia Iacomino Kartoniert (TB)

This book offers a comprehensive overview of current space exploration in terms of geopolitical and commercial aspects. Despite multiple attempts to foster commercial activities in the field of space exploration for decades the domain largely continued to be funded and led by governments in the form of national and international programmes. However the situation changed with the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the introduction of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme which employed an innovative procurement scheme based on competitive performance-based fix ed-price milestones. The success of this programme marked an important milestone in the evolution of the relationship between government and industry. The growing opportunities for private actors to make more prominent contributions to space exploration also lie in the New Space ecosystem a sectoral transformation characterised by a substantial increase in private investment and the emergence of commercial efforts to develop disruptive concepts and address new markets.