Private equity investments beyond Earth orbits: Can space exploration be the new frontier for private investments?

The year 2004 can be considered an important milestone for space activities. First, on January 14, 2004 President Bush announced a new vision for human and robotic space exploration named “A Renewed Spirit of Discovery”. This new space exploration policy called for “a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond” and seeks also to “promote international and commercial participation in space exploration to further US scientific, security, and economic interests”. Secondly, the satellite industry has experienced a trend of private investment fund acquisitions. Five of six major fixed and mobile satellite service providers in the world have been partly or entirely sold to conventional financial investors. These transactions have taken place despite the background noise of overcapacity, stagnant growth and declining operating margins satellite services sector. Over the last 18 months, we have seen a total of approximately US $12B$12B dollars in private equity transactions in the satellite sector. Finally, the Ansari X prize has been won opening the possibility of the personal spaceflight revolution.This paper seeks to provide some insights into the nature, timing and a rationale for these investments in the space sector. Then, an attempt is made to analyze the potential that space exploration might present for traditional financial investors.