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Schar School of Policy and Government

Research Proposal: Why is the United States such a dramatic outlier in private sector engagement in space

Author(s): Nicholas Robichaud

Mentor(s): Jim Olds, Neuroscience Program

Abstract
My presentation is on a research proposal developed in the Govt-491 class that took place this fall. The focus of this proposal is to explore the factors that lead 56.4% of all space-related businesses to be located within the United States. Within the presentation, I explain the current state of commercial space, the disparity that exists between the U.S. and all other nations that are major players within space, and the methodology in which I have laid out in order to investigate the factors that have caused the U.S. to hold such a dominance.
Audio Transcript
Good afternoon everyone, my name is Nicholas Robichaud and this is my presentation for the OSCARS. So my presentation is a research proposal: why is the United States such a dramatic outlier in private sector engagement in space?
At present, there is no international legal framework that regulates the action of commercial activity in space. Despite this, commercial space has been rapidly advancing and branching off into emerging industries. While telecommunications has been the staple industry within space, innovations in technology as well as major government investments have caused many new industries to become viable. The poster child of this movement is SpaceX which made headlines proving to be an effective launch partner for the U.S. government in launching materials and personnel into space as well as Blue Origin kickstarting the space tourism industry. In the near future asteroid mining, in-orbit manufacturing, and large-scale infrastructure development are all projected to be major industries with businesses already working towards their eventual implementation.
The importance of space cannot be overstated. Space offers an endless expanse of territory to be utilized by countries. Additionally, in the asteroid belt alone there is an evaluation of approximately 700$ quintillion dollars worth in resources that are available. Society also has much to gain as investments into space have been proven to have many positive effects across many sectors. As advancements offer nations both the means and motive to invest in space, many have begun to establish individual legal frameworks over the past five years in order to attract commercial interest. With this dramatic increase in interest over the past decade the number of companies within space has rapidly increased.
However, that interest is not equally distributed across all nations. As of Q3 of 2021, the U.S. is reported to be the home of 6477 or 56.4% of all established space related companies in the world. Additionally, these companies have 84 billion dollars invested in total which is more than the next 10 countries combined.
With such a massive private sector disparity between the United States and the rest of the Globe it leads me to wonder what factors have influenced an overwhelming majority of space related businesses to establish themselves in the U.S. as opposed to other countries?
My proposal is to conduct inductive research that utilizes process tracing in order to find hypotheses that can best explain how the U.S. became such a large outlier. Some dimensions to be explored are: legislative freedom, the historical usage of outsourcing within research and development, and the projected government activity within space.
When exploring legislative freedoms I will conduct a qualitative analysis of the positive and negative freedoms offered to private businesses to evaluate the relative ease or burden that a business has when operating within the U.S.. Legislative guidelines will include directly applicable law regarding commercial activity in space as well as legislative rules for government contractors. The purpose of this research will be to establish how business-friendly the U.S. seems to have laid out its guidelines for industry to operate within.
When reviewing the U.S.’historical usage of government outsourcing I will be utilizing a quantitative analysis of how often the U.S. has tended to engage in this practice. The research will be focused on reviewing the history of agencies involved in research and development. The purpose of which is to establish if the U.S. was an attractive location for business because of the frequency with which potential opportunities would be available to businesses operating in space.
When analyzing the future involvement of the U.S. in space I will be conducting a qualitative analysis on both the short-term and long-term space investments of the U.S.. While analyzing historical trends and planned projects within different agencies of the government is important to establish a short-term projection of activity, I also want to establish the national goals that the U.S. has set for its involvement in space. In my opinion, this will be more effective in determining the level of investment the U.S. government puts into space over a longer stretch of time. The purpose of this is to establish if companies have assessed that the U.S. government will be the most involved in space which directly impacts the longevity of their company.
So why does this all matter? Businesses that wish to operate within space can choose any country in the world. However, an overwhelming majority have decided to establish themselves within the U.S.. With a greater understanding of what factors these businesses are taking into account, the federal government can make smarter choices within policy to better support their own objectives within space.

4 replies on “Research Proposal: Why is the United States such a dramatic outlier in private sector engagement in space”

Nick,
It has been nice to see this project evolve. In the long-run, I see a lot of potential here as it is an underdeveloped research agenda. Therefore, your project could help us better understand recent developments (and could make contributions to policy-making debates).

Nice description of why space exploration should be encouraged. I was surprised that space businesses are more common in the US. I look forward to hearing more.

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