AI-fuelled space boom could attract up to $200 billion in global investment

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence could be about to give the space industry its own launchpad for a major investment boom. A new report from the IEEE estimates that global investments in space technology could reach $100 billion to $200 billion, as AI accelerates innovation well beyond the traditional technology sector.

The report identifies AI, energy, health, space and physical AI as five major technology megatrends that could shape the coming years. It says aggressive adoption of AI has not only accelerated AI-related technologies but has also helped drive developments in space technology.

The report was delivered by the IEEE Future Directions Committee’s Industry Advisory Board in collaboration with the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section, IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Industry Engagement.

According to the report, several developments are creating the conditions for a faster-growing commercial space economy. These include increased private investment, cheaper access to orbit, reusable rockets, autonomous space vehicles and the potential utilisation of resources beyond Earth.

The report also highlights space-based solar power, energy beams and the reopening of international discussions around space regulation as developments that could influence the sector.

Together, these trends could push the industry beyond its traditional dependence on satellites and launch services.

IEEE’s framework envisages the emergence of a “high volume orbital economy”, encompassing areas such as orbital manufacturing and mining, the lunar economy, commercial space activities, colonisation and the use of space resources.

The potential opportunity extends into some distinctly futuristic territory.

The report identifies asteroid mining, off-Earth manufacturing, space-based solar power, data centres in space and software-defined space systems among technologies that could significantly expand the economic footprint of space.

Asteroid mining and off-Earth manufacturing could provide access to rare materials and potentially alter global supply chains. Space-based solar power, meanwhile, could offer a source of continuous clean energy by collecting solar power in orbit and transmitting it to Earth.

The report also points to a broader technology stack needed to support this expansion. New materials, cleaner and more efficient energy systems, advanced mass transportation, space-tech agriculture, new semiconductor manufacturing techniques, improved propulsion and resource-efficient production could all become important building blocks.

The projected space boom will not be without turbulence. IEEE flags fragmented regulatory frameworks, increasingly crowded orbits, space debris and spectrum-management challenges as potential barriers to growth.

Funding constraints and shortages of engineering and operational talent could also slow the industry’s expansion.

These challenges will become more significant as commercial activity moves into areas that existing regulations were not designed to govern. The combination of private investment, autonomous systems and increasing activity in orbit could require governments to rethink how space traffic, resources and commercial operations are managed.

The report’s outlook covers the next five to 10 years, during which it expects space technology to open new markets and create high-skilled jobs across industries.

Agriculture, renewable energy, logistics and digital services could all benefit from advances in space technology, suggesting that the impact of the space economy may increasingly be felt on Earth.

If AI was the technology story of the past few years, IEEE’s assessment suggests space could become one of its most consequential spillover markets. The next frontier, in other words, may not just be smarter software, but a much busier economy in orbit.