Space – infinite expanses – and enormous economic potential. Management consultants McKinsey and the World Economic Forum predict that the space-based economy will grow from a current turnover of 630 billion dollars to 1.8 trillion dollars by 2035. On the one hand, growth will come from core areas such as satellites and GPS services (backbone applications), which currently account for a good half of the space industry at 330 billion dollars. On the other hand, there is the use of space technology in other industries (reach applications).

„The space industry is increasingly moving into the non-space sector,“ observes Ulrich Hermann, General Partner at Einstein Industries Ventures, a fund specialising in new space. He assumes that in ten years' time, all industrial sectors will be using space applications. „Creating the interfaces between space infrastructure and applications in industry is a new growth market.“

A new field of activity is also emerging for strategy and technology consultants. Hermann himself is also a Senior Partner at Einstein Space Consulting. He is driven by the question of where space technology could add value in other industries along the value chain – and when is the right time to get involved. The target objectives and capabilities are often already there, but "you have to overlay them and model the costs,“ he explains.

There are already applications for the use of space technologies, for example in the area of mobility. „Earth observation services can give the railway predictive information on whether and when repairs to tracks are due – without an employee having to walk the track,“ says Hermann. In agriculture, the images could allow conclusions to be drawn as to whether a field already needs to be irrigated and fertilised, or whether it is still possible to wait and save resources.

Space components are also becoming increasingly important in the automotive sector – although Hermann's assessment is that the automotive industry in Europe is still „surprisingly at the beginning“ in this respect. This is also due to the still sparse infrastructure. „Without a European infrastructure, the autonomous vehicle will otherwise be attached to Chinese satellites – so Europe will build the metal around it, but not the driving experience that they actually want to sell.“

In his view, maritime logistics, which traditionally uses space technologies to manage use of resources for route planning, for example, is much further ahead. Agriculture is also massively expanding smart farming thanks to the lower costs of new space. „There, core applications of space are part of the digital business model and provide the basis for cost advantages in competition or for compliance with environmental standards,“ says Hermann.

Conversely, the use of known technologies can also be extended to space. The mechanical engineering company Trumpf, for example, is looking at how 3D printing can be used in the aviation and space industries. However, a product that works on Earth is not automatically suitable for use in space. „If you want to use additive manufacturing processes such as 3D printing on the moon, you have to qualify your machine or process for extreme conditions such as cold, radiation, dust exposure and weightlessness,“ says Hermann. In order to solve these challenges, companies from various sectors need to start cooperating with the aerospace industry, such as satellite manufacturers.

According to the McKinsey survey, the supply chain and transportation, agriculture, defence, retail/consumer goods and lifestyle, and digital communications sectors are expected to account for more than 60% of the growth in the space economy by 2035. „Many people still think of space travel in the traditional sense of rocket launches and satellites. These still exist - but the efficiency of the space-based economy is much higher,“ says Björn Hagemann, Senior Partner at McKinsey, commenting on the survey results. Services such as communications, localisation, navigation, timing and earth observation would be inconceivable without space-based technology. „These areas in particular will grow strongly," he says. In addition, new commercial providers are entering the market, and complementing government activities with their offerings.

The new competition for space offerings is a key driver in making the technologies widely usable at a reasonable cost. Many capabilities are not new, but are now becoming more attractive in terms of price. According to McKinsey, the role of private players is tending to increase: private sector investment reached an all-time high in 2021 and 2022, totalling more than 70 billion dollars. The number of satellites launched rose by 50% per year between 2019 and 2023, driven by falling launch costs. These are 90% lower than 20 years ago.

Falling costs due to services such as Space X are fuelling plans for the incipient management of space. But this raises completely new questions: What laws apply there? Who actually owns what? And which authority mediates conflicts? „We need rules of the game for a completely new economy – if I had a law firm, I would immediately open a section for this,“ says management consultant Hermann.

The commercialisation of space technology is already creating a large market for law firms, and the first firms are already bundling their services in this area. At Heuking, this is happening in the focus area „Space, New Space & Space Tech“, which was established at the beginning of the year. In addition to providing legal advice on space-related projects, it will also incorporate expertise in related areas such as technology, intellectual property, venture capital, public procurement and corporate law. „A team of six lawyers with different specialisations regularly exchange information on space-related topics,“ says Heuking partner Andreas Lenz, who coordinates the activities for Heuking together with Munich technology partner Thomas Jansen.

Other law firms are also involved in the topic. SKW Schwarz, for example, has dedicated a focus topic to the area of space; the website lists twelve experts specialising in areas such as intellectual property, M&A, public commercial law and data protection. At the law firm GvW Graf von Westphalen, lawyers advise on space and satellite law.

In terms of its economic and technological relevance, but also in terms of public perception, the space sector is increasingly visible. However, some of the foundations of international space law date back to the sixties and seventies. „Much of what is reality today was still science fiction back then,“ Lenz points out. Since then, special regulations, such as orbits and frequencies, as well as bilateral and multilateral agreements have been used at international level.

According to the lawyer, a German space law is in preparation, while a topic-specific EU space law has been announced for 2025. However, he does not see a globally standardised legal regulation in the short term: „This is still a long way off, and it needs to be shaped politically above all," he says. In the investment sector, on the other hand, Lenz expects a sustained increase in activity, driven by macro effects such as digitalisation, environmental monitoring, the pursuit of security autonomy and a new race for space in Earth orbit and to the moon. There are new players on the field, both public and private. Many innovations are only made possible through the support of companies and ideas, for example as part of accelerator programmes or through investments in the start-up environment, and are specifically promoted by public institutions and private sector initiatives.

Young companies in the space sector are benefiting from the current influx of venture capital, and development banks are also active. „The start-up scene in the new space is reminiscent of the boom of the internet years 20 years ago,“ observes management consultant Hermann. Commercial banks are also likely to become more involved soon.

Heuking partner Lenz describes the focus area of space as a future-oriented sector that offers great potential because it brings together expertise from many areas. It is often also a matter of being smart in networking topics and players. He initially followed developments in the space sector out of personal interest; his professional focus is on private equity, M&A and corporate law.

What fascinates him about the topic of space? „Enthusiasm for discoveries and technology development and – from a legal perspective – that more and more areas of expertise are being added,“ says Lenz. He is certain that New Space offers potential not only for law firms: „Companies of all sizes and sectors have a lot to gain from utilising space technology", he says.