Throughout my lifetime space travel has been a grand dream and a slowly unfolding reality. One of my earliest memories is of the Apollo 11 crew taking the first steps on the surface of the moon. While advances along man’s journey into space are captured as snapshots in my memory (e.g. the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronauts capturing jello floating mid-air in the weightlessness of the International Space Station, the SpaceX rocket vertically landing for re-use after delivering its payload into space), I’ve missed the big picture. Space to Grow by Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau tells the fascinating big story of the commercial space industry, and along the way teaches us important business lessons applicable to almost any industry.
I’m fascinated by the big story here. I guess I had never really paid close attention to the fundamental shift that has happened in how our country approaches space flight. The authors tell this story well by telling several little stories, each with its own heroes, challenges, and conflicts. The authors use an intellectual framework to explain how the integration of all of these little stories into the big story makes sense economically, considering the relationship between governments and markets in space. “The three steps of the framework, and thus the three parts of the book, are: (1) establish the market through decentralization, (2) refine the market through addressing market failures, and (3) temper the market through alignment with social objectives.” In telling the stories within this framework, the authors introduce readers to a number of important economic concepts and principles.
Space to Grow is a fun and informative read. It compellingly tells many stories that combine into a fascinating big story of the emergence of a commercial space economy. Along the way, the authors teach us basic economic concepts that might benefit any business in any industry. Overall a recommended read for any business leader, especially those of us that have always been fascinated by space and the stories of how the future will change us.