Cleaning up the 23,000 pieces of junk around planet Earth proves challenging. Yet, for daring entrepreneurs, it presents a goldmine of opportunity. Existing companies such as ComSpOC are already tracking debris with a network of sensors.

Opportunities for space entrepreneurs lie within subcontracting and the gathering of information and data about objects in space.

As our knowledge and experience of space grow, the need for talented data developers, analysts, and software development companies grows as well.

Currently, the European Space Agency (ESA) is one of the few companies focused on software development specifically for use in space.

This is a process and a business opportunity that will require a mammoth amount of money and equipment, which will likely be available only to government-funded space agencies or participating conglomerates.

SOME OF THE MOST NOTABLE OPPORTUNITIES

• Laser destruction (known as bumping) from Earth
  In theory, a laser with an impulse is directed at the piece of junk. It is then bumped or deflected out of its trajectory, into an alternative orbit, taking it into the atmosphere so that it can burn out.
  
  
• Development of Orbital Robots
  Spacecraft or orbital robots with nets are being designed to gather space trash and drag it into the atmosphere to be destroyed or dropped into the ocean. The UK is testing this concept with their RemoveDEBRIS.
  
  
• The Japanese firm Astroscale, with its ‘dancing with the devil’ technology, is synchronizing the motion of space debris so that it can be collected for burnout in the atmosphere.

An exciting project for all of humanity is certainly the opportunity to perhaps one day live and work on the Moon and Mars.Until recently, the prospect was thought outrageous, but as Sir Richard Branson took to space on 11 July 2021 in his own spacecraft, Unity22, our dreams of space might be closer to fulfilment than we think.

• SPACE CONSTRUCTION EXPERTS
  The multi-nation space stations under construction will be the first of many. There are also plans in the pipeline for space hotels, affording the opportunity to brave and bold architects and construction experts to work on space construction projects.

• FOOD & SUPPLIES PRODUCTION
  All the above projects will require people, equipment, food, medical supplies, and other commodities that will need to be transported into space.

  People skilled in the production of these commodities (on Earth, and later while stationed across the Moon and Mars), will be needed to ensure a steady production of supplies.

  As space communities grow, the demand for skilled professionals and labour will also grow.
  
  

  

• SPACE TOURISM IS HERE!
  Elon Musk and the SpaceX program are the forerunners in the race to establish space tourism and transport for everyday people.

  The idea behind space tourism is to generate money for even bigger projects, such as traveling to Mars and beyond.

  Though going to Mars is still a few years away, there are current opportunities in the transporting of payloads to and from space stations. This is a field that will be in ever-increasing demand.
  
  

• DATA PROCESSING & ANALYSIS
  Creating software and capturing data are regarded as some of the biggest business opportunities of the future. 

  Collecting, analysing, and processing data will be paramount in space-related projects, whether for ever-increasing payload planning or passenger manifests.

  Opportunities to become involved in these projects in the form of subcontracting and freelancing will be on the increase.

A new space is taking shape around us. That space has a name: nanotechnology. Plans are currently in progress to place a nanosatellite constellation in space.

SpaceX aims to place a total of 12,000 satellites into orbit (1,500 have already been launched) to improve communication and data transfer to the most remote areas on Earth. With the Beta version launched in the USA, the rest of the world can expect connectivity by 2022, Musk said. 

To get started, you’ll need a Starlink Kit, which includes a terminal and a router available to the freelancer and entrepreneur.

Only the most wealthy are currently financially stable enough to boldly go where no human has gone before. Where does that leave you and me? In short, with investment opportunities!

According to CNBC, the space industry will be Wall Street’s next trillion-dollar industry. With space opened up to the private sector, investment opportunities will be on the increase.

While SpaceX does not have immediate plans to go public, things may just change in the future. Keep a lookout for investment opportunities in companies such as Virgin Galactic, Lockheed Martin (who partnered with Blue Origin for proposed lunar landers), Boeing, and Nanoracks – a company focussed on research and space station habitats. 

Insurance in space is worth ‘only’ $715 million today.

Think of Lloyds in the shipping industry, and you will soon realize that someone is going to offer this kind of insurance to the aerospace industry.

Currently, the customer pool is relatively small, with small profits. But as more and more companies (and eventually tourists) enter the space arena, space insurance companies will surely benefit. For everyday Janes and Joes, it can create work opportunities as companies, people, and payloads will need insurance, and insurance companies will need agents.

Space governance and related laws will increasingly involve the private sector. Currently, liabilities lie within a specific country and its treaties with other countries that operate in space.

Most astronauts are currently, in some way or another, in the employ of their governments, which affords them legal protection. Presently, space laws and arrangements are covered and enforced by treaties. However, the application of the law in countries such as the USA and China will probably differ completely.

Currently, SpaceCareers UK offers a job profile for future highly qualified space lawyers. The job will cover a crisscross of international laws.

The prospective lawyer will have to travel the world and have negotiating skills with a wide variety of people. A career as a Space Law Officer will rely heavily on the analysis of available information.

Entrepreneurs will be able to create opportunities for their businesses and employees by offering assistance to the office of law through information gathering and analysis.