New Space Capitalism

The Capitalist Space Revolution Has Begun!

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is laying the groundwork for the largest initial public offering in history. For many, this marks the starting signal of the dawn of a new era in space capitalism. Of 324 global rocket launches last year, SpaceX accounted for 165. If SpaceX were a country, it would be the world’s number one spacefaring nation, far ahead of China.

In this book, world-renowned economic historian Rainer Zitelmann explores the historical factors underpinning the success of private space exploration and offers insights into its future trajectory. His thesis: While the technical prerequisites for conquering Mars and mining asteroids already exist, the true breakthrough in space exploration will only occur once a framework for buying and selling land on celestial bodies exists.

This book makes it possible for the first time to understand the history of public and private spaceflight in their interplay, while at the same time providing a scientifically sound outlook on the great opportunities of the space economy.