SPECIAL: The State of Space Report is live
The inaugural State of Space report, authored by Sonder London in partnership with NewSpace Capital, paints a picture of where the sector is today – and where it's going.
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Over the last few months, the team at Sonder London have spoken to dozens of people working in and around space in an attempt to get past the raw data and gather a range of perspectives on the sector today. The result is The State of Space, authored in partnership with NewSpace Capital.
Featuring interviews with dozens of senior figures from across the public and private sectors, from technical leads at NASA to Members of the UK Parliament, it paints a picture of a sector growing in size and self-confidence as it comes to touch more and more and modern life.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the contributors and invite you to read the report here. Below are a few of the themes that emerged.
Critical infrastructure
Space has ceased to be a novelty. It is now basic infrastructure. Launches are routine, systems run at scale, and the real challenge is running large fleets reliably. There were over 300 orbital launch attempts in 2025, putting thousands of small satellites into orbit. Demand for always-on services surged. As Slava Turyshev puts it, competition is now between constellations, not satellites. Cristina Zanchi agrees with Martin Halliwell that the service is now the product, and satellites are just ‘nodes in a network’.
Congestion
As more satellites enter orbit, the risk of accidents is rising. With around 13,000 active spacecraft now circling the planet, collision avoidance has become a daily task, not a problem to deal with later on. Turyshev warns of knock-on effects, noting Starlink’s huge number of avoidance manoeuvres in 2025. Andrew Turner CB CBE says hostile activity is now common and and evasion manoeuvres are routine. In crowded orbits, safety depends on coordination, good data, clear rules, and reliable disposal mechanisms, not just satellite design.
On-orbit services
In 2025, governments began talking about space less as a prestige activity and more as something bound up with national resilience. Nick Shave says satellites are now treated like power grids: vital to the economy, to security, and to public services, and needing protection throughout their life. Richard Dinan calls it a turning point for space security. Investment is going to smaller, mobile constellations that are harder to disrupt. ‘Dual-use’ – technology with civilian and military uses – is becoming the default.
Propulsion
Propulsion is becoming all-important. Richard Dinan says advanced propulsion lets satellites move, evade threats, dock, change missions, and be resupplied – and will decide who has the long-term advantage. In this area, Europe, is still in the race. Brad King says buyers now favour those firms that can build at scale and have proven their reliability on orbit. Hype is out; reliability is in.
Resilience
As failure becomes more damaging, resilience becomes more significant. In 2025, designers focused on developing tougher materials able to withstand radiation, interference, and heat. Jan Sohar notes there are now 12,000 objects in low Earth orbit, and that the number is rising fast. Robert Brüll says protection per kilogram now matters. Lightweight, low-cost, ultra-resilient materials win. Proof, again, beats promises: real flight data is becoming a standard criterion in buying decisions.
Defence
Satellites now face threats from both space and Earth. Brüll and Turner warn that hostile activity, from satellite stalking to threatening electromagnetic attack, is rising. At the same time, jamming, spoofing, and damage to undersea cables are threatening global connectivity. Jean‑François Morizur argues countries need backups. Laser links are harder to jam and can carry critical data when other networks fail.
The New Space Race
The space race is no longer just about flag-waving and national self-confidence. The US and China are leading the new space race, and NASA now leans on private-sector innovation, the sharing of risk, and market-led solutions to meet the nation’s space needs. Europe is investing more in space and picking up steam, but for now it still struggles to turn energy into scale. The UK, meanwhile, has talent but lacks clear direction and meaningful investment. In the Middle East, state-led, strategic programmes are bearing fruit. And India is opening space to private firms as it positions itself as a serious, fast-growing space power.
Downstream
In 2025, better space data translated into better products used by more people. Hydrosat scaled fast, selling in dozens of countries and pushing toward revenue growth with water and crop tools. Kayrros shows how AI is unlocking more and more value from Earth-observation data. Insurers are taking note. AXA Digital Commercial Platform now uses satellite data to track disasters as risks grow more frequent and costly. Space services are now mainstream.
Investment
But space now needs serious private capital, not just public funding. Felix von Schubert says grants and government money are not enough; private investment is essential for security and for building the future of space. With the commercial space market at about $600 billion and expected to triple by 2035, there is a golden opportunity for investors. Space is becoming a major investment, and AI is likely to accelerate its growth.
2026
In 2026, we will see who can really operate in space. Turyshev says the winners will be those who can build, run fleets, manage collision risk, and deliver services reliably. Launch matters less than repeatability. Systems must also be tough, they must be mobile, and they must be able to deal with hostile activity, say Richard Dinan and Andrew Turner. Brad King puts it poetically: 2026 is about ‘unglamorous competence’ at scale.