Space

In spite of the general fascination with Star Wars and the dreams of inhabiting distant planets, the popularity of the space sector has been declining over the past decade, which is quite logical, since there have been no significant breakthroughs in the area, and with enough urgent problems on Earth. However, the sector is now at a turning point due to the first successes of the private space sector. From a terra incognita open only to intrepid pioneers, space is gradually turning into a commercial sector, which is opening broad opportunities for creating private businesses, e.g. providing support for satellite launches and probes.
Private rocket launches are already cheaper than for traditional rockets. Investors from Silicon Valley are seriously discussing the prospects of Mars colonization. In 2013, they started a global screening of astronauts for a colonization mission to Mars, named Mars One. The screening will continue until 2015. In 2023, after a long training course and a whole year en route, the first crew of four is expected to land on the Red Planet. A new group will arrive every two years and the population of the colony should increase to 20 people by 2035. NASA, together with DARPA, is going to send a manned ship to other star systems within the next century.
The sector intensively uses paperless workflow, building complete digital models of items with all the connections between their components. Digital modelling of behaviour of a whole aircraft is performed in various conditions, as well as interaction between its components under various exposures. An increasingly greater number of components and aggregates are produced without human involvement.
Within the next 20 years, space tourism may become one of the most promising branches of the space industry. In 2007, Virgin Galactic started selling tickets to its SpaceShip Two, a private travel ship, which can fly at altitudes of over 100 km. The programme has not started yet, but should be launched in the near future.
Space may also help industry on Earth, as it can be used for toxic waste disposal, production of high-quality crystals in zero gravity, and mineral resource extraction from the Moon and asteroids. Astrophysical studies show that comets and asteroids are rich in iron, gold, nickel, platinum and other precious metals.
The space conquest opportunities will grow considerably if we succeed in creating affordable technologies to deliver cargoes and people to the orbit, e.g. build a “space elevator” from the Earth surface.