Strategic Review Space Defence

The Space Launch Sector: geopolitics & the new space economy

Geopolitics and the new space economy in a multipolar era. A strategic review of the launch market, its civil-military overlap, dependency mapping, and where the next wave of commercial and sovereign demand will land.

Format Strategic Review
Published August 2025
Pages Long-form analysis
The Space Launch Sector: Strategic Review cover

Overview

The launch market is the load-bearing piece of the new space economy. It's the place where commercial momentum, sovereign defence requirements, and geopolitical alignment all collide. The old narrative of "SpaceX vs everyone else" misses where the structural decisions are actually being made.

This Strategic Review traces the launch sector across four lenses: the commercial market structure (and its dependency on a small number of providers); the sovereign defence demand that's quietly subsidising it; the European, Indian, and Chinese alternatives; and the upstream supply-chain exposures that will determine who actually flies in the second half of the decade.

Audience Aerospace investors, defence-procurement leads, government space agencies, and sovereign wealth funds with space-sector exposure.
Coverage Heavy & medium launch · sovereign capabilities (US, EU, UK, India, China) · civil-military overlap · launch-vehicle supply chain.
Methodology Market-structure analysis, dependency mapping, expert interviews, policy convergence assessment.
Contributors James Reeves, Carol Buxton, Tristan Langlade, Sam Ravi, Michelle Fanggi Qu, Franziska Kändler, Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy, Ed Shannon-Adams. Special thanks: Mark Allworthy.
Engage

Brief your next decision with the full picture.

Initial conversations are confidential and obligation-free. We respond to every enquiry within one business day.