Blog 4: Space Launch Vehicles - A New Disruptor

Out of all the business classes I have taken, Disruptive Innovation continuously piques my curiosity. It feels as if someone has created some magical product out of thin air that completely changes the game. Even though the label of Disruptive Innovation is characteristically retrospective, I will make a brief case as to why I believe advances in outer space launch vehicles will be considered a Disruptive Innovation.

According to Christensen, disruptive innovation is formed in a niche market where other businesses do not perceive it as a threat but can redefine an industry or market as a whole. Within the outer space market, we have seen a chain reaction since policy has shifted from centralized public control to decentralized private control. This, in turn, has created an opportunity for early adopters of new space tech to threaten traditional launch contractors (i.e., Lockheed Martin & Boeing) through the development of low cost, highly efficient, and reusable launch vehicles. At this point, it sounds like the new launch vehicles are a sustaining innovation; however, in both a literal and figurative sense, launch vehicles have acted as a launch vehicle to potential new markets.

Take, for example, internet access. According to UNESCO, 54.8% of the world’s population has access to the internet. Multiple projects such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink will enable internet access to the entire world by the mid-’20s, threatening ICTs. Even further, due to the low gravity, Optical Fibers produced in space are of significantly higher quality, potentially ending the need for repeaters, as shown by Made In Space.

Another example is in health care. 3D printing organs is easier in space due to the low gravity. Crystal structures within pharmaceuticals grow outwards instead of upwards due to the gravity. Without low-cost launch vehicles, Techshot’s 3D BioFabrication Facility would have never been launched to the ISS.

The mining, health, internet, construction, communications, travel, energy, and many more industries all bare some risk from the continuous development of launch vehicle capabilities. As more capabilities come online, they will all still depend on the reusable launch vehicle. Thus, even though launch vehicle innovation does not replace anything, it will be critical to new market penetration, disrupting many industries at once.