Take a look at this remarkable video: a SpaceX rocket landing safely at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on 1 August. Moments earlier, the booster had separated from a smaller rocket carrying four National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts bound for the International Space Station (ISS).

By 2031, astronauts won’t be docking at the ISS anymore. Instead, they’ll have their choice of a handful of private, state-of-the-art space stations run by commercial operators.

After more than 25 years of service, NASA plans to decommission the ISS by guiding it into the ocean, a farewell to one of humanity’s most ambitious collaborations.

People are surprised to learn that the ISS is nearing retirement. Space exploration has long been synonymous with NASA and its global partners. Yet since the 1980s, as launch costs have fallen and private investment accelerated, the landscape has shifted dramatically.

The rise of commercial ventures such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Starlink marks a new chapter in what analysts call: “Space 4.0”, a marketplace driven not by governments, but by competition, connectivity, and innovation. Deloitte estimates that the global space economy will grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035.

Commercialisation

This commercialisation began in earnest two decades ago. In 2004, President George W Bush announced that NASA would begin outsourcing cargo transport to private companies. Today, that policy is fully realised: commercial firms now launch crews, satellites, and soon, entire orbital laboratories. With roughly $1.5 billion in NASA seed funding, at least two private space stations are expected to be operational by 2031.

One serious contender is Starlab, being built by Voyager Space and Airbus. Expected to launch by 2028, it will serve as a permanent laboratory in low-Earth orbit, hosting up to eight astronauts and dozens of research payloads.

Starlab will host experiments that can’t be done on Earth because of the way gravity affects how things grow and move. In weightlessness, molecular and cellular processes behave differently: cells grow in three dimensions rather than flat layers, crystals form more evenly, and proteins can be assembled without the distortions caused by gravity. This helps scientists develop new kinds of medicines, such as those used to treat cancer or heart disease, that are harder to study under normal conditions on Earth.

One company already using this environment is LambdaVision, which is developing a protein-based artificial retina to help people with severe vision loss. They build their implants in space because microgravity allows the delicate protein layers to form evenly, improving quality and stability. On Earth, gravity pulls these layers downward, creating defects. The result is a clearer, higher-quality implant.

New frontier

In the coming decade, laboratories like Starlab’s will host experiments across biology, materials science, physics, and agriculture – microgravity is becoming a new frontier of industrial research and development.

While rockets and space tourism capture the headlines, the real revolution in space is happening quietly through data. Launch costs have fallen by about 95%, enabling a surge in satellite deployment, with roughly 11 700 active satellites now orbiting Earth. Far beyond global positioning systems and internet connectivity, these satellites are transforming how industries function, delivering real-time insights on weather, water, and land that are reshaping decision-making on the ground.

Take Hydrosat, co-founded by the late Namibian scientist and NASA engineer Japie van Zyl. Using thermal infrared sensors, Hydrosat measures surface heat to determine how much water plants use and where crops are under stress. By analysing this data, the company can tell farmers when and where to irrigate.

The results are remarkable: crop yields have risen by up to 50%, water use has fallen by as much as 30%, and energy consumption has dropped by similar margins. In Egypt, farmers cut water waste by 40% after adopting Hydrosat’s tools.

Space strategy

For this reason, every serious company, whether in agriculture, mining, or finance, should begin forming a space strategy. Satellite insights are fast becoming as integral as telecommunications once were. They can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen resilience against climate shocks.

Beyond orbit, the next great ambitions are already taking shape. Space tourism is in its infancy, but it signals how quickly private enterprise is normalising what was once unthinkable. NASA, meanwhile, has turned its attention toward the Moon and Mars.

The Artemis programme aims to establish a sustainable lunar base that can serve as a stepping stone for deeper exploration. Notably, Italian fashion house Prada will have a hand in designing the spacesuitsfor the Artemis III mission, which is expected to return astronauts to the Moon around mid-2027 (the first crewed lunar landing since 1972).

But these ambitions will require enormous energy. Solar panels suffice for many orbital tasks, yet in the deep shadow of craters or on long missions to Mars, they fall short. That is why companies such as Zeno Power are developing so-called: “nuclear batteries” to supply reliable baseload power in extreme environments, ensuring continuous operations where sunlight cannot reach.

Competition

As space becomes commercial, it also becomes geopolitical. The end of the ISS partnership marks a new phase of competition between major powers. China already operates the Tiangong space station, and Russia aims to deploy a station by 2030. Space diplomacy and security are now as important as science.

The threat of space weapons, anti-satellite systems, jammers, or even orbital interceptors, has become more than theoretical.

Africa is rarely part of this conversation, yet the continent is already being drawn into the orbital race. Djibouti, for instance, has partnered with China to build a spaceport and small-satellite infrastructure. On the surface, such projects promise economic development; in reality, they also expand Beijing’s strategic reach. Just as China’s Belt and Road Initiative has transformed ports and railways, its space partnerships extend influence into communications and surveillance.

The commercialisation of space marks a new turning point in human progress. In the West, the baton has passed from governments to entrepreneurs. But this transition also raises urgent questions of sovereignty, regulation, and access. Space is no longer a scientific abstraction, it is a functioning economy, an arena of competition, and a tool for national development.