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KDI 경제교육·정보센터

ENG
  • 경제배움
  • Economic

    Information

    and Education

    Center

국제무역
Defining Innovatisation: The Case of NewSpace and the Changing Space Sector
NBER
2026.09.21
The space sector has become far more dynamic and innovative, with new actors (e.g., start-ups, venture capital) entering and the ever-growing importance of private firms. In this paper we introduce a novel concept, innovatisation, to understand this phenomenon. Innovatisation describes the transformation of a sector between two modes. In a mode of technological achievements (TA), only technological (not economic) performance matters, primarily for prestige purposes; in innovation, customer preferences, commercial opportunities, and costs become essential. Studying the economics of Apollo and the commercialization attempts of the 1980s, we show how the space sector has long featured a logic of TA. Then, analyzing recent trends, we provide quantitative empirical evidence (e.g., costs) that innovation now shapes the sector, thanks to various driving forces. The driving forces behind the innovatisation process are identified building on Jones (2022) and the disruptive innovation theory.