SPACE: How Enhanced Launch Vehicles Are Supporting The Booming Space Economy. “More than 6,000 satellites have been sent into orbit around Earth since the space industry’s inception some 60 years ago, according to NASA. And a report from the Satellite Industry Association claims an average of 144 were deployed every year between 2012 and 2016. That’s an increase of 53 percent over the prior five-year period and part of the booming global space economy, which is now valued at US$339.1 billion. That trend appears to be continuing as new players enter the market. While funding was once dominated by the global superpowers, private investment in the commercial sector has been fuelling the future of space exploration as companies look for market share in the space economy. Morgan Stanley estimates that the revenue generated by the global space industry may increase to $1.1 trillion or more by 2040, with the ‘most significant short- and medium-term opportunities [coming] from satellite broadband Internet access.'”