The human spaceflight as an opportunity for companies in the new space economy

The experience of the Sistema Paese in the mission Ax-3 Voluntas, led by the’Italian Air Force, and the economic growth opportunities of the sector are the topics at the center of the event held today in Milan, at the PwC Tower, under the title “Human Spaceflight: Opportunities for Italian companies in the New Space economy”They intervened the’On. Andrea Mascaretti, President of the parliamentary intergroup on the Space Economy; the General SA Francesco Vestito, Commander 1 Air Region of the Air Force; the Col. Walter Villadei, Air Force and pilot of the Ax-3 mission; Luca Vincenzo Maria Salamone, Director General of the Italian Space Agency; Matt Ondler, President of Axiom Space; Cesare Battaglia, Partner PwC Italy; Alessandro Grandinetti, Markets & Clients Leader of PwC Italy. The event was also attended by Gen. Chief Inspector Giuseppe Antonio LUPOLI.

For Italy, the Ax-3 mission fits into a strategic vision shared by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Industry and Made in Italy (delegated to Space), the Ministry of Agricultural Policies, Food Sovereignty and Forests, the Air Force and the Italian Space Agency. The Ax-3 mission was aimed at promoting a Secure and effective access to Space and to support the development of national skills to increase the role of Italian companies and start-ups in the New Space Economy.

According to the analysis by PwC Italy, the market of Economy of Space It represents an interesting opportunity for Italian companies, with an average annual growth of +11% compared to €470 billion in 2023, with the goal of reaching €1,000 billion in 2030.

It was precisely the Ax-3 mission that saw the Air Force astronaut Col. Walter Villadei complete, during his three weeks of stay in microgravity, 18 days on the International Space Station. International Space Station, Scientific activities in collaboration with the’Italian Space Agency, Universities and research centers. The involvement of public and private actors, some of which are already leaders in the space sector, others operating in related or completely different fields – such as the companies Dallara, Mental Economy, GVM Assistance and Spacewear –, allows for an increase in the national technological and application level related to space.

After greeting the present participants, General SA Vestito, recalling the collaboration between the Air Force and universities and research institutions in the field of aerospace medicine, which dates back to the early years of its existence, emphasized: “The Aeronautica Militare, with Axiom, has brought technological, medical and scientific experiments into orbit, today as yesterday. With the entry of these new commercial entities, we are putting our experience at your disposal by presenting ourselves as a point of contact between them, other institutions and the entrepreneurial world.”.

Matt Ondler, Axiom Space President, said:“The Memorandum of Understanding between Axiom Space and the Italian government marks a new chapter in space exploration. This collaboration – he explained – aims to bring Italian expertise into orbit, with the possible development of an Italian module for the Axiom Station, and offers national companies the opportunity to take part in international space missions. The creation of a joint working group will accelerate these efforts.““, added Ondler, “by expanding access to space and advancing science and technology. Together, we are working to achieve revolutionary results in the sector, for the benefit of humanity“.

Col. Walter Villadei, in thanking for the opportunity given, recalled that: “With the Ax-3 mission, the Air Force pursued an intuition, positioning itself as an integral element of the Country System. We succeeded, working with the Italian Space Agency and national industries, for the first time together. The real challenge, successfully completed, was to involve industries from sectors other than the aerospace sector, where Italy already boasts great excellence.”. “The astronaut is the final element of the value chain – concluded Col. Villadei –, but it can actively contribute to experiments, just as the pilot-experimenter contributes to the development of the technologies that they test.”.

Scenario analysis – PwC Italy
Italy plays a key role internationally in the sector: it is the seventh country in the world in terms of investment in space relative to GDP, with a total of €4.6 billion and an estimated turnover of the Aerospace market in Italy of €2.5 billion in 2022. To the national budget (approx. €1.85 billion in 2023), are added the €2.3 billion of the PNRR, in addition to €300 million from Italian participation in the Artemis program. In the next three years, more than €3 billion in Italian investments are planned in ESA. In 2024, an acceleration of public investments is expected, which by 2026 will reach approximately €7.3 billion, including contributions to ESA, ASI, PNRR funds, and European funds.