Chapter 4 of 15Space & aerospace16 min read · 11 exhibits

Critical Infrastructure Bottlenecks & Investment Opportunities

Where exactly does infrastructure constrain growth, and how large is each gap?

Chapter summary

This is the memorandum's central chapter. A $626B economy on track for $1.8T by 2035 is limited by six pieces of infrastructure. Each is rated by severity, from an active economic constraint to missing infrastructure that prevents new markets from forming.

Key takeaways

1
Ground stations: 400 serve 14,300+ active payloads, with 300% oversubscription expected by 2030.
2
Xenon for electric propulsion: global output is about 40–60 tonnes a year, and prices spiked 300% in 2022–23.
3
Rad-hard electronics grow 5.76% a year, against satellite production growth of 15–25%.

Sections

4.1 Ground Station Saturation
4.2 Orbital Debris Crisis
4.3 Electric Propulsion Supply Chain
4.4 Launch Vehicle Production Capacity
4.5 Radiation-Hardened Semiconductor Shortage
4.6 Orbital Refueling Infrastructure Gap

11 exhibits

4.1 Launch production and rad-hard fabs need the most capital; ground, debris and propulsion are critical but smaller tickets
4.2 Debris removal stands out: the fastest-growing market around any gap, for a modest capital need
4.3 Bottleneck targets with research or contract activity on record
4.4 Orbital Debris Crisis grows most, 5.4× in 5 years ($150M → $807M)
4.5 Key figures: Ground Station Saturation
4.6 Ground station capacity model
4.7 Key figures: Orbital Debris Crisis
4.8 Key figures: Electric Propulsion Supply Chain
4.9 Key figures: Launch Vehicle Production Capacity
4.10 Key figures: Radiation-Hardened Semiconductor Shortage
4.11 Key figures: Orbital Refueling Infrastructure Gap

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Coverage Areas — Six Critical Subsectors

2026–2030 Investment Roadmap

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