At SpaceNEXT, the conversation about the space economy felt less like theory and more like a working session on how to actually build it. This was not a futuristic brainstorm about what might happen someday. It was a grounded discussion about what is already happening and what still needs to move. And one theme kept surfacing throughout the session: innovation does not scale without capital.
Preston Dunlap, founder and managing partner of Arkenstone Capital, framed the discussion around what it really takes to build tomorrow’s space enterprise. Technology matters. Tenacity matters. But without aligned capital, even the best ideas stall out on the launchpad.
Commerce and Technology Have to Move Together
Dunlap has spent decades at the intersection of national security, advanced technology, and private investment. His career has spanned senior government roles and deep engagement with private industry. But what stood out in this session was not just his resume. It was his mindset.
“You have to bring commerce and tech together with tenacity and drive,” he said.
That drive, he shared, traces back to his grandfather, who is about to turn 105. On the front lines of World War II, his grandfather was known for making planes without wings fly again. Agility. Ingenuity. No excuses. That inheritance of grit is not just a family story. It is a blueprint for how space innovation actually happens.
And it is where capital comes in.
Capital Is the Accelerator
For years, the space economy conversation centered on government programs. Today, that picture is broader.
Global government spending on space now exceeds $110 billion annually. The United States accounts for roughly $75 billion of that across agencies like NOAA, the Department of War, and NASA. Government remains the anchor tenant. In fact, investors and companies alike increasingly recognize that in the near term, the best partner is still the federal government.
But private capital is stepping in more aggressively than ever.
Arkenstone Capital, for example, invests in industrial companies with a strong focus on space. The strategy is not speculative hype. It is grounded in industrial technology, data infrastructure, and national security relevance. The space economy is not just rockets and astronauts. It is supply chains, advanced manufacturing, resilient systems, and increasingly, data centers.
Dunlap noted that just a few months ago, we began hearing about data centers in space. That would have sounded like science fiction a decade ago. Now it is a serious conversation about how to leverage resources both here on Earth and in orbit.
Capital makes those bets possible.
Launch Costs, Mega Constellations, and Scale
Dunlap pointed out that the last seven years alone tell the story. In 2018, there were just two Starlink satellites in orbit. Today, Starlink operates thousands of satellites, and other mega constellations are rising alongside it. The rapid scaling of infrastructure is not accidental. It is the result of lowered launch costs, improved reliability, and sustained capital investment.
SpaceX has played a central role in driving down launch costs, which in turn has unlocked new commercial models. More affordable access to orbit fuels experimentation. Experimentation fuels iteration. Iteration attracts capital.
There is even speculation that a future SpaceX IPO could make it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. Whether that timeline accelerates or stretches out, the signal is clear. Space is no longer a niche market. It is becoming foundational infrastructure.
Security and Adversarial Behavior
The conversation was not all optimism. Dunlap raised a critical question: What do you do with a bad actor in space?
Adversarial behavior can create debris, threaten commercial assets, and even put lives at risk. There is an active global policy debate about norms of behavior in orbit. What is appropriate? What is deterrence? What is escalation?
Ironically, adversarial activity is also driving innovation. The need for resilience, redundancy, and rapid reconstitution pushes both government and commercial players to move faster. That urgency attracts capital because it creates real demand.
Innovation does not thrive in a vacuum. It responds to pressure.
Government as Catalyst, Capital as Multiplier
It has taken a blend of commercial and government effort to make space pathways more reliable, efficient, and effective. Government demand de-risks early investment. Private capital scales it.
That partnership is shaping what many began calling the “space economy” in 2022. The fully commercial end state may still be around the corner, but the foundation is being poured now. Industrial tech investors, institutional capital, and strategic funds are increasingly active. They are looking at dual-use technologies, resilient infrastructure, and long-term orbital assets.
Dunlap outlined the formula clearly: drive, urgency, technical expertise, focus, capital, and support. That support often comes from government or institutional anchors. Capital ensures the mission does not stall between prototype and production.
Building Tomorrow’s Space Enterprise
The space economy is not just about rockets lifting off. It is about capital flowing in the right direction.
It is about recognizing that innovation requires fuel. Sometimes that fuel is policy. Sometimes it is talent. Increasingly, it is private investment aligned with national security and commercial viability.
If the last decade was about proving what was possible, the next decade will be about scaling what works. And scaling takes capital.
At SpaceNEXT, that message landed clearly. The future of space will be built by engineers and operators. But it will be accelerated by investors who understand that the ultimate high ground is not just orbital. It is economic.
