WHAT IF WE COULD CREATE A SPACE TECH

GLOBAL VALUE CHAIN ?

About SpaceBrains

 As networks grow larger, the cost increases, but the value of the product and services increases faster, while with economy of scales the contrary applies for cost. For example, the fact that Apple sells a lot of iPhone does not mean that it benefits from network effects; a large volume of sales may provide economies of scale as cost per phone decreases. We could nevertheless think that customers want to buy an iPhone because they can use iMessage with their friends.

Network effects are also valuable as they do not require much maintenance. Once they are built, they tend to perpetuate themselves.

Network effects are present in the Space business applications, and it is strongly fostered by the European Space Agency network of companies. The visualisation of the relatively complex Network Effect is made by the chart shown below.

The modern network visualisation technique is meant to represent the vast database of contractual relationships between the ESA BASS project prime and subcontractors in a compact manner. Note that each node is title with the two digit ISO-country code and the node is located on the geographical coordinates of each European country’s capital; e.g. DE node is located based on Berlin’s coordinates.

Exchanges network visualisation

The information visualised can be summarised in:

• The size of value exchange of each country into ESA BASS is proportional to the size of the node (or bubble); e.g. the GB is represented by the largest one, having contributed.

• Each node colour is associated with the number of subcontracted activities issued by the prime contractor residing in the respective Member State. Darker colours are associated with higher numbers of exchange activities. 

• As per every network, the formation of two obvious hubs for Space applications in GB and DE is observed also confirmed by the quantitative measures of network “betweenness” and “centrality”.

• The arrowed lines from one node to the other show the direction of exchanges from one country to the others. The largest edges in red correspond to the largest exchange of activities.

The WorldBank study indicates that one of the key virtues of factory Europe is the capability to determine GVC, it is argued that this may be due to their contingent necessity to broaden the market beyond the national borders in search of growth opportunities.

Network Effect fostered by the European Space Agency - in the field of Space Tech - enhances that virtue because the partnerships created during projects are an ideal platform to quickly access markets abroad. Fringe benefits includes very high productivity of the SpaceTech sector comparable to mining and utilities sectors and an enviable education positive externality towards STEM subjects.