With a renewed interest from several of the world’s space agencies, the global rocket propulsion market is projected to register notable gains from new space exploration activities by 2027. Until a couple of years ago, the world had not witnessed an appetite for space missions like that of the 1960s.

Now, however, considering SpaceX’s extensive Mars exploration ambitions, several ongoing initiatives to upgrade the capabilities of the ISS, and the kick-off of the space tourism sector by Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, experts believe that this new interest in space is far more significant than what the world witnessed during the cold war.

Space missions of an astounding scale, ambition, and variety were scheduled to take off at the start of 2020, creating an immense demand for rocket propulsion solutions. This time around, several countries other the U.S. and Russia have also planned their own sophisticated programmes.

Nations like Japan, China, and India are all increasingly foraying into the sector and vying to establish themselves as notable space powers within their own rights. The space plans these countries have include missions to Mars, the asteroids, and the much familiar lunar surface.

Recently, NASA also announced its ambitious ’Artemis’ programme, which sponsored by the newly elected Biden-Harris administration, plans to land both a person of color and a woman, the firsts for our generation, on the surface of the Moon by 2024. This has opened up another major revenue pocket for the market in the process.

Meanwhile, the industry’s other major revenue facilitator, the defense sector is also creating a distinguished demand for new products and capabilities. Several emerging economies have been heavily scaling up their defense budgets.

The overall rocket propulsion market has been classified into different segments based on fuel, orbit, end-use, vehicle, type, countries covered.

The fuel segment has been further divided into hybrid, liquid, and solid fuels. Among these, solid rocket propellants will witness a growth rate of more than 7% due to the material’s resistance to unintended detonation, and high storage stability.

With respect to orbit, the industry is divided into Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Middle Earth Orbit (MEO), and Beyond Geostationary Earth Orbit (BGEO). The MEO segment is earmarked to register remunerative gains as there has been high growth due to increasing launch of navigation and communication satellites.

Based on vehicle, the unmanned vehicles segment is set to grow at a rapid pace by 2027. There has been high demand for rocket propulsion systems in unmanned vehicles due to increasing number of robotic space exploration missions.

The end-use segment is slated to experience strong growth from commercial avenues. Rising expenditure in R&D activities by private players associated with deep space exploration will drive the demand for commercial rocket propulsion system.

By type, increasing space launch activities for exploration of celestial bodies like the moon and Mars is driving the demand for rocket motors.

From a regional perspective, India’s rocket propulsion market is expected to clock-in notable growth on the back of strong government support and increasing private participation in space activities.