A New Horizon Beckons

(4-5 minute read)

There are moments in history that don’t announce themselves clearly at the time. They don’t arrive with a single headline or a defining event that everyone immediately recognizes as significant.

Instead, they emerge quietly, almost indirectly, through a series of developments that, taken one by one, feel interesting but not transformative. It is only when you step back and look at them together that the pattern begins to take shape.

I have the growing sense that we may be living through one of those moments now.

When I was a young boy, I remember watching the Apollo missions, not the very first landings that captured the world’s full attention, but the ones that came afterwards, when space travel had already become something we had proven we could do. Even then, there was still a feeling that this was the beginning of a journey rather than the end of one. The idea that humanity would continue outward, that we would build on what had been achieved and keep going, felt almost inevitable.

And then, gradually, that beautiful feeling of excitement faded.

The decades that followed were not empty of achievement. The Space Shuttle was an extraordinary piece of engineering. Spacelab extended what we could do in orbit. There were scientific advances and technical milestones that mattered.

Yet something had shifted in the tone of it all. The romance had drained away. Space became something managed by bureaucrats rather than explored, something procedural rather than visionary. It remained impressive, though it no longer felt like the frontier.

For a long time, that was simply accepted as the way things were.

What has changed in recent years is not just that activity has increased again, but that the nature of that activity feels fundamentally different. The Artemis missions circling the Moon are not simply symbolic returns to a familiar destination. They are part of a broader effort to establish presence, to build systems that support longer-term operations, and to lay the groundwork for something that extends beyond a single visit.

At the same time, a quieter but arguably more significant transformation has been taking place closer to Earth with the arrival of the space entrepreneurs.

Starlink is perhaps the clearest example of this shift. Thousands of satellites have been placed into orbit, forming a communications network that is already serving millions of users around the world. This is not an experimental system or a demonstration project. It is operational, expanding, and generating substantial revenue. Estimates vary, but it is widely believed that Starlink is now producing somewhere in the region of $10 to $15 billion a year, with expectations that this will continue to grow as coverage and adoption increase.

That single development changes the equation.

For the first time, space-based infrastructure is not just technically possible but commercially viable at scale. It’s not dependent on government budgets or long-term grants. It generates its own momentum.

SpaceX, as a whole, reflects that shift. The company’s revenues are now believed to be in the mid-teens of billions annually, supported by both launch services and Starlink, and its valuation has climbed accordingly. Discussions around a potential future listing suggest a valuation that could reach into the high hundreds of billions, possibly approaching or exceeding a trillion dollars under certain scenarios.

If the over trillion-dollar estimates are correct, that will be the biggest stock market launch in history.

Whether or not those numbers prove exact is less important than the direction they point to. This is no longer a niche industry. It is becoming a major economic force.

Alongside that, companies like Rocket Lab are carving out their own space within the emerging ecosystem. While much smaller, their growth has been notable. Revenues have risen from tens of millions a few years ago to several hundred million dollars annually today, and the company is steadily expanding its capabilities beyond launch into satellite systems and broader space infrastructure. It is still early in its journey, though the trajectory suggests that it is positioning itself to be part of a much larger industry rather than a peripheral participant.

When you look at these developments together, something becomes clear.

This is no longer just exploration or scientific curiosity.

It is the early construction phase of a vibrant economy.

That distinction matters, because exploration can pause. It can be scaled back, delayed, or redirected depending on priorities. Curiosity can be frustrated by budget pressures. An economy, once it begins to take shape, tends to expand. It attracts investment, talent, and competition. It creates feedback loops that reinforce growth.

You can see that dynamic beginning to form now.

There is renewed talk of lunar bases, not as distant ambitions but as projects that are actively being planned. There is a growing sense of competition between major powers, particularly the United States and China, each recognizing that a sustained presence in space will have long-term strategic implications. There are private companies building launch systems, satellite networks, and supporting technologies that extend well beyond anything we have seen before.

Perhaps most importantly, the tone has changed.

There is excitement again.

Not the brief excitement of a single mission or announcement, but something more sustained. A feeling that progress is building, that each step is leading to another, and that the direction of travel is outward rather than circular.

For me, that shift connects directly back to those early memories of watching the Apollo era unfold, though with one crucial difference. This time, it does not feel like something driven by a single nation or a single program. It feels broader, more distributed, and in many ways more resilient because of that.

Over the past few weeks, I have found myself thinking about what this means on a personal level.

I have spent much of my working life investing in areas that are tangible and immediate, property, finance, technology, businesses and opportunities where the mechanics are relatively clear and the outcomes, while never certain, are grounded in systems we understand well. This feels different. It sits further out, both in terms of time horizon and in terms of complexity, yet it carries a sense of significance that is difficult to ignore.

At some point, it stopped feeling like an abstract trend and started feeling like something I didn’t want to simply watch from the sidelines.

As a result, I have decided that I am going to allocate a portion of my investment capital into this sector. Specifically, I am looking at companies like Rocket Lab, and, if the opportunity presents itself in the future, potentially SpaceX as well.

This is absolutely not a recommendation for anyone else. It is not advice. Everyone’s situation is different, and decisions like this need to be made in that context.

I may be completely wrong, and this may turn out to be a poor investment in purely financial terms.

But for me, this is not about a potential economic return, it is something else.

It is a way of aligning myself, in a small but deliberate way, with a direction that I believe is important. It is a commitment, a way of expressing a belief about where the long-term trajectory of humanity is likely to lead. It is a way for me to be involved in a future I care deeply about.

Because when you step back and look at the pattern, it becomes increasingly difficult to argue that our future remains confined to a single planet.

There will be setbacks. There always are when new frontiers are opened. There will be technical failures, financial missteps, and periods where progress appears to stall. Yet the underlying trend, the accumulation of capability, infrastructure, and knowledge, is moving in one direction.

Outward.

If that is true, then the period we are living through now may, in hindsight, be seen as the early stage of a transition that unfolds over decades rather than years. A time when the foundations were laid, often quietly, often imperfectly, but with enough momentum to carry the process forward.

That is a long-term view, and it will not play out exactly as expected. Few things ever do. Still, I will invest because I am investing in my dreams and humanity’s future.

There is something compelling about recognizing that we may once again be at the beginning of something rather than at the end of it.

A return, in a sense, to that earlier feeling.

Not to something that has already been achieved, but something remarkable that is only just beginning.

And that raises an interesting question.

When you look at what is happening now, does it feel like another cycle of excitement that will eventually fade, or does it feel like the early stages of something more permanent this time?

I know my answer.

Until next time,
Brian
BA Gillies

PS: I recently read Semper Die by Jonathan Shuerger, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. His book is featured just below.

What really stood out was the authenticity running through every scene. It feels earned rather than written. Jonathan is a US Marine veteran, and that experience comes through clearly in the detail, the tone, and the way the action unfolds.

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