NewSpace (also written "new space") refers to the wave of private, venture-backed space companies that disrupted the traditional aerospace industry by applying Silicon Valley-style iteration, vertical integration, and commercial business models to space. SpaceX is the archetype, but the movement encompasses hundreds of companies across launch, satellites, Earth observation, in-space services, and space manufacturing.
The NewSpace movement was enabled by falling component costs (driven by the smartphone revolution), dramatically reduced launch prices (driven by SpaceX), and a growing pool of venture capital willing to fund space startups. Between 2012 and 2025, private investment in space companies exceeded $300 billion. The term is increasingly obsolete as the commercial approach has become the default model for most new space ventures, and legacy contractors have adopted many NewSpace practices.