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A new era

It is a development that is still young: Within 20 years, SpaceX has managed to develop a fully reusable rocket system from scratch and transition it into routine operation. 20 years ago, SpaceX was still ridiculed for his reuse concept, especially from Europe. Already in 2015, the Falcon-9 became reusable. Another 9 years later, the automatic return of the 70-meter-high booster to the launch pad was successful during the 5th Integrated Flight Test of the Starship. The SpaceX Starship, with a height of 120 meters and a payload capacity of 150 tons, is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built by humans.

The rapid technological revolution has not gone unnoticed by the public: Since April of this year, an IMAX film titled "Space: The New Frontier" has been running in American cinemas. The film shows how the ISS burns up in the atmosphere while new space stations orbit the Earth: the Space Stations from Axiom Space, the Starlabs from Voyager Space and Airbus, and Orbital Reef from Blue Origin. The film talks about production in Earth orbit and shows ordinary citizens as astronauts. The film states, "A second golden age of space has quietly dawned on us, with new hope for humanity as a spacefaring species. In the quest to make human spaceflight accessible within a decade, not a century, and ultimately affordable to ordinary citizens ...". "Making space affordable for ordinary citizens." is a revolution. What is still in need of explanation in Europe – with moderate success – is already being shown and understood in films in amusement parks in the USA.
With the Space Transport System of the Starship, which is being mass-produced, reusable, steel construction, up to 150 tons payload capacity, cost-effective oxygen-methane propulsion, transport costs are expected to fall to 100 USD / kg and lower, making it accessible to all economic sectors. At the same time, new private and also significantly cheaper Space Stations (e.g., the Starlab stations and the Axiom station) are creating sufficient orbital capacities. The manufacturing of the Starlab, which is only half the size of the ISS in terms of volume, will cost significantly less than just the operation of the ISS for a single year. The scales are enormous.
 
Soon, the vast knowledge that has been developed thanks to the ISS for decades can now be turned into applications, into products. Products that are simpler, cheaper, better, and more reliable to manufacture in microravity than on Earth, such as semiconductors, optic fibers, but especially biomedical products like drugs, human tissue from stem cells for transplants, or tumor organoids for precision medicine. Many economists expect a new industrial revolution in low Earth orbit towards the end of this decade. The affordable use will also drive further research and development. A boost in orbital technologies and utilization is expected. Thus, orbital space flight will see soon a similarly large leap as aviation about 100 years ago, when it developed from the experimental stage to a regular means of transport in mass production within 20 years.
We are now entering an era of liberation and democratization of space travel. Due to the massively falling costs, low Earth orbit will become accessible to all countries, large and small, richer and poorer. Everyone will benefit from the use of space. Our children will grow up with an understanding of space, just as we today understand the Internet.

This requires sufficient production and transport capacities at economically reasonable prices and efficient knowledge transfer from research institutions to application. The Canton of Zurich has recognized these developments and defined "Space" as one of the three innovation flagships of the canton with the government council decision of April 10, 2024 (RRB No. 372/2024). Flagships are pioneering initiatives that have national and international radiance for the innovation location Zurich and achieve a sustainable impact in an economic sector.

The Principality of Liechtenstein, as the first German-speaking country, enacted a space law on October 5, 2023, and since 2024 has established a Space Affairs department at the national administration. Liechtenstein analyzes the economic opportunities and potentials in space precisely and is making preparations to use the New Space Economy for the benefit of the country and its citizens.