The Future Isn’t Just Digital, It’s Orbital: Reflections on Space-Based Business Strategy

I’ve been to a lot of incredible events, but yesterday’s AGILE Global Innovation Series at The Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School left me in awe, it’s not every day that you attend an event that discusses the idea of doing business in space, let alone normalizes it.

The panel, featured some brilliant minds like Jason Michael Perry (PerryLabs), Reza Saddoughi (Northrop Grumman), Andrew Parlock (Space Phoenix Systems), and Glenn Barney (KSAT – Kongsberg Satellite Services), they delivered a message I have never heard

Space isn’t emerging. Space is here.

We’re no longer speculating about what might happen “someday.” We’re already in the midst of a $630 billion space economy, and it’s only accelerating.

This isn’t the story of Capt. Janeway of the USS Voyager. It was a real,

grounded, and strategic conversation about what space-based business really looks like now, and where the real opportunities exist.

🚀 Space: Not Just NASA Anymore

For most of my life, space felt like a government domain. NASA took the lead, launched the

missions, and carried the legacy.

Sure, I’ve kept up with the times, I know Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have been launching rockets

through SpaceX and Blue Origin, but until last night, I still thought of it as billionaires chasing

thrills. That perception shattered quickly.

Because while NASA is still exploring (Artemis, the Moon, Mars...), the bulk of what’s being sent into orbit today?It’s not for the government anymore, it’s commercial. Cell phone companies, Satellite internet providers, GPS systems, Surveillance tech, Weather tracking, and Global communications.

You, I, and everyone we know are already consumers of space-based infrastructure.We just don’t realize it. From your phone’s GPS to the weather alerts on your smartwatch, we are living in a world quietly powered by orbit. This shift isn’t coming, it’s already happened.

🛠️ Off-Earth Manufacturing and the Rise of Space-Based Business Strategy

One of the most electrifying takeaways from the event was the vision of off-Earth manufacturing.

Imagine a world where production isn’t limited by gravity, atmosphere, or geography. A world where new materials are developed and assembled in zero gravity, faster, cleaner, and more efficiently than we could ever dream of on Earth.

This isn’t science fiction. It’s already in motion. Right now, the bulk of the space economy is still service-based, infrastructure, communications, data. But the conversation is shifting fast toward production and manufacturing in orbit. And it’s not just institutional. It’s personal.

Kerry Perry has been to space, Jeff Bezos is selling seats through Blue Origin, Elon Musk is launching rockets almost weekly with SpaceX, laying the groundwork for long-term orbital infrastructure.

Gemini's depictions of what a commercial space station will look like.

These aren’t PR stunts.

These are economic signals.

Then came another realization: The International Space Station, our longstanding orbital lab, is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2030. So, what’s next?

According to last night’s panelists, we’re entering an era of commercialization and privatization.

Private space stations, Private labs, and Private manufacturing platforms.

And all of this means:

If your business doesn’t have a space strategy yet, it should.

Because whether you're in logistics, data, content, energy, healthcare, or design, space is going to impact the way you operate. It will open new markets, enable new platforms, and demand entirely new narratives.

🌌 What Could Orbital Manufacturing Actually Look Like?

We’re not just talking rockets. We’re talking real industry, real outputs, real transformation.

• In healthcare, microgravity environments enable purer drug synthesis, organ printing, and advanced tissue growth.

• In technology, fiber optics and semiconductors can be produced with fewer defects and greater precision.

• In agriculture, zero-gravity research on hydroponics and cell-grown food could help solve Earth’s sustainability crisis.

  
  

This isn’t some far-off dream. This is what happens when infrastructure meets imagination and it’s only the beginning.

🔭 This Is How My Agency Stays Ahead

At my agency, we pride ourselves on exploring new and uncharted territory, technological, creative, and conceptual, and asking how we can serve it. That’s why we’re already considering how a space-based business strategy can future-proof the brands we build.

That’s how we stay ahead. We don’t just react to innovation. We chase it. We don’t just follow markets. We map them.

This isn’t about launching a satellite tomorrow. It’s about recognizing that the rules of communication, commerce, and culture are shifting, upward.

Today, my mind is still lit up.

I spent the afternoon in conversation with one of the most brilliant space-tech thinkers I’ve ever met. And for the first time, I found myself sketching out what branding, messaging, and content strategy might look like in the age of space-based infrastructure.

How do we build a brand that exists both on Earth and off it? How do we prepare clients to tell their story across continents, and across orbits?

These are the questions I’m now asking.And that’s the work I want to be doing.

🛰️ Sidebar: What Is Space-Based Infrastructure?

Most of what we rely on every day is already powered by satellites in orbit:

• GPS → Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), ~12,550 miles up

• Cell phones & internet → increasingly powered by Low Earth Orbit (LEO) networks like Starlink

• Weather, TV, global communications → handled by Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites

• Emerging R&D, manufacturing, and space stations → all happening in LEO and beyond

These satellites form the space-based infrastructure we now depend on, quietly enabling global business, connectivity, and navigation.

💡 The Takeaway

Yesterday’s event didn’t just inform me, it transformed the way I think about innovation.I wasn’t fully prepared for this topic. But now that it’s here, I’ve fully embraced it.

It reminded me that space isn’t just about science, or science fiction.

It’s about strategy.

The future of business isn’t just digital, It’s orbital, and it’s already here.

📡 Ready to Explore Your Space Strategy?

If this sparked something in you, good. Whether you're a founder, a strategist, or just space-curious, now is the time to think bigger. Beyond platforms. Beyond campaigns. Beyond Earth.

At our agency, we help brands craft future-forward strategies, the kind that thrive in shifting markets, emerging tech, and yes, even orbit.

Let’s explore how your brand can lead in the era of space-based infrastructure.

Lets Connect

📥 Reach out to us to start the conversation:👉

Or connect with me directly on MLof Strategies

Because the future isn’t just coming.It’s launching.