KICKSTARTING NEW SPACE: AN ANALYSIS OF CROWD FUNDING AS A MEANS TO JUMP START SPACE-RELATED ENTREPRENEURIAL ENTERPRISES

摘要

In 2012, Liftport Group initiated a Kirkstarter campaign to raise 8000to buildatest"climber" devicetotestcapubilitiesofaproposedlunarelevator. Bytheendofthecampaign,theyhadraised100,000. While such success may appear an exception to the rule of crowd funding, it is by no means a fluke. as other space or space-related startups are testing the waters to varying degrees of success. But. it has become clear that the relatively new phenomenon of crowd sourcing is rapidly cementing itself as a new feature in the economic landscape, and not merely a passing fad. In this analysis, the Author will look deeper into the area of crowd funding, what has succeeded and what has not in the realms of space entrepreneurship and advocacy, and take a look ahead to what may be possible in the future.