Space industry is getting a boost from venture backers

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More than two billion US dollars of private capital has been invested in the commercial space industry companies in 2017, according to a latest report from investment firm Space Angels released on Wednesday.

It's for the first time that commercial launches have outpaced government-sponsored launches.

Following Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who respectively started Space X and Blue Origin, more and more venture backers are racing to enter the space market.

Space X/Tech in Asia Photo

According to the report, personal investments contribute 48 percent of the whole investment in the field of commercial space development in 2017.

At the same time, venture capital accounts for 44 percent and corporation makes up seven percent. The number of companies investing in space this year has climbed to 59, up from five in 2011, said Space Angels. However, it peaked at 89 in 2015.

Number of VCs investing in space./CNBC Photo,

2009 was called “the dawn of the entrepreneurial space age” by Space Angels CEO Chad Anderson. He pointed out that numbers of private space investment have come in recent years, as 88 percent of the almost 250 space ventures have been financed over the past eight years.

Jeff Bezos/Quarts Photo

In fact, Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicted that the space industry could climb to at least 2.7 trillion US dollars in the next three decades, which is up from 350 billion US dollars at present.