New data reveal US space economy's output is shrinking – an economist explains in 3 charts

The 'space economy' isn't just rockets and space suits – satellite data, radio and TV are all part of a broadly-defined space economy. NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP

The space industry has changed dramatically since the Apollo program put men on the moon in the late 1960s.

Today, over 50 years later, private companies are sending tourists to the edge of space and building lunar landers. NASA is bringing together 27 countries to peacefully explore the Moon and beyond, and it is using the James Webb Space Telescope to peer back in time. Private companies are playing a much larger role in space than they ever have before, though NASA and other government interests continue to drive scientific advances.