Investing in the Final Frontier with Andrew Chanin and Micah Walter-Range

<p>Things are really heating up in the commercial space economy.</p> <p>We <a href="https://7investing.com/articles/how-to-invest-in-the-space-economy-with-andrew-chanin-and-micah-walter-range/">noticed last year</a> that several companies were providing the underlying infrastructure that could allow private businesses to set up shop in outer space. Favorable developments like declining launch costs and the miniaturization of satellite components were driving the number of satellites seeking launch approval to increase by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/space-companies-ask-fcc-to-approve-38000-broadband-satellites.html">an order of magnitude</a>. And thanks to a flood of interest in Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs...which actually necessarily aren't all related to "SPACE"), publicly-traded options emerged for investors that included <a href="https://7investing.com/articles/launching-the-space-economy-with-rocket-lab-ceo-peter-beck-and-cfo-adam-spice/"><strong>Rocket Lab</strong></a> (Nasdaq: RKLB), <strong>Astra Space</strong> (Nasdaq: ASTR), and <strong>Virgin Galactic</strong> (Nasdaq: SPCE).</p> <p>Yet quite a lot has also changed in the world during just these past six months. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted governments to double-down on their space-based military operations, especially for satellite surveillance. Out-of-control inflation has driven the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates, making it more difficult for capital-intensive businesses who conduct space-based operations to raise funding. And the fascination of space from billionaire entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos has led <strong>Space-X's&nbsp;</strong>Falcon Heavy, <strong>Virgin Galactic's</strong>SpaceShip, and <strong>Amazon's </strong>(Nasdaq: AMZN) Project Kuiper to transform what was once science fiction into commercial realities.</p> <p>What will all of this mean for investors? Are escalating international conflicts re-invigorating the militarization of space? W