LEIZ presents research programme on the Relational Space Economy
Under the heading of the “Relational Space Economy”, LEIZ is pursuing a new research programme on how economic activity in outer space should be organised. Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland and his team presented the approach on 24 September 2026 at the first IQIB Orbital Science-Policy Forum in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. The event was hosted by IQIB – Institut für qualifizierende Innovationsforschung und -beratung GmbH in cooperation with the German Space Agency at DLR.
Under the overarching theme “Resilience through orbital infrastructures”, senior representatives from academia, politics, public administration, business and the military discussed how space technologies contribute to the resilience of modern societies. In the panel “Innovation and the Orbital Economy”, LEIZ Director Josef Wieland outlined a space economy that treats outer space and its resources as a global commons. He placed cooperation among all stakeholders involved at the centre: only if it succeeds, he argued, will sustainable value creation in space be possible.
Shahban Ali Shah and Jonas Stark also presented LEIZ’s current activities in the field of the space economy. The rapid expansion of public and private space activities is giving rise to a new economic sphere whose institutional design is still in its infancy. What kind of governance, which forms of cooperation and which institutions should shape future space activities remains largely unresolved. Against this background, the “Relational Space Economy” working group is developing research-based guidance for companies, governments and international organisations.
The ideas presented at the forum also form the basis of a book project currently being prepared by the researchers involved. The volume will set out the conceptual foundations of the approach and its significance for the future shape of the space economy.
The “Relational Space Economy” working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration between LEIZ, IQIB and further associated partners.
