Space faring was once a science fiction fantasy of the far future.  Now we live in that future and space activity permeates our economy. The civilian space economy is surprisingly large.  According to the Satellite Industries Association, in 2018 the global space economy amounted to $360 billion.  Most of these revenues were derived from satellite information services and related ground equipment.  Satellite manufacturing and launch services amounted to $26 billion of the total. This commercial economic activity mainly results from a multitude of very large satellites.  These satellites typically weigh tons and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, up to billions of dollars, each.  Most of these involve broadcast communications, which require them to be placed in geosynchronous orbits.  GPS satellites, GLONASS, and similar navigation satellites, in mid-Earth orbits, are government investments for military and public service use....(Read Full Article)