OP
Orbital ProgressMARKET FORMATION // SPACE ECONOMY
Institute for Market Formation in the Space EconomyIndependent · Dallas · Global ambition
A new frontier is opening.

A new frontier of human prosperity.

Orbital Progress advances a market-driven space economy through independent research, convening and practical engagement. We connect the people building the frontier with the capital and institutions that help it flourish.

Why Texas

Texas leads in space. Dallas leads in capital formation. OP connects the two.

Texas brings the engineers, manufacturing and launch corridors. Dallas brings financial leadership. We connect those strengths to advance commercial markets around the world.

What we do

Ideas. Leadership. Action.

Building a space economy takes insight, relationships and sustained work. Our three areas of activity reinforce one another.

01 · Convening

Convening

Bringing investors, operators and policymakers together around the decisions that shape commercial space markets.

02 · Research

Research

Publishing original frameworks, market signals and sector studies on where durable demand is forming and what helps it grow.

03 · Ecosystem engagement

Ecosystem engagement

Connecting founders and operators with the capital, expertise and relationships needed to develop commercial markets.

Convening in action · December 7, 2026 · Dallas

Space Economy Leadership Forum

Y'all Street: meet the space economy.

The Space Economy Leadership Forum brings 30 to 40 investors, operators and public leaders together in Dallas to explore emerging demand, growing businesses and the commercial foundations of the space economy.

Attendance is by invitation only.

Satellite view of North America at dawn, with light spreading across Texas and Dallas glowing at the center of a network of connections.
§01.1 · Open in the library

Understanding what comes next.

B · 04 PUBLISHED
Brief · August 2026

The $100-Per-Kilogram Question

What happens to spacecraft design, manufacturing, orbital data centers, and market formation when launch approaches $100 per kilogram?

Dan Garretson
READING TIME 12 MIN
B · 03 PUBLISHED
Brief · July 2026

From Lunar Landing to Lunar Land Rights

A self-sustaining lunar economy requires more than government missions. It requires paying customers, entrepreneurs, committed capital, and durable rights in what participants build and operate.

John Chisholm & Dan Garretson · READING TIME 5 MIN
F · 01FRAMEWORK
Framework · April 2026

Sizing the Space-Sustaining Economy

How the space economy's operator core is structured, and where commercial markets are starting to form.

Open reportW. D. Garretson, Ph.D.
READING TIME 14 MIN
C · 01
PUBLISHED
Case · February 2026

Axiom Space: Productizing Human Access to Orbit

Designing a market for post-ISS human spaceflight.

W. D. Garretson, Ph.D.
READING TIME 15 MIN
F · 02Framework
Framework · November 2025

Missions vs. Markets: The Space Economy Needs a Better Map

A demand-first framework for understanding where value is created in the space economy, and why the current definitions fall short.

W. D. Garretson
READING TIME 12 MIN
MS · 02Market Signal
Market Signal · February 2026

The Ignition Choice: Build a Market or Become a Contractor

NASA's lunar Ignition program opens a real opportunity for cislunar suppliers. The companies that build repeatable products for many customers, not just one program, are the ones positioned to grow.

W. D. Garretson
READING TIME 10 MIN
B · 01Brief
December 2025

When Mission Logic Broke: Lessons from the SpaceX Inflection Point

Why one company crossed the boundary between missions and markets, and what it took to get there.

W. D. Garretson
READING TIME 9 MIN
§04 · Founding Circle

Help shape the next great frontier.

Support independent research, business leadership and practical engagement that help the promise of space become lasting prosperity.