$13.9B Private Investment in Space This Century

Private investment is taking off in the field of space exploration. A total of $13.9 billion has been invested so far this century.  More than a quarter of that funding came last year when 120 venture capital firms put $3.9 billion into commercial space projects.

Last year also saw 37 commercial launches, coming close to the 51 government launches.

While the private sector investment in space exploration is growing, it is still dwarfed by U.S. government spending. So far in the 21st century, NASA has spent $360 billion (more than 25 times the total private investment).

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.