Morgan Stanley is serious about investing in outer space and just had its first conference about it

[Elderberry]

CNBC by Michael Sheetz 12/12/2018

Key Points

    The event “included participation from private and public space companies and investors,” Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients on Wednesday.
    A dozen space-related companies spoke at the event, as well as a host of Morgan Stanley analysts.
    Attendees who spoke to CNBC after the event called remarks by OneWeb CEO Adrián Steckel the highlight of the day.

Morgan Stanley asked three questions of the 12 companies and firms that spoke:

How urgently the Department of Defense needs a Space Force?

When will a human being will next step foot on the moon?

What is their best single investment idea for space?

Here’s what Morgan Stanley said about their answers:

    Need for a Space Force: “On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the greatest sense of urgency. The average of the responses was 3.5.”

    When a human will next step on the Moon: “The answers ranged from 2022 to 2030, with an average answer of 2025. 10 out of the 12 presenters believe China will be the next to put a human on the moon before the US.”

    Single best space investment idea: “Blue Origin and in space manufacturing got the most frequent mentions.”

Attendees who spoke to CNBC after the event called remarks by OneWeb CEO Adrián Steckel the highlight of the day. According to two attendees, Steckel revealed OneWeb plans to launch only two-thirds of the previously announced 900 satellites for its broadband internet constellation. Steckel explained that OneWeb only needs to put 600 satellites in 12 orbits, rather than 18, to get global coverage, the people attending said.

More: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/12/heres-what-happened-at-morgan-stanleys-inaugural-space-investing-summit.html