Subject: Traditionally, space agencies in the space sector have provided comprehensive specifications and mission objectives to space companies. This approach aimed to cultivate industrial capabilities, and manage the high-risk nature of space activities. However, now that space agencies pursue innovative procurement practices, they often find themselves restricted by the need to contract sub-systems and projects to the same companies. This limitation arises not only from considerations of geographical return on investment, but also from the lack of a fully developed and competitive space industry ecosystem. While innovative procurement approaches adopted by agencies like NASA and ESA have shown promise in supporting novel designs, reducing costs and timelines, and fostering new startups, a one-size-fits-all strategy remains difficult to design and achieve. This is due to the inherent variability in agency objectives, project characteristics, and the market landscape across different contexts.

Objective of the thesis: This thesis explores a hybrid procurement model for space agencies transitioning to commercial procurement practices. The aim is to investigate modular toolboxes (e.g., of parallel development, ecosystem building, and sub-toolboxes like prototyping) that blend traditional practices with innovative, commercially-driven approaches. The goal is a controlled shift towards commercialization while managing critical factors of innovative strategies. It will also consider the potential for strategic backtracking towards conventional practices to ensure mission success.