Traditionally Earth-bound companies, industries and investors are now looking to space as a place to do business, compete and invest.

Why it matters: The space economy's continued growth hinges on space companies proving their worth to non-space entities, and moving beyond established industry partnerships and government contract money.

Investors and companies outside of the space industry are looking to space to add value to their own companies.

The intrigue: The ways space companies sell themselves to potential business partners and investors have also changed in the last 10 years and continue to evolve.

Between the lines: The space industry is also being seen as a source of competition with terrestrial companies in some sectors, BryceTech's Carissa Christensen tells Axios.

The big picture: Entrepreneurial attention from success stories like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson has also brought more interest from outside of the space industry, Christensen says.

What to watch: Venture funding for space companies started to surge in 2015, according to Christensen, so now is about the time when the space efforts funded then will start to prove they are viable — or begin to fail.