Space Economy & Technology Infographics: Opportunities for Individual Creators (Part 7)

Table of Contents

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to provide creators, or aspiring creators, with an overview of opportunities to carve out a niche in Space Economy & Technology infographics.

The article covers off: what topics are currently well covered, what topics are not well covered, what types of tools are available to create infographics, and some sources of information that can be used as a basis for infographics.

If you have read Part 0 or Part 1 of this series, you can skip over the next section.

Introduction to Infographics

An infographic is a graphic visual representation of information or data. They illustrate information clearly and quickly in a graphic format – which would otherwise be lengthy and complex in text form. They are the visual equivalent of a soundbite.

Infographics are ideal for communicating with an online audience whose attention and time are both very limited.

Infographics are generally made available online using social media, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, LinkedIn. A compelling infographic will often be propagated to a large audience as a result of readers’ interactions with the content, e.g. quoted tweet, retweeted, forwarded/shared, up voted, liked, viewed, commented. This organic amplification of the audience makes infographics attractive for organizations or individuals looking to promote themselves through social media.

553 Retweets

52 Quote Retweets

3,022 Likes

Infographics can help: build brand awareness and reputation; generate sales leads; increase subscribers to newsletters and social media accounts; drive traffic to websites, online stores and social media accounts.

Infographics can vary widely in their type and style. However, a characteristic that all infographics have in common is that they are “stand alone”, which is to say that they do not need any further explanation to be understood.

The most common types of infographics are: statistical; informational; timeline; process; comparison; geographical; hierarchical; and list. Some infographics are a combination of two or more types.

From a style perspective, some infographics can be very graphic-heavy and others can be a graphic-lite visualization of data.

Note that infographics aren’t just for social media. Once created, they can be (re)used in different electronic, print and physical assets, including: presentations; videos; training materials; newsletters; sales emails; posters; brochures; mobile apps; background wallpapers for computers and mobile devices; books/e-books; reports; flyers; and online store products such as T-shirts, framed prints, etc.

There are different types of infographic content creators, including: individuals; not-for-profit organizations; governments; NGOs; educational institutions; commercial product and services companies; and media organizations.

Content creators will tailor their infographics to the intended audience, e.g. sales prospects, space enthusiasts, general public, students.

Characteristics of successful infographics include: an interesting topic that readers will want to share; well researched and accurate data; and a visually compelling design.

Currently Active Infographics Topics

Currently, creators are generating infographics, related to Space Economy & Technology, on the following topics:

Launch facilities construction progress
- SpaceX KSC
- SpaceX Starbase
Launch vehicles production progress
- NASA Space Launch System
- SpaceX Starship and Booster
Spacecraft reuse statistics
- SpaceX Crew Dragon 2
- SpaceX Cargo Dragon 2
Boosters reuse statistics, e.g. number of times flown, refurbishment time
- SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy
- Blue Origin New Shepard
Launch mission information announcements
- Launches
- Landings
- Major test events
Launch mission schedules and timelines
- SpaceX Falcon Heavy scheduled missions
- SpaceX timeline to Mars
- SpaceX Starship progress towards first orbital launch
Launch vehicles testing activity
- SpaceX Starbase
- SpaceX McGregor
Launch activity statistics
- Yearly crewed launches and timeline
- Yearly launches by launch vehicle
- Yearly launches by organization
- Cumulative launches by launch vehicle
- Year to date launches by type, e.g. satellite, crewed, cargo
- Year to date launches by country
- SpaceX launches by mission type
- SpaceX progress against their goal for 60 launches in 2022
Satellites launched
- Yearly global results
- Year to date progress updates
ISS activity
- ISS visiting spacecraft
- ISS crew manifests
Humans currently in space
Detailed mission profiles past, present and future
- Apollo anniversaries
- Starship test launches
- Starliner test launches
Informational
- SpaceX Starship evolution timeline
- Launch vehicles of the world
- Human launch vehicles timeline
- Crewed spacecraft of the world
- Crewed spacecrafts comparison
- Crewed spacecrafts profiles
- Launch vehicle profiles
- Spaceport profiles

Infographic examples of the above are available in this article Guide to the Stars (of Space Economy & Technology Infographics) Part 1.

The most common types of infographics are: statistical; informational; timeline; process; comparison; geographical; hierarchical; and list. Some infographics are a combination of two or more types.

Languages

Infographics are currently being published in one or more of the following languages:

English
Russian
Hungarian
Greek
Dutch
German
French
Polish
Spanish
Slovenian

Some collaborative translations have, and are, being done; however there’s lots of opportunity for translations across the board for creators wanting to perform translations and build an online following in their language. For example, check out this impressive portfolio of Russian language infographics.

The following chart illustrates the relative usage of languages online.

Note that it is possible to create infographics that are language agnostic. However very few creators take this approach… probably because it’s hard to do. One example is illustrated below.

Infographics Topics Opportunities

For creators wanting to expand their portfolio, or create a niche for themselves, the following topics are generally under-represented in published infographics on social media:

Company timelines, e.g. Rocket Lab, SpaceX, Relativity, Firefly, ABL
Space Economy *
IRSO human spaceflight program
IRSO launch vehicles
Chinese Space Station (CSS)
Chinese launch vehicles
Space logistics vehicles and roadmaps
Launch vehicles innovations *
Spaceports profiles, e.g. number of space related tenants, launch activities, launch facilities
Space technology patents leadership, e.g. countries, launch service providers, space logistics companies, constellations companies
Launch vehicles performance comparisons, e.g. reliability, orbits serviced, dollars per kilogram, launch mass capacity
Commercial space stations
Satellites in orbit, e.g. application, country, operator, trends
Orbital debris, e.g. number of objects, orbit, country of origin, trends
Rideshare missions, e.g. payload dimensions, payload application, payload operators, orbital destination, launch rate, launch mass, payload dispenser, launch vehicle
New space economy deadpool (companies that failed) *
Publicly listed space companies, e.g. stock performance, mergers and acquisitions
Space telescopes
ISS decommissioning
Space as a Service *
Space focused venture capital companies *
Spacewalks
Broadband satellite services *
Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Domain Awareness (SDA)
Space tourist/private astronaut activities in orbit *
Spaceflight risks *
Space tourist/private astronaut training *
Space tourism, e.g. adoption challenges, wealth profiles, “firsts”, number of space tourists, reservations, experiences *
Constellations status (e.g. SpaceX Starlink, OneWeb, Planet Labs), e.g. satellites in orbit, completion status, coverage, launch rate, deorbited satellites, teleports
Broadband constellations performance trends, e.g. upload and download speed, latency, pricing, user adoption
CIS lunar activity
In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
Current and future space applications *
LEO commercialization *

* I would be happy to collaborate with creators on these particular items to contribute data and concept ideas – feel free to reach out to me using Twitter.