Research & method
I study how European space companies find paying customers. These are the methods and datasets used in The Demand Side.
Demand Transition Framework
Case studies · 2026
The framework describes seven selected companies by the maturity of their customer base and the repeatability of their business model. It distinguishes one-off projects from repeatable products or services, and institutional dependence from recurring demand.
Positions are coded from public evidence. They are ordinal judgements, not measured coordinates. The cases do not establish causality or represent the whole sector.
Website audit
Snapshot · July 2026
I reviewed 105 European space company websites; 98 were readable. Each readable site was scored against six criteria covering its offer, customer evidence and next steps.
This measures what the website communicates. It does not measure sales performance or observe how customers use the site.
Website scores
Number of sites at each score. Rust marks the median.
Filter by one at a time. Choosing a country resets the segment, and vice versa.
Scoring method and limits
Each site receives one point for each of the following:
- A concrete use case.
- A stated buyer segment.
- A headline that leads with the outcome.
- A named paying customer.
- A visible way to buy.
- A concrete next step.
Sites were coded on 16, 22 and 23 July 2026. The totals were re-added and a sample was checked live. This was an analyst review, without customer testing. Websites may have changed since collection.
Scores are shown in aggregate. Only sites with the maximum score are named; the other companies remain anonymous. Country and segment filters cannot be combined because some combinations identify individual firms.
Sites that scored 6 out of 6
These sites met all six criteria at the time of the July review.
Source: van de Haar, H. (2026). The website audit. The Demand Side, July 2026.
Commercial Hiring Index
July 2026 baseline · Research note in draft
The index measures the commercial share of advertised roles on public company job boards. Its quarterly series follows a fixed panel of 44 companies.
In July 2026, 8.7% of the 622 advertised roles were commercial. There were 8.4 engineering vacancies per commercial vacancy.
Vacancies do not measure actual hiring, staffing or expenditure. The panel is not a representative sample of the whole sector.
Method and historical broad panel
Open roles are classified by function. The fixed company panel is intended for quarterly comparisons. Totals are re-added arithmetically and selected job boards are checked live; this is not a second independent collection of every vacancy.
The old broad panel is on hold pending further verification. Its July snapshot covered 100 companies and 1,109 roles, with a commercial share of 9.2% and 7.7 engineering vacancies per commercial vacancy. These historical figures are retained for reference. They are separate from the fixed quarterly series and are not a current market estimate.
The draft PDF contains the method and company tables for both panels. Corrections are recorded with the figures. The next planned fixed-panel revision is Q4 2026.
Source: van de Haar, H. (2026). The Commercial Hiring Index. The Demand Side, Version 2, July 2026. Specify the panel when citing.
The Demand Side
Read the published editions for the analysis and source references.