The space industry could be facing a shake-up as venture capital money threatens to dry up amid fears of a looming recession.

Why it matters: Startups in the space industry tend to push innovation forward and keep established companies — like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and even SpaceX — on their toes.

What's happening: The economic downturn could precipitate the long-predicted bursting of a bubble that could affect some parts of the space industry.

Between the lines: The parts of the industry that are expected to be hardest hit include those focused on far-future concepts like asteroid mining and startups working to innovate new rocket concepts that take a large amount of upfront funding.

Yes, but: That doesn't mean the entire space industry is heading for major problems.

What to watch: If the space bubble does pop, it's not clear whether it will be a slow leak or a rapid burst.

The bottom line: "The truth is that many marginal companies were funded during the market mania of the last few years and most of those companies will get washed out in this market correction," Anderson says, adding that this is true across tech, not just in space.