• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • NEWS:
  • SatNews
  • SatMagazine
  • MilSatMagazine
  • SmallSat News
  • |     EVENTS:
  • SmallSat Symposium
  • Satellite Innovation

SatNews

  • HOME
  • Magazines
  • Events
  • Perspectives
  • Industry Calendar
    • IN PERSON
    • VIRTUAL
  • Subscribe

No Pot Of Gold In Commercial Constellations… According to New Euroconsult Analysis

December 10, 2020

In its latest analysis of satellite manufacturing and launch services, “Satellites to be Built and Launched by 2029,” Euroconsult anticipates almost a quintupling in satellite demand in the next decade with an average of 1,250 satellites to be launched on a yearly basis.

In comparison to the 260 yearly satellites launched in the previous decade, this skyrocketing number cements the structural changes occurring in the market and the industry, not only in the number of satellites but also in terms of satellite missions and operators, both governmental and commercial.

Several key market trends are catalyzing the satellite industry’s structural changes:

  • For the first time in a single year more than 1000 satellites were launched, of which 70% from Starlink alone. This symbolic threshold will become a new standard for the next ten years with significant annual variations mainly driven by the replacement of the commercial constellations.
  • The orders of GEO comsat have been exceptionally high in 2020 at 18 units, of which 13 for the accelerated C-band clearance plan of the FCC in the USA. In addition, proof of a structural slowdown of that market in satellite numbers, GEO comsat replacement is also challenged by fleet rationalization approaches, in-orbit life extension and transitioning of some of the traffic to upcoming NGSO constellations. Manufacturers’ GEO comsat product portfolios are diversifying, ranging from a few hundred kilograms to 6 Tons VHTS. Digital payloads become the rule for a data-centric market (rather than a broadcasting market).
  • Beyond the “commercial space” momentum, governments will remain the first customers with 80% satellite manufacturing and launch revenues for the period. Investments by defence operators is driven by security applications and a growing endorsement of smallsats, COTS and constellations while civil agencies focus on large Earth observation systems.
  • Access to the space industry is diversifying with a few smallsat-dedicated launchers now operational and more expected to perform maiden flights in 2021. A new generation of GTO-capable launchers is expected to enter the market within the next two years with a design-to-cost approach. Meanwhile, SpaceX masters reusability and executes Starlink’s launches at marginal cost, with Falcon 9 recovery and reuse becoming a standard endorsed by customer.
Maxime Puteaux

“The satellite industry will indeed experience a quick and radical transformation when it comes to satellite numbers. However, despite this spike in satellite demand, we are looking at half of the market concentrated around a handful of mega constellations. In addition, some being vertically integrated means that their procurement will not be done on an open competition basis. Nevertheless, GEO COMSAT remains the leading segment, pulling 1/3 of the market revenues but, here too, we anticipate -20% drop in operational assets by 2029,” said Maxime Puteaux, Editor-in-Chief of this research product and Principal Advisor at Euroconsult.

Filed Under: Analysis / Reports, Satellites

Primary Sidebar

Most Read Stories

  • AST Space Mobile To Become A Publicly Traded Company
  • UPDATE: Spaceflight's Orbital Transfer Vehicles Have Launches In Sight
  • CNES Selects ANYWAVES For Reflectarray Antenna For Smallsats Demo
  • UPDATE 3: A Successful 'Another One Leaves The Crust' Launch Completed By Rocket Lab
  • Airbus Qualifies Their 5m Deployable Antenna Reflector

About Satnews

  • Contacts
  • History

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020

Secondary Sidebar

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy
We Love Our Advertisers.
And you will too!

Please disable your adblock browser plugin to continue...

We promise to keep it unobtrusive.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
x
Sign up Now (For Free)
Access daily or weekly satellite news updates covering all aspects of the commercial and military satellite industry.
Invalid email address
Notify Me Regarding ( At least one ):
We value your privacy and will not sell or share your email or other information with any other company. You may also unsubscribe at anytime.

Click Here to see our full privacy policy.
Thanks for subscribing!