NSR Press Releases

Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Markets Ready for a Bumpy Ride

New NSR Report Finds Cyclical Markets Facing Near Term Challenges, but Long Term Stability

 

CAMBRIDGE, MA – May 15, 2012 NSR’s Global Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Markets, 2nd edition, finds the satellite manufacturing and launch markets facing both softening demand and increasing competition until 2016. However, in the second half of the next decade the manufacturing market will be back on an upward track, while the launch services market will see more years of stagnant growth.

Driven by intense competition and soft demand in the GEO launch services segment, the greater launch services market is expected to exhibit a lowering cost per kilogram to orbit, amplifying the downward demand trend. Revenue levels from 2012 and 2013 are not expected again for at least 5-6 years.

After a few difficult years, the manufacturing market is projected to be back on its feet by 2016 thanks to increasing demand across every application. The manufacturing sector will see consequent design changes with smaller, highly-performing satellites and bigger, more powerful systems that could weigh as much as 12 tons.

“The satellite manufacturing market, led by the Commercial GEO Communications vertical, will stabilize and start to grow again soon after the current replacement cycle is over thanks to solid and diverse demand”, according to NSR. “Game-changing design changes are also coming for Earth Observation satellites, with commoditization making sub-meter resolution small satellites widely accessible.”

Overall, NSR forecasts more than 950 satellites will be ordered between 2012 and 2021, creating $145 billion of revenues for manufacturers.  At an average rate of 108 satellites launched every year over the same period, these will bring more than $52 billion to launch services providers and represent a total of 2,200 tons to lift into orbit.

 

About the Report

NSR’s Global Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Markets, 2nd Edition is a multi-client report now available from NSR.  This report presents a complete analysis of the satellite manufacturing and launch industry for the next 10-15 years. Through extensive research, thorough interviews with market leaders, a comprehensive database and the integration of other industry-leading NSR’s reports, GSMLM2 offers a synthesis of NSR’s views on the satellites to be launched, ordered, their mass and manufacturing costs, demand and cost evolution of launch over the next 10-15 years for 8 manufacturing and 2 launch services verticals.

For additional information on this report, including a full table of contents, list of exhibits and executive summary, please visit www.nsr.com or call NSR at 617-576-5771.

 

About NSR

NSR is a leading international market research and consulting firm with a core focus on the satellite sector and related industries. Founded in 2000 and with an experienced group of analysts located in all regions, NSR specializes in analysis of growth opportunities across four core sectors: Satellite Communications, Broadcasting & Digital Media, Hybrid & Emerging Applications and Commercial Space.

 

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