Viasat provided consumer broad services to about 590,000 US subscribers last year; Space Exploration Technologies Corp. says it has launched about 2,500 first-generation satellites in its Starlink fleet and serves almost 500,00 subscribers worldwide. The global market could be $30 Billion by 2030, compared to $12 Billion today, according to Northern Sky Research.
NSR’s Global Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Markets, 12th Edition sees global satellite manufacturing and launch market positioned to generate $633B through the next decade. Primarily driven by non-GEO constellations, 33,000+ satellites are projected to be manufactured and launched by 2031. With over 150 satellite constellations in various phases of funding and development, this segment is critical.
“It’s a huge deal that it’s happening now, after seven or eight years and so many delays from launchers, from manufacturers, from funding,” Northern Sky Research analyst Shagun Sachdeva said of the OneWeb launch.
Among geostationary or geosynchronous transfer (GTO) missions, which need to achieve a specific orbit of around 36,000 kilometers and are therefore better suited for direct comparisons, average launch costs are down about 20 percent from five years ago. Here again, the Falcon 9 leads the pack.