The Future of GEO: Large or Small?

In early May, 2 GEO communications satellites launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket. It was supposed to be the next step in GEO satcom from two opposite ends of the market spectrum: Viasat’s 6-tonne powerhouse delivering massive capacity to compete with constellations, and Astranis’ Arcturus, a 300 kg platform meant to test both the “micro-GEO”.

Unpacking the Aftermath of Recent GEO Satellite Failures

Space is tough. GEO satellites are realized on redundancy and reliability as their core philosophy. With decades of research, design, development and operations data, manufacturers have been able to achieve systems & spacecrafts with lower failure probabilities. Clearly, this does not ensure success with every launch. From a market forces perspective, GEO players are experiencing.