Market Trends of large satellites Industry
Trend for better fuel and operational efficiency has been witnessed
- The mass of a satellite has a significant impact on the launch of the satellite. This is because the heavier the satellite, the more fuel and energy are required to launch it into space. The launch of a satellite involves accelerating it to a very high speed, typically around 28,000 kilometers per hour, in order to place it in orbit around the Earth. The amount of energy required to achieve this speed is proportional to the mass of the satellite.
- Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34, local communications satellites developed by Intelsat, were launched in October 2022 in the United States. These were among the world's most notable development and launches of satellites. Similarly, in March 2022, a Geostationary Active Environmental Satellite was launched by Lockheed Martin, which is an advanced weather satellite. In Europe, satellite I-6 F2 is planned to be launched in 2023.
- As a result, a heavier satellite requires a larger rocket and more fuel to launch it into space. This, in turn, increases the cost of the launch and can also limit the types of launch vehicles that can be used. The major classification types according to mass are large satellites that are more than 1,000 kg. These large satellites are majorly designed for operational purposes with a long lifespan. These satellites are being adopted by various countries to carry larger remote sensing payloads, larger numbers of transponders, and larger antennas for communication purposes. These operational satellites have redundancy for all major subsystems to support accidental failures in subsystems. Larger satellites are typically built with radiation-hardened space-grade electronics. During the period 2017-2022, around 200+ large satellites were manufactured and launched globally.
Increasing space expenditures of different space agencies globally is expected to positively impact the large satellites category
- R&D expenditure on large satellites is an important factor in driving innovation and technology development in the satellite industry. In recent years, the global trend in R&D expenditure on large satellites continues to rise, owing to several factors, including rapid advancements in satellite technology, new materials, propulsion systems, and electronics, which are driving the need for R&D investment to design and develop large satellites that can take advantage of these innovations.
- Large satellites are used for a wide range of applications, including communication, navigation, and Earth observation. As the demand for these applications continues to grow, companies are investing in R&D to develop large satellites that can meet these needs. Currently, in the Asia-Pacific region, China, India, and Japan possess a complete end-to-end space capacity and space infrastructure, space technology (communication, Earth observation (EO), and navigation satellites), satellite manufacturing, rockets, and spaceports. Other countries in the region are required to rely on international cooperation to carry out their respective space programs. In June 2022, the Nuri rocket was launched by South Korea, putting six satellites into orbit, making it the seventh country in the world to successfully launch a payload weighing more than one ton onto an air launch vehicle.
- The South Korean government, in its 2022 budget, announced an investment of USD 619 million in the space segment, which includes the development of a spaceport, the construction of a satellite navigation system, and a 6G communications network. The spending on space and research grants is expected to surge in the region, thereby increasing the sector's importance in every domain of the global economy..