The Market for Civil & Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites

摘要

The demand for remote sensing imagery will drive the production of satellites to provide such data. Demand comes from both commercial and government users. Small satellite operators are becoming increasingly important in the market, and their plans to operate constellations of dozens or even hundreds of satellites will affect production rates going forward. The average launch mass of remote sensing satellites reached a high of 1,506.9 kilograms in 2013, the culmination of a longer trend within the satellite industry of increasing the capability and size of both remote sensing and communications satellites. However, 2014 saw a steep decline in average launch mass. The increased numbers of small satellites resulted in a drop in average launch mass to 282.3 kilograms. While the average launch mass of remote sensing satellites rose somewhat in 2016, it declined to a low of 89.7 kilograms in 2017. In 2018, the average launch mass of remote sensing satellites returned to earlier levels with 236.6 kilograms. Average launch mass gained in 2019 at 266.4 kilograms. The overall decline in average launch mass over the past decade is largely due to an increase in the number of small satellites being launched, such as the Flock Earth observing constellation. Deliveries of large satellites have continued. Approximately nine satellites of over 1,000 kilograms were delivered in 2018 and 12 in 2019. These satellites are generally destined for low-Earth orbit (LEO). LEO launches still dominate the market, with only three satellites being deployed in geosynchronous-Earth orbit (GEO) in 2018 and three in 2019. Those in 2019 included the Russian Elektro-L 3. Commercial satellites have, however, increased in importance, as companies have readily adopted the small satellite concept. Remote sensing satellites have a wide range of uses, including civil planning, weather forecasting, climate change monitoring, and military reconnaissance. In addition to these traditional uses, there are an increasing number of commercial applications for remote sensing imagery, including oil and gas exploration, damage assessment for insurance claims, real estate appraising, building site selection and development, utility and communications infrastructure planning, and even financial analysis. Governments continue to be crucial buyers of satellite imagery, which lends itself well to military operations, since satellites are not limited by overflight restrictions. While militaries typically purchase their own networks of remote sensing satellites, they supplement that data with imagery from commercial sources. Meteorological agencies, disaster relief organizations, and scientific agencies also rely on satellite imagery. Many of these civil agencies will continue to operate their own satellite fleets over the next 10 years. Despite the importance of government spending in the remote sensing satellite market, commercial funding is becoming more significant. This is partly in response to funding constraints as governments to seek ways to reduce spending. At the same time, however, sales of Earth imagery data to the commercial market are growing. In addition, commercial companies are playing a more prominent role as small satellites grow in popularity. New market entrants, like Planet (formerly Planet Labs), are taking advantage of the demand for small satellites to grow their businesses. A number of factors will affect the demand for satellite data. For example, consumers for data can choose between aerial imagery and satellite imagery. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are also playing a bigger role in this market. DigitalGlobe sells 30-centimeter-resolution imagery, which it hopes will make its products more competitive with aerial imagery. An increasing number of commercial satellite operators are selling imagery data on the commercial market. New players such as Google are entering the market as well. Value-added products also present an opportunity for satellite operators. Instead of providing raw data to customers, value-added providers process information for users. Making imagery easier to interpret could differentiate companies from their competitors as well as expand markets for data beyond highly trained users. Forecast International's latest value of production estimate for civil and commercial remote sensing satellite systems is $29.05 billion between 2020 and 2029. During that time, Forecast International estimates that 2,836 satellites will be manufactured. Satellites will be purchased to replace aging birds currently in orbit and to expand remote sensing satellite fleets. The acquisition of new satellites will help increase global coverage and improve revisit rates.