Report: Small Satellite Market To Grow 20.5 Percent Annually Over the Next Five Years
The growing demand for LEO-based services, demand for Earth observation imagery and analytics and increasing in number of space exploration missions will drive growth in the small satellite market from $2.8 billion in 2020 to $7.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 20.5% from 2020 to 2025, according to a new market research report.
According to the "Small Satellite Market by Mass (Nanosatellite, Microsatellite, Minisatellite, CubeSat), Subsystem (Satellite Bus, Payload, Satellite Antenna, Solar Panels), Application, NGEO Orbit, End User, Frequency, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the small satellite market includes major players Sierra Nevada Corporation (US), L3 Harris Technologies (US), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), and Airbus Defense and Space (Netherlands). These players have spread their business across various countries including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect small satellite production and services by 10% globally in 2020.
The satellite bus is estimated to have the largest market share by value. The growth of this segment can be attributed to increases in the number of space exploration missions and demand for LEO-based services is driving the satellite bus segment during the forecast period. It keeps all parts of the satellite together and provides power, propulsion, and control. The satellite bus consist of attitude & orbital control system, command & data handling system (C&DH), electrical power system, propulsion, telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C), structure, and thermal system.
The Earth Observation & Remote Sensing is estimated to be the largest and fastest-growing segment in the small satellite market. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the compact nature of small satellites leading to efficient Earth observation and remote sensing. Small satellites, including nanosatellites, microsatellites, and minisatellites, play an important role in Earth observation and meteorology applications. These satellites are capable of monitoring situations such as the cyclones, storms, floods, fires, volcanic activities, earthquakes, landslides, oil slicks, environmental pollution, and industrial and power plant disasters.
The commercial segment is estimated to have the largest market share by value. Growth of this segment can be due to involvement of Private Players in the Global Space Industry. Private companies can invest in small satellites as they are cheaper, faster to build, and can be launched for commercial purposes. The geospatial technology using Earth-imaging small satellites for agriculture, education, intelligence navigation, mapping, and other uses has driven the commercial sector in the past decade.
North America is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the small satellite market during the forecast period. North America is a leading region for the adoption of small satellites and provides great opportunities for the growth of the overall market. The region has always been an early adopter of new technologies or software. The demand for small satellites in North America is being driven by the booming digitalization across industries, along with the surging demand for Earth observation satellites, which offer extremely high-resolution Earth images and videos, as close as 1 meter or less, of the Earth's surface.
Sierra Nevada Corporation (US), L3 Harris Technologies (US), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), and Airbus Defense and Space (Netherlands) are some of the leading players operating in the small satellite market report.
(Source: MarketsandMarkets news release. NASA image from file)