Space Situational Awareness Demand Growing: Report
The market for Space Situational Awareness (SSA), estimated at $1.2 billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of $1.4 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4% over the analysis period, according to market research from ResearchandMarkets.
Space Situational Awareness revolves around monitoring and understanding the near-Earth environment, encompassing existing and predictive knowledge regarding natural and man-made objects within the Earth's orbit. The ability holds a pivotal role in understanding space conditions, events, activities, threats, natural or man-made debris, and intentional or unintentional attacks on space assets such as satellites.
The near-Earth space extends to the Earth-radius of more than 100,000 km (≈62,000 miles) to cover all man-made objects in Earth orbit. The information assists planners, operators, decision makers and commanders in gaining and maintaining space superiority through conflicts while thwarting attacks and potential collisions. SSA encompasses knowledge pertaining to space and ground-based capabilities.
SSA covers space traffic management and space safety programs that include services intended to assist satellite operators in preventing physical or operational conflicts. SSA holds a crucial importance for space safety owing to continuous monitoring of the presence of natural or man-made hazards like debris.
SSA services document real-time information of space components while alerting satellite operators of potential accidents. In addition, SSA tracks space bodies that may interfere with a particular orbit while predicting their positions in advance for preventing collisions with satellites.
Services, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record 4.2% CAGR and reach US$1.1 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Software segment is readjusted to a revised 3.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period.
The services segment is projected to maintain its lead in the Space Situational Awareness market on account of continuous activities including space debris modeling along with the use of robots to explore the solar system. The segment's growth is also propelled by increasing popularity of near-Earth objects and space weather services. Satellite manufacturers` intent to increase investments for space surveillance through development of their facilities is a primary driver of growth of the software segment.
The Space Situational Awareness (SSA) market in the U.S. is estimated at $574.2 million in 2022. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of $133.9 million by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 5.7% over the analysis period.
The market is gaining from the entry of commercial SSA companies that offer SSA services and data to serve satellite operators. The market is also witnessing robust gains for the space tracking & surveillance services given the risk associated with space debris, rising space traffic and increasing number of space exploration projects.
The other prominent factors behind the healthy growth of the market include increasing focus on small satellites, adoption of lower earth orbit (LEO)-based services, and rising attention on the commercial on-orbit satellite activity. The increasing launch of small satellites is expected to significantly bolster the SSA market.
(Source: ResearchandMarkets news release. Infographic provided)