The Satellite Industry Association(SIA) released its 2009 State of the Satellite Industry Report at the ISCe 2009 conference in San Diego, June 3rd. The results of the report show a 19 percent growth in overall world satellite industry revenues – with revenues totaling $144.4 billion in 2008. Global revenues for the satellite industry continue to increase, averaging an annual growth rate of 14.2 percent from 2003 – 2008. Meanwhile, Euroconsult is projecting the industry will grow 50% in the next decade."The satellite industry continued to post growth in 2008, led by satellite services and ground equipment sales," said Patricia Cooper, President of SIA. "The results for the past year are encouraging, and frame the need for policy decisions that can affect the industry’s future growth such as export controls, broadband stimulus and U.S. government communications requirements." (To view a video of an interview with Patrica Cooper t ISCe where she discusses the highlights of the report click here).
SIA commissioned the Futron Corporation to conduct the 12th annual State of the Satellite Industry Report. Futron polled over 70 satellite companies, both SIA members and non-members, to determine aggregate revenues in each of the satellite industry’s sectors: satellite services, satellite manufacturing, launch industry and ground equipment.
In 2008 the ground equipment sector was the fastest-growing satellite industry segment, followed by the satellite services sector which continues to demonstrate increased growth. Key findings of the report include:
• Satellite Services revenues maintained a steady growth of 16 percent, with satellite television leading this sector, amounting to a total of $67.3 billion in 2008.
• Satellite Manufacturing revenues decreased slightly from $11.6 billion in 2007 to $10.5 billion in 2008, as fewer new satellites were launched.
• Launch Industry revenues increased by 20 percent in 2008, with United States launch industry revenues remaining relatively constant at $1.1 billion.
• Ground Equipment revenues grew fastest at 34 percent, increasing to $46 billion, second only to satellite services. Consumer-oriented products, including satellite TV and broadband, mobile satellite and GPS devices, led the growth in this sector.
Meanwhile, Euroconsult estimated 1,185 satellites will be built and launched for the period 2009-2018, an increase of about 50% compared to the previous decade (1999-2008). Market revenues generated from the manufacturing and launch of these satellites are forecast to grow by the same rate, reaching $178 billion for the period 2009-2018 according to Euroconsult’s "Satellites to be Built & Launched by 2018, World Market Survey" released June 8th.
Both the government and commercial sectors will contribute to this market growth, albeit unequally, according to Rachel Villain, the editor of the Survey and the Director for Space & Communications at Euroconsult. "The ongoing global economic crisis will have a limited impact on the industry. Governments around the world remain committed to space technology development and only a small number of commercial satellite operators with business or financing issues will be affected by the downturn."
Governments drive future satellite demand — particularly for civilian applications Civilian and military government agencies will launch a combined 770 satellites in the next decade, a 55% unit increase over the past ten years. Two-thirds of these satellites will be for civilian or dual use. Civil satellites represent a higher proportion of government satellites than the previous decade. While ongoing defense and security concerns create opportunities for dedicated satellites or hosted payloads on commercial satellites, demand for proprietary military satellite systems remains concentrated in a limited number of countries.
Market growth will come from US, Russia, Europe, Canada, China, Japan and India, among others.Together they will procure satellites for operational missions in Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, and commu-nications, and will develop space science & exploration missions, and technology demonstration satellites. Earth observation is emerging as the largest application with a total of 230 satellites over the next decade as more governments order and launch satellites through national space agencies, multilateral agencies and public-private partnerships for both civilian and military uses of satellite imagery.
At $116 billion over the decade, the government market is almost double the commercial market but it is largely closed to non-domestic suppliers. Most of that market is for satellites whose final destinations are low Earth orbits (41%) with higher altitude orbits (GTO, MEO, HEO and deep space) making up the difference.
The commercial satellite market is forecast to grow by over one third in both number of satellites and market value. This growth reflects two distinct trends:
The maturity of the commercial geostationary communications satellite industry (GEO comsat) - This dominant segment of the commercial market is now driven by replacement of in-orbit satellites with fewer new entrants, resulting in cyclical investments for such systems (ex. nearly three quarters of the 88 satellites ordered in the past four years are for the replacement or expansion of existing orbital slots). Euroconsult forecasts 235 satellites to be launched over 2009-2018 with a market value of $52 billion. The peak of the cycle will occur early in the decade with over 30 units to be launched per year, declining to fewer than 20 units per year at the end of the period.
Growth in commercial satellite services outside the geostationary orbit, with a total of 180 satellites to be built and launched during the period, up from 104 the previous decade. These are communications satellites being launched into low Earth orbit for the second generation of Orbcomm, Globalstar and Iridium and into medium Earth orbit (O3b) in addition to optical and radar Earth observation satellites launched into low Earth orbit (e.g. Infoterra, GeoEye, RapidEye).
