The past year has seen more than 100 new satellites ordered and 100+ launched, according to data from Northern Sky Research (NSR). NSR says many more will be needed.
In total, the combined satellite manufacturing & launch industry generated almost $35 billion globally in 2013, states NSR.
“Procurement of commercial GEO communications satellites will remain stable over the next 10 years. While the industry will experience a short term decline from a high in 2013 (26 satellites ordered, including 3 options for Intelsat EPIC), it will remain driven by replacements and some extensions primarily in Ku-band and HTS. However, a number of trends will affect the growth curve and considerably change the trade-off environment for satellite manufacturing:
· New propulsion types increasingly used
· More platforms proposed by an increasing number of suppliers
· Multi-beam architectures becoming more frequent
· Launch services capabilities evolve toward higher masses
“2013 was actually a low year for GEO Launch Services as launches were delayed due to failures and late-arriving satellites; as a result only 18 Commercial GEO Satcoms were launched in 2013. ILS’ recent Proton failure should not signify a repeat of the tight launch supply situation as there are an increasing number of players ready to satisfy demand. With a constant oversupply of manufacturing and launch services and demand not wholly catching-up, the competition is stronger than ever in the Commercial GEO segment.
“The whole industry is shaping-up; including both satellite manufacturers and launch services providers,” stated Stéphane Gounari, Senior Analyst at NSR and author of the report. Key trends to note include reorganisations such as Airbus, Lockheed Martin and Mitsubishi Industries; Merger & Acquisitions such as SSL/MDA and Orbital ATK, Inc.; or through extensive refit of their value-proposition as Thales Alenia Space (Spacebus), Lockheed Martin (A2100) and Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services (lower prices on Atlas 5). “Market shares evolved significantly in the last few years and after years of complacency, certain players were bordering on insignificance in this important space. It now seems they will not let that happen,” stated Gounari.
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