NSR's Small Satellite Markets, 5thEdition forecasts the market to yield $37 billion in cumulative revenues from smallsat manufacturing and launch services by 2027, with 6,500 smallsats set to launch during this time. Constellations will be the dominating factor of this growth, making up more than 70 percent of the total market. While growth is anticipated across all applications, communications will drive the largest share of revenues, with some of the largest constellations planned in this segment.
New business models are opening new revenue streams and opportunities in the small satellite market, noted NSR's Senior Analyst Carolyn Belle. The relative simplicity, and the associated low-cost architecture, are enabling easier access to the space industry. Despite a 30 percent decline in launch rates in 2018, small satellites are expected to regain growth over the next decade as new companies in different tiers of both value and supply chains enter the market and unlock the promised value and solve current bottlenecks.
