Satellite Industry Grows at Record-Setting Pace

Satellite Industry Highlights include:

• Innovation drives double-digit satellite services growth in broadband connectivity and remote sensing/imaging
• Satellite value proposition rises as utility increases while the cost to manufacture and deploy satellites decreases
• Satellite GPS devices such as smartphones and tablets drive ground equipment growth
• U.S. dominates market share in manufacturing and satellite launch services

Washington, D.C., July 2, 2020 – The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) today announced the release of the 2020 State of the Satellite Industry Report (SSIR), a global summary of the commercial satellite industry, revealing record-setting growth and economic impact.  The 23^rd annual report shows that for the second straight year a record number of satellites were launched into space with 386 commercial satellites being deployed into orbit during 2019.  By the end of last year, the total number of satellites circling the earth increased by 17 percent to an astounding total of 2460 satellites.  This year’s SSIR also contains a special section on the global impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the current state of the satellite industry.

In addition to the record number of satellites launched during 2019, other takeaways from the new Report include:

• During 2019, overall global space economy grew to $366 billion or by 1.7 percent compared with 2018.
• The commercial satellite industry once again continued to be dominant, accounting for $271 billion or nearly 75 percent of the world’s space business.
• Technology innovations drove faster throughput speeds and data capacity as satellite broadband revenue grew by 19 percent compared with 2018 to $2.8 billion.
• Innovations in optical, radar and RF mapping capabilities resulted in satellite remote sensing revenues increasing by 11 percent compared with the previous 12 months to $2.3 billion.
• During 2019, the U.S. solidified its market share leadership in both manufacturing and launch services
• Global satellite ground equipment revenues grew by 4 percent over the previous year to just over $130 billion, led in part by continued worldwide sales of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) terminals such as smartphones and tablets.

“Throughout 2019, technology innovation and lower costs of manufacturing and deploying satellites continued to increase the value proposition and the importance of the commercial satellite industry,” said Tom Stroup, President of SIA.  “Today, satellites can not only do more than ever before, but space segment deployment costs continue to decline.  The future of new lower cost NGSO constellations continues to become a reality while increased utility, data throughput speeds and capacity are being delivered today, thanks to the latest GEO high throughput satellites (HTS).

“So as the New Space decade begins, only the satellite industry is in a position to deliver the truly ubiquitous, high quality and reliable communications, broadband, broadcast, radio, next-generation GPS navigation, tracking, weather data, imaging and remote sensing services that Americans everywhere need and demand”

Produced by Bryce Space and Technology, LLC, the 2020 SSIR derives from proprietary surveys of satellite companies, in-depth public information, and independent analysis, combined to assess the performance of sectors including satellite services, manufacturing, ground equipment and launch services.

To view a summary of this year’s SIA State of the Satellite Industry Report, please click HERE.  SIA members receive a complimentary copy of the annual report.  For all others who wish to purchase a copy of the complete report or for more information please contact SIA via email at info@sia.org or via telephone at 202.503.1560.

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About The Satellite Industry Association

SIA is a U.S.-based trade association providing representation of the leading satellite operators, service providers, manufacturers, launch services providers, and ground equipment suppliers. For more than two decades, SIA has advocated on behalf of the U.S. satellite industry on policy, regulatory, and legislative issues affecting the satellite business. For more information, visit www.sia.org.

SIA Executive Members include: Amazon; AT&T Services, Inc.; The Boeing Company; EchoStar Corporation; Intelsat S.A.; Iridium Communications Inc.; Kratos Defense & Security Solutions; Ligado Networks; Lockheed Martin Corporation; ; SES Americom, Inc.; Space Exploration Technologies Corp.; Spire Global Inc.; and Viasat Inc. SIA Associate Members include: ABS US Corp.;  ; Amazon Web Services; Analytical Graphics, Inc.; Artel, LLC; Astranis Space Technologies Corp.; Blue Origin; Eutelsat America Corp.; ExoAnalytic Solutions; HawkEye 360; Hughes; Inmarsat, Inc.; Kymeta Corporation; Leonardo DRS; Lynk; Omnispace; Satellites; Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Peraton; Planet; Telesat Canada; and XTAR, LLC. SIA Affiliate Members include: The Aerospace Corporation; AQYR Technologies; COMSAT; Envistacom, LLC; Integrasys LLC, Kaman Precision Products; Kencast; Media Broadcast Satellite; NB+C; ; Plexus Corp; Radeus Labs, Inc.; Sheppard Mullin; Skylo Technologies; and Wiley