Small satellites are at the spotlight of the evolution of the space industry. Small satellite ecosystem is expanding at an accelerated pace, with new entrants offering innovative space solutions; existing players are expanding their portfolio by investing in the small satellite value chain. It is important to investigate the past and current state of the small satellite market and forecast future scenarios.

Many small satellite constellation operators have advanced in their development processes and will generate continuous and recurring launch demand for their constellation installation and replacement missions. At present, nearly all small satellites use the rideshare capacity as a secondary payload on the existing launch vehicles. This makes their project schedule and mission requirements dependent on the primary payload. Moreover, the existing rideshare capacity will not be sufficient to address all the small satellite launch demand in the future. Many incumbent and new participants have sensed the upcoming small satellite demand and have started planning for providing dedicated services and launch flexibility to the small satellite operators to capture the future small satellite launch market.

What makes this study unique?
This analysis tracks the changing dynamics every quarter and updates the forecast based on the latest events. The study exposes the readers to the latest forecast numbers and the major changes, empowering them to the most informed decision making. A bottom-up and detailed approach is applied to forecast the small satellite launch demand. The study defines multiple forecast scenarios based on the maturity of satellite operators. More than 300 operators across the user segments are considered for the forecast. The number of small satellites, payload mass, and launch revenue are forecasted on the basis of defined scenarios, satellite mass classes, and user segments. The study also includes the launch capacity forecast for both rideshare and dedicated launch services segment; it analyzes the alignment between the small satellite launch demand and capacity supply.

Research Scope

  • This research study includes the following: 
  • Product scope: Small satellite launch services market 
  • Geographic scope: Global 
  • End-user scope: All companies related to space industry

Key Issues Addressed 

  • What is the revenue forecast from 2019 to 2033? 
  • What is the launch demand in terms of number of satellites for the forecast period? 
  • What are the key events that occurred during H1 2019 and what are their impact on the industry? 
  • What is the payload mass demand for the launch service providers from the small satellite market? 
  • What is the small satellite demand, revenue, payload mass demand by user segment, mass class, region and application? 
  • What is the projected capacity supply if all new entrants are successfully operational? 
  • What is the change in percentage of capacity supply by rideshares and dedicated services over the forecast period? 
  • What are new regulatory initiatives taken that will affect the small satellite market?