TOKYO, February 18, 2020 (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation PR) – Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has completed construction of a new facility for the production of satellites at the company’s Kamakura Works in Kamakura, Japan. Together with existing facilities, Mitsubishi Electric’s combined annual capacity will increase to 18 satellites, up from 10 at present, which will enable the company to satisfy the growing demand for governmental satellites in Japan and commercial communication satellites worldwide.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 17, 2019 (NSR PR) — NSR’s Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Services, 9th Edition (SMLS9) report published today forecasts a $225 B market opportunity over the next decade, driven by Situational Awareness and Earth Observation markets.
Despite the hype created by smallsat LEO constellations, the traditional market is expected to remain the dominant source of revenue globally for building and launching satellites. While it is not likely to return to heady levels of yesterday, new opportunities are emerging that the industry can grasp if it adapts to a nimbler state of affairs.
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Developing a Sustainable Spectrum Strategy for America’s Future
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to use radiofrequency spectrum (spectrum) as efficiently and effectively as possible to help meet our economic, national security, science, safety, and other Federal mission goals now and in the future. To best achieve this policy, the Nation requires a balanced, forward-looking, flexible, and sustainable approach to spectrum management.
MADRID, 24 January 2018 (Zero 2 Infinity PR) – The leading consulting and technology company Indra has signed a collaboration agreement with Zero 2 Infinity, a startup specializing in Space transportation systems, with a view to rendering more simple and accessible trips into Space, a sector of enormous potential that continues opening up to private initiatives. Manuel Ausaverri, Indra Innovation and Strategy Director, and José Mariano López Urdiales, Zero 2 Infinity CEO and founder, signed the agreement at Zero 2 Infinity’s Barcelona headquarters.
Lockheed Martin’s family of solutions all now featuring common components include four series of satellites from nanosatellites to powerful geostationary platforms. (Credit: Lockheed Martin)
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., Sept. 19, 2017 (Lockheed Martin PR) — Today Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) debuted a new family of satellite buses that form the core of nearly every space mission. From nanosats to high-powered satellites, the versatile lineup incorporates dozens of major enhancements and hundreds of common components that speed production and reduce cost. The company announced the lineup at the Air Force Association Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
WASHINGTON, DC, March 6, 2017 (Teal Group PR) — Coinciding with the Satellite 2017 Conference & Exhibition held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC during March 6-9, 2017, Teal Group space analysts have identified 8,607 satellites, probes and capsules to be built and launched to earth or deep space orbits between 2017 and 2036. They estimate the value of these space payloads at more than $250 billion.
Built by Lockheed Martin, the WorldView-4 satellite will expand DigitalGlobe’s industry-leading constellation of high-accuracy, high-resolution satellites, and double the availability of 30 cm resolution imagery for commercial and government customers around the globe. (Credit: Lockheed Martin)
Excerpt from
The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2017
Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA AST)
January 2017
State of the Payload Industry
Space industry companies and organizations worldwide, sometimes the same as launch vehicle manufacturers but also those specifically dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, produce these spacecraft. Commercially launched payloads are typically used for the following mission types:
Commercial communications satellites;
Commercial remote sensing or Earth observation satellites;
Commercial crew and cargo missions, including on-orbit vehicles and platforms;
Technology test and demonstration missions, usually new types of payloads undergoing test or used to test new launch vehicle technology; and
Other commercially launched payloads, usually satellites launched for various purposes by governments of countries not having indigenous orbital launch capability.
PARIS, WASHINGTON, MONTREAL, YOKOHAMA, August 25, 2015 — According to Euroconsult’s newly released report, Satellites to be Built & Launched by 2024, 140 satellites with launch mass over 50 kg will be launched on average each year over the next decade for governments and commercial companies. In comparison with last year’s forecast, the number of satellites is due to grow more than the market value over the decade.
More fallout from the shutdown of the Export-Import Bank and other problems in the satellite industry:
Boeing Co (BA.N) on Monday told its workers that it expected to cut as many as “several hundred” jobs in its satellite business through the end of 2015 due to a downturn in U.S. military spending and delays in commercial satellite orders.
Multiple commercial orders were being delayed by recent failures of launch vehicles and uncertainties about the future availability of financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, whose government charter lapsed on June 30, the company told key managers in an internal communication.
Boeing spokesman Tim Neale confirmed the reductions and said the total number of people affected would be finalized in coming months. Some could find work in other parts of Boeing, he said.
He said the reductions were “necessary to remain competitive for ongoing and future business.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his company will announce on Friday the opening of an engineering center to produce satellites.
“We’re creating an engineering center in Seattle,” Musk said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “It’s actually a satellite office creating satellites. We’re going to have the sort of soft opening and a big announcement on Friday.
“We’re going to try to do for satellites what we’ve done for rockets,” he added.
Musk said the office would initially have about 60 employees, and would look to expand to around 1,000 workers within three to four years.
Most communications satellites usually rely on proven technology that is five to 10 years old at the time they are launched, Musk said. With lifespans of up to 15 years, the technology is a quarter century old by the time they are replaced.
Satellite companies also use a “Battlestar Galactica” approach by building massive satellites. If one fails, it’s a very big loss.
SpaceX plans to launch many smaller satellites more frequently, allowing for advanced technologies to be used on them, Musk added. More frequent launches also lessen the impacts of any one satellite failing.
Asked about past satellite constellation projects that lost billions, Musk joked, “I might join them.”
Musk and SpaceX have been linked to WorldVu, a company planning to launch up to 650 small satellites to provide global broadband coverage. It’s not clear whether SpaceX’s satellite venture is connected with that effort.
PARIS, MONTREAL, WASHINGTON D.C. (Euroconsult PR) – According to Euroconsult’s newly released research report, Satellites to be Built & Launched, 115 satellites will be launched on average yearly over the next decade (2014-2023). In comparison with last year’s forecast, the number of satellites is stable while market value is growing, thus translating the growing economic importance of the sector, for both governments and commercial satellite companies.
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF), Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), and the Space Foundation are all praising an amendment in the defense bill that removes satellites and related technologies from the U.S. Munitions List, a key move to allow American satellite manufacturers to compete on the world market.
“This is a remarkable success, achieved by a coalition that included industry, researchers and the foreign policy community. By rationalizing export controls, Congress has simultaneously improved our national security and created an environment that will keep high-tech jobs here in America,” stated Michael Lopez-Alegria, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
Industry to Emerge from Cyclical “Trough” with New Crest in 2016 Averaging 70 Launches Annually
NSR PR – CAMBRIDGE, MA – June 7, 2011 – According to NSR’s newest market research report, Global Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Markets released today, the industry should launch satellites worth collectively over $250 billion over the next 15 years. NSR expects that the stability offered by GEO ComSat replacements, the Ka-band/HTS “me too” syndrome, Government contracts and the steady stream of Science & Navigation missions should see over 1,600 satellites launched by 2025.
“At an average of 110 satellites launched per year, we expect the industry to peak again around 2016 crossing $20 billion annually” according to the study’s author and NSR Senior Analyst, Prashant Butani. “This is a significant increase over the last 15 years, which saw a total of slightly over 1,500 satellites at an average of about 100+ satellites per year. However, one big challenge facing the industry is the limited number of launcher options available to operators, which should see some ‘unusual’ launch contracts being announced soon,” stated Butani.
