The new NSR Global Space Economy report, launched today, finds a cumulative space and satellite market revenue opportunity of more than $1 Trillion between 2019 and 2029. There is an expanding need for space-based services to satisfy needs in orbit and on earth fueled by expanding requirements for everything from space-enabled Big Data Analytics missions, to commercial crew missions to the ISS, to “classical” connectivity use-cases. While there is a developing space-based, space-consumed economy underway; building connectivity services for earth-based needs still dominates the market landscape. Either in direct connectivity for broadband access or mobility markets or building/launching communications satellites; connectivity-focused use-cases dominate the NSR Global Space Economy revenue picture.
“Classical/traditional connectivity requirements are the largest revenue source for the NSR Global Space Economy analysis,” states report Author and NSR Principal Analyst Brad Grady. “Right now, the entire sector is in a period of transformation – from largely complex, bespoke technology to a proliferated, distributed, serialized technology stack.
Software-defined and software-centric, mass-produced, and a network-of-networks are proliferating across all segments of the Space Economy,” Grady adds. From mass-produced LEO-based satellites, to the growing “___ as-a-service” business models in the Space & Satellite Applications segment, the sector is in a period of fundamental transformation.
This commercialization of space is unlocking new use-cases, new end-users, and overall driving a $1 Trillion opportunity. Ranging from science and technology missions where space agencies are a ‘customer amongst many’ to terrestrially-competitive satellite internet services, the Space Economy is on the cusp of significant growth. Bottom Line, the Space Economy transformation is well underway, but connectivity remains the core revenue driver.