Small Satellite Market Size Share Growth & Forecast 2028

The small satellite market is expected to reach US$ 11,778.83 million by 2028; it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.7% from 2022 to 2028.

The use of small satellites helps government authorities monitor suspicious ships and serve other purposes such as communication & navigation, earth observation, and scientific research operations, as well as maintain national security and capture data regarding areas damaged by earthquakes or floods. In July 2021, Japan government announced to support the development of a small satellite constellation. Under the satellite constellation project, the government announced that they would support the companies for quick construction and domestic production of small satellites and thereby driving the small satellite market size in the region. In November 2021, Fleet Space Technologies raised US$ 26 million in funds to expand the nanosatellite IoT connectivity fleet. Also, in April 2022, the German parliament announced that it would invest US$ 10.51 million in the small satellite initiatives. Such investments and initiatives from governments for the development of small satellites are likely to fuel the small satellite market size.

The growing need for small satellites encourages market players to make strategic partnerships, collaborations, and contracts. A few strategies by the players are mentioned below:

• In July 2022, Vaya Space, Inc. announced the signing of an agreement with All2Space to launch its satellite constellation. All2Space is a developer of CubeSat and is also a launch aggregator with Brazilian Space Agency.
• In September 2021, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the signing of a contract with Bhutan's telecom department to develop a small satellite.

Several companies are making contracts and partnerships to provide small satellites for applications such as communication, navigation, and earth observation. Therefore, the rising number of such initiatives bolsters the growth of the small satellite market.

Small Satellite Market - Strategic Insights

Internet access, machine-to-machine communication (M2M), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are among the most important applications of a small satellite. Space has become an ideal solution to improve the efficiency of current terrestrial communication networks. According to Alén Space, by 2025, more than 25.2 billion IoT connections are predicted to exist worldwide, and the IoT market will reach US$ 1,072.08 billion (€ 950 billion). Also, small satellite constellations can play an important role in various environmental conditions, especially in remote or hard-to-reach places, where real-time data is received from all types of sensors and linked devices for IoT-based business models. Thus, a small satellite helps receive, store, and transmit real-time information to any point.

The small satellite can also be effective for remote management. Sensors can help to control all devices, receive real-time information, and send commands for configurations remotely across the world. Satellite communications support land-based communications in Amazon basin, Antarctica, offshore platforms, critical infrastructure like nuclear power plants, and other hard-to-reach areas. Also, small satellites guarantee communication in any circumstances in virtually uncommunicated areas such as large rural areas, desert territories, frozen areas, jungle areas, and high seas.

For high internet access, several projects are being launched in various developed and developing regions where small satellites play a major role. According to Oberlo, in 2022, there are ~62.6% active internet users across the world. The growing internet access worldwide will propel the demand for small satellites during the forecast period. Thus, the rising demand for small satellites to provide internet access, M2M communication, and IoT will create a lucrative opportunity for market growth in the forecasted period.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Satellite Market Growth

With the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing plants were forced to temporarily shut down their production facilities or slow down the production volume. The entire space or satellite manufacturing industry was hampered with the severe supply chain disruption. However, satellite manufacturers managed to produce handful of satellites despite supply chain disruption. Thus, the small satellite market witnessed marginal decline in terms of revenues.

Lucrative Regions of Small Satellite Market

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Market Insights – Small Satellite Market

Based on region, the small satellite market is primarily segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. North America is expected to dominate the market in 2022 in terms of small satellite market share and is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period, followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. Further, the small satellite market growth in Asia Pacific is attributed to the rising investments in the deployment of satellites across the commercial sectors of different countries, including China and India.

Vertical Insights – Small Satellite Market

Based on vertical, the small satellite market is segmented into government, military, and commercial. The commercial segment is expected to dominate the market in 2022 in terms of small satellite market share. Also, the segment is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period. The small satellite market growth for the commercial segment is mainly attributed to rising investments in commercial satellite constellation programs and launch of new satellite constellation projects for commercial purposes.

Swarm Technologies, Thales SA, Airbus SAS, L3Harris Technologies Inc, and Sierra Nevada Corporation are among the prominent small satellite market players operating across the world. The market is moderately consolidated, as well-established small satellite market players and leaders in the market account for a larger share.

Players operating in the small satellite market are mainly focused on providing efficient small satellite products to customers. The small satellite market players are also witnessing a rise in demand for the procurement of small satellite across several commercial applications. Therefore, many companies are focusing to expand their product offerings to commercial, government, and military end users. For this, the vendors are also taking initiatives to partner with different companies to develop a sustainable solution for the commercial sector.

• In December 2020, Raytheon Technologies Corporation acquired a small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider, Blue Canyon Technologies. The acquisition allows Raytheon to strengthen its product line, including small satellite solutions such as microsatellites, nanosatellites, EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA)-class satellites, and associated technology.
• In March 2022, Spire Global signed a space service deal with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) for the manufacturing of four 6U Lemur satellites for SNC to conduct radio frequency (R.F.) collection analysis.