The rise of small satellites, increase in data analytics capability and sensor miniaturization, has given a fresh impetus to the space economy, which has been further boosted by liberalized government policies and the use of commercial off the shelf technology. Due to this, there has been a revolution in Earth Observation in terms of accessibility and affordability. As per Euroconsult, the global space economy was worth USD 370 billion in 2021.
Enhancement in communications courtesy low-latency 5G and new business models of ground station-as-a-service would propel the space economy to great heights.
At the plenary on space infrastructure and its value chain at GWF 2022 on recent innovations in New Space.
With the democratization of space and the rise of new technologies, newer business models are unveiling.
“I am particularly excited about the software element and companies that ingest data from multiple satellite constellations. Some of the areas we have been recently investing includes very high capability hyperspectral, which can tell us about health of the plants or provide thermal imagery that can help detect carbon emissions as well as track economic activity”, says Mark Boggett, CEO Seraphim Space Fund.
“Business models that make it easy to access data and are cost effective. There is a real growth in that segment. Early constellations are now getting to take advantage of scale. There has been a rapid reduction in cost and increase in capability”.
“We need to think about best data that we can generate on-board. It’s not just a matter of having many satellites. The computing capability we will see on next-gen satellites will be incredible. In the Earth observation realm, SAR will benefit from the power computing that we can put into space. It’s a completely new way that would include using AI for smart tasking or change detection on earth”, says Massimo Claudio Comparini, Deputy CEO, Thales Alenia Space Italia.
“On one hand through vertical integration and on the other through partnership, the evolution of space technologies and digital technologies is the key to market growth. New constellations for geospatial business would be essential and fundamental to detecting carbon emissions. If Europe stands at leadership in EO it’s because of programs like Copernicus”.
Reams of data that is being generated every day is a true game-changer in multiple ways and paving the way for razor-sharp analytics, which is reorienting markets as well as customer preferences.
“Satellite data market is going to be a part of geospatial data market, which would be a part of the Big Data market. So, everything is connected. Customers are not interested in data source, they are interested in information and analysis”, says Motoyuki Arai, CEO, Synspective.
“Satellite is just an IoT sensor in orbit. New data market will enable new ecosystems in next five years. In this we have take care of AI, smart cities. We mostly focus on technical viewpoint, but most important is customer need and preparing tangible use-case accordingly”, he adds.
