NSR has released its newest market survey and forecast report: Hosted Payloads on Commercial Satellites. The report provides an in-depth overview of demand trends for military as well as civil government requirements for hosted payloads, focusing on Communications and Earth Observation/Science missions for the globe’s pressing needs.
The report concludes that, from an estimated $44.5 million in revenues for 2010, revenues for payload equipment, engineering and commercial satellite operator hosting services are expected to range from $500.2 million to $839.6 million by 2020, yielding cumulative revenues of $2.2 billion to $3.5 billion over an 11-year period. The range of revenue streams depends largely on the types and varying costs of hosted payload equipment, and here, NSR conducted a scenario-based approach in its forecast methodology to reflect various payload complexities.
The military’s needs for bandwidth and situational awareness as well as the emerging global agenda to address the impact of climate change are the main requirements driving prospects for hosted payload contracts. Hosted payload arrangements are changing the cost structure, the capability mix and the speed by which key space assets are deployed. The opportunities will be driven not only by budget considerations in light of the globe’s continued economic challenges, but by technical merits that both augment and, to some degree, replace planned capabilities. The Australian Defense Force already launched a highly expensive hosted payload in 2003 and has signed another hosted payload contract for launch in 2012. The U.S. Military has likewise contracted experimental hosted payloads as technology test beds to help usher in next-generation capabilities.
“Quite simply, hosted payloads are game changers for they not only increase technological capability, they likewise have the ability to leapfrog or exponentially increase the globe’s knowledge base and thus address key concerns within a relatively short period of time,” stated Jose Del Rosario, Senior Analyst for NSR and author of the report. Hosted payloads that have a procurement-to-launch cycle of 2-3 years can be alternatives to launching dedicated satellites that historically have taken 5-10 years to procure and launch. The data sets and inventories created within the time gap of launching dedicated satellites compared to hosted payloads are invaluable. Hosted payloads can be force multipliers for both military and civil use. The two most prominent global concerns today, war and climate change, are relying more heavily on space assets to effectively mitigate their long term impact.”
