CubeSats like Arudsat, built by Spire (formerly Nanosatisfi) are driving the increase in satellite activity. Photo: NanoRacks

[Via Satellite 03-21-2016] New research from Teal Group finds that 5,095 satellites, probes and capsules are planned for construction and launch between 2016 and 2035, worth an estimated value of more than $245 billion. Analysts identified 662 payloads “proposed” for launch in 2016, followed by 760 in 2017, 652 in 2018, 632 in 2019, 553 in 2020, 453 in 2021, 159 in 2022, 169 in 2023, 124 in 2024, and 111 in 2025.

The payload count for 2016 to 2035 reflects a 10 percent increase compared to the 4,607 payloads identified last year for 2015 to 2034; 36 percent more than the 3,280 payloads in 2014 for the period 2014 to 2033; and 38 percent more than the 3,164 payloads in 2013 for 2013 to 2032. Teal Group attributes the this upward trend largely to the introduction of hundreds of small, commercial nano and pico satellites, mainly CubeSats, designed to provide everything from broadband and mobile communications to meteorological, imaging and position location and tracking services.

In the research firm’s latest update by spacecraft type, analysts classified 3,036 of the payloads as commercial, 1,126 as civil government, 602 as military, and 331 as university/non-profit. Of the payloads, more than 81 percent are proposed for Low Earth Orbits (LEO), with the rest planned for Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) or Medium Earth Orbits (MEO), deep space, and elliptical.