Artist’s rendition of SS-55, a small multispectral remote Earth sensing satellite. Photo: ISS Reshetnev

[Via Satellite 07-14-2016] Surging demand for Earth imagery should lead satellite manufacturers to produce some 1,935 remote sensing satellites over the next 10 years, according to a recent study by Forecast International. Based on the research firm’s “The Market for Civil & Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites” report, an estimated $29 billion (in FY16 U.S. dollars) in remote sensing satellite manufacturing will occur during the 2016 to 2025 forecast period. The study covers 58 satellite production programs.

Forecast International notes that the average launch mass of remote sensing satellites increased from 851 kilograms in 2011 to 1,775 kilograms in 2013, followed by a substantial decline in average launch mass in 2014 down to 301.8 kilograms. This decline continued in 2015, dropping to 226.1 kilograms.

William Ostrove, author of the study, said in a press release that the cause for declining mass does not mean that there has been a lack of opportunities for large satellites. Russia’s Resurs-P3, launched in March 2016, weighed 5,920 kilograms at launch. The decline in average launch mass is due to an increased number of small satellites, not a decreased number of large satellites.

The report also notes growing commercialization as a major trend in the remote sensing satellite market, with commercial companies readily adopting the small satellite form.