Photo: OneWeb.

The global satellite payload market is expected to reach $21.8 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Research and Markets. The firm predicts a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.9 percent between 2014 and 2025, owing to increased government spending in space exploration activities.

The growing popularity of communication and broadcasting services including pay TV and Over-The-Top (OTT) have led providers to develop advanced payload systems. Moreover, the increased penetration of payloads in the commercial sector is expected to propel the market demand.

According to the firm, the market will experience significant growth as there has been a great rise in the ordering and manufacturing of vast constellations of satellites for Earth Observation (EO) and telecommunication. Incremental improvements in launch operations and vehicle design are enabling a reduction in time for the manufacturing of payloads. Additionally, the evolution of small satellites is leading to the production of smaller payloads to reduce launch costs.

The need for geospatial tracking and positioning in the commercial sector is expected to drive the demand for satellite payloads over the forecast period. The emergence of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) has also resulted in high data-rate satellite transmission capability, which in turn is creating new opportunities for enhanced applications such as military, navigation, and commercial.