Satellite manufacturers at SATELLITE 2024 said GEO is far from dead, even as LEO demand grows. MDA CEO Mike Greenley: “We absolutely believe that the sustainment of the GEO side is full steam ahead.” Boeing’s Ryan Reid compared abandoning GEO for LEO to leaving a beachfront house for the mountains because more people are skiing: “When it comes down to it, GEO is the best way to get the economics of bandwidth.”
On SpaceX Starshield for government customers, Greenley said it drives manufacturing volume: “It encourages not just a strong commercial market for constellations but a government market to pick up commercial services.” Maxar’s Chris Johnson agreed: “Starshield to me is just an application of an idea that’s been around for a little while.”
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Thales Alenia Space CEO Hervé Derrey emphasized growing demand for resilience: “Our systems need to do very well in protecting against cyber threats, but also chemical threats.” Airbus’ Alain Faure said the company rolled out a new larger, flexible-payload GEO satellite and is now focused on delivery and incremental steps.
Manufacturers noted SDA is accelerating market timelines. Maxar’s Johnson: “Customers are looking for better value and quicker-turn technology.” Reid: “The market is telling us on the government side that we need to standardize our products to achieve the predictability at the rates and pace at which the demands are coming through.” VS
