An Institutional Role
The overall consideration to be made in relation to the launch industry in general and the small- and medium-class segment in particular is the fact that commercial satellites tend to concentrate in geostationary orbit. All other orbits, including low-Earth, medium-Earth and highly elliptical orbit, on the other hand, are dominated by government and institutional satellites — with the notable exception of MSS constellations and a few other exceptions. "These orbits remain largely the domain of governments, be it for civilian or military missions," says Villain. And this is the defining issue for small- and medium-class launchers. While medium launchers such as the Soyuz can deliver payloads to geostationary transfer orbit, the underlying trend of increase in satellite mass means that their role for these types of missions likely will diminish in the future. They remain a factor in the delivery of satellites to lower orbits, and as such their future will be defined by the commissions coming from government and institutional customers.
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