New advancements in digital technology — coupled with better, more cost-efficient manufacturing processes — will create compelling opportunities in the near future. Such was the verdict reached by industry leaders at Wednesday’s opening session “Satellite Manufacturers: Building for an Increasingly Interconnected World” at the SATELLITE 2018 Conference and Exhibition.
Dario Zamarian, group president at SSL, noted the recent turmoil with GEO satellite sales but remained cautiously optimistic. In August, Hughes Network Systems signed a contract with SSL to build its next-generation Jupiter 3 Ultra High Density Satellite.
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Richard “Rick” Ambrose, executive vice president of space systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said: “In our case, we see what’s going to be a GEO-LEO-MEO [combination] to help companies close their business cases. The ability to produce and do as much automation as possible … we think is the future.”
Eurosat reported that the number of GEO commercial satellites ordered in 2017 (just seven) was its lowest in 15 years. However, NSR noted that “the industry will be redefined by the promise of HTS capacity, seeing HTS revenues increase tenfold from 2016-2026, culminating in a $17 billion annual market by 2026.”
Martin Van Schaik, senior vice president at Thales Alenia Space, said: “Whether we explode or not depends on how our customers will be able to cooperate and finance the new market.”
Frank Culbertson, Jr., president of the space systems group at Orbital ATK, noted a gradual shift toward digital payloads. “There are still people going with the more traditional payloads … but we’re starting to see the shift.”
On cybersecurity, Ambrose was emphatic: “Cyber threats are here with us and they’re going to stay and you have to build that capability.” VS
