{"id":60197,"date":"2020-03-11T23:25:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T15:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/whats-driving-smallsat-growth-in-geo\/"},"modified":"2020-03-11T23:25:51","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T15:25:51","slug":"whats-driving-smallsat-growth-in-geo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/whats-driving-smallsat-growth-in-geo\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Driving Smallsat Growth in GEO?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With small satellites or cubesats, there\u2019s a tendency \u2014 even among satellite industry veterans \u2014 to think about their activities in Low-Earth Orbits (LEO) and Medium-Earth Orbits (MEO). But if SATELLITE 2020 has shown us anything, it\u2019s that the next big \u2014 or small \u2014 trends can come from anywhere. <\/p>\n<p>At Tuesday afternoon\u2019s panel, \u201cSmallsats in GEO,\u201d several relatively new satellite companies and operators said they are currently developing constellation systems to operate at high-level Geostationary (GEO) orbit, and relying on small satellite-specialized launch vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FWtNsJ4ZQVKb8szzeM9L_ShowDaily20_Cover_Day4_DGTL-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FWtNsJ4ZQVKb8szzeM9L_ShowDaily20_Cover_Day4_DGTL-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FWtNsJ4ZQVKb8szzeM9L_ShowDaily20_Cover_Day4_DGTL-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FWtNsJ4ZQVKb8szzeM9L_ShowDaily20_Cover_Day4_DGTL-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FWtNsJ4ZQVKb8szzeM9L_ShowDaily20_Cover_Day4_DGTL.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the Show Daily 2020 Day 4 Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<p>As most of the satellite industry knows, small satellites offer multiple advantages over their delivery-truck-size, large satellite counterparts, like flexibility, faster build-out times and lower-cost deployments. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe use the term micro satellite \u2014 it\u2019s not just about the mass, but the ability to fit alongside a traditional satellite on a launch stack,\u201d said panelist John Gedmark, CEO of Astranis, which was founded in 2015. The company is currently working on its first mission: a dedicated satellite to bring low-cost internet to Alaska. <\/p>\n<p>Moderator Andrew Penn, a senior associate at Avascent, said it was interesting that while \u201cthe economics drive you to grow bigger,\u201d small satellites seems to stand against these arguments. <\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6b9e873f6b1;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6b9e873f6b1 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6b9e873f6b3').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6b9e873f6b3'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201c[With] cost it\u2019s not different from [other orbits],\u201d Gedmark said. \u201c[With] cost per bit, people are taking total capacity of satellite and dividing by on-orbit costs\u2026 they\u2019re designing satellites to cover an entire continent but [only]\u2026having all that capacity but filling half of it. When you remove that fill rate piece of the equation, you get the smallest cost per bit with that equation.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Another advantage of smallsats is that they enable operators to get into GEO quickly, without having to invest in a large satellite, which can take longer to launch. <\/p>\n<p>GapSat CEO Gregg Daffner said that his company\u2019s business model of leasing satellites for operators for use in their orbital slots for interim periods of time enables them to test out expansion and assess their real-time needs without making a huge investment in infrastructure. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSatellite operators often miscalculate when they need more capacity,\u201d Daffner said. \u201cThey\u2019re not sure how the market will play out. So if they can experiment with a leased satellite [in GEO], and see if they like that, they can [decide to] own a satellite.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But there are still some challenges to deal with. <\/p>\n<p>Jim Simpson, CEO of Saturn Satellite Networks, which was founded in 2017, focuses on providing traditional capabilities to as many operators as possible, so they can offer optimal coverage, for example, to countries that have dedicated spectrum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are smaller satellites that can stack together but the problem is, whenever you\u2019re dealing with a primary satellite, it causes complications,\u201d said Simpson, adding that he wanted to maintain being a secondary payload in addition to offering capabilities such as satellites with 16-24 transponders or high-throughput communications.<\/p>\n<p>Panelists also stressed the cost efficiency of small satellites. When it comes to cost per bit, \u201cPeople are taking total capacity of satellite and dividing by on-orbit costs.\u201d Gedmark said. \u201cThey\u2019re designing satellites to cover an entire continent but \u2026having all that capacity [and] filling half of it. When you remove that fill rate piece of the equation, you get the smallest cost-per-bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to cost per bit, \u201cPeople are taking total capacity of satellite and dividing by on-orbit costs.\u201d Gedmark said. \u201cThey\u2019re designing satellites to cover an entire continent but [only]\u2026having all that capacity but filling half of it When you remove that fill rate piece of the equation, you get the smallest cost per bit with that equation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6b9e873fb9e;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6b9e873fb9e = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6b9e873fb9f').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6b9e873fb9f'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Daffner nearly echoed his sentiments, noting that \u201cwhen you say you get greater economies of scale when you build a larger satellite, what is the reality? What\u2019s the take up rate? What\u2019s the ramp up rate? One of the advantages of going small is you can do ride shares \u2026 you\u2019re just one of a number of entries doing co-launch.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Also, he added, some of the small sats aren\u2019t using components with up to 30 years lifetime. Having a shorter lifecycle than large satellites will give them even more of a competitive advantage in the future, when technology refreshes at an even faster pace. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea of using [equipment] that might degrade faster, is not a problem with small sats,\u201d said Daffner, \u201cbecause an organization can do a better job of cycling out old technology, keeping up with new technological developments, and address new market needs\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The alternative is having \u201chaving the same hardware in the sky\u201d and then trying to catch up with what is out there.<\/p>\n<p>Gedmark said Daffner\u2019s point was an important one. \u201cIf you look how launches are planned out, they\u2019re looking at how to make money on years 13, 14, 15 \u2026 while that market used to work, it doesn\u2019t work today with broadband internet,\u201d Gedmark said. \u201cthe subset [of the market] is connectivity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sytze Veldman, satellite and launch development manager of Ovzon, added that small sats enable customers to have backup coverage, when they are remote, and they don\u2019t want to rely on capacity on the ground. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re seeing this in Italy,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re starting to use [satellite-based] service for the coronavirus.\u201d <strong>VS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 397:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/KVa61byAQN2npl9uwrRA_D7S_7549-2-300x200.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/KVa61byAQN2npl9uwrRA_D7S_7549-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/KVa61byAQN2npl9uwrRA_D7S_7549-2-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/KVa61byAQN2npl9uwrRA_D7S_7549-2-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/KVa61byAQN2npl9uwrRA_D7S_7549-2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tExisting Threats, Long-Term Opportunities Fuel the U.S. Space Force<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 396:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lZkJJpOpT9QGiundSeW7_DSC_1984-300x200.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lZkJJpOpT9QGiundSeW7_DSC_1984-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lZkJJpOpT9QGiundSeW7_DSC_1984-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lZkJJpOpT9QGiundSeW7_DSC_1984-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lZkJJpOpT9QGiundSeW7_DSC_1984.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tFiber Optic Cables Take Center Stage at Startup Space 2020<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 399:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/zGXgYJ2HS3lpGreoblhg_D7S_7489-300x200.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/zGXgYJ2HS3lpGreoblhg_D7S_7489-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/zGXgYJ2HS3lpGreoblhg_D7S_7489-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/zGXgYJ2HS3lpGreoblhg_D7S_7489-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/zGXgYJ2HS3lpGreoblhg_D7S_7489.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tSatellite Manufacturers Tout Their Agility<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 398:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/8QFkkuwSRtCUgubUbzrq_Satshow_DC_Background-300x200.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/8QFkkuwSRtCUgubUbzrq_Satshow_DC_Background-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/8QFkkuwSRtCUgubUbzrq_Satshow_DC_Background-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/8QFkkuwSRtCUgubUbzrq_Satshow_DC_Background-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/8QFkkuwSRtCUgubUbzrq_Satshow_DC_Background.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tU.S. Military Wants New Ways to Buy Satellites, Services<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With small satellites or cubesats, there\u2019s a tendency \u2014 even among satellite industry veterans \u2014 to think about their activities in Low-Earth Orbits (LEO) and Medium-Earth Orbits (MEO). But if SATELLITE 2020 has shown us anything, it\u2019s that the next big \u2014 or small \u2014 trends can come from anywhere. At Tuesday afternoon\u2019s panel, \u201cSmallsats [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60197"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}