{"id":65418,"date":"2018-04-23T20:15:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T12:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/top-10-things-nsr-learned-at-satellite-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-04-23T20:15:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T12:15:12","slug":"top-10-things-nsr-learned-at-satellite-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/top-10-things-nsr-learned-at-satellite-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Things NSR Learned at SATELLITE 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>\u201cField of Dreams\u201d Constellations Still Splitting Vote<\/h2>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Shagun Sachdeva, Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>THE topic of the conference was LEO constellations. These were major points of debate in almost every session. The oversupply of capacity expected from these business plans was quite aptly compared to the \u201cIf you build it, they will come\u201d mantra of the now-famous \u201cField of Dreams\u201d picture. Operators were keen to indicate the spread of capacity over different services and orbits renders that concern invalid. The biggest challenge highlighted however by the same operators is keeping capital expenditure low. Still, polling results were optimistic, but questions asked by the audience showed more pessimism.&nbsp;At the same time, smallsat Earth Observation (EO) constellations are today still \u201ca thing,\u201d with more start-ups announcing plans and recent launch rates showing more are on the way to becoming a reality.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZkNEGscQZOKddw0Tbggs_01_VS_050118_Cover_DGTL-1-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZkNEGscQZOKddw0Tbggs_01_VS_050118_Cover_DGTL-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZkNEGscQZOKddw0Tbggs_01_VS_050118_Cover_DGTL-1-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZkNEGscQZOKddw0Tbggs_01_VS_050118_Cover_DGTL-1-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZkNEGscQZOKddw0Tbggs_01_VS_050118_Cover_DGTL-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the May 2018 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><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Dallas Kasaboski, Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While LEO constellations were the talk of the town, the satellite industry is giving a second, or maybe first, look at how that capacity will reach the ground. Fast-tracking and multi-beam capabilities will be key in distributing LEO capacity supply, and many agree that Flat Panel Antennas (FPAs) will be necessary going forward. Great strides were made in recent years in FPA technology, and satellite saw more than its fair share of new, vocal players announcing more partnerships and deals this year than ever before. Discussions centered on performance and cost curves not being quite optimal, with most solutions catering to niche, deeper-pocketed enterprises, rather than the widespread consumer market. Despite the hype, the feeling was that a gap in getting there still exists, in particular to close the LEO satellite business case loop, which means assets may hang in space until the market catches up.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Brad Grady, Senior Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a679ed84a73f;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_6a679ed84a73f = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a679ed84a740').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a679ed84a740'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Amongst the talk of Aeronautical, Backhaul, and Consumer Broadband (the ABCs) as the \u201cgrowth engine\u201d for satellite communication, security was mentioned as becoming a must-have item.&nbsp;With satellite networks looking and feeling more and more like their terrestrial counterparts through SD-WANs, terrestrial threats are very much a reality.<\/p>\n<p>Walking the exhibit floor, talking to attendees, and listening to presentations throughout the conference, the security concerns (be it cyber, personal data, or physical) were front and center conversation points.&nbsp;What was unclear is what levels of security are \u201cmust-have\u201d and what are \u201cwill pay for\u201d?<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Siddharth Shihora, Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A more focused approach was seen in SATELLITE 2018, which made things clearer about the \u201cdo\u2019s and don\u2019ts\u201d for in-orbit servicing, in terms of regulations. The overall message conveyed was: in-orbit servicing will become a reality, sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Siddharth Shihora, Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Slowly and steadily, satellite manufacturers are seeing the real picture and are moving away from fantasy land mainly due to the large drop in GEO satellites, where everything works and brings millions of dollars in revenue. They are moving toward LEO constellations but also asking questions about the best LEO business model moving forward.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Carolyn Belle, Senior Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While not yet taking center stage, smallsat players made a splash on the exhibit floor, in panels, and in special announcements alongside industry giants.&nbsp;Commercial and government operators spoke of more mixed architectures, blending not only orbits but satellite mass and capability in their search for a robust set of assets with optimized capex and revenue potential. Manufacturers and launch service providers highlighted solutions targeted for smallsats, from advanced manufacturing facilities and partnerships to new options for rideshare launch.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Shivaprakash Muruganandham, Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a679ed84ab2c;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_6a679ed84ab2c = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a679ed84ab2d').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a679ed84ab2d'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Launch service providers recognize the bottleneck that is becoming increasingly apparent, acknowledging their limitations in manufacturing and production for the near-term, and the need for greater launch cadence to match up with the increasing demand. What will be the key factors to be addressed for launch vehicle availability? Flexibility and launch cadence alone?<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Lluc Palerm, Senior Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>After years of hype generation, actual 5G deployments are here. 5G is much more than \u201cfaster speeds\u201d and it involves a complete rethinking of how networks are conceived. Satellite and ground have worked in silos for years, but 5G opens the opportunity for satellite to seemingly integrate in the telecom ecosystem while unlocking new use cases such as traffic offload, network resiliency, streaming multicast or network densification. But to get to this vision, satellite must do its homework influencing satcom-friendly protocols, making it easier for telecom networks to integrate satellite and achieving much lower price points.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Jose Del Rosario, Research Director, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The industry has focused on the space segment and is now beginning to seriously take ground equipment into account. That\u2019s the good news. The bad news is one area that seems to be ignored or paid little attention to is network management software. With complex LEO systems, smallsats and other assets flying around and needing coordination, software to manage traffic as well as deal with interference issues and debris needs to be integrated into future systems today. From a market perspective, monetizing software products and services is still unclear but can prove to be of high value given the complex and critical requirements that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Alan Crisp, Senior Analyst, NSR<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The connected car via satellite has been subjected to much hype in recent years; however, NSR has always felt this will be best served by terrestrial technologies (with some exceptions). Now satellite constellations, both traditional operators and upcoming smallsats are turning their attention to autonomous cars, a field which NSR believes is much more suited to satellite connectivity. While this is a longer-term proposition, operators are beginning to gear up early for this large market opportunity. Unlike the connected car, connectivity requirements for the autonomous car are orders of magnitude more critical and will more quickly reach mass market status. The only question is how quickly autonomous cars will become technically feasible to end users before the benefits flow through to the satellite value chain. <\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 407176:  \/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=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TzXZDgbJQFaEZawXDknq_VS_050118_CyberSec-300x180.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TzXZDgbJQFaEZawXDknq_VS_050118_CyberSec-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TzXZDgbJQFaEZawXDknq_VS_050118_CyberSec-800x480.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TzXZDgbJQFaEZawXDknq_VS_050118_CyberSec-640x384.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TzXZDgbJQFaEZawXDknq_VS_050118_CyberSec.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\tAI Elevates Cyber Threat to New Level<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 407164:  \/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=\"258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qu2Yz8tTUmtVfivuzjx0_AI_050118-1-300x258.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qu2Yz8tTUmtVfivuzjx0_AI_050118-1-300x258.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qu2Yz8tTUmtVfivuzjx0_AI_050118-1-800x687.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qu2Yz8tTUmtVfivuzjx0_AI_050118-1-640x550.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qu2Yz8tTUmtVfivuzjx0_AI_050118-1.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\tAI Heads to Space with a Constellation of Use Cases<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 407170:  \/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\/2026\/04\/yZVMKLXTCGdYCvsgx0Py_Falcon_Heavy_Side_Boosters_landing_on_LZ1_and_LZ2_-_2018__25254688767_-300x200.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/yZVMKLXTCGdYCvsgx0Py_Falcon_Heavy_Side_Boosters_landing_on_LZ1_and_LZ2_-_2018__25254688767_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/yZVMKLXTCGdYCvsgx0Py_Falcon_Heavy_Side_Boosters_landing_on_LZ1_and_LZ2_-_2018__25254688767_-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/yZVMKLXTCGdYCvsgx0Py_Falcon_Heavy_Side_Boosters_landing_on_LZ1_and_LZ2_-_2018__25254688767_-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/yZVMKLXTCGdYCvsgx0Py_Falcon_Heavy_Side_Boosters_landing_on_LZ1_and_LZ2_-_2018__25254688767_.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\tCalculating the Economics of Reusable Launch Vehicles<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 407197:  \/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=\"246\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qX7WKcTETTegc2jYEboA_Connected_Transport_050118-300x246.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qX7WKcTETTegc2jYEboA_Connected_Transport_050118-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qX7WKcTETTegc2jYEboA_Connected_Transport_050118-800x656.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qX7WKcTETTegc2jYEboA_Connected_Transport_050118-640x525.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qX7WKcTETTegc2jYEboA_Connected_Transport_050118.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\tPostcard from a Cruise Ship: Behind the Scenes of a World Record Attempt<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 407203:  \/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=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hkbIPAofRCma72ZoOcJq_EdNote_Header_Web-300x167.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hkbIPAofRCma72ZoOcJq_EdNote_Header_Web-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hkbIPAofRCma72ZoOcJq_EdNote_Header_Web-800x446.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hkbIPAofRCma72ZoOcJq_EdNote_Header_Web-640x357.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hkbIPAofRCma72ZoOcJq_EdNote_Header_Web.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\tThe Dawn of Artificial Intelligence in Satellite<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 407181:  \/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=\"137\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GlMQHqTUSaaNP682SJkf_Radar-300x137.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GlMQHqTUSaaNP682SJkf_Radar-300x137.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GlMQHqTUSaaNP682SJkf_Radar-800x366.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GlMQHqTUSaaNP682SJkf_Radar-640x293.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GlMQHqTUSaaNP682SJkf_Radar.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\tThe Future of Milsatcom Rests on Interoperability<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cField of Dreams\u201d Constellations Still Splitting Vote Shagun Sachdeva, Analyst, NSR THE topic of the conference was LEO constellations. These were major points of debate in almost every session. The oversupply of capacity expected from these business plans was quite aptly compared to the \u201cIf you build it, they will come\u201d mantra of the now-famous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65419,"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-65418","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\/65418"}],"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=65418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}