Traditional geostationary communications satellite manufacturers say technological breakthroughs and interest in multi-orbit solutions will keep demand up.
At a session at Satellite 2024 on March 18, executives from many manufacturers recognized that satellite orders had declined from 20 to 25 per year but that the market was not dead.
“GEO’s not dead,” claimed Maxar Space Systems CEO Chris Johnson.
Other executives on the panel agreed that orders had plummeted to 10–15 satellites per year.
“We still see a market of around 10 commercial GEO satellites a year,” said Thales Alenia Space CEO Hervé Derrey.
That market adjusts. It is lower than five to seven years ago.”
GEO satellites' business rationale and technological advances kept demand from dropping, according to those businesses.
Boeing Satellite Systems International president Ryan Reid stated GEO satellites would continue to be used in multi-orbit systems with low Earth orbit constellations.