Dual-use Platforms Herald New Opportunities for the Global Satellite Manufacturing Market, Finds Frost & Sullivan

LONDON, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- With demand growing for higher bandwidth communications and finite orbital slots, satellite operators want satellites that are more powerful and flexible than ever before. The wider acceptance of dual-use platforms in the global satellite manufacturing market will bring new opportunities to satellite owners, satellite service providers and satellite manufacturers.

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New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.aerospace.frost.com), Global Satellite Manufacturing: The Impact of the Evolving Trends, finds that satellite manufacturing market revenues in 2009 increased by 10 percent over 2008. From 2009-2018, the global satellite manufacturing market will generate approximately $94.00 billion in revenues, with average global satellite manufacturing market revenues reaching roughly $9.4 billion per year from 2009 to 2018.

"Communications is an emulsification of several applications, bringing various end users diverse opportunities for growth across all segments," says Frost & Sullivan Consulting Analyst Aman Pannu. "Although it is an important market that will grow steadily, satellite manufacturing is limited by the low margins and tightly designed contracts of the commercial communications market."

Suppliers invest more on R&D as they need to offer innovative and robust equipment for next generation systems to the primes to incorporate in the larger projects. The risk perception of R&D is lower at the supplier level than at prime levels, as the risk is contained to a specific component / sub-system rather than the whole satellite system. Once the R&D output is thoroughly tested and ratified, the system can be adopted onto the main system on, with minimal / no risk.

Miniaturised components and subsystems, low-mass, high-strength structural material and low-mass and low-volume batteries are some areas that satellite manufacturers need to develop. These enhancements will not only improve efficiency, especially for smaller satellite platforms, but also allow the deployment of these platforms in diverse applications such as high-resolution earth imagery, rapid deployment communications and reconnaissance.

However, the low-cost production capabilities of countries such as India and China challenge the future satellite manufacturing market share of developed countries. The combination of a highly skilled workforce, inexpensive labour and low production costs enables India and China to compete effectively with the established space economies of the West.

"India and China have production costs that are up to 60 percent lower than those of western space participants," explains Pannu. "This encourages strategic international partnerships such as the one between China and Nigeria / Brazil and India's working relationship with Europe and Russia."

Without a true understanding of the nature and dynamics of the market, companies will be unable to manoeuvre the future market successfully. It is crucial to understand not only the demand and supply dynamics but also the capabilities of a market, in terms of the skilled resources, production costs, reliability perception and market regulations.

"Knowledge of the potential benefits of strategic partnerships and alliances and a clear understanding of future market demands will improve prospects for potential market participants," concludes Pannu. "A firm grasp of the regional and global market and of how business is conducted can only boost revenues in the long-term."

If you are interested in more information on this study, please e-mail Monika Kwiecinska, Corporate Communications, at [email protected], with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

Global Satellite Manufacturing: The Impact of the Evolving Trends is part of the Aerospace Growth Partnership Services programme, which also includes research in the following markets: World Civil and Military Space Systems; Satellite Vs Terrestrial; Growing Importance of Consumer Spending to Satellite Markets; Military Satellite Communications; World demand for Commercial Satellite Communications; Global Space Stakeholder Mapping- a Strategic Analysis of the Global Space Industry. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan