on-orbit satellite servicing

A glimpse of the future of robotics-driven on-orbit services

A series of technological developments over the past few years is bringing the decade-long dream of refueling, salvaging and repairing satellites in orbit to fruition. A February 2018 report from Northern Sky Research predicts on-orbit satellite servicing will become a $3 billion market in the next decade – but no satellite operators have yet used such services for life extension or salvage operations. 2018 has proved to be a pivotal year

LEO HTS operators will struggle with ‘feasible business models’

A new report out from Northern Sky Research (NSR) predicts a “mixed outcome” for large high-throughput satellite (HTS) constellations. As we have previously reported, there are five companies now planning to launch LEO satellite mega-constellations, with the hopes of providing high speed, low latency broadband around the globe. These providers have drawn a “compelling level of optimism,” NSR said, pointing to the large amounts of funding being poured into these