Getting Younger
THE BIG VIEW SSPI is Looking for the Next “20 Under 35” Young Professionals!
Every Year The “Underview Effect”
The Evolution of Earth Observation . . . plus more! The Orbiter The Big View
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CONTENTS A View That’s Worth Billions – And Much More
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SSPI is Looking for the Next “20 Under 35” Young Professionals to Watch in the Coming Years
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Realizing the Potential of Earth Observation - An Interview with Arnulf Kjeldsen
The “Underview Effect”
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The Evolution of Earth Observation
Navigating a New Era of Connectivity - An Interview with Barry Matsumori
Mapping the World with Small Satellites - An Interview with Mike Safyan
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Data providers plough new strategies as investment in sector flourishes
Upcoming Events SSPI-ROCKY MOUNTAIN SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER
2019 SSPI Golf Tournament, August 23, Castle Rock, CO, USA. Click here for more information. NETWORKING IN COLORADO
Colorado Rockies Baseball Night with SSPI, September 17, Denver, CO, USA. Click here for more information. CELEBRATING YOUNG TALENT
The 2019 SSPI Future Leaders Dinner, October 8, Mountain View, CA, USA. Click here for more information. Learn more about upcoming events at www.SSPI.org 2
The Orbiter The Big View
A View That’s Worth Billions – And Much More By Robert Bell, Executive Director The ancient Greeks, those clever people, came to realize that the world was round and even calculated its diameter. The explorer Magellan made the case by sailing around the Earth without falling off the edge. Sure, he died along the way but it still counts. Providing absolute and positive proof to the rest of us took something more. Seeing is believing, they say. When the crew of Apollo 8 ventured beyond low Earth orbit into cislunar space in 1968, they brought us back the first full portrait of our home planet, blazing blue and white against the black backdrop of infinite space. Today, as we enter the Age of Commercial Space, the value of that view of Earth is rapidly rising through the billions to the trillions of dollars.
The Value of the View
In this issue of The Orbiter, we celebrate the enormous contribution that Earth observation (EO) and its data make to life on the ground. Much of it is measurable in money. In its 10th Satellite-Based Earth Observation report, NSR expected annual demand for Earth observation data and services to grow from US$3 billion in 2017 to $6.9 billion by 2027, when smallsats will generate 24% of revenues compared with 11% today. My favorite statistic from that forecast is that sales of imagery and data will grow only slightly – but revenues from analytics and big data will Earth as seen from Apollo 8 in 1968 grow 400% over the decade. I hate it when a hugely rich, enormously successful guy is right, but Marc Andreessen nailed it when he said that software is eating the world.
Value Greater Than Money
But much of the value of the view from space will be measured in other ways. It can give farmers field-by-field analysis of soil moisture. EO detects and maps wildfires The Orbiter The Big View
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A View That’s Worth Billions – And Much More
and provides utilities with forecasts of cloud cover that let them maximize the use of solar power. It can measure ocean waves and the amount of CO2 in the air, forecast crop yields, assess the impact of natural disasters and check the health of fisheries by analyzing the color of ocean water. And of course, EO data lets us model the climate and predict the weather at a time when extreme weather risks are on the rise. We will never know how many lives have been saved and how much quality of life has been created by EO imagery, data and analytics. As business people, we can celebrate the forecast of +200% growth in revenue over the next decade, and the growing role of smallsat technology in delivering solutions. We can battle with the world’s tech giants and startups to hire and retain the data analytics talent we need to deliver on those Workers in the Nha Trang Rice Fields must constantly adapt to forecasts. But we are new climate challenges cheating ourselves – and making it harder to win our share of that talent – if we fail to appreciate our role in making life better for billions of people. Most data analysts spend their days trying to make you click on that next mindless video or getting the junk you bought online to your door a little faster. Our data analysts feed children. They keep the lights on and homes warm. They keep the world’s economy humming. That’s a mission that your next hire can be proud of – and you can, too.
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The Evolution of Earth Observation By Patrick H. Rayermann The evolution in earth observation, as have other areas of endeavor that were once the sole a handful of national governments, has begun to benefit from the emergence of a growing number of companies providing earth observation capabilities and data on a commercial basis. As has happened in other aspects of the human development of space capabilities, the emergence of commercial systems to observe the earth has resulted in new approaches in how systems are built and in how the data itself is collected, disseminated and processed. The ability to observe the earth from space has proven to have profound benefits in terms of improving our scientific understanding of the earth, its geology, its weather and its climate. The same ability also enables human activity to be monitored which from some perspectives can be seen to further transparency among nations but also can be perceived as inappropriate intrusion by external parties into the sovereign activities of a nation-state. Initially, these capabilities were exercised solely by the two superpowers of the Cold War era—at the time, the technology remained limited and broad observation of the earth at high resolution was not practical. As the Cold War came to a close, the press by commercial entities to permit commercial earth observation led to the emergence of commercial systems—with some very specific constraints on those systems. But the emergence of these systems benefitted governments as well as commercial customers: governments came to recognize that additional systems were able to collect data that was beneficial for government purposes as well as commercial purposes. Governments which once relied exclusively on their own systems have found ways to purchase commercial earth observation data which complement the data they collect with their own systems. The emergence of small sats and the continued press to make space capabilities more affordable have resulted in a number of new approaches to earth observation systems being launched and proven over the past decade. New approaches for compiling data from multiple sources and processing that data have also begun to be developed over the past decade, establishing the benefits of developing
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The Evolution of Earth Observation
innovative processing techniques as well as innovating the systems which collect the data. As we begin to move into the third decade of the 21st Century, the opportunities for collaboration between government and commercial actors in earth observation are richer than ever. Although these opportunities are palpable—especially for commercial systems to establish an essentially daily update on the totality of the earth’s surface—there are continuing challenges. One area of concern is maintaining the security of propriety information and sensitive government information in a period when various means of compromising data via interconnected networks—many of which are connected to the public Internet—seem to proliferate on an almost daily basis: this must be an area of focus for commercial firms and Apollo 8 on the launch pad at twilight well as government agencies. It is appropriate, as we honor the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8 and Apollo 11—two of the missions that gave humanity its first pictures of the earth as a small, blue globe hanging in the vacuum of space—to recognize and evaluate the many opportunities and benefits which an increasing number of government and commercial entities will have for earth observation. These opportunities include improved knowledge of our home world, better understanding of the weather which affects people every day, increased awareness of the impact human activity has on our world and, potentially, by virtue of increasing transparency, some additional mitigation of the potential for major wars to occur. Patrick H. Rayermann is a Corporate Engineer at Linquest and a retired Army Space Operations Colonel.
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SSPI is Looking for the Next “20 Under 35� Young Professionals to Watch in the Coming Years At the 2019 Future Leaders Dinner on October 8 in Silicon Valley, SSPI will announce its list of the 20 Under 35 young space and satellite professionals to watch in the years ahead. 20 Under 35 honorees are employees or entrepreneurs who have demonstrated initiative, creativity and problemsolving skills that created new capabilities, overcame major challenges, and ensured excellence in technology and service. The three top-ranking on the list are honored with a Promise Award, which recognizes the potential to become a future leader of the industry. Also at the Future Leaders Dinner, the Mentor of the Year Award will be given to a satellite executive who has fostered young talent, both within his or herorganization and throughout the industry, and also has volunteered time and energy in support of the industry. The individual you nominate could be the one selected as a 2019 Promise Award or Mentor Award Winner!.Nominations are due by July 31, so submit yours now! Click here to download the nomination forms.
The Future Leaders Dinner
The 14th Annual SSPI Future Leaders Dinner is a benefit event that supports our programs to attract and retain the next generation of the space and satellite industry. The event will be held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California in conjunction with Satellite Innovation 2019 conference, produced by SatNews publishers.Join us in celebrating the newest 20 Under 35 and the 2019 Mentor of Year this October! Click here to learn more
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Realizing the Potential of Earth Observation An Interview with Arnulf Kjeldsen 1. What have been the key developments in the Earth observation business in the past 3-5 years? The arrival of earth observation (EO) constellations with new technology, more frequent revisit times and faster production has been an important change in the business. And along with new datasets, the question about required quality and resolution is frequently debated. We also see a larger diversity of sensors and missions being defined and launched, which helps to cultivate a more diverse array of data that can then be used and recombined in unique ways to offer value. Advances in data analytics and AI based on these new resources are changing the game in how – and how rapidly – space-based data can be used. 2. Where does your company fit in this emerging ecosystem and why is that role important/necessary? KSAT has a unique position providing both connectivity to EO players across the industry based on our global network of ground stations, as well as delivering surveillance services leveraging EO sensors and this ground network. The global ground network, and particularly the high north/south polar ground locations we operate, is key to providing secure connectivity and enabling low latency communications for space assets. By using the KSAT network, operators can rapidly get hardware on orbit and scale their space segment without the CAPEX, dedicated team, or learning process required of operating a dedicated ground network. KSAT is also operating the full TCPED (Task, Collect, Process, Evaluate, Disseminate) cycle, in particular serving maritime situational awareness for government and commercial users. 3. What new developments are occurring now or in the near future that will drive this market forward? 2019/2020 will be important in terms of realizing the potential of the current and planned EO missions. For KSAT in particular we are excited of the several new SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) constellations currently being built and launched. IcEye, Capella and Space Norway are examples of companies in the process of building constellation
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Realizing the Potential of Earth Observation
capacity in this domain. Additional new sensors and mission types, from hyperspectral imaging to atmospheric monitoring and beyond, are being deployed by new commercial actors targeting novel business plans. In parallel we see a great development in multiple VA platforms that will enable downstream providers to provide more and better services across the board. 4. What are the positive values and the potential negatives of heightened surveillance? I really do not see that many negative sides. One concern might be that a buildup of many new downstream companies might be challenged to rapidly build the operational and domain experience required to provide sustainable quality services. I do however see several positive values from this. Overall, the emergence of heightened surveillance capabilities is bringing a more clear and defined user demand to the table. This is a positive effect, which will drive development and strengthen the commercial EO industry to deliver solutions to new and complex challenges. I would expect increased government funding supporting this requirement, which will stimulate further innovation and growth. We are also seeing broad economic and social value in enhanced Earth observation capabilities – such as via improved weather forecasts, situational awareness, resource management, asset tracking, scientific knowledge, and a heightened understanding of how our world works. Arnulf Kjeldsen is Chief Operations Officer at KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services) and a member of SSPI’s Board of Directors.
Svalbard ground station - EO downlink location The Orbiter The Big View
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The “Underview Effect” By Louis Zacharilla, Director of Innovation What happens when you go into space and see the “Blue Marble” but do NOT have a spiritual experience as a result? Well, you are Charles Joseph “Charlie” Camarda, a fellow New Yorker (Queens) and American engineer made famous by virtue of having been a NASA astronaut who flew his first mission into space on board Space Shuttle mission STS-114. Astronaut Camarda was thinking about other things on his mission. Like doing his job. And he has been thinking about other things since he returned from that mission. Like innovation and the next phase of life for NASA. Camarda has been vocal in his insistence that NASA and the USA has lost its massive innovative edge. He backed up his conviction by starting a foundation, EPIC, to engage and inspire students to excel in STEM. I met him for the first time at the extraordinary, star-studded event on Friday night (July 19), where 250 invited guests of the New York Space Alliance and Google observed the Apollo 11 mission’s 50th year at Google’s massive New York headquarters. “Star-studded” takes on a whole new meaning in our industry. The room was filled with astronauts, authors, Google Cloud startup stars like VegaMX (which uses satellites), the president of the UN’s General Assembly, leaders of Singularity University, Kunal Sood, Founder & Chairman of NOVUS and Anousheh Ansari who established the X Prize. And I am proud to say that on behalf of SSPI’s members, I accepted an award from NYSA, along with NASA and Google, for our “unwavering support” of the industry and the emergence of the commercial space industry in New York. During a panel I asked Camrada and Dr. Yvonne Cagel, another astronaut has spoken about her time in space, whether each had experienced something transcendent while observing their home planet the way they did. I was expecting that there would be a statement of the poetic from both, and that they would both claim to have found the Lord, the Buddha, their rabbi or anything elevated enough to qualify as a full religious experience. Everyone thought it was a good question, even Frank White, the author of the fine book, The Overview Effect, which deals with this subject. Mr. White later gave a keynote. But a guy from Queens, as I should have known from having lived there long
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The “Underview Effect”
ago, are “real world.” So instead of an elegiac, maybe even sugary response said to make me feel good about my question, the former Senior Advisor for Engineering Development at NASA’s Langley Research Center said, without apology, “Nope. I was too busy doing my job. I was an engineer and had a lot riding on my work.” A classic Old School guy? Yes and no. Human beings, when probed like an asteroid’s surface, will always reveal something unexpected. Charles Camarada did not have a spiritual experience, at least as I would define it. But when pressed, he did have two insights which have stayed with him and become more prominent in his own belief system. They are core to his work as a mentor, I am certain. They sure are inspiring. “Well, when I think about it I did experience the importance of collaboration – the absolute need for it. I also believe that competition is not what will get it done on our next trip to the Moon and beyond. I am not a big fan of ‘competition’ among nations to get into space. I believe it actually works against us.” He added that the costs, the required technology and the ability of all nations to contribute will be at the core of the New Frontier 2.0. Frank White, the author of The Overview Effect, a book about the experiences of people who have seen the Earth from space, reminded us that President Kennedy had offered a partnership to the Russians the first time around, but that it had been turned down. The other New Yorker on the panel, Air Force Colonel and flight surgeon Dr. Yvonne Crager had quite a different experience. She described her “Overview” experience as one that reached deep into the scientist within her. “It expanded my view. I began to wonder why creation has occurred and have continued to expand on this question.” Dr. Cagle – who agreed to participate in an SSPI podcast this year - is certainly a scientist but has been touched by a poetic sense as a In Bethpage, New York, at the Cradle of Aviation, result of being gripped by the power another unique “New Yorker,” LM-13, scheduled to land of seeing her “home” in a new way. on the Moon during the Apollo 18 mission sits eternally Her video, “Poetry of Space on Earth” grounded after Congress cut all funding for the lunar tells her story. https://youtu.be/ landing program. It is the only Lunar Module that Qzs2_oL_kF4 ended up parked on Earth and was cheated out of having “The Overview Effect!”
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The “Underview Effect”
Both New York astronauts say that we need more poets, artists and writers to go to space to chronicle their experiences for the rest of us. To let the Overview Effect become the “Underview Effect,” where it touches the human heart and transmits the lessons of change. (A video featuring, among others, astronaut Nicole Stott, wife of SSPI’s former chairman Chris Stott, https://youtu.be/oFjAtNBb4cU describes the “effect.”) Culturally, the event in New York, inspired and organized by SSPI partner, the New York Space Alliance, revealed the vast distances that our industry has traveled since that storied day in the troubled Summer of 1969. A representative from the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Karen Bhatia, gave a long, inspired chronicling of the industries, products and wealth produced by that program five decades ago. Many of the people in that room were, like Google, not part of humankind’s search for meaning in 1969, because they were not born. But each surprisingly have a reverence for what went down in that time. We are still able to be awed. That was the energy in the room at Google NY. Anthropologically it is a different moment. Even as many looked down at their devices when politicians – even famous ones - gave politicians’ remarks, most were talking at the Reception with the spirit of the “Overview Effect.” Their encounter with the awe will reveal an “OMG!” and their need to get the job done well, whatever it is, will ensure that the spirit of Apollo still flies.
Panel featuring Charles Camarada, Yvonne Cagel and Frank White
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Navigating a New Era of Connectivity An Interview with Barry Matsumori 1. What have been the key developments in the Earth observation business in the past 3-5 years? Declining costs of technology and easier access to space have resulted in increased opportunities for commercial enterprises. In the past few years, the state of the art has advanced rapidly led by developments in amplifiers, lasers and acquisition tracking technologies. New business models have emerged to the point where it is common for commercial EO operators to supply Government agencies with commercial imaging products designed to support weather prediction, border security, disaster recovery and other Government unique missions. 2. Where does your company fit in this emerging ecosystem and why is that role important/necessary? With the critical need to address and satisfy latency, data security, bandwidth limitations, licensing, cost and last mile access issues, governments and telecom companies are exploring a range of options, including massive MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) antenna systems, holographic beam forming and ROF (radio over fiber optics). Though each technology offers unique benefits, most need further development, funding, or both. BridgeComm is enabling high-bandwidth solutions for unique applications via optical wireless communications that complement RF in hybrid networks. These systems enable future space missions using optical communications solutions through a global network of ground stations and complimentary fixed, mobile and satellite terminals. 3. What new developments are occurring now or in the near future that will drive this market forward? Satellite technology will undoubtedly continue to advance in ways that enable more efficient radio frequency (RF) reuse and greater ability to work around interference. But it can only go so far. What is needed is a solution to augment existing technology. Optical
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Navigating a New Era of Connectivity
Wireless Communications (OWC), a technology NASA and other space agencies have been using for decades, provides that critical augmentation which can propel the new era of connectivity. Technology for OWC is taking advantage of not only the maturation of the fiber optic communications market but also the commercialization of much of the components that are used in common with OWC. Hence, commercially competitive solutions can be made for satellite communications as well. The commercial industry can now take advantage of these technologies thanks to investments that have been made into OWC by governments and agencies such as NASA, JAXA (Japan) and the European Space Agency, which have helped mature OWC capabilities. For the application of space communications, the focus of these commercial developments has been on compact, high-data-rate OWC terminals ideally suited for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which include applications for Earth observation and telecommunications. 4. What are the positive values and the potential negatives of heightened surveillance? Positive values of heightened surveillance include: advance notice of impending weather-related events – enhancing disaster preparedness, a head start on recovery planning, and vital situational awareness during recover efforts; a much higher degree of awareness of activities along a country’s border – enabling authorities to address issues such as drug & human trafficking, immigration offenses and patterns of other illegal activity; heightened awareness and management of natural resources including water, crop yields, wildlife, oil and natural gas reserves. Potential negatives of heightened surveillance include: perceptions of a nanny state and/or privacy violations; fiduciary responsibility to address issues raised by heightened awareness including additional costs/resources necessary to process the influx of data; other potential legal issues that might arise. Barry Matsumori is Chief Executive Officer of BridgeComm, Inc and a member of SSPI’s Board of Directors.
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Mapping the World with Small Satellites An Interview with Mike Safyan 1. What have been the key developments in the Earth observation business in the past 3-5 years? The biggest change in the Earth Observation business over the past 3-5 years has been the proliferation of small satellites. Instead of companies deploying one or two exquisite and expensive satellites, the industry is pivoting towards large networks of lower-cost small satellites, which fundamentally enable different datasets. There will always be a need for the traditional approach to remote sensing satellites optimized for very high resolution or high degrees of scientific quality, but constellations of smallsats outperform the established systems on global coverage and frequency of collection, and are narrowing the gap in the other dimensions as well. The types of new satellite missions that have been proliferating include optical imagery, multispectral imagery, weather prediction, and AIS ship tracking, with more missions under development. This “SmallSat Revolution” has been enabled by the advancement of commercial electronics, lower cost and more frequent access to launch services, and cloud-based infrastructure to store, process, and deliver the terabytes of data being generated on a daily basis. Small satellites have arguably been flying since the launch of Sputnik, and cubesats have been flying since the early 2000s, it has only been over the last 3-5 years that we’ve seen companies with commercially viable business models deploying operational constellations and making an impact on the market. The industry has also seen an influx of VC funding enabling new companies across the entire value chain, which in combination with government funded Earth Observation missions like LandSat and Sentinel, have created a robust ecosystem that continues to grow. 2. Where does your company fit in this emerging ecosystem and why is that role important/necessary? Planet operates the world’s largest fleet of Earth Observation satellites, comprised of 120+ actively imaging medium-resolution and high-resolution satellite assets. Planet’s Flock constellation of Dove satellites scan the Earth at 3 to 5 meters per pixel, and Planet’s SkySat constellation captures sub-meter imagery of select areas of interest. This combined dataset has never existed before at this scale, so not only are established The Orbiter The Big View
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Mapping the World with Small Satellites
markets like agriculture, mapping, and government agencies enjoying the benefits of Planet’s data, but new markets such as finance and insurance are being opened up as well. In addition to generating the satellite data, Planet has made major improvements in how the data is being delivered to its customers, and the ease of which that data can be processed, manipulated, and combined with other datasets in order to maximize its value. Planet partners with a wide ecosystem of resellers, analytics companies and GIS platforms to deliver “last mile” solutions to a variety of end-users. Planet also takes its commitments to space stewardship very seriously, leading the industry in sustainable constellation deployment and debris mitigation measures. 3. What new developments are occurring now or in the near future that will drive this market forward? The two major trends moving the industry forward are 1) a further proliferation of spacebased sensors, and 2) advancements in data analytics. Some of the new and exciting Earth Observation missions under development include Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Radiofrequency Signal Intelligence (SigInt), hyperspectral images, and greenhouse gas detection. These missions, especially when combined with complementary datasets, will help further unlock use cases in a variety of markets. A dataset itself, however, cannot make a market, and the most important industry trend is the advancement of data analytics. Machine-based algorithms that can take in raw data and produce insights derived from the underlying data will be key to providing value to customers. Automated detection of scene features (e.g. detecting roads, buildings, trees, etc.), and even predictive analytics that can monitor a time-series of data and forecast future behavior will be where the industry sees the most economic growth. 4. What are the positive values and the potential negatives of heightened surveillance? We are already living in a surveilled society, and it’s important to understand that facial recognition software running on a camera positioned on a lamppost or an airport terminal poses a much greater threat to personal privacy than even the most advanced satellite systems. Thus the key question to be asking is not should we be surveilled, but who has access to the data. Earth Observation datasets previously only held by government agencies are now, thanks to companies like Planet and others, also available to a wide variety of commercial companies, nonprofits and academic researchers. Democratization of data helps level the playing field and create accountability in a way that was never possible before, and we believe the industry will continue to focus its efforts on positive use cases such as deforestation monitoring, improving agricultural yields, illegal fishing mitigation, food and water security, and so on. Mike Safyan is Vice President of Launch at Planet and a member of SSPI’s Board of Directors.
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Data providers plough new strategies as investment in sector flourishes By Craig Barner. Data and analytics providers are digging into new strategies as they face pricing pressures and more competition alongside growing investor interest. The satellite-based data sector eclipsed launch as the biggest recipient of investment in Q1 2019, venture firm Seraphim Capital found, as “record” numbers of smallsats reach orbit. Data accounted for US$1.9bn – translating into 47% of total investment – compared with US$1bn (26%) for the launch category. Seraphim included SoftBank’s US$1.25bn investment in OneWeb in March as part of the data category, taking the company closer to its goal of providing global connectivity. Amid this increase providers are facing pricing pressures due to growing competition and overcapacity, mirroring a general trend in satellite. Capacity pricing is expected to drop 10-20% depending on the service between 2019-20, a recent Northern Sky Research analysis suggests. Data providers are countering these drops by employing new strategies. These include expanding their reach, going beyond the traditional government and defence sectors to unlock the value of their assets in space, such as the financial services, oil & gas and agriculture.
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Data providers plough new strategies as investment in sector flourishes Primarily serving the financial services and defence markets, US-based geospatial analytics provider Orbital Insight announced late last year that it was expanding into the energy market via the introduction of Orbital Insight Energy. The product tracks the amount of oil being stored in floating roof tanks in a given country, providing insight and transparency into a nation’s overall oil storage. Data providers are also offering differing pricing and licensing models, Derek Edinger, CEO of US-based space analytics provider Ursa Space Systems, said in an interview. This includes subscription-based models, rather than a traditional, perpetual pricing model. “On the surface, this appears to significantly drop data prices, but [it] really can help grow long term data revenue by opening new markets and creating more annual-recurring revenue for the operators,” he noted. Others are echoing the same point, including Euroconsult. It projected that the Earth observation market for value-added services is worth more than double in dollar volume than that for the commercial Earth observation market alone. The former is forecast to generate more than US$5.7bn in dollar volume by 2027, while the latter is forecast to bring it US$2.4bn that same year. And data providers are fusing multiple data sources and leveraging analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer their clients the insights that give them the competitive edge. Fusion might be needed to provide the additional context that datasavvy customers want. Ursa uses its own AI platform and fuses other satellite-based data sources, such as optical communications, automatic identification systems and radio-frequency signals, Edinger said. It also uses an array of non-satellite data such as web-scraped information, public records and partner data. “A typical application for us will have at least two other data sources fused to our core satellite-based radar data source,” he added.
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Data providers plough new strategies as investment in sector flourishes Data segment surge
These efforts are ongoing as big data solutions are expected to see sustained growth over the next decade, largely driven by Earth observation and M2M/IoT applications in several key markets. Mirroring Seraphim, Space Angels found in Q1 2019 that investment in the datagenerating satellite segment surged in the first quarter, though it had US$1.5bn in dollar volume, eclipsing its total for all of 2018. Satellite represented 79% of total investment for the first quarter, up from 66% in Q4 2018. In addition to OneWeb, SpaceX raised US$226.8m, with UK investment firm Baillie Gifford the lead. In December, SpaceX raised a US$500m round of financing and was reportedly planning to use the haul to build its satellite internet project, Starlink. Though there are multiple projections on big data analytics, research in April from WiseGuyReports projected it will have had a 12% CAGR to US$275bn between 2017-2023. In big data analytics via satellite, Northern Sky Research forecast the sector will triple in dollar volume, to close to US$18.1bn in revenues between 2019-27. It attributes the explosive growth to increasing demand from end users in the transportation, government and military and energy sectors. A key reason for the surge is that it has become “humanly impossible� to analyse and extract insights without analytics powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, Seraphim research head Josephine Millward said. Customers no longer want to pay for raw data, but demand insights.
Trendspotting
A couple trends are pointing to the future of the sector, including the integration of synthetic-radar-radar (SAR) technology with other technologies.
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Data providers plough new strategies as investment in sector flourishes The quick turnaround and higher frequency of SAR combined with optical and other data are key to developing applications to opening new markets, Northern Sky Research says. SAR is complementary to optical imaging because it can capture images of Earth in darkness and under cloud. The analytics provider found that optical dominates the segment with 73% of the market, as some providers plan increases. The number of commercial SAR satellites is expected to double over the next year with new launches by US-based Capella Space, e-GEOS of Italy and Finland’s Iceye. “[SAR’s] been the underdog for a while since it’s been more difficult to get and harder to use than Earth observation, but that’s changing,” Edinger added. Also, early-stage and startup companies plan to use lasers for data downlink and intersatellite links in proposed constellations, though the optical satellite communications market is far from being established. NSR found that 92% of optical satcom revenue is expected to come from constellations, 5% from Earth observation and 3% from data relay. Finally, Earth observation operators are moving up the value chain by developing data platforms with analytic tools, while analytics providers have been successful in selling insights. Operators and analytics providers are forming partnerships with domain experts to expand into new vertical markets. Some are going deeper, as Canada-based Earth observation company UrtheCast (TSX:UR) in January closed an acquisition of US agricultural analytics provider Geosys Technology for US$20m. The greater competition is not necessarily causing fright among existing analytics providers such as Ursa. “There’s room for more as there’s still a lot of unsatisfied customer and market needs,” Edinger said. “Each party – operators and analytics companies – also brings a little something different.” This article originally appeared in SatelliteFinance at: https://www.satellitefinance.com/egeos-0
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Cover Photo Credit: NASA
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Copyright 2019 by the Space & Satellite Professionals International The Orbiter The Big View
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