Satellite Services and Applications: A vital cornerstone of modern society
I've just come across some interesting facts about Sat Coms in an article on the ESA website which I thought I'd share: · Satcoms is the largest sector in the space business; half of all launches are for communication satellites. · Out of a total of 1200 satellites in orbit more than 50% were communications satellites. · Owing to the larger size and complexity of communications satellites their value represents more than 67% of the value of all satellites launched in 2012. To this should be added that 87% of Ariane launches in the last three years were satcoms. · Adding all stages in the satcom value chain an aggregate of around €100 billion/year was the worldwide sitcom value in 2013 and continues to grow. · The top four global satellite operators…