Space & satellites
Rockets, satellite internet constellations, Earth imagery and satellite factories, in a US$429B–686B space economy
The space market covers rockets and launch services, the companies that build satellites, the operators that sell connectivity and Earth-observation imagery from orbit, and the ground equipment that connects to them. Its customers are consumers, airlines, ships, telecom carriers, farmers, insurers, and civil and defence agencies. SIA/BryceTech measured the global space economy at US$429B in 2025, with launch revenue up 33% and a record 4,434 satellites launched. Space Foundation, which counts more broadly, put it at US$686B. Growth comes mostly from low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations and cheaper reusable launch. Revenue from satellite manufacturing and legacy satellite TV is flat.
new market · sits inside NAICS 336414, 336415, 334220, 517410, 541370 · researched 2026-11-14
global revenue (space economy) · world429
↗USD billions · 2025
global revenue (launch services) · world12.4
↗USD billions · 2025
global revenue (satellite manufacturing) · world20.4
↗USD billions · 2025
global revenue (space economy, commercial + government budgets) · world686
↗USD billions · 2025
G
Growth
Dated and sourced; forecasts are labelled as forecasts.
- 2026-05SIA's 29th State of the Satellite Industry Report (prepared by BryceTech) found the global space economy grew 3% to US$429B in 2025. Commercial satellite industry revenue rose 4% to US$303B, which is 71% of the total. Ground segment revenue was US$165.2B (+6%) and satellite services revenue was US$105.0B. ↗
- 2026-05SIA, 2025 figures: launch services revenue rose 33% to US$12.4B over 325 launches, 296 of them commercially procured. A record 4,434 satellites were launched (+65%), and 14,266 were operational at year end. Satellite broadband subscribers rose 62% to more than 10 million. ↗
- 2026-07Space Foundation's broader count, 2025 figures: the global space economy grew 12% to US$686B. Commercial activity was US$544.3B, up 13% from a revised US$481.5B in 2024. Commercial satellite manufacturing revenues rose 67.2%. 53 government space budgets totalled almost US$141B (+7.4%), and US government space funding of US$78.3B was 57% of that. ↗
S
Segments
Each linked segment has its own page with its companies.
- Rocket launch services 6 — Orbital and suborbital rockets that carry satellites and crews to orbit, increasingly with reusable boosters.
- Satellite manufacturing 5 — Design and assembly of satellites, buses and payloads, from large geostationary satellites to mass-produced low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites.
- Satellite internet & connectivity 8 — LEO, MEO and GEO constellations selling internet, backhaul, mobility, IoT and direct-to-phone service.
- Earth observation & satellite imagery 3 — Optical and radar imagery and analytics sold to defence, agriculture, insurance and mapping customers.
- Ground segment & user terminals — Antennas, user dishes, gateways and GNSS equipment. This is the largest revenue segment (US$165.2B in 2025 per SIA).
- In-space services & robotics 2 — Satellite servicing, debris removal and space situational awareness, about US$500M in 2025 per SIA.
C
Leading companies in space & satellites
17 companies, with the scale each source states.
| Company | Where | What they do | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX SPCX ↗ | Starbase, United States since 2002 | Falcon 9/Heavy and Starship launch; operates Starlink, the largest LEO broadband constellation (13.6M consumer subscribers at 2026-09-30 per Wikipedia). | revenue: 18.7 USD billions (2025) ↗ |
| Blue Origin ↗ | Kent, United States since 2000 | Builds the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket (first orbital launch 2025-01-16), the New Shepard suborbital rocket, the BE-4 engine supplied to ULA's Vulcan, and the Blue Moon lunar lander. | employees: 11,000 people (about) (2023) ↗ |
| Rocket Lab RKLB ↗ | Long Beach, United States | Electron small-satellite launcher, the Neutron medium rocket in development, and spacecraft buses and components. | revenue: 601.799 USD millions (2025) ↗ |
| Firefly Aerospace FLY ↗ | Leander, United States | Builds the Alpha small launch vehicle, Blue Ghost lunar landers and spacecraft. | revenue: 159.855 USD millions (2025) ↗ |
| Arianespace ↗ | Évry-Courcouronnes, France since 1980 | Europe's launch operator, flying Ariane 6 (first flight 2024-07-09) from French Guiana. It holds 24 Ariane 6 launches for Amazon Leo. | revenue: 1.25 EUR billions (2021) ↗ |
| China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) ↗ | Beijing, China since 1999 | China's main state space contractor; designs and builds spacecraft, launch vehicles and ground equipment. | revenue: 294.02 CNY billions (2013) ↗ |
| Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) AMZN ↗ | Redmond, United States | LEO broadband constellation of 3,236 FCC-authorized satellites. The FCC waived its July 2026 half-deployment deadline. | satellites launched: 396 production satellites (2026) ↗ |
| Eutelsat (incl. OneWeb) ETL ↗ | Paris, France since 1977 | Operates 35 GEO satellites and the OneWeb LEO constellation of about 600 satellites (merged in September 2023). The French state holds 29.65%. | revenue: 1.23 EUR billions (FY2025/26) (2026) ↗ |
| SES SESG ↗ | Betzdorf, LU since 1985 | GEO and MEO operator with more than 70 satellites, including O3b mPOWER broadband. It completed its acquisition of Intelsat on 2025-07-17. | revenue: 2,001 EUR millions (2024) ↗ |
| Telesat TSAT ↗ | Ottawa, Canada since 1969 | Canadian GEO operator building the Telesat Lightspeed LEO constellation, with MDA Space as prime satellite manufacturer and first launches planned for mid-2026. | revenue: 417.956 CAD millions (2025) ↗ |
| MDA Space MDA (TSX, NYSE) ↗ | Brampton, Canada since 1969 | Satellite systems maker (198 satellites for Telesat Lightspeed) and space robotics (Canadarm2, Canadarm3 for Lunar Gateway). | revenue: 1.201 USD billions (as stated by Wikipedia) (2025) ↗ |
| AST SpaceMobile ASTS ↗ | Midland, United States | Building a space-based cellular broadband network that connects directly to ordinary phones. | — |
| Iridium Communications IRDM ↗ | McLean, United States | LEO constellation selling global voice, data, IoT and PNT services. | revenue: 871.659 USD millions (2025) ↗ |
| Viasat VSAT ↗ | Carlsbad, United States | GEO broadband and mobility operator (including Inmarsat), plus government satellite communications. | revenue: 4,640.28 USD millions (FY ended 2026-03-31) (2026) ↗ |
| Planet Labs PL ↗ | San Francisco, United States | Operates a large fleet of Earth-observation satellites and sells daily imagery and analytics. | revenue: 307.727 USD millions (FY ended 2026-01-31) (2026) ↗ |
| Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence) ↗ | Westminster, United States since 2017 | High-resolution Earth imagery (WorldView Legion). Its sister unit Maxar Space Systems was renamed Lanteris in October 2025. | revenue (Maxar Technologies, whole company): 1.61 USD billions (2022) ↗ |
| Airbus Defence and Space AIR.PA ↗ | Taufkirchen, Germany since 2014 | Telecom and Earth-observation satellites (Eurostar, Pléiades) and the Orion European Service Module. Airbus plans to merge its space systems with Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio in a joint venture with an estimated €6.5B turnover, targeted for 2027. | revenue (whole division incl. defence): 11,995 EUR millions (2024) ↗ |
CA
In Canada
- 2026-05CSA's State of the Canadian Space Sector Report 2025 (2024 data): revenue C$5.0B (C$5,028M, -1.2%). Non-broadcasting revenue was a record C$3.6B. There were 14,622 direct jobs (+4.0%), GDP contribution was C$3.8B, and business R&D was C$962M (+48%). ↗
- 2026-05Satellite communication is 69% (C$3.5B) of Canadian space revenue, and Earth observation is 7% (C$373M). About 43% of revenue (C$2.2B) is exported, 68% of it within North America. ↗
- 2024-09Telesat completed C$2.54B in funding agreements for Telesat Lightspeed: a C$2.14B Government of Canada loan and a C$400M Government of Quebec loan. ↗
- 2025-03ISED says Telesat's C$25M Gatineau campus will house the Lightspeed network operations, satellite control and cybersecurity centres, bringing 300 new jobs. It is part of the C$6.5B Lightspeed initiative. ↗
R
What would have to be true
- Launch is concentrated in a few US providers: SIA says US firms flew 63% of 2025 launches. Delays like New Glenn's May 2026 static-fire failure, which damaged LC-36, can push back other operators' deployment schedules.
- New constellations must deploy on regulatory timelines. Amazon Leo needed an FCC waiver of its July 2026 half-constellation milestone, and Telesat Lightspeed depends on launches starting mid-2026.
- Broadband growth has to outpace price compression. SIA reports record satellite launches in 2025 but only a marginal rise in manufacturing revenue (US$20.4B).
- Much demand depends on government budgets (about US$141B in 2025, 57% of it US), so policy or budget shifts could slow contracts.
Quick answers
- How big is the space & satellites market?
- global revenue (space economy) (world): 429 USD billions, 2025 — Satellite Industry Association; global revenue (launch services) (world): 12.4 USD billions, 2025 — Satellite Industry Association.
- Is the space & satellites market growing?
- SIA's 29th State of the Satellite Industry Report (prepared by BryceTech) found the global space economy grew 3% to US$429B in 2025. Commercial satellite industry revenue rose 4% to US$303B, which is 71% of the total. Ground segment revenue was US$165.2B (+6%) and satellite services revenue was US$105.0B.
- Who are the leading space & satellites companies?
- SpaceX (United States), Blue Origin (United States), Rocket Lab (United States), Firefly Aerospace (United States), Arianespace (France), China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) (China), Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) (United States), Eutelsat (incl. OneWeb) (France), and 9 more in the table above.
- Which space & satellites companies are publicly traded?
- SpaceX (SPCX), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Firefly Aerospace (FLY), Eutelsat (incl. OneWeb) (ETL), SES (SESG), Telesat (TSAT), MDA Space (MDA (TSX, NYSE)), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Iridium Communications (IRDM), Viasat (VSAT).
- Which Canadian companies are in space & satellites?
- Telesat, Ottawa; MDA Space, Brampton.
- What is happening with space & satellites in Canada?
- CSA's State of the Canadian Space Sector Report 2025 (2024 data): revenue C$5.0B (C$5,028M, -1.2%). Non-broadcasting revenue was a record C$3.6B. There were 14,622 direct jobs (+4.0%), GDP contribution was C$3.8B, and business R&D was C$962M (+48%).
- What are the main segments of the space & satellites market?
- Launch services, Satellite manufacturing, Satellite broadband & connectivity, Earth observation & geospatial, Ground segment & user terminals, In-space services & sustainability.
- What are the risks in the space & satellites market?
- Launch is concentrated in a few US providers: SIA says US firms flew 63% of 2025 launches. Delays like New Glenn's May 2026 static-fire failure, which damaged LC-36, can push back other operators' deployment schedules.
Sources (18)
- Affordability, Productivity Drive Historic Satellite Industry Growth (29th SSIR) — Satellite Industry Association
- The Space Report 2026 – Global Space Economy (July 2026) — Space Foundation
- State of the Canadian Space Sector Report 2025 — Canadian Space Agency
- Telesat Completes $2.54 Billion Funding Agreements for Telesat Lightspeed — Telesat
- Government of Canada investment to bring 300 new jobs to Gatineau — ISED Canada
- XBRL company facts + submissions (RKLB, FLY, IRDM, VSAT, PL, TSAT, ASTS, MDA, SPCX) — US SEC
- SpaceX — Wikipedia
- Starlink — Wikipedia
- Blue Origin — Wikipedia
- Project Kuiper (Amazon Leo) — Wikipedia
- Arianespace — Wikipedia
- CASC — Wikipedia
- Eutelsat — Wikipedia
- SES S.A. — Wikipedia
- Telesat — Wikipedia
- MDA Space — Wikipedia
- Maxar Technologies — Wikipedia
- Airbus Defence and Space — Wikipedia