Nanosatellites and microsatellites are miniature satellites that are generally launched into Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) in the form of constellations, especially for data gathering and scientific observation at low cost. Miniature satellites are classified according to their mass. A microsatellite has a mass ranging from 11 kg and 100 kg, whereas a nanosatellite has a mass in the range of 1 kg and 10 kg.

This market study provides information about the major vendors providing nanosatellite and microsatellite solutions and outlines the findings and analysis on how well each market vendor performs within our criteria. Vendor evaluations are based on two broad categories, namely product offerings and business strategies. Each category has various criteria, based on which, the vendors have been evaluated. The evaluation criteria considered under product offerings include the breadth of offerings, delivery (based on industries that the vendors cater to, deployment models, and subscriptions), support (based on pre- and post-sale support services), product features and functionalities. The evaluation criteria considered under business strategies include reach (based on geographic presence), industry coverage (based on end-users that the vendors cater to), viability, and inorganic growth strategies (partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions).

These players have built their position in the nanosatellite and microsatellite market by offering highly customized engineering as well as launch services for clients. The companies have also adopted various strategies to drive their growth in the nanosatellite and microsatellite market.

They have an innovative portfolio of solutions and services, along with an extensive network of channel partners and resellers to increase the deployment of their services across a multitude of verticals. The dynamic vendors have been generating considerable revenue in the nanosatellite and microsatellite market, and their market position is supported by their organic and inorganic ventures undertaken in recent years.

These companies offer an innovative portfolio of solutions and services for the nanosatellite and microsatellite market and hold strong potential to build strategies for driving their business growth to bring it on par with the vanguards. These vendors have been providing innovative and customized nanosatellite and microsatellite solutions and services to their customers.

The emerging players specialize in offering highly niche and customized solutions and services to their clients. A majority of the emerging vendors have been undertaking multiple acquisitions and increasing their sales capabilities across regions to offer integrated services to a wide range of clients. Nanosatellites and microsatellites are being widely used in various industry verticals, such as government, civil, commercial, defense, energy & infrastructure, and maritime & transportation. Advancements in space technology, in terms of electronics miniaturization as well as vehicle launchers, are creating a demand for miniature satellites. Enterprises requiring scalability, such as those in the government, civil, commercial, defense, energy & infrastructure, and maritime & transportation industries have adopted hardware, software, and data processing software, thereby fueling the growth of the nanosatellite and microsatellite market. Over the past few years, nanosatellites and microsatellites have changed the space exploration scenario and proved to be the most advantageous disruptive technology in numerous space missions. In addition to being cost-effective and reliable, the use of nanosatellites and microsatellites enables timely achievement of tasks. These qualities of nanosatellites and microsatellites provide a potential set of opportunities for smaller companies. The increased adoption of miniature satellites is encouraging small companies to test advanced methods and technologies, such as open source hardware and software, and formation flying, among others. GOVERNMENT The government vertical includes all nanosatellite and microsatellite developments carried out by government agencies such as NASA, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), China National Space Administration (CNSA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), among others, for a range of applications. Small satellites provide geographic transparency of a country with consistent imagery that is further integrated with geospatial tools to monitor urban growth and track illegal logging. These images are used for better regional transportation management, land use policy, and disaster management, and help in implementing economic development plans. CIVIL The civil vertical includes nanosatellites and microsatellites developed for non-defense applications by research organizations, academic institutes, and universities. These satellites can be used for tracking civil aircraft and ships, monitoring weather conditions, tsunami, and earthquake, among others. Recently, China launched three microsatellites into LEO to read flights’ coordinates, altitude, speed, direction, and other information automatically in real-time for avoiding tragedies, such as the missing flight MH370. Advancements in terrestrial computing and the ability of satellites to communicate with one another have helped to enhance the utility of small satellites in civil development. COMMERCIAL Small satellites are ideal for investments by private enterprises, as they are cheaper, faster to build, and can be launched for commercial missions as well. The geospatial technology using earth-imaging small satellites for agriculture, education, intelligence navigation, mapping, and other uses, has driven the growth of the commercial vertical in the past decade. Nanosatellites or microsatellites help commercial companies to gather and distribute global real-time data at a surprisingly low price across a wide geographic area to customers. Nanosatellites and microsatellites are used for commercial purposes, such as communication, in the form of voice, data, and videos, internet communication, and video chat, among other applications.