Ten years ago, if you found yourself in an emergency situation without cell service, your only hope for seeking rescue would have been through a cost-prohibitive satellite phone that is seldom carried by most people.
However, today you can simply press the emergency icon on most smartphones and anywhere in the world you’ll be connected to emergency services. This is all thanks in part to the rapid proliferation in commercial satellites over the past 5 years.
Commercial satellites are one of the most rapidly growing fields in the space industry, in 2022 alone the commercial satellite industry accounted for $281 billion dollars or 73% of the global commercial space economy according to research done by the Satellite Industry Association and Byrce Space and Technology, LLC.
Commercial satellite launches have skyrocketed in recent years, due to demands brought on from a changing world in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and recent geopolitical upheaval, along with increased consumer demand for global communication.
A massive part of the industry, $145 billion, is ground equipment, which can range from electrical ground support equipment to command-and-control systems. As the demand for commercial satellites has increased so has the need for ground and test equipment, with testing a crucial step before a successful satellite launch.
One of the most popular forms of commercial satellites are small satellites and nano satellites, which have become increasingly popular for use in Low Earth Orbit and Geostationary Orbit applications due to their affordable price and relative ease of manufacture, such as through the use of COTS (consumer off the shelf) parts and cost-effective 3D printed parts.
The proliferation of commercial satellites will continue to provide humanity with new capabilities that will be felt by all. B&A Engineering is proud to provide aerospace manufacturers with a range of testing solutions and services. Explore the rest of our website for more information and contact us for all of your needs.