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Commercial satellite activity continued to recover in 2006. As telecommunications companies’ profits have started to grow following several years of flat revenues, they are increasing their investments in satellite capacity. Twenty-three commercial satellites were launched during the year, and 27 contracts were awarded. This compares with 22 launches in 2005 and just 14 in 2004.
For commercial launcher companies, price pressures eased significantly. Russian launcher companies, which previously had extremely competitive pricing, announced rapid price inflation and component delays. This was due to apparent increases in raw material costs and restructuring within the Russian industry.
Consolidation
Across the space industry, consolidation, through both mergers and alliances, is continuing. The world’s largest remote-sensing company, GeoEye, has been formed following the merger of Orbimage and Space Imaging; Astrium Satellites and Indian Space Research Organisation have formed an alliance to build small commercial telecommunications satellites; Thales Group has agreed to acquire Alcatel’s 67% stake in satellite manufacturer Alcatel Alenia Space and 33% stake in satellite ground services provider Telespazio; and United Launch Alliance has been created through the merger of Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s government launch services operations.
Commercial space companies are becoming increasingly high profile. Bigelow Aerospace launched its first inflatable space module as a demonstrator for future space structures. Space Adventures, the space tourism company, sent its fourth paying customer into space, and offered future customers “space walks”.
