There’s good news for Canada’s nano/microsatellite developers as SpaceWorks Commercial has just released a study indicating demand for nano/microsatellites is increasing significantly.
The study titled, Nano/Microsatellite Launch Demand Assessment 2011, indicates that by 2020 there will be a need for an estimated range of 100 to 142 nano/microsatellites (1-50 kg). This year there were a total of 23 satellites developed.
“The nano/microsatellite market has grown considerably with the adoption of the CubeSat standard, technology development, entrance of new developers, and furthering of applications,” stated Mr. Dominic DePasquale, Director of Washington D.C. Operations for SpaceWorks Commercial. “We offer highlights of our internal launch database for the entire community of satellite developers and launch vehicle providers. We feel it is important to put quantitative assessments on the known qualitative growth we see in this industry. We hope this becomes a resource for the nano/microsatellite community going forward.”
This is good news for the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) Space Flight Laboratory which in the new year will open up a new facility to handle its expanding workload.
As well the Department of National Defense is very interested in adding more nano/microsatellites to its inventory and has commissioned a study recently to look into developing its own nano/microsatellite launcher.
SpaceWorks Commercial said they will continue to update their nano/microsatellite launch demand assessment twice a year. More detailed assessments are available for purchase.
– Download the Nano/Microsatellite Launch Demand Assessment 2011 (PDF).