Satellite Operators Face 37,000-Satellite Launch Crunch as Demand Outruns Rocket Supply
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 17
Satellite Operators Face 37,000-Satellite Launch Crunch as Demand Outruns Rocket Supply
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 17
Summary
Satellite operators are increasingly scrambling for launch slots, with Quilty Space describing an industry "in panic" despite record launch activity and lower prices.
37,000 satellites are forecast to need launches between 2023 and 2033, while the Commercial Space Federation sees demand rising to thousands of launches a year within a decade.
11 Falcon 9 missions booked by Telesat have already drawn requests from other companies seeking to share capacity, and Amazon has slowed satellite production because many reserved launches are not ready.
AST SpaceMobile also said launch availability has become the pacing item for deploying its constellation, extending a broader squeeze worsened by recent rocket failures and limited alternatives.
The bottleneck is expected to intensify over the next two to four years as more constellations compete for finite launch capacity.