Compact overview of new commercial satellite constellations,
small satellite rocket launchers, most exciting space missions,
future spaceships and space tourism companies.
Organization | Launched / Planned network |
First launch |
Form factor | Field | Funding | Technical and comments | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Planet | 324 / 150+ | 2013 | 3U | Earth observation | $183 million | 29 MP sensor taking images with 3.7 m ground resolution and swath of 24.6 km × 16.4 km from 475 km altitude. | ![]() |
Spire | 81 / 150+ | 2013 | 3U | Weather / AIS / ADS-B | $149.5 million | Measure change in GPS signal after passing atmosphere to calculate precise profiles for temperature, pressure, humidity. | ![]() |
Planet (Terra Bella / Skybox) | 13 / 24 | 2013 | Smallsat | Earth observation | Yes, ? | Color and near-infrared imagery (90 cm resolution) in 120 kg package. First-ever commercial high-resolution video from a satellite. | ![]() |
Planetary Resources | 2 / 10 | 2014 | 12U | Earth observation | $50+ million | Visible-NIR 40 channel hyperspectral imager with 10 m resolution. Midwave infrared imager (MWIR) in 3-5 μm with 15 m resolution. Has been deprioritized for asteroid missions. | ![]() |
Astro Digital (Aquila) | 5 / 10+20 | 2014 | 6U / 16U | Earth observation | $16.7+ million | 6U has 22 m resolution in RGB and NIR. 16U has 2.5 m resolution in RGB, red edge, and NIR using one 70 MP sensor. | ![]() |
BlackSky / Spaceflight | 1 / 60 | 2016 | Microsat | Earth observation | $203.5 million | Subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries. Color imagery at a resolution of 1 meter. | ![]() |
GHGSat | 1 / 20 | 2016 | Microsat | Emissions monitoring | Yes, ? | Measure CO2 and methane in a FoV of ~12 km × 12 km and resolution of <50 m. Sensors include 2D Wide-Angle Fabry-Perot imaging spectrometer with 15 kg satellite. | ![]() |
Satellogic | 3 / 25 | 2016 | Microsat | Earth observation / Hyperspectral | $29 million | NuSat 37 kg satellites are capable of 1 m ground resolution imaging and video. | ![]() |
Beijing Space View Tech | 4 / 16 | 2016 | Satellite | Earth observation | ? | First commercial 560 kg Chinese high-resolution Earth imaging satellites called SuperView (GaoJing) with resolution of 0.5 m per pixel. | ![]() |
Sky and Space Global | 3 / 200 | 2017 | 3U | IoT / M2M / Voice | $11.5 million | Plans to use inter-satellite links. Satellites outsourced from GomSpace. | ![]() |
GeoOptics | 5 / ? | 2017 | 6U | Weather | $5.15 million | Satellites outsourced from Tyvak. | ![]() |
Aireon | 40 / 66 | 2017 | Satellite | ADS-B | $50 million | Hosted payload on Iridum-NEXT satellites for global air traffic surveillance. | |
Kepler Communications | 1 / 140 | 2018 | 3U | IoT / M2M | $5 million | Monthly fee based on the data amount. Hope to achieve rates of 1-40 Mbps. Clyde Space will provide at least the first 2 sats. | ![]() |
PlanetiQ | 0 / 18 | 2018 | 6U | Weather | $5+ million | Based on GPS radio occultation. Will have microwave spectrometer & radiometer. Blue Canyon Tech builds satellites. | ![]() |
Hiber (Magnitude Space) | 0 / 48 | 2018 | 6U | IoT / M2M | $4.1 million | Send small packets of data (140 characters, accompanied by time‐stamp, identifier and location). | |
Hera Systems | 0 / 48 | 2018 | 12U | Earth observation | $4.2+ million | Capable of 1-meter resolution with 22-kilogram form factor. | ![]() |
Fleet Space | 0 / 100 | 2018 | 12U | IoT / M2M | $3.7 million | Selected Saber Astronautics as the operations provider. Launches planned to be started in 2017. | ![]() |
Astrocast (ELSE) |
0 / 64 | 2018 | 3U | IoT / M2M | $7.1 million | Demonstration mission in 2018. Targeting L-band. Inter-satellite links. NanoSpace propulsion. | ![]() |
AISTech | 0 / 100 | 2018 | 6U | IoT / M2M / ADS-B / AIS / IR imaging | $0.31 million | 2-way comms, thermal imaging to detect forest fires, aviation tracking (ADS-B). Satellites will be built by GomSpace. | ![]() |
HawkEye360 | 0 / 30 | 2018 | Microsat | RF spectrum monitoring | $11+ million | Radio frequency (RF) mapping with 15 kg sats to help monitor transportation across air, land, sea and assist in emergencies. Built by GomSpace. | ![]() |
ICEYE | 1 / 18 | 2018 | Microsat | SAR | $17+ million | 21 launch agreement with Vector Space Systems. 10 platform agreement with York Space Systems. | ![]() |
Axelspace | 0 / 50 | 2018 | Microsat | Earth observation | $16 million | Weighs < 95 kg and captures images with a 2.5-meter resolution over a 57-kilometer area. | ![]() |
SpaceX | 2 / 4425 | 2018 | Smallsat | Internet | $1.6 billion | 400 kg satellites according to FCC filing. First technology demonstration missions planned to fly in 2017. | |
Capella Space | 0 / 40 | 2018 | 12U | SAR | $12+ million | Resolutions from 1 m (1600 km2) to 30 m (27,000 km2). Every 3-6 hours globally and 45 min in equatorial regions, improving to every hour in 3-5 years. | |
OneWeb | 0 / 648 | 2018 | Smallsat | Internet | $1.7 billion | Joint venture with Airbus to build the constellation of 125 kg satellites. | ![]() |
Helios Wire | 0 / 30 | 2018 | 16U | IoT / M2M | $1 million | Uses 30 MHz of S-band spectrum to receive tiny data packages from billions of sensors. First satellites assembled by Astro Digital. | ![]() |
Karten Space | 0 / 14 | 2018 | 6U | Earth observation / AIS | ? | Optical resolution is 3-5 m. | ![]() |
UnSeenLabs | 0 / ? | 2018 | 6U | RF spectrum monitoring | ? | Satellites outsourced from GomSpace. | ![]() |
Analytical Space | 0 / ? | 2018 | 6U | Optical relay / IoT / M2M | $4 million | In-orbit relays receiving radio and downlink to ground with laser communication enabling more data downlink from satellites. | ![]() |
NSLComm (SkyFi) | 0 / 60 | 2018 | 6U | Internet | $9.25+ million | Up to 1 Gbps anywhere in the world with a novel antenna. | ![]() |
Kaskilo / eightyLEO | 0 / 300 | 2018 | Smallsat | IoT / M2M | ? | 10 Gbps intersatellite laser communication links. Ka-band for ground communications. | |
Orbital Micro Systems | 0 / 40 | 2018 | 3U? | Weather | $0.65 million | Utilizes microwave technology to capture temperature and moisture measurements, refreshed and delivered every 15 minutes. | ![]() |
Lacuna Space | 0 / ? | 2018 | 6U | IoT / M2M | Yes | ||
SRT Marine | 0 / 6+ | 2019 | 6U | AIS | ? | Scanning technology will enable the detection of vessels without an identification transceiver. Clyde Space will build the spacecraft. | |
Reaktor Space | 0 / 36 | 2019 | 6U | Earth observation / Hyperspectral | ? | Hyperspectral constellation for smart agriculture with 100's of spectral bands and 20 m resolution. | ![]() |
Aerial & Maritime (partially GomSpace) |
0 / ? | 2019 | 3U? | AIS / ADS-B | $12.2 million | Monitoring aircraft (ADS-B) and vessels (AIS) from 37°N to 37°S. GomSpace will develop satellites. Cooperation with Flightradar24. | |
Rupercorp | 0 / ? | 2019 | 6U | Earth observation | ? | 2U CubeSat to be launched in 2018 will be a precursor for the commercial constellation based on NanoAvionics M6P with “green” chemical propulsion system. | |
Harris | 0 / 12 | 2019 | 6U | Weather | Yes, ? | Immediate access to 3D wind data sets from Harris-owned HyperCubes. Utah State University provides the spacecraft. | ![]() |
Earth-i | 0 / 15 | 2019 | Microsat | Earth observation | ? | First constellation in the world able to provide full-colour video. | ![]() |
Astrome | 0 / 150 | 2019 | Microsat | Internet | ? | Indian space technology company to provide high speed broadband internet from space. | |
Scepter | 0 / ? | ? | Microsat | Air quality | ? | Air pollution monitoring precise enough to reveal conditions for individual city blocks. | |
Audacy Space | 0 / 3 | 2019 | ? | Relay | $2 million | 3 relay satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) for continous communication with satellites. | |
Cloud Constellation | 0 / ? | 2019 | ? | Cloud storage | Yes | Space-based cloud storage. An array of equatorial low earth orbiting data center satellites. Much more secure and in some cases better-performing. 10-gigabit laser communications links between satellites. | ![]() |
Transcelestial | 0 / ? | 2019 | ? | Optical relay / comms | Seed | Space data network for terrestrial and satellite applications. Using lasers to transfer data at up to 1000x faster than currently available. | |
XpressSAR | 0 / 4 | 2020 | ? | SAR | ? | Small-area spotlight images with resolutions under 1 meter. Four satellites in two orbit planes with a 35° inclination. | ![]() |
Astranis | 0 / ? | ? | Smallsat | Internet | $18 million | Ssmall GEO satellite weighing 300 kg to provide up to 10 Gb/s of bandwidth | ![]() |
Blink Astro | 0 / ? | ? | 3U | IoT / M2M | ? | ![]() |
|
OQ Technology | 0 / ? | ? | CubeSat | IoT / M2M | World's first universal plug & play IoT device that can provide connectivity leveraging Low-Earth-Orbit satellite infrastructure | ||
Tekever | 0 / 12 | ? | 16U | Earth observation / SAR / AIS / ADS-B / IoT | ? | Constellation will carry the same observation and telecom payloads as Infante, but with different payloads on different satellites. | ![]() |
NorStar NorthStar | 0 / 40 | ? | Microsat | Earth observation / Hyperspectral / IR | ? | First commercial system to combine Hyperspectral and Infrared sensors to observe Earth | |
Kleos Space | 0 / 20 | ? | Microsat | Geolocation / AIS | ? | Rradio data collection spacecraft with our patented In-Space Manufacturing technology, a miniature machine that manufactures enormous composite booms used to deploy antenna. | |
Trident Space (Magna Parva) | 0 / ? | ? | Microsat | SAR | ? | Breakthrough compact radar technology and onboard machine learning for automated feature extraction and predictive analytics. Innovative light weight reflector. | |
VEOWARE | 0 / ? | ? | Satellite | Earth observation | ? | Lease satellite time to its customers, providing them with essential imagery capacity. | |
Laser Light | 0 / 12 | ? | Satellite | Optical comms | ? | Optical laser comm constellation in MEO as an Internet infrastructure service. | |
Koolock | 0 / ? | ? | CubeSat | IR imaging | ? | The most advanced feature set for weather and environmental monitoring. | |
Myriota | 0 / ? | ? | ? | IoT / M2M | $15+ million | ||
Hypercubes | 0 / ? | ? | ? | Earth observation / Hyperspectral | ? | Track not only the chemical output of factories and farms, but also the movement of machines and equipment. | |
Ursa Space Systems | 0 / ? | Cancelled? | Microsat | SAR | ? | In parallel developing own constellation to provide priority access, superior revisit frequency, improved resolution and direct downlink. | |
Earthcube | 0 / 10 | Cancelled? | CubeSat | IR imaging | $4.5+ million | Might use Exotrail thrusters. | |
Terran Orbital (Tyvak) | 0 / ? | Cancelled? | CubeSat | IoT / M2M | Yes | Building a constellation of best-in-class nanosatellites that will form an unprecedented data infrastructure in space. | |
ISIS / Innovative Data Services |
0 / 16 | Cancelled? | 3U | AIS | ? | AIS payload tested on Triton-1 and network planned for a while, but no recent news. ADS-B, M2M and asset tracking also considered. | |
Promethean Labs | 0 / ? | Cancelled? | CubeSat | Gas emissions | ? | Special imager for measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, monitoring of water and air quality, forestry and land. | |
4skies | 0 / ? | Cancelled | Microsat | IoT / M2M | ? |
NewSpace is a global industry of private companies and entrepreneurs who primarily target commercial customers, are backed by risk capital seeking a return, and seek to profit from innovative products or services developed in or for space.
NewSpace Global, newspaceglobal.com
Alt.space, NewSpace, entrepreneurial space, and other labels have been used to describe approaches to space development that different significantly from that taken by NASA and the mainstream aerospace industry.
Hobby Space, hobbyspace.com
People, businesses and organizations working to open the space frontier to human settlement through economic development.
Space Frontier Foundation, spacefrontier.org
Space 4.0 is new space, more relaxed, fascinating and comprehensive. Space 4.0 can be used as a tool to tackle global challenges such as climate change, demographic development, migration, shortage of resources, conflicts and catastrophes, energy, digital divide, health and curiosity.
Jan Wörner, Director General of the ESA, The Parliament
Space 4.0 will be the driver for contemporary technologies in automation, miniaturisation, advanced manufacturing, machine to machine/human interaction, connectivity, big data, biotechnology and more. It stimulates the interaction of different sectors with spin-in, spin-off and spin-together.
Space 4.0 marks a new era; in which space is an enabler. It enables knowledge, jobs and growth, decision and policymaking, inspiring and motivating the next generations.
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