Satellite Servicing Database

This is the fourth installment of our  SpaceFund Reality (SFR) rating, focused on satellite servicing. 

If you haven’t already, please consult our SpaceFund Reality (SFR) ratings page to learn more about the rating, its purpose, and the underlying formula, as well as to view a complete list of the SpaceFund sectors of interest. 

Due to Earth’s insatiable need for information and communication, up to 50,000 new satellites will be deployed in the next decade. While many will be small, disposable micro-satellites, the need for larger high-powered systems will also increase. Until now, these have been designed to run on only the fuel they carried when launched, had to stay in the position where they were initially deployed, and when out of propellant, or if struck by a malfunction, had to be abandoned.

A new service and supply industry is being born to provide propellant, parts, and repairs, as well as the ability to move satellites into different orbits. Tow trucks, gas stations, and robotic space mechanics will not only extended the life of space assets, they will also be the basis for an entirely new space economy built on the core frontier tenets of re-use, recycling, re-supply and re-purposing. 

The full gamut of the in-space supply chain will develop in the coming 5 – 7 years, and is expected to be worth $10s of Billions by the end of the decade. The first experimental systems have already flown, and traditional satellite operators and builders are already incorporating on site serviceability and re-fueling capability into their fleets. Some of these service providers are already signing contracts with fleet owners for future servicing missions. 

While satellite servicing is an interesting and exciting new industry, SpaceFund believe it is just the first step in the developing in-space supply chain. Satellite servicing spacecraft will need spare parts and tools to complete emergency missions or correct equipment failures. This creates a business case for 3D printing in space. Servicing spacecraft will need to be reusable, which means refueling. They will also want to refuel their customers. This creates a business case for fuel depots in space. And once there are fuel depots in orbit, the economics of Moon and asteroid mining start to make sense. Eventually, these early stage and near term practical cases will set the stage for on orbit manufacturing of hardware to be used in space, along with creating a market and technology to support the development of a space resource based economy.

From SpaceFund’s perspective, the satellite servicing industry is a significant and important step towards building an in-space economy. This first step in the supply chain will lead to the creation of many other business models and technologies. New products and services will emerge to fill the needs of a growing base of customers in LEO. We believe smart investors will place their bets on many of these companies, as alternatives to and beneficiaries of the over saturated launch industry.

The skill sets and technical-economic interactions established in this first wave of on site, in space servicing will prove the case for and shift the demand curve towards self-sufficiency on the frontier. These same elements form the baseline needed to support human presence, when taken to scale. Thus, by starting with the fulfillment of a near term and practical market need, brilliant entrepreneurs are laying the foundation for both the space industrial revolution and the human settlement of the solar system.

Special thanks to the team at OrbitFab for their help in developing this database. 

How to Use This Table

Sort: Click on the column heading to sort A-Z; click again to sort Z-A.

Search: To search within the entire table, simply type your query into the search area at the top right of the table. If you’d like to search within a specific column, use the search box at the bottom of that column.

Download: You can download this table as an Excel or CSV file by using the icons at the top of the table. You can also print the table.

Screen Size: The database is too big to fit on most screens, so you’ll need to use the scroll bar at the bottom of your screen to scroll right to see additional columns, and continuing scrolling down to see all companies.

Important Note (Alpha Sort Columns vs Numeric Sort Columns): In the target launch column, any figure listed as a “0” is simply a placeholder for unavailable data. This is due to the nature of this table format, and to ensure that the columns sort properly, a numeric character must be included in each cell. 

The Funding column is set to sort alphabetically. Since this column contains alphabetic characters in some cells, it will sort alphabetically, not numerically and so the “-” character has been used to represent unavailable data. All other columns in the table will also sort alphabetically.

Important Note (Companies not Products): This database, and the SpaceFund Reality ratings, are based on COMPANIES, not specific products or technologies.

How to Provide Updated Data

Have we missed your company? Do you feel that your company should have a different rating? Is the listed data inaccurate or outdated? Do you see missing data for your company? The best way to update your information in this database is to reach out to us directly to provide additional information about your technology, management team, funding history, and company progress. We are also eager to learn about any additional data sources that can help us in our ongoing research, so please feel free to share any resources you know of with our team.

Updates will be published on approximately a monthly basis.  

SpaceFund Reality (SFR) Rating

Satellite Servicing Database

Last Update: 25 April 2022