Satcom Increasingly Dominates Satellite Usage: SIA

The 3,371 satellites in orbit at the end of 2020 was up 144% from 2015, with low earth orbit satellites driving most of that growth, the Satellite Industry Association said Wednesday in its annual "State of the Satellite Industry" report, prepared by Bryce Tech. Communications was 48% of that 3,371, up from 28% in 2019, followed by remote sensing (20%), U.S. entities operate more than 1,900 satellites, some in partnership with other countries, it said. There are 562 active satellites in geostationary orbit, eight more than in 2019, with most providing communications, it said. Overall satellite industry revenue in 2020, at $271 billion, was flat year over year.