Down-to-Earth Applications for the Satellite Imagery Industry

The Signal: Satellite data is more available than ever before, and there are tons of ways to use it.

As we mentioned in this Sunday story, reusable rockets, miniaturized satellite technology, and the privatization of space industries have fueled a satellite boom.

In the next 10 years, the number of active satellites in orbit could rise from 4K+ to 50K.

54% of satellites are now launched for commercial use and ~25% are dedicated to observing Earth.

The quality and frequency of satellite images of Earth have increased rapidly in recent years. Industry leader Planet captures 1.2M images a day, covering the whole world. Their highest-resolution images can capture details as small as a shoebox.

Satellite imagery is now affordable enough to be used by small businesses, and applications for that data are popping up in all sorts of industries.

Opportunities: You don't need to be SpaceX or Boeing to get into satellites. Launch services are dominated by a few heavy-hitters, but there are plenty of smaller businesses further down the supply chain.

Source: PwC

Some specialize in turning pictures into numbers. RS Metrics counts vehicles in retail parking lots to generate data about economic trends. Earth-i tracks activity at copper smelters to predict commodity prices.

Others use satellite images for their own purposes. A livestock company in New Zealand uses images of its pastures to decide where to graze its cattle. Lawn Love, a California-based platform, uses satellite mapping to provide remote quotations for lawn maintenance.

Satellite images are also used to:

• Monitor pipelines,
• Predict forest fires, and
• Track endangered elephants.

Building and launching a satellite is the most inaccessible part of the industry, but this space is worth watching.

Until recently, it cost millions to build a satellite and tens of millions to launch it. Now, you can build a satellite for <$600K. Startups like Rocket Labs are building small rockets that can launch nanosatellites for $1.5-2.5M.

Source: Everyday Astronaut

Open Cosmos provides a get-into-space service that covers design, launch, and operation of a satellite from $700K with a turnaround of less than a year. The firm has raised $7M in funding, and has partnered with the European Space Agency.

Its success exposes demand for services that support the launch industry. Founders could explore:

• Satellite insurance brokerage.
• Mission planning services.
• Operation software.
• Custom component design.

Accessing data: The experts we spoke to say that the process of buying satellite images is not straightforward. Not every provider covers the required area at the required frequency and resolution.

Image brokers exist, but there is an opportunity to build a platform that connects providers to buyers and makes data acquisition painless.

If a satellite isn't covering the desired locations, it can be maneuvered into a new position. One possible model is a satellite rental service that would allow companies to capture custom images without owning a satellite.

Direct to consumer: Consumers are concerned about the origins of products. Over the past year, 53% of Americans used their buying power to make a positive difference on an issue they care about, and 64% would pay more for sustainable products.

But 74% don't know how to identify sustainable products, and 53% don't trust companies who say their products are sustainable.

Satellites are already used to gather data about the origins of consumer products:

• The EU monitors unsustainable farmland use.
• Global Fishing Watch monitors illegal fishing.
• NASA monitors water pollution.

Startup Trade in Space uses satellites and AI to quantify the coffee in a farmer's field. Blockchain technology is used to add crops to a digital ledger so that every bean can be traced back to the field. This data is used by traders, but it could be of use to consumers.

A platform combining satellite and blockchain technology could show consumers the field of cows where the milk in their coffee originates, what the farmer was paid, and whether child laborers harvested the beans.

Home or commercial property buyers might be interested in data like traffic volumes, availability of street parking, nearby construction projects, and flood risks.