Mapping

Satellites are a large and growing business.

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists ¹ via Geospatial World ².

The space industry, which includes satellites as its largest component, is growing rapidly and projected to continue to do so.

Source: Citigroup via CNBC ³.

The growth is driven by falling launch costs, which were $16,000-30,000 per kilogram prior to 2010, $1500/kg in 2020, and projected to reach $100/kg by 2040 ³.

The space industry is broad, and in encompasses areas included satellite television, Internet service ³, mapping, weather forecasting and climate modeling ⁴, and many others. Emerging and speculative applications include space tourism, intercity travel via rocket, space-based solar power, resource mining, R&D, and construction ³. Major powers also view space as a crucial domain for national defense ⁵.

GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a constellation of satellites to provide accurate location information anywhere on the Earth's surface. Developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, it is estimated that the constellation cost $12 billion to launch, $750 million per year to maintain ⁶, and has generated $1.4 trillion in economic value, with 90% of that value generated since 2010 as more applications become commercially available ⁷.