PARIS — The commercial market for geostationary-orbit telecommunications satellites rebounded strongly in 2019 after two lean years but even the recovery included a signal of how much the market is changing.
The signal: The 14 GEO-orbit satellites ordered from manufacturers in 2019 had a combined mass of 55,000 kilograms, or an average of 3,929 kilograms each.
In 2016, the same number of satellites ordered from industry had an average launch weight of 5,357 kilograms, or a total of 75,000 kilograms.
