How geostationary small satellites are providing strategic access to space

In October 1957, Sputnik – the world’s first manufactured satellite – launched into low Earth orbit, continually sending a radio signal as it circled the Earth, igniting the space race.

Sixty-seven years later, a new space race is emerging – for secure, sovereign, satellite-enabled capabilities, including communications.

While options for commercial satellite communications are abundant and serve billions of people with connectivity for broadband, broadcast and emergency services, fewer than 20 nations operate a sovereign satellite in orbit.

The space domain is essential across communications, navigation, data sovereignty, internet delivery, broadcasting and more. Simply put, nation-states with their own sovereign satellite capacity are fundamentally more autonomous, secure and resilient in their capabilities.

The acceleration of emerging technology, along with rising geopolitical tensions and supply-chain security, poses an ever-evolving challenge and concern. In today’s space race, virtually every country recognizes that strategic autonomy and access to space are critical.

The question, however, has been how to effectively build that capability.

Until now, the high cost of acquiring dedicated, sovereign telecommunication satellites has been prohibitive for most nation-states. A traditional geostationary satellite is the size of a school bus and can cost anywhere in the range of $300 million to $1 billion to build and launch.

Sovereign or dedicated low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations are similarly out of financial reach for all but the very largest and most wealthy nation-states and multinational organizations.

While a single geostationary satellite orbits in a fixed position over Earth, serving one-third of the globe, LEO constellations require a network of thousands of small satellites in orbit, ground stations and many times the CapEx to deploy and maintain.

Such LEO constellations include the more than 6,000 satellite Starlink network from SpaceX, Amazon’s nascent 3,000-satellite Kuiper network, China’s planned 14,000-satellite Guo Wang constellation and the European Union’s proposed network of hundreds of satellites across multiple orbits, known as the IRIS2 constellation.

Countries without sufficient resources to buy and launch their own satellites have often resorted to leasing capacity from commercial geostationary satellite operators, a multinational shared asset or commercial LEO constellations.

However, leased satellite communications capacity for a nation, whether in low, medium or geostationary orbit, often comes with the tradeoff of control and sovereignty over capabilities and data, as well as reliance on third parties.

The interests of other nation-state partners, commercial operators, and technology vendors are always in play, which can create complexity. In times of geopolitical threat, national crisis or natural disaster, the value of a truly dedicated satellite capacity is increased.

A new breed of small satellites for geostationary orbit has recently changed the unit economics of sovereign communications, making dedicated and targeted satellite capacity and more secure national communications achievable for almost every country.

Geostationary SmallSats are up to five times smaller and lighter than conventional geostationary satellites, yet can deliver substantial performance and lifespan while reducing the cost of sovereign satellite communications by as much as five-fold, well within the fiscal reach of most nation-states.

These unit economics are even used by larger nation states to disaggregate their investments and risks in orbit across a larger number of satellites.

This shift is part of a broader democratization of space access. A decade ago, the satellite industry was dominated by intergovernmental organizations and large aerospace multinationals, with high barriers to entry, where risks and costs made space the exclusive domain of major governments.

Now, companies such as SpaceX and other emerging commercial launchers have dramatically lowered the cost of satellite orbit, enabling smaller nations to participate in space without investing in every piece of the value chain.

Technological advancements are at the heart of this revolution in low-cost sovereign satellite communications.

Advanced communication system technologies, such as software-defined payloads, 3D printed antennas and radio frequency products, allow for lighter, more complex and higher-performing products for a fraction of the weight and size of traditionally machine-tooled and assembled counterparts.

With GEO SmallSats, not only has the cost come down but build time has also been reduced. A traditional GEO satellite weighs up to 7,000 kilograms and takes five years or more to build.

GEO SmallSats, on the other hand, have a typical build time of just two to three years, giving nation-states much more agility in securing their communications.

Smaller form factors of Geostationary SmallSats can enable shared launches into space. Where conventional large multi-tonne geostationary satellites require a dedicated rocket and the tremendous launch cost that involves, GEO SmallSats can hitch a ride on low-cost launch vehicles, e.g. SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket or ESA’s Ariane 6.

Critically, this democratization means countries no longer must replicate entire space ecosystems. Instead, they can focus on their applications and services such as connectivity, Earth observation or secure communications.

When Sputnik reached orbit in October 1957, Le Figaro declared, “Myth has become a reality: Earth’s gravity has been conquered.” The role of GEO SmallSats is now to help connect and protect the many, not only the few who have historically benefited from the space race.

At a time when uninterrupted, secure connectivity is essential for national security and economic resilience, affordable, agile satellite solutions can help governments move beyond reliance on leased capacity and multinational consortia, paving the way for strategic autonomy in space.