Europe Satellite Optical Ground Station Market Forecast to 2028 - Regional Analysis - by Operation, Equipment, Application, and End User

The Europe satellite optical ground station market is expected to grow from US$ 19,722.52 million in 2023 to US$ 38,045.85 million by 2028. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 14.0% from 2023 to 2028.

Growing Number of Satellite Launches Fuels Europe Satellite Optical Ground Station Market

The number of satellite launches is increasing globally because of the rising need for satellites in various applications such as earth observation, communication and navigation, and scientific research. In addition, the number of space rocket launches, primarily for deploying satellites in space, is also rising rapidly.

As the number of satellite launches has increased, the need for optical ground stations also rose as they are used for commissioning and routine checkout of the satellite and transmitting and receiving the data simultaneously. Moreover, optical ground stations provide real-time communications at much higher data rates, up to several Gbps, compared to RF, which can be used for various applications such as broadband, navigation, and research. In addition, the optical ground station also helps survey space debris in different orbits around the Earth. Also, it is used to conduct surveys and follow-up observations of near-Earth objects, which can help protect the satellites in space and understand the accurate time and place to launch the satellite. Because of all the above uses of optical ground stations, various space centers are integrating new and advanced ground stations. For instance, in October 2022, DLR, the national aeronautics and space research center of the Federal Republic of Germany, inaugurated a new optical ground station at DLR's site in Oberpfaffenhofen. The new ground station will provide quantum secure communication and data rates in the terabit range and help improve the security of high-precision satellite navigation systems. Thus, the growing number of satellite launches is raising the need for more advanced and accurate optical ground stations, driving the satellite optical ground station market.

Europe Satellite Optical Ground Station Market Overview

To reduce the risk of a collision between European space assets, such as EGNOS, Copernicus, Galileo, and GOVSATCOM satellites, other spacecraft, in-orbit fragments, debris, and uncontrolled re-entries of space objects, the European Union (EU) established the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) sub-component under the EU Space Programme. The EU SST thus helps safeguard the EU's space assets, especially the satellites involved in the EU Space Programme, its member states, and other space operators. It also uses a network of ground-based sensors that helps survey and track artificial space objects and processing capabilities to provide information, data, and services on space objects orbiting the Earth. The EU SST currently offers three services - Collision Avoidance (CA), Re-entry Analysis (RE), and Fragmentation Analysis (FG) - that help in safeguarding more than 300 European satellites from the risk of collision. In April 2021, the EU SST also welcomed the European Parliament to adopt the regulation for establishing the EU Space Programme for 2021-2027. The regulation will allow EU SST to further enhance its activities as a part of space awareness component of the EU Space Programme. In June 2022, the European Commission announced that EUSPA would take the SST Front Desk operations responsibility from July 1, 2023. The EUSPA’s Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC) in Madrid will take this responsibility from the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen).

Europe Satellite Optical Ground Station Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

Europe Satellite Optical Ground Station Market Segmentation

The Europe satellite optical ground station market is segmented into operations, application, end user, equipment, and country.

Based on operation, the Europe satellite optical ground station market is segmented into laser satcom and optical operations. The optical operations segment held a larger market share in 2023. The laser satcom segment is further sub-segmented into OISL, direct-to-earth, and feeder links.

Based on application, the Europe satellite optical ground station market is segmented into laser operation, debris identification, earth observation, and space situational awareness. The earth observation segment registered the largest market share in 2023. The laser operation segment is further sub-segmented into ranging and communication.

Based on end user, Europe satellite optical ground station market is segmented into government & military and commercial enterprises. The government & military segment held a larger market share in 2023.

Based on equipment, the Europe satellite optical ground station market is segmented into consumer equipment and network equipment. The network equipment segment held a larger market share in 2023.

Based on country, the Europe satellite optical ground station market has been categorized into Germany, France, the UK, Russia, and the Rest of Europe. Russia dominated the Europe satellite optical ground station market in 2023.

AAC Clyde Space AB; Ball Corp; Comtech Telecomm Corp; Hensoldt AG; Mynaric AG; ODYSSEUS SPACE SA; Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co KG; Thales SA; and The European Space Agency are some of the leading companies operating in the Europe satellite optical ground station market.