The global civil and commercial remote sensing satellite market will be worth $16 billion by 2019, according to projections by US market intelligence firm Forecast International. And over the coming decade, it says, more than 100 individual remote sensing satellites will be launched.

The projections are contained in a report titled The Market for Civil and Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites, which covers 48 satellite production programs. 

Government and military agencies continue to be the most important consumers of satellite imagery, according to the report. The revenue generated from contracts with the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's NextView program has allowed both GeoEye and DigitalGlobe to upgrade their fleets and provide better value for both government and private clients.

The report also notes that privately operated satellite companies are increasingly in competition with public-private partnerships to develop and operate satellite fleets.

It adds that many programs around the world – such as the Indian Cartosat, Canadian Radarsat and Franco-Italian COSMO-SkyMed/Pleiades – blur the distinction between government and privately operated networks. It also points to the continued growth of satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar as an important trend.

“Until recently, the US government restricted American companies from selling SAR data with better than 3-metre resolution. However, companies can now sell images with up to 1-metre resolution,” says Forecast International.

“So while US companies still must compete with well-established Canadian and European SAR data providers, they now enjoy a level playing field.”