Is NewSpace ready to move beyond its scrappy startup roots and tackle the challenges of deep space? The rapid evolution of the NewSpace industry away from sending small satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and towards more ambitious missions in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO)—is forcing companies to rethink how they design, build, and manage space missions. This evolution doesn’t just reflect the industry’s rapid growth – it’s also a pivotal turning point on the road to maturity.
The New Frontier: MEO and GEO Missions
Most satellites currently operate in LEO, orbiting just 500–1,200 km above our planet’s surface. According to the UCS Satellite Database, over 6,768 satellites operate in LEO.1 That’s largely because a decade ago, the CubeSat revolution democratized access to space. These tiny satellites—ranging from 1-100 kg—brought advanced space engineering into universities, research institutions, and lean startups.2 Thanks to their affordability and shorter development cycles, CubeSats launched in LEO dominated mission designs, mainly for tech demos and cost-effective experiments. By contrast, there are just 159 satellites in MEO (5,000–20,000 km) and 580 in GEO (36,000 km). The reasons for this discrepancy are clear.1
MEO & GEO Missions Are More Challenging
MEO and GEO missions demand more powerful and sophisticated systems capable of transmitting signals across greater distances and operating over longer lifespans. That means payloads are larger, heavier, and more expensive. The technical and environmental challenges are also greater and there is more to go wrong. As a result, cost, risk, and threats to reliability all increase too, due to:
- Longer development and deployment times: MEO & GEO satellite missions can take years to develop, launch and commission, making them far less responsive to changes in market demand.
- Higher mission costs: Larger, heavier, more complex satellites are more expensive to build, launch and maintain.
- Less redundancy and scalability: Fewer satellites mean a greater chance of service disruption if a failure occurs, as well as higher replacement costs.
But the Pendulum is Swinging Anyway
Despite these challenges, demand for MEO and GEO satellite launches is increasing because they offer significant opportunities to increase mission ROI. The drivers for this include:
- Fewer satellites needed: Global coverage can be covered with fewer satellites, which reduces the number of launches required and ongoing fleet management costs.
- Longer lifespan: Higher initial costs compared with smaller LEO satellites can be offset by satellites remaining active for much longer – 10 to 20 years or more, rather than 10 years or less for LEO satellites.
- Higher stability: GEO satellites offer continuous, stable coverage for applications such as weather monitoring while MEO satellites balance coverage with better latency for applications like GPS.
As a result, early NewSpace pioneers that once relied on CubeSats for proof-of-concept missions are scaling up. While previous designs emphasized extreme compactness, speed and cost-effectiveness, today’s MicroSats and larger CubeSats (e.g., 16U) prioritize performance and reliability. This evolution has yielded more sophisticated systems with vastly enhanced data capture and signal resolution, meeting the growing demands of commercial and scientific missions.
The technologies required include deployable solar arrays, larger antennas, advanced optical systems, and deployable radiators that enable more effective thermal management. But they are only the first ripples heralding a coming tidal wave of innovation.
For example, novel power solutions such as flexible solar arrays and in-space manufacturing (ISM) applications will help minimize required stowage capacity for launch and maximize energy efficiency in orbit.
This evolution highlights the maturing mindset of the industry, where scaled-up designs deliver better ROI and competitive advantages, especially for MEO and GEO applications.
The shift towards deeper orbits also favors small businesses that can deliver innovative solutions capable of the associated demands more quickly than larger competitors. For example, in May 2023, Exolaunch deployed the first ever 16U CubeSat (built by SpaceInventor) into GEO via the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launcher.3
Solutions for managing Cost & Maximizing ROI
Nevertheless, these growing ambitions demand a focus on cost efficiency as a key determinant of long-term success. The NewSpace industry must now answer an important question: how can companies manage escalating costs while delivering high-quality, high-performance solutions? Here are some of the alternatives:
- Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Components: Early NewSpace startups built nearly all components in-house due to a lack of readily available commercial alternatives. Today, mature suppliers of COTS space-grade components are enabling faster development at reduced costs. This is fostering a shift from “build” to “buy”.
- Pre-Integrated sub-systems: Supply chains with ready-to-ship, high-performance parts are revolutionizing time-to-launch. The ability to deploy a high-performance space system quickly ensures companies can seize competitive advantages and secure market share.
- Partner vs. Supplier Relationships: Strategic partnerships offer more value than transactional relationships. Partners are committed to their clients’ visions and success, fostering greater collaboration and reliability. Companies that adopt this approach benefit from both agility and trust in mission-critical moments. It’s about becoming an “internal external” partner to space vehicle manufacturers, rather than just a supplier.
Vertical Integration 2.0 – the Future of NewSpace
Time in the NewSpace industry is more than a resource—it’s currency. Demonstrating early in-orbit success increases shareholder confidence and secures future investments. The most ambitious companies accelerate their missions by working with reliable partners who understand their challenges.
Increasingly, satellite manufacturers are driving innovation by working with subsystem and component specialists who offer this partnership-focused approach alongside their products. For example, by leveraging specialist expertise in deployable technologies, thermal management solutions, and durable release actuators, manufacturers can break new ground faster than if they could by building an in-house capability or relying on legacy processes.
Take thermal management systems, for example. Leveraging specialist deployable radiator technology allows small satellites in GEO to dissipate heat efficiently, while power systems optimized for deep-space operations prolong satellite lifespans. Combined, such innovations define the toolkits NewSpace enterprises need for the future.
At Dcubed, we think about this model as “Vertical Integration 2.0” – empowering our customers to leverage the advantages of vertical integration by helping them deploy our products within their own processes without the development costs.
So, What Comes Next?
The NewSpace industry is growing up—and fast. What began as a pioneering field for cost-effective space exploration is transforming into a robust ecosystem of advanced technologies, scalable solutions, and high-performance missions. Yet, this maturity requires leveraging innovations in ways that are sustainable, reliable, and efficient.
The challenges of maximizing MEO and GEO opportunities—timelines, costs, and performance—can seem daunting. We believe that companies willing to invest in pioneering technologies and forging powerful “internal external” partnerships will have a competitive advantage.
NewSpace is no longer just about democratizing access to space; it’s about creating strong partnerships and efficient infrastructure that supports the next wave of space-based innovation, from global communications to deep space exploration.
If we can achieve that, the sky is no longer the limit.
References
ucsusa.org – #1
https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database
UCS Satellite Database
viasat.com – #2
https://news.viasat.com › blog › scn › how-big-is-that-s… How big is that satellite? A primer on satellite categories
Apr 27, 2021 — Satellites come in many shapes and sizes for a variety of missions. … Mini satellites (100-500 kg) have really, well, taken off in recent years.
exolaunch.com – #3
https://www.exolaunch.com/news_88.html
Exolaunch Deploys First-ever 16U Smallsat into GEO for Gravity Space Using SpaceX Falcon Heavy
