You also had to hire a staff to set up the software , keep it running and install upgrade after upgrade . As computers became more affordable and more powerful , software vendors could build their own server farms to run their software and let customers log in to use it . Cloud software , offered as a service with a subscription , was cheaper and more accessible — and novel businesses arose .
It ’ s the same with satellites . Early satellites were as big as a washing machine or even a school bus . The high cost and risk of building and launching a satellite were prohibitive .
Today , the newest generation of nanosats are no bigger than a loaf of bread . But they ’ ve got processing power to spare . Space as a service lets satellite providers rent that power to a diversifying range of customers , including shipping and logistics , aviation and broadband companies .
“ In the early days , the loaf-of-bread satellites were the PCs to the traditional satellite mainframe . That was the first wave ,” says Joel Spark , cofounder and chief satellite architect of Spire Global . “ Space as a service is the second wave . If you want to deploy an application to space , rather than your first step being buying a satellite , you can rent existing assets or build on top of existing infrastructure that we provide .”
Spire provides space-based data , analytics and , increasingly , space services to hundreds of companies . Services may include incorporating a customer ’ s device , running its software or providing data from Spire ’ s own devices .
Earth intelligence New tech startups are innovating , thanks to space as a service . One of the most valuable results of the satellite boom is what Spark calls Earth intelligence : “ Finding new and unique ways to understand what ’ s happening now and how our planet is evolving . It can help companies understand , mitigate and , in some cases , even reduce climate change .”
For example , OroraTech placed an artificial intelligence ( AI ) -enabled thermal-infrared camera on a Spire satellite to develop a wildfire early warning system . Its system can give an alert within 15 to 30 minutes of a wildfire ’ s igniting .
“ We ’ ve seen the potential to save forests , help firefighters on the ground and reduce CO 2 by reducing emissions from fires burning . The forest acts as a carbon sink , too , so that has double value ,” says OroraTech CTO Martin Langer .
Spotting fires as they erupt is just part of the value , according to Langer . Observing a fire as it burns leads to the creation of better models of how smoke travels . Monitoring ground temperatures improves weather forecasting , benefits agriculture and lets forecasters correlate temperatures with other factors .
OroraTech has a hybrid approach to its services . In addition to space as a service , it ’ s built its own satellites and makes use of data from other operators such as NASA and the E . U .’ s Copernicus .
The advantages of space as a service are risk mitigation and speed , Langer says . Large satellite missions only launch every 15 to 20 years . Everything you want to launch has to be on board — and it has to work .
“ If you want to deploy an application to space , rather than your first step being buying a satellite , you can rent existing assets or build on top of existing infrastructure that we provide .”
— Joel Spark , co-founder and chief satellite architect , Spire Global
“ For an engineer like me , that means you can only launch two or three missions in your career ,” Langer says . “ For startups like us , if you can ’ t deploy your service fast enough , it ’ s going to fail . We had to launch our first satellite within a year . Space as a service gives you lots of flexibility and speed . And with that comes innovation .”
Space Force signs on Space as a service has one potentially huge customer : the U . S . military . While government agencies have typically distrusted solutions not
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