Our team of experienced analysts covers a diverse range of markets, including aircraft, engines (industrial and marine gas turbines), military electronics, missiles and smart munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and space systems (satellites and launch vehicles) and spaceports. We also cover these markets from a more general perspective, looking at countries, companies, and US government agencies. Our analysts are sought out by government, the business community, and the media for their independent insights and forecasts. Our clients trust that they will always receive thoughtful and personalized service.
Teal Group announced release of updated data for the number of space payloads proposed to be built and launched during 2026-2035. In its latest Worldwide Mission Model Online survey, Teal identified a total of 117,453 satellites, probes and capsules destined for orbit over the next 10 years, or more than double last year’s WMMO 10-year survey which included just over 50,000 payloads.
"The pace in the number of payloads being built and launched worldwide now appears to be increasing exponentially with the continued expansion satellites programs aimed at providing high-speed broadband Internet access for a wide variety of applications, along with the now sudden explosion in programs designed to place hundreds of thousands of data center satellites in orbit to power the Artificial Intelligence market,” says Teal’s senior space analyst Marco Cáceres. “We’re tracking all of these programs, inputting tens of thousands of new satellites in our Model every month.”
A total of 486 payloads were launched to Earth orbit and beyond in 2017, followed by 487 in 2098 and 515 in 2019. The next major “leap forward” came in 2020 and 2021, with a total of 1,292 and 1,862 payloads launched respectively. In 2022, the numbers again began to grow markedly, with a total of 2,521 payloads launched. In 2025, 4,510 payloads went up.
More than 98 percent of the payloads contained in the WMMO are commercial and weigh less than 500 kilograms. The remainder are a mix of civil, military and university & non-profit payloads, which are mostly destined for low Earth orbits.
The WMMO is a big picture of the payloads that have been proposed to be built and launched. It is not a "forecast" of the space market, but rather a starting point from which to begin to develop individual forecasts based on certain assumptions about the programs, the manufacturers, the operators and competitive and financial factors.