For decades, space has been the realm of government agencies and elite aerospace giants. But a new model called Space-as-a-Service is changing that. Much like how cloud computing lets companies rent server power and storage instead of buying their own data centers, Space-as-a-Service allows businesses to rent access to satellites and space infrastructure without having to launch their own.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand what Space-as-a-Service is, how it’s shaping Space Tech business models, and the opportunities Space-as-a-Service is unlocking for industries ranging from agriculture to defense.
What Is Space-as-a-Service?
Space-as-a-Service (which includes Satellite-as-a-Service) is a business model in which customers subscribe to space-based services such as satellite access or Earth observation data instead of owning the underlying infrastructure themselves.
Think of it as a utility service but for the space age. Just like you pay for electricity or water, Satellite-as-a-Service treats space access like a utility that is billed by usage, is scalable, and is maintained by a central company instead of the users. In the same way businesses rent cloud servers from Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, they can now rent time and data from companies with satellites in orbit.
As the name suggests, Space-as-a-Service mirrors the classic Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model: customers gain access to complex infrastructure without capital-intensive investment, and benefit from flexibility, scalability, and usage-based pricing.
Commercial Opportunities in Satellite Access
The core of Space-as-a-Service is satellite leasing. Rather than spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build, launch and maintain a satellite, companies book dedicated time on commercial satellites to collect custom data. Companies using Satellite-as-a-Service models pay for specific capabilities such as space imaging, geolocation, navigation, or communications, usually on a monthly or per-use subscription.
How does Satellite-as-a-Service work? Clients typically specify the type of data or coverage area they need (for example: high-resolution imagery, climate patterns, or communications bandwidth) and receive access via cloud platforms. This on-demand access to satellite data allows companies to make quick and informed decisions. Space-as-a-Service also democratizes space access for industries and governments that were previously priced out.
Industries using and benefitting from the Satellite-as-a-Service model include:
Agriculture: Satellite imaging is used to monitor crop health, water usage, and soil conditions.
Defense & Security: Governments lease secure communications or high-resolution imagery without needing their own satellite networks.
Telecommunications: Companies can supplement their own satellite coverage in remote areas using satellite bandwidth as a service.
Climate Science: NGOs and researchers track deforestation, sea-level rise, and extreme weather in real time using leased satellite data.
Venture capital is pouring into the space sector and public-private partnerships are on the rise. Because the barriers to entry into space are no longer impassable, more players are able to enter the Space-as-a-Service sector.
“It’s not the same as it was before,” said Jean-Marc Astorg, Strategy Director for the French national space agency CNES, during a VivaTech 2025 session titled New Worlds, New Markets: The Future of Space. “In the 80s, agencies were developing all the systems. We built infrastructures, and now we are no longer doing that. We are supporting private companies, we changed the way we are buying things, we procure services instead. We think that this way we can be more efficient, we can be quicker and that’s important in this time.”
Startups such as Planet Labs, Spire Global, and Satellogic are part of this new guard disrupting the old model of national space monopolies by offering flexible and scalable space data services. Legacy aerospace companies like Airbus and Lockheed Martin are also in the space race with their own as-a-service offerings. And tech giants Amazon and SpaceX are investing heavily in satellite internet services.
Building the Orbital Infrastructure Economy
The growth of this new sector of the space economy depends on orbital infrastructure. Orbital infrastructure refers to all of the systems and structures that support space activity, particularly in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Orbital infrastructure currently includes satellites and space stations, and in the future could include space habitats and in-orbit manufacturing facilities.
Low Earth Orbit networks have hundreds or even thousands of small satellites in orbit relatively close to Earth’s surface. These constellations of satellites enable faster data relay, more frequent imaging, and less time delay for services like GPS, broadband internet, and Earth observation.
And satellites aren’t the only service offered within orbital infrastructure. Supporting services such as ground-control-as-a-service, launch platforms, and inter-satellite communication networks are growing. Space-based infrastructure offered as a service includes:
Data relay and processing platforms that deliver imagery to clients within minutes of capture.
Hosted payloads, where multiple customers share satellite real estate, reducing the cost per user.
Ground control services that manage mission operations remotely, freeing up clients to focus on application-level insights.
Climate monitoring and defense are two of the most prominent examples of how Space-as-a-Service is used. In climate monitoring, continuous imaging from space helps model emissions, forest loss, and glacier melt. Without this data, governments and organizations wouldn’t have the facts needed to address one of the world’s greatest challenges. Meanwhile in the defense industry, Space-as-a-Service supports threat detection and tactical decision-making with near real-time data feeds. From observation systems to telecommunications to navigation, this satellite data is critical to militaries around the globe.
The Future of Space SaaS
According to an Allied Market Research report, the global space service market size was valued at more than 0 billion in 2023 and will more than double to nearly 8 billion by 2033. As launch costs and satellite sizes continue to fall, even more startups and national programs will decide to plug into existing orbital networks rather than build their own.
However, challenges do remain and how they develop will be the main determinants of growth in the Space-as-a-Service sector. Difficulties include:
Regulation: Nations are tightening rules on satellite launches and orbital debris.
Latency: Real-time analytics require ultra-low-latency networks (meaning a nearly non-existent lag time for data to pass from one point on a network to another). This necessary speed is still in development for Space-as-a-Service.
Security and sovereignty: Governments may be cautious about relying on foreign-owned space infrastructure.
High costs: Satellites, launch systems, and orbital platforms require significant upfront investment. While costs are dropping, space ventures still often require high levels of funding.
Space-as-a-Service represents a major shift in how people can access and benefit from space. Borrowing the proven principles of SaaS allows Space-as-a-Service to open up the sky to more startups, corporations, and governments.
This democratization is shaping the next wave of commercial space tech, redefining industries, and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs who see space as a service platform ready for launch.
Learn more about the future of business in space by reading this article next: How Startups & Investors Are Growing the Space Economy
