A burgeoning market for space data is creating a world of opportunity to better understand risks here on Earth, enabling more informed underwriting, loss prevention, and claims services. A point of view by Veronique Clevenot-Roux, Risk Consulting Country Manager for France at AXA XL, and Denis Bousquet, Global Chief Technical Officer for Space Underwriting at AXA XL.
Just over 10,000 satellites have been launched since the 1950s. But their number in orbit could soon rocket to 70,000 as commercial satellite operators take advantage of more sophisticated technology and growing demand for services. Elon Musk’s Starlink mega constellation alone aims to launch as many as 42,000 satellites, while France-based E-Space has proposed a constellation consisting of more than 116,000 satellites.
A revolution is underway in the commercial satellite market. Satellites are becoming smaller, more powerful and cheaper: The average cost of manufacturing and launching a satellite is now around one third of what it was in the 1990s, according to EY. Meanwhile, their sensors are gathering more granular and varied data. Optical sensors can reveal even more detailed views of the earth’s surface and human activity, while hyperspectral sensors are able to remotely analyse air, soil and water. Back on earth, cloud services and artificial intelligence help extract insights and value from space data.
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