The future of satellites looks like the future of cars: more serial, more efficient, more reliable
For decades, satellites have been treated as one-of-a-kind projects. Handcrafted machines, often unique in design, built through a long and costly process. Each satellite was an engineering masterpiece, but also a bottleneck: unpredictable delivery times, high costs, and limited scalability.
This is about to change.
Just as the automotive industry transitioned from artisanal vehicles to standardized, mass-produced cars (safer, cheaper, and more reliable) the space industry is moving towards a new paradigm: serial production of satellites.
At Space Industries, we believe this shift is not only inevitable, but essential.
Why serial production is the next frontier
The demand for satellites is exploding. According to market estimates, more than 3,000 small satellites will be launched every year by 2030. The applications range from Earth observation to secure communications, from defense to cybersecurity, from IoT to in-orbit data processing.
If launch costs have dramatically decreased over the past decade, satellite manufacturing has not kept pace. Today, many customers ask a simple question: if a rocket can be reused, why should a satellite still cost so much and take years to deliver?
The answer lies in adopting an industrial model: standardization, efficiency, and scalability.
The “automotive” approach to satellites
In the automotive world, every brand has its own design, but all cars share common standards: safety regulations, emission rules, chassis compatibility, aftermarket components. This ecosystem makes cars affordable, reliable, and easy to maintain.
We envision the same logic for satellites.
- Standardized platforms: the chassis, thermal structure, power, and propulsion follow common rules.
- Customized payloads: customers can choose sensors, telecom systems, or data processing units, just as they choose the options of a car.
- Predictable delivery: from order to orbit in months, not years.
This shift is more than a metaphor. It is an industrial necessity.
Why 200–600 kg is the optimal range
Many industry players are converging on the same conclusion: satellites between 200 and 600 kg offer the best balance between cost, performance, and production scalability.
- Performance: this class provides enough energy capacity to power advanced applications such as electric propulsion, on-board data centers, or secure communications.
- Flexibility: satellites in this range can serve multiple markets, from Earth observation to telecommunications.
- Efficiency: production time can be reduced to about 100 days per unit, with up to 200 satellites per year produced in Space Industries’ facility.
In other words, this size is to satellites what the “mid-size” segment is to cars: versatile, scalable, and cost-effective.
From one-off projects to a scalable industry
At our Stellar Hub in Turin, we are building one of the largest clean rooms in Europe — more than 3,000 square meters — capable of assembling and testing entire batches of satellites in the same place.
This model eliminates the inefficiencies of moving satellites between multiple sites for integration and testing. Instead, the entire production process happens in a single facility, with major benefits:
- 30% faster production cycles
- Reduced transportation risks
- Lower costs per satellite
- Improved reliability through standardized workflows
The goal is clear: to deliver satellites the way the automotive industry delivers cars. In series, predictable, and ready for immediate deployment.
A paradigm shift for the space economy
This transformation will redefine the space industry in the coming decade. Satellites will increasingly become commodities: replicable, integrable, and reliable. Customers will no longer ask for unique, tailor-made objects, but for robust, efficient, and scalable solutions.
In this new era, buying a satellite will resemble buying industrial equipment: check the catalog, choose the platform, add the payload, place the order. Delivery on time, performance guaranteed.
This is not science fiction. It is the future we are building today.
Conclusion
The evolution of satellites mirrors that of cars: from craftsmanship to industry, from exclusivity to scalability.
At Space Industries, we are convinced that this shift is not optional: it is the only way to meet the demands of a rapidly growing market. Serial, efficient, and reliable satellites will enable governments, companies, and innovators worldwide to unlock the full potential of space.
The future of satellites will look like the future of cars. And it starts now.
