The report reflects how global space downstream sector has expanded beyond Earth Observation and Global Navigation Satellite System to include emerging areas like Secure Satellite Communication and Space Situational Awareness.
A Broader Look at global downstream Space Market
With the increasing synergies between the four components of the EU Space Programme, it was time for a new market report to reflect this. The new and improved Market Report presents a comprehensive overview of the downstream space market, in terms of actual and projected revenues, capturing the market potential and impact, informing policy and funding decisions, and highlighting Europe's role and strengths in a competitive, user-driven space economy.
The report also provides key supply and demand trends, insights into application markets and the evolution of GNSS, EO, Secure SATCOM and SSA technologies.
Market Highlights and Trends
GNSS on the rise: GNSS revenue is set to reach €580 billion by 2034, overwhelmingly driven by mass‑market applications with consumer solutions, and road and automotive. GNSS-enabled devices in use are set to increase from 5.8 billion units in 2024 to almost 10 billion units by 2034. This ensures continuous, stable growth for GNSS over the next years.
Earth Observation: The current €3.5 billion of EO market revenue in 2024 is expected to grow to €7.9 billion by 2034 with agriculture representing the largest contributor.
Secure SATCOM and SSA: The secure SATCOM market addressing the needs of Surveillance, Key Infrastructure and Crisis Management, data service revenues are expected to see strong growth, increasing from just over €200 million in 2025 to nearly €1.2 billion by 2040. While maritime surveillance represents the largest share of demand in 2025, the market is set to shift significantly over time. By 2040, applications such as law enforcement, civil protection and defense-related deployment are projected to take the lead as demand for security goes up. The SSA and its three sub-components – Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST), Space Weather (SWE) and Near-Earth Objects (NEO) will continue to play a prominent role as the need for space safety and sustainability increases.
Sector highlights: Across sectors including agriculture, aviation and drones, consumer solutions, tourism and health, insurance and finance, urban development and cultural heritage, and EU border and internal security continue to demonstrate how EO and GNSS, complemented with secure satellite communication technologies enable more efficient resource management, safer operations, improved decision-making and enhanced resilience. These applications underline the growing importance of integrated space-based solutions in supporting Europe’s competitiveness and addressing societal challenges.
Existing and future synergies
The Report also explores macroeconomic forces that are changing the space markets, Some of these factors such as geopolitical instability, climate, and urbanisation highlighted synergies between the technologies:
Geopolitical instability: EO, GNSS and Secure SATCOM allow for near-real time responses in unstable environments with heightened security risks and increased situational awareness. They are rapidly becoming vital enablers of security, resilience, and informed decision-making. Space technology is also fundamental for operational efficiency increasingly required in segments like agriculture, energy and raw materials, as well as infrastructure, mitigating the impact of supply chain disruptions and increased prices for oil, pesticides and fertilizers.
Climate Change: Both EO and GNSS play vital roles in monitoring and environmental management. EO is central to assessing the impacts of extreme events and monitoring climate variables, while GNSS supports application for disaster response, environmental and infrastructure management.
Urbanisation: Specifically in the South-East Asia region where urbanisation has increased rapidly, EO and GNSS work jointly to provide better urban and energy management and planning, urban development and downstream market growth.
Want to find out more? Download the EU Space Market Report.
About Galileo
Galileo, the EU´s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), provides improved navigation, positioning and timing information. More than 4 billion users are already benefitting from Galileo.
The Galileo Programme is owned by the EU. The European Commission, as the Programme Manager, oversees the implementation of all activities. EUSPA is responsible for the operational management of the services, ensuring that they are delivered with the defined performance and without interruption. Galileo's system design and system evolution are entrusted by EUSPA to ESA.
Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (https://www.euspa.europa.eu).