Nano-Profitability - A Review of the Financial Success of Nanosatellite Industrial Companies

Since the inception of CubeSats, small companies have risen to the challenge of filling slots in the traditional value chain for satellite infrastructure to try to support these new, low-cost satellite projects that are popping up everywhere. Developing new products, services and solutions, these companies may have given traditional upstream space industry companies a truly disruptive business model. This model, aimed at low cost, non space-qualified components and systems allows for rapid deployment of space assets at moderate to low cost. In the decade of the rise of the nanosatellite, particularly the standardized CubeSat, is often heralded as a true disruptor of the space industry. Milk carton sized satellites at a fraction of the cost of traditional space systems can be bought online through web shops and online portals. This model may be disruptive with respect to traditional space projects but is it sustainable for those companies that dedicate themselves to the development and manufacturing of these standardized space systems? Can space companies be profitable in a low-cost, high value, high risk market segment