Earth Observation and AI Analytics:
What a Square Kilometre Is Worth
Satellite imagery is getting cheap and the money is moving elsewhere. Planet lists SkySat archive at $6 per square kilometre and Satellogic at $4; constellations collect far more than they sell. Value sits in guaranteed access (assured tasking at $40 and sovereign capacity deals) and in answers sold per asset or decision. Governments buy about two-thirds, and growth has moved from US intelligence, whose commercial imagery budget was cut in the 2026 request, to European and Asian defence. SAR leads: ICEYE reported over €250 million of 2025 revenue and raised at over €10 billion. Free data and AI foundation models make analytics cheaper, shifting margin to whoever owns the customer's decision.
- $6/km²
- SkySat archive list price
- 57
- ICEYE SAR satellites
- ~2/3
- EO bought by governments
- 180 min
- Read, 98 chapters
Chapters
What each chapter answers
- 015 min · Free
Executive Summary and Reading Guide
What is Earth observation data worth per square kilometre and per revisit, who pays for it, and does artificial intelligence change who captures the value?
Key figuresRanking - 022 min · Free
Method: from Pixels to Price per Square Kilometre and Value per Decision
How does this study measure the value of Earth observation, and why use square kilometres, revisits and decisions rather than market-size forecasts?
- 032 min · Free
What Earth Observation Is: the Sensors
What kinds of sensors watch the Earth from orbit, what can each see, and what is each used for?
- 042 min · Subscribers
A Short History of Commercial Earth Observation
How did Earth observation move from a government monopoly to a commercial industry, and what does the history say about today's boom?
- 052 min · Subscribers
Resolution, Revisit and Latency: the Three Axes of Value
Why do buyers pay so differently for imagery of the same place, and which property of the data are they really paying for?
- 063 min · Subscribers
Light, Clouds and the Physics of Optical Imaging
What limits what an optical satellite can see, and why do resolution claims need careful reading?
- 072 min · Subscribers
The Fleet in Orbit: Setcoin's Satellite Catalogue Analysis
How many Earth observation satellites does each operator have in orbit in October 2026, and how fast are fleets growing?
RankingKey figures - 081 min · Subscribers
Reading Fleet Claims: What "N Satellites" Really Means
When an EO company says it has N satellites, what should a buyer or investor check, and how often do claims differ from the record?
- 092 min · Subscribers
Revisit: the Constellation Arithmetic
How often can a constellation look at a given place, and how many satellites does a target revisit require?
Ranking - 102 min · Subscribers
Collection Capacity: How Much a Satellite Can Image in a Day
How many square kilometres can one satellite collect each day, and why does that number matter more than revisit for the economics?
- 113 min · Subscribers
Price per Square Kilometre: the Price Ladder
What does satellite imagery cost per square kilometre in 2026, and how does the price change with resolution, age and urgency?
Ranking - 122 min · Subscribers
Case Study: From List Price to What a Buyer Really Pays
What does one high-resolution image actually cost a buyer once minimum orders, cloud, processing and failed collections are counted?
- 132 min · Subscribers
Open Data as a Price Floor: Sentinel and Landsat
How does free government imagery shape the commercial EO market, and what must paid data offer to compete with it?
- 141 min · Subscribers
Archives and the Value of History
What is a satellite imagery archive worth, and who pays for looking back in time?
- 153 min · Subscribers
Market Size: Reconciling the Forecasts
How big is the Earth observation market, and why do published forecasts disagree by a factor of two?
Range chart - 162 min · Subscribers
The Market Matrix: Sensors by Buyers
Which combinations of sensor and buyer make up the Earth observation market, and where is the money concentrated?
- 172 min · Subscribers
Government Demand I: US Intelligence (NRO and NGA)
How much does US intelligence spend on commercial imagery, through which contracts, and how secure is that spending?
Timeline - 182 min · Subscribers
US Civil Government Demand: NASA, NOAA, USDA, FEMA and Others
Beyond intelligence agencies, how much do US civil agencies buy commercial Earth observation, and for what?
- 192 min · Subscribers
Government Demand II: Defence Beyond the United States
Which governments outside the US are buying Earth observation in 2026, and why are they buying satellites rather than images?
Key figures - 202 min · Subscribers
NATO and Multinational Buying
How do NATO and multinational programmes buy Earth observation, and could they become a large single customer?
- 212 min · Subscribers
Europe: Copernicus, IRIDE and the Push for Sovereign EO
What is Europe building in Earth observation, and how much of it will be bought from companies?
- 221 min · Subscribers
Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Other Allies
How do allied governments outside the EU and the largest Asian powers buy Earth observation?
- 232 min · Subscribers
Asia: China, Japan and India
How large are Asia's Earth observation programmes, and are they competitors or customers for Western operators?
- 241 min · Subscribers
The Middle East, Africa and Latin America
Who buys Earth observation in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and who supplies them?
- 252 min · Subscribers
Commercial Demand: Agriculture
Is agriculture the large commercial market for satellite imagery that it has long been promised to be?
- 261 min · Subscribers
Commercial Demand in Europe and the United States Compared
Do European and US commercial buyers use Earth observation differently, and where is commercial demand growing faster?
- 272 min · Subscribers
Commercial Demand: Insurance and Finance
How do insurers, banks and investors use satellite data, and what will they pay for it?
- 282 min · Subscribers
Case Study: Flood Mapping in Hours
How does a satellite-based flood product work from storm to insurer, and why is it one of EO's clearest commercial successes?
- 292 min · Subscribers
Commercial Demand: Energy, Infrastructure and Mining
How do energy companies, infrastructure owners and miners use Earth observation, and which products do they pay for?
- 301 min · Subscribers
Mapping, 3D, Construction and Real Estate
How do mapping companies, construction firms and real-estate investors use Earth observation, and what do they buy?
- 312 min · Subscribers
Commercial Demand: Climate, Methane and Carbon
Is climate monitoring a real market for Earth observation, and who pays for it?
- 322 min · Subscribers
Disasters and Humanitarian Response
How is satellite imagery used in disasters and humanitarian crises, and who pays for it?
- 332 min · Subscribers
Maritime Domain Awareness and Dark Vessels
How do governments and companies use satellites to track ships, including those that hide, and who supplies the data?
- 341 min · Subscribers
Forestry, Land Use and Nature
How is satellite data used to manage forests and land, and who pays?
- 352 min · Subscribers
Water, Coasts and Oceans
How is Earth observation used to manage water, coastlines and the oceans, and who pays for it?
- 362 min · Subscribers
Ukraine as a Demand Shock
How has the war in Ukraine changed the Earth observation market, and what did the March 2025 access suspension teach governments?
Timeline - 371 min · Subscribers
Open-Source Intelligence, Journalism and Accountability
How do journalists, researchers and civil-society groups use commercial satellite imagery, and what does it mean for the industry?
- 382 min · Subscribers
Planet Labs: from Daily Pictures to Satellite Services
How has Planet's business changed, and what do its 2026 results say about where EO money is made?
Key figures - 392 min · Subscribers
Planet's Next Fleet: Pelican and Tanager
What are Planet's new satellites for, and how do they fit its shift towards satellite services?
- 402 min · Subscribers
BlackSky: Rapid Revisit and Sovereign Gen-3
What does BlackSky sell, and what do its 2026 results show about the shift from US to international customers?
Key figures - 412 min · Subscribers
The Economics of Daily Global Imaging
Is imaging the whole Earth every day a good business, and what did the Dove experiment teach the industry?
- 422 min · Subscribers
Vantor (Maxar Intelligence): the Incumbent
Where does the former Maxar imagery business stand in 2026, and how is it adapting to cheaper competitors and US budget pressure?
- 431 min · Subscribers
Airbus and the European Incumbents
What role do Airbus and other established European companies play in Earth observation?
- 442 min · Subscribers
ICEYE and the SAR Boom
How did a Finnish radar start-up become the most valuable Earth observation company in Europe, and what does its rise say about the market?
Key figures - 451 min · Subscribers
SAR for Buyers: Modes, Resolution and What Radar Can and Cannot Do
What should a buyer understand about synthetic aperture radar before paying for it?
- 462 min · Subscribers
The Other SAR Operators: Capella, Umbra, iQPS, Synspective and the Incumbents
Who else operates commercial SAR, and how do they differ from ICEYE?
- 471 min · Subscribers
Commercial Weather and Atmospheric Data
Can private companies sell weather data from space, and how do they compete with government satellites?
- 482 min · Subscribers
Other Optical Operators: Satellogic, Airbus, EarthDaily and the Field
Who else sells optical imagery, and what strategies are they using against falling prices?
- 491 min · Subscribers
Aerial Imagery, Drones and Other Competitors
Where do satellites compete with aircraft, drones and ground sensors, and where do they lose?
- 503 min · Subscribers
Constellation Economics: What a Square Kilometre Costs to Produce
What does it cost an operator to collect a square kilometre of imagery, and how much of its capacity must it sell to cover costs?
Ranking - 511 min · Subscribers
Ground Truth, Labels and Accuracy
Why do accuracy and labelled data decide whether EO analytics can be sold to serious buyers?
- 522 min · Subscribers
The Analytics Value Chain: Who Captures the Money
When a customer pays for an analytics subscription built on satellite data, how much reaches the imagery supplier, the cloud provider and the analytics company?
Ranking - 532 min · Subscribers
Change Detection: the Core Analytic
Why is change detection the most valuable thing satellites do, and how do the methods differ?
- 542 min · Subscribers
AI Foundation Models for Earth Observation
What are geospatial foundation models, who has built them, and how do they change the economics of EO analytics?
- 552 min · Subscribers
Case Study: Building an EO Analytics Product
What does it take to build a commercial analytics product on satellite data, from idea to paying customers?
- 562 min · Subscribers
On-Board Processing and Edge AI
Why would a satellite analyse its own images before sending them down, and how far has on-board AI come?
- 571 min · Subscribers
Cloud, Compute and Storage Economics
How much do storage and compute cost for Earth observation, and who earns from them?
- 582 min · Subscribers
Data Platforms and Marketplaces
How do buyers find and buy satellite data, and do platforms and marketplaces capture value?
- 591 min · Subscribers
A Setcoin Price Index for Satellite Imagery
How fast are imagery prices falling, and can a simple index track them?
Ranking - 602 min · Subscribers
Pricing Models: Per Square Kilometre, Subscription, Capacity and Outcome
How do EO companies price what they sell, and which models are winning?
- 612 min · Subscribers
Government-Built Proliferated Constellations: Competitor or Customer?
Are governments building their own large constellations of imaging satellites, and what does that mean for commercial operators?
- 622 min · Subscribers
Satellites-as-a-Service: Selling Constellations to Governments
What exactly do governments buy when they buy "satellites-as-a-service", and how does it change an EO company's business?
- 632 min · Subscribers
Contract Terms Buyers Should Negotiate
Beyond price, which contract terms decide what a buyer of satellite imagery or analytics actually gets?
- 642 min · Subscribers
Case Study: A Ministry Buys a Sovereign SAR Capability
How might a mid-sized defence ministry decide between buying images, reserving capacity and owning satellites, and what would each cost?
- 652 min · Subscribers
What Monitoring Costs a Buyer
What does it cost a company or agency to monitor an area with satellites for a year, and how do resolution and revisit change the bill?
Ranking - 662 min · Subscribers
How Governments Evaluate EO Suppliers
What criteria do defence and civil agencies use when they choose Earth observation suppliers, and how can a company prepare?
- 672 min · Subscribers
Government Share Stress Test
How exposed is an EO company's revenue to a cut in US intelligence purchases, and how fast can other customers make up the gap?
Ranking - 681 min · Subscribers
Listed EO Companies Compared: Operating Metrics
How do the publicly reporting Earth observation companies compare on growth, profitability, backlog and cash?
- 692 min · Subscribers
Regulation I: US Licensing, Shutter Control and Export
How does US law govern commercial Earth observation, and does it still restrict what operators can sell?
- 702 min · Subscribers
Licensing Imagery for AI Training
Can satellite operators sell their archives to AI developers, and how should such deals be priced and structured?
- 712 min · Subscribers
Regulation II: Europe, Privacy and Security Rules
How do European and other countries regulate Earth observation, and do privacy rules limit very-high-resolution imagery?
- 721 min · Subscribers
Spectrum for Earth Observation
Why does radio spectrum matter to Earth observation, and what are the risks to the frequencies EO depends on?
- 732 min · Subscribers
The Ground Segment: Downlink, Relays and Latency
How do images get from satellites to users, what does it cost, and how are relays changing latency?
- 741 min · Subscribers
Orbital Congestion and Debris Risk for EO Fleets
How crowded are the orbits that Earth observation satellites use, and how does debris risk affect their operations and costs?
- 752 min · Subscribers
Launch and Supply Chain for EO Operators
What do EO operators depend on to build and launch their fleets, and where are the bottlenecks?
- 762 min · Subscribers
Consolidation and M&A
How has the Earth observation industry consolidated, and what deals are likely next?
- 771 min · Subscribers
Security of EO Systems: Cyber, Jamming and Counterspace Threats
How exposed are Earth observation satellites and their ground systems to attack or interference, and what does it cost to protect them?
- 782 min · Subscribers
Capital Flows into Earth Observation
Where is money going in Earth observation in 2025–2026, and what are funders paying for?
- 791 min · Subscribers
The Technology Giants and Earth Observation
What roles do Google, Microsoft, Amazon and other technology companies play in Earth observation, and could they reshape the market?
- 802 min · Subscribers
Hyperspectral and Thermal: the New Sensors
Are hyperspectral and thermal satellites ready to become large markets, or will they stay niches?
- 811 min · Subscribers
Europe's EO Start-up Ecosystem
Which European start-ups are building new Earth observation capabilities, and what helps or hinders them?
- 822 min · Subscribers
Very High Resolution and Very Low Orbit
Will 10 cm satellite imagery from very low orbit change the high end of the market?
- 832 min · Subscribers
The Arctic: a Growing Theatre for Earth Observation
Why is the Arctic becoming a priority for Earth observation, and which sensors work there?
- 841 min · Subscribers
RF Sensing and Signals Intelligence from Commercial Satellites
What do radio-frequency sensing satellites detect, who buys their data, and how large can this segment become?
- 851 min · Subscribers
Imaging Space from Space: Space Domain Awareness
Can Earth observation satellites watch other satellites, and is that a new market?
- 862 min · Subscribers
Scenarios to 2035
How large could the Earth observation market be in 2030 and 2035, and what decides which scenario unfolds?
Range chart - 871 min · Subscribers
Earth Observation in 2026 in Numbers
What are the key numbers that describe the Earth observation industry in October 2026?
- 882 min · Subscribers
Implications by Reader
What should investors, lenders, buyers, operators and governments take from this study?
- 891 min · Subscribers
Earth Observation for Infrastructure Due Diligence
How can satellite data verify the status of infrastructure projects, and how does Setcoin use it?
- 902 min · Subscribers
Due-Diligence Checklist for an EO Company
What should a lender, partner, customer or government check before relying on an Earth observation company?
- 911 min · Subscribers
A Buyer's Procurement Playbook
How should a company or agency go about buying satellite imagery or EO analytics for the first time?
- 922 min · Subscribers
Risk Register
What could go wrong for the Earth observation industry between 2026 and 2035, how likely is it, and how severe would it be?
- 932 min · Subscribers
The Defence-Led Path to 2030: a Narrative Scenario
What would the Earth observation industry look like in 2030 if today's defence-led trends continue?
- 941 min · Subscribers
Signals to Watch and What Would Change Our View
Which events over the next 24 months will show where the Earth observation market is going?
Timeline - 952 min · Subscribers
Setcoin's View in One Page
What, in a few paragraphs, does this study conclude about Earth observation and AI analytics?
- 962 min · Subscribers
Twenty Questions This Study Answers
What do buyers, investors and policy makers most often ask about Earth observation, and what are the short answers?
- 972 min · Subscribers
How Earth Observation Connects to the Rest of the Space Economy
How does Earth observation depend on, and feed, the other parts of the space economy covered in Setcoin's studies?
- 982 min · Subscribers
Methodology and Sources
How was this study built, and where are its limits?
- 991 min · Subscribers
Appendix A: Operator Reference Table
Which Earth observation operators are covered in this study, and what are their key facts?
- 1001 min · Subscribers
Appendix B: Glossary
What do the technical terms in this study mean?
- 1011 min · Subscribers
Appendix C: Model Reference Values
Which defaults and reference cases do the five models use?
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Setcoin Atlas · Space & aerospace
The thesis, against the live record
Research and contract activity on public registers, mapped to the bottlenecks this report names.
1,096
awards & contracts on record
1,063
organisations
$9.0bn
awarded (corrected)
171
new in the last 90 days
Awarded value after removing $16.9bn of aircraft and missile awards misfiled under space.
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Free accounts see the evidence ladder, regional split and the most active organisations and projects, anonymised.
Ask about Earth Observation
Answers drawn from every Setcoin report and the live Atlas. Each statement links to the passage behind it.
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Cited answers across every report and the Atlas, with follow-up questions and a hand-off to the opportunity finder.