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The Stakeholders

Examples of satellites with scientific applications

Astronomy satellites
Atmospheric Studies satellites
Search and Rescue satellites
Space Exploration satellites
Weather satellites

The four major commercial space sectors (satellite communications, space transportation, GPS and remote sensing) are listed below.

Satellite communications:
- Retail/subscription satellite services
  - Satellite mobile telephone systems
  - Narrow band data streams (asset tracking, remote data monitoring, messaging, two-way paging)
  - Broadband data relay systems (internet)
  - Direct-to-home television
  Commercial communications satellite operators (together account for 61% of comm. sats. in orbit): Iridium, Globalstar, Orbital Communications Corp. (ORBCOMM), Pan American Satellite Corp., Intelsat, Eutelsat, GE Americom, Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES), Inmarsat
- Transponder leasing: Firms that operate satellites often lease or sell access to their satellite transponders to service providers such as telecom and data relay firms
- Ground equipment manufacturing
- Satellite uplink and downlink terminals
- Consumer mobile satellite data and telephone units
- Direct-to-home TV receivers and dishes
- Satellite manufacturing
Space transportation (space launch)
GPS
- Tracking and navigation tools for land and marine vehicles
- Aviation: flight management systems
- Marine surveying
- Identifying location of cell phone users to improve 911 service
- Timing
- Recreation: hiking, fishing, boating
Remote-sensing
- Intelligence gathering
- Weather forecasting
- Urban planning, insurance assessments and the development of precision navigation maps
- Monitoring compliance with multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs): can observe and monitor activities and changes in land, ocean, and atmosphere phenomena such as deforestation, ocean circulation, and depletion of stratospheric ozone.
- Natural resource management
- Disaster management (floods etc.)
- Fighting forest fires (may lead to increased demand for infrared imagery)

Military space applications

GPS
- Mapping
- Aerial refueling and rendezvous
- Geodetic surveys
- Search and rescue operations
- See also command and control functions below
Communications
Verification of Arms Control treaties
Monitoring of nonproliferation activity
Early warning satellites that reduce the danger of accidental launch
Intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance
Mapping
Weather
Command and Control
- Coordinating troop movements and helping troops on the ground determine their position
- Targeting and weapons guidance: "communication between sensors and shooters and shooters and commanders;" Joint Direct Attack Munitions
- Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Defense of space assets
- Brilliant Pebbles
- ABM lasers etc.
Force application/projection denial of access to adversaries (toward targets on earth or space)
- Kinetic earth/bunker penetrating
- Kinetic Energy Anti-Satellite weapon
- Space-Based Laser
- Brilliant Pebbles
- Space Plane