Cloud service providers must adapt to the impact of AI adoption and cloud computing on space data downlink

AI has transitioned from being a widely discussed technology with modest adoption in the space industry to one that maintains strong interest alongside rapidly growing adoption. In applications like Earth observation (EO), science and situational awareness (SA), AI and machine learning (ML) models have already been deployed for tasks such as object detection, image classification, change detection and more. The advancement of AI and its impact on satellite operations and downstream analytics is becoming more tangible.

Analysys Mason’s latest Space cloud computing: trends and forecast 2024–2034 report estimates a cumulative market opportunity of USD 91.9 billion from 2024 to 2034 for cloud services, with data downlink driving 78% of the total. Figure 1 shows the cloud services revenue opportunity by application, indicating a surge in demand across all three applications. This surge in opportunity for cloud services is directly tied to increased adoption of AI, satellite operators expanding their role to provide downstream analytics and advancement in overall compute capabilities enabling faster raw data-to-insight timelines.