What Kind of Satellites Exist in 2026?
10. Military & Defense: Secure comms, surveillance, high-priority missions →
$NOC,
$LMT,
$BA
9. GEO Communications: TV broadcast, enterprise backhaul →
$SES,
$I,
$ETL.PA
8. LEO Mega-Constellations: Global broadband, low latency → Starlink, Kuiper,
$ASTS
7. Earth Observation: Imaging, climate & infrastructure data →
$PL,
$MAXR,
$BA
6. Weather & Climate: Storm tracking & forecasting → NOAA, EUMETSAT, JAXA
5. Maritime & Aviation: Tracking ships, aircraft & assets →
$IRDM,
$ISAT.L, Thales Alenia Space
4. Agriculture & Resources: Crop monitoring & environmental data → Sateliot (Private),
$BKY, ICEYE (Private)
3. Science & Research: Space telescopes & deep-space missions → NASA, ESA, JAXA
2. Tech Demo & Education: Small sats for testing new tech → Tyvak (Private),
$SPIR, NASA CubeSat Program
1. CubeSats & NanoSats: Low-cost IoT, research & niche missions →
$PL, Fleet Space (Private), GOMSpace (Private)
Satellites are the hidden infrastructure powering everything from weather forecasts to global broadband.