On Sept. 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida. One of the strongest storms to ever strike the Sunshine State, the Category 4 hurricane battered the Gulf Coast with catastrophic winds of 150 miles per hour and a storm surge that was up to 12 feet deep in some places. It claimed more than 100 lives and caused at least $63 billion worth of damage.
It’s a harsh reminder that natural disasters are becoming more frequent and dangerous. In the last 50 years, the number of extreme weather incidents has increased five-fold, killing more than 45,000 people per year while costing individuals, businesses and governments trillions of dollars.
Unfortunately, governments don’t have crystal balls with which to predict storms or magic wands with which to prevent them. They do, however, have satellites.
Over the past decade, the space sector has experienced massive growth in investment activity, according to research firm McKinsey. Between 2012 and 2021, total annual investment grew to more than $10 billion, from $300 million. The number of satellites are expected to grow by 1,000%+ this decade, with a wide-ranging impact on everything from predicting pandemics and saving the planet, according to the business and tech news site The Hustle.