re: The most serious competitor to satellites
The unmanned aerial vehicle or the lighter than air vehicle, because they can stay for a long time at high altitudes, above the same area, will replace communication, earth-resources, weather, navigation and astronomy satellites and be far far less expensive.
A farmer is only interested in remotely-sensing his own area, not the entire world. When we use cell-phones, it's to call people not that far away. That's how Iridium collapsed.
We love space and must be aware of those facts.