1090 Mhz vs 978 UAT. Are satellites a future consideration?

It seems that the European Space Agency has quietly, albeit
experimentally, been collecting mass ADS-B data from space.

See:
http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/05/07...esa-satellite/
and,
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Ima...cting_aircraft

In the future, this could be developed into a sarsat-style network of
small satellites that could produce "breadcrumb" tracks for every ADS-B
out-compliant aircraft on the globe. Given the worldwide interest in
airliner tracking raised by incidents such as the Air Asia flight MH370
which went missing, government funding for such a network seems likely.

I will leave concerns over privacy for another forum, but it goes
without saying that having reliable track information on any aircraft
would be highly valuable to any search and rescue organization.

Now let me leave you with one last thought: I can't find specific
information on the receiver in that satellite. However, given that they
don't use 978 in Europe, what are the chances that it's a 1090-only
system?