Space - Into the Final Frontier
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Live ISS Views of Earth from Orbit
โ SpaceX Acquires Low-Band Spectrum Licences for Starlink Mobile's Gen2 Constellation
โ SpaceX has agreed to acquire from the Federal Communications Commission a nationwide portfolio of licenses in the low-band spectrum in a deal reportedly valued at USD 8 billion, as it looks to expand beyond satellite internet and become a serious competitor in the US mobile market. The FCC assigns licenses for specific frequencies and geographic areas through auctions or other authorized processes. The FCC approved Starlink Mobile's Gen2 constellation application this week, authorizing โ SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum worldwide. [Reuters: 9 Oct 2026]
โ SpaceX Acquires Cursor
AI coding startup Cursor is now officially a part of โ SpaceX, according to an announcement on the Cursor blog. Elon Muskโs โ SpaceX โ which also acquired Muskโs xAI earlier this year โ announced a deal in April for the companies to develop technology together; the deal also gave โ SpaceX the option to acquire Cursor for USD 60 billion. Two months later, as โ SpaceX became a public company, the companies said they were moving forward with the acquisition.
In its announcement that the deal has closed, Cursor repeatedly referenced โ SpaceXโs computing infrastructure, which the company has been renting out to customers, including Anthropic and โ Google.
Cursor said that by becoming part of โ SpaceX, it will have โaccess to the largest fleet of GPUs in the world. โ SpaceX is building the computing capacity needed to scale intelligence far beyond what exists today,โ the company added. โโ SpaceX will be one place where that intelligence becomes useful.โ
โ Spacex Cargo Dragon
One of โ
Spacex's functions is to transport people to and cargo from the International Space Station (ISS) via its Cargo Dragon (pictured above). NASA's Commercial Resupply (CRS) missions use it to deliver science, supplies, and equipment to and from the ISS. [โ
SpaceX Falcon]
News
โ Alphabet is fast-tracking Project Suncatcher: โ Google's first test of AI chips in space, with an experimental AI satellite scheduled to launch on 1 October 2026. The mission will use โ Google-designed chips integrated into an existing โ Planet Labs satellite to test Agentic Geospacial AI.
Satellites
Earth has 4,550 satellites in orbit as of 27 Aug 2026 [Dewesoft]:
- 3,790 in low Earth orbit (LEO)
- 565 in geosynchronous orbit (GSO) and geostationary orbit (GEO)
- 56 in highly elliptical orbit (HEO)
Major companies and private operators with significant orbital satellite constellations include:
- โ
SpaceX [SPCX] (Starlink):
- As at 29 Sep 2026: ~11,133 active Starlink satellites providing broadband connectivity
- 11,133 Starlink satellites in orbit
- 11,119 currently working/operational
- 12,962 launched in total since May 2019
- OneWeb (Eutelsat Communications): ~600 active low Earth orbit satellites delivering enterprise and government communications.
- โ Amazon [AMZN] (Project Kuiper): ~392 active production satellites as deployment ramps up for its broadband network.
- โ Planet Labs: ~200 active small satellites capturing daily Earth-imaging and observation data.
- Iridium Communications: 66 active communication satellites plus operational spares in low Earth orbit.
- Spire Global: Over 100 small CubeSats NASA: tracking maritime, aviation, and weather data. [CubeSats and SmallSats]
- EutelSat: 31 GEOstationary, 600 low-latency LEO satellites in a pole-to-pole constellation. [Satellites]
Who Are The Top 50 Owners of Satellites?
The following table is sourced from Dewesoft.com
| Rank | Company | Satellites | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | โ Spacex/Starlink | 1,655 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 2 | OneWeb Satellites | 288 | ๐ฌ๐ง UK |
| 3 | โ Planet Labs Inc | 188 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 4 | Chinese Ministry of National Defense | 129 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 5 | Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation | 125 | ๐ท๐บ Russia |
| 6 | Spire Global Inc | 121 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 7 | Swarm Technologies | 120 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 8 | US Air Force (USAF) | 87 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 9 | Iridium Communications Inc | 75 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 10 | National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) | 63 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 11 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) | 60 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 12 | SES SA | 51 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 13 | European Space Agency (ESA) | 51 | ๐ช๐บ EU |
| 14 | Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) | 47 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India |
| 15 | Intelsat S.A. | 46 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 16 | US Department of Defense | 45 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 17 | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | 39 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 18 | ORBCOMM Inc | 35 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 19 | โ Globalstar | 32 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 20 | EUTELSAT S.A. | 30 | ๐ซ๐ท Multi |
| 21 | Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd | 28 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 22 | China Academy of Sciences (CAS) | 25 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 23 | U.S. Navy | 24 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 24 | National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) | 21 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 24 | Satellogic S.A. | 21 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 26 | 03b Networks Ltd | 20 | ๐ฌ๐ง UK |
| 27 | China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) | 20 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 28 | Aerospace Corporation | 19 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 29 | Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) | 18 | ๐ซ๐ท France |
| 30 | Gonets Satcom | 18 | ๐ท๐บ Russia |
| 31 | Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation | 17 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan |
| 32 | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) | 16 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan |
| 33 | EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) | 15 | ๐ช๐บ EU |
| 34 | Kepler Communications | 15 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada |
| 35 | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology | 15 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 36 | Guodian Gaoke | 14 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 37 | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) | 14 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 38 | Telesat Canada Ltd (BCE Inc) | 13 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada |
| 39 | Echostar Satellite Services LLC | 13 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 40 | China Satellite Communications Corp (China Satcom) | 13 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 41 | Russian Satellite Communications Company | 12 | ๐ท๐บ Russia |
| 42 | Los Alamos National Laboratory | 12 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 43 | INMARSAT Ltd | 12 | ๐ฌ๐ง UK |
| 44 | Technical University Berlin | 12 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany |
| 45 | Tyvak Nanosatellite Systems Inc. | 12 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 46 | ICEYE Ltd | 12 | ๐ฎ๐ธ IceLand |
| 47 | PanAmSat (Intelsat S.A.) | 11 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 48 | DirecTVInc. | 11 | ๐บ๐ธ USA |
| 49 | Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center (CSIC) | 11 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan |
| 50 | Ningxia Jingui Information Technology Co.Ltd. | 10 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
| 51 | China Meteorological Administration | 10 | ๐จ๐ณ China |
10 Countries with the most Satellites
The following table is sourced from Dewesoft.com
- ๐บ๐ธ USA: 2,804
- ๐จ๐ณ China: 467
- ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom: 349
- ๐ท๐บ Russia: 168
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan: 93
- ๐ฎ๐ณ India: 61
- ๐จ๐ฆ Canada: 57
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany: 47
- ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg: 40
- ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina: 34
Live Satellite Trackers
Orbital Data Centers
The inventory of orbital data centers, as at Sep 2026, is owned by:
- Kepler Communications: Operates 10 low Earth orbit optical satellites equipped with GPU units, with plans to expand to hundreds.
- Axiom Space: Operates 2 orbital data center nodes (deployed in January 2026) and is expanding its presence on the International Space Station.
- Starcloud: Operates 1 satellite equipped with โ NVIDIA H100 GPUs, which successfully ran large language model training in December 2025.
๐๏ธ Space Junk
The European Space Agency estimates that near-Earth space is cluttered with some 36,500 pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters), about a million objects 0.4 to 4 inches (1 to 10 cm) in size, and an astounding 130 million fragments smaller than 0.4 inches (1 cm). The amount of the smaller stuff in particular continues to rise as larger objects collide with each other at enormous orbital speeds, producing clouds of fragments. [n2yo.com]
๐ฐ๏ธ Earth Imaging and Scientific Research
๐ฐ๏ธ Satellite Fleets: By Country
๐ Launchers
- ๐ท๐บ Angara A5M Roscosmos: Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia
- ๐ท๐บ Roscosmos: Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M | Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia
- ๐ท๐บ Roscosmos: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
- ๐ซ๐ท Arianespace
- ๐บ๐ธ Blue Origin
- ๐จ๐ณ China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC): Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China
- ๐ฎ๐ณ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
- ๐ณ๐ฟRocketLab: Mฤhia Peninsula, New Zealand
- ๐บ๐ธ โ Spacex: Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA</li>
- ๐ท๐บ Soyuz: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
- ๐บ๐ธ United Launch Alliance (ULA)
News
Beyond Orbit
Psyche Asteroid [โ Spacex Falcon] About Asteroid Psyche: A world made not of rock or ice, but of metal
Launches
21 Sep 2026:: โ SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches NASA Psyche asteroid mission. [Current location]
โ SpaceX's first European Starfall customer is mission integrator Space Cargo [Reuters: 15 Sep 2026]
On Tuesday, June 23 at 6:53 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched the Starfall Demo mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This was the 29th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched โ Spacex Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-B, USSF-124, BlueBird 1-5, Nusantara Lima (PSN N5), and 23 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas" droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. [โ Spacex: 23 Jun 2026]
"โ SpaceX's new Starfall business of returning products and other payloads from Earth's orbit has signed a mission deal with integrator Space Cargo as the unit's first European customer, the company's Chief Executive Nicolas Gaume told Reuters.
Space Cargo aims to fly in 2028 an orbital reentry flight on the first commercial mission of Starship, which will deploy SpaceX's Starfall - a disk-shaped capsule designed to carry materials on short trips through orbit and back to Earth.
Launched aboard Falcon 9 and eventually Starship, Starfall is an aluminum housing protected by a 10-foot (3-m) -wide heatshield that โ SpaceX offers to customers seeking to make products or do research in the microgravity of space.
Luxembourg-based Space Cargo will place its "BentoBox" system in the Starfall capsule, positioning itself as an integrator in the SpaceX program with plans to book more such future missions, Space Cargo CEO Gaume said." [Reuters: 15 Sep 2026]
Space Launch Schedule
Starship 13 launch:
- โ Crew-13
- Falcon 9
- ๐บ๐ธ SpaceX, SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
- โCrew-13 is a crewed NASA Commercial Crew Program mission using SpaceXโs Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Starship 14 launch:
- Regulatory readiness: ACHIEVED.
- Orbital capability: not yet demonstrated.
- Operational V3 deployment: not yet demonstrated.
- Starship revenue contribution: not yet recognised in โ SpaceX valuation.
- โฏ๏ธ Starship 14 launch, โฏ๏ธ Ocean landing
List of โ Spacex Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches
Recent Launches - Detail
About Starship 14
Flight 14 has an unusually useful investment test embedded in it. โ Spacex says the 26 V3 satellites would provide roughly 26 Tbps of aggregate network capacityโaround ten times the capacity added by a Falcon 9 launch carrying V2 Mini satellites. Starship reached orbit and successfully deployed those spacecraft. This begins connecting two parts of our valuation model that we have so far treated separately:
- Starship economics,
- and Connectivity economics.
- SEP 2026:
- LOXSAT-1
- Electron
- ๐ณ๐ฟPad TBD, Rocket Lab Launch Complex, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
- SEP 20: 11:47 AM
- โ Starlink (15-27)
- Falcon 9
- ๐บ๐ธ SpaceX, SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA
- โ
- SEP 19: 08:50 PM
- TBD
- Unconfirmed Vehicle
- ๐จ๐ณ CASC, LC-9, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China
- โ Unconfirmed Payload
- SEP 18: 10:15 PM
- Starship Orbital Flight 1 (Starship Flight 14)
- Starship
- ๐บ๐ธ Orbital Pad 2, SpaceX Starbase, Texas, USA
- Ship 41 underwent two cryogenic proof tests on June 30, 2026. Booster 21 also underwent its own cryogenic proof tests from July 18-20, 2026. The engines' static firing test...
- โ 9 Booster 21 Series: SpaceX StarlinkShip 41 Test Flight SEP 13
- SEP 17: 12:35 PM
- Unconfirmed Vehicle
- CASC
- ๐จ๐ณ LS-95A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China
- โ Unconfirmed Payload
- SEP 17: 10:00 AM
- Unconfirmed Vehicle
- CASC
- ๐จ๐ณ LC-2, Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, China
- โ Unconfirmed Payload
- SEP 16: 11:33 PM
- Progress MS-35: Soyuz-2
- Roscosmos
- ๐ท๐บ LC-31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
- 96th Progress cargo delivery to the International Space Station (96P)
- โ 3ISS Cargo
- SEP 16: 11:00 AM:
- SEP 16: 07:55 AM:
- Unconfirmed Vehicle
- China
- ๐จ๐ณ Sea Launch, Yellow Sea, China
- โ Unconfirmed Payload
- SEP 15: 04:25 PM:
- Unconfirmed Vehicle
- LandSpace
- ๐จ๐ณ LS-43/96, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China
- โ Unconfirmed Payload
- SEP 15: 11:21 AM:
- Arianespace: Vega C
- Sentinel-3C
- ๐ฌ๐ซ ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
- Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX): Launching the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 constellation, which provides high-accuracy optical, radar and altimetry data for marine and land services.
- SEP 14: 04:49 AM:
- SES O3b mPOWER-6 (11, 12 & 13)
- โ Spacex: Falcon 9
- ๐บ๐ธ SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS Florida, USA
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the final three SES O3b mPOWER satellites in September 2026, completing the medium Earth orbit (MEO) broadband constellation
- โ SpaceX
- Demonstrated the power of extreme vertical integration, delivering revenue growth of 92% year-over-year across Space, Connectivity and AI
- Completed 2 successful Starship V3 flight tests, advancing towards full and rapid reusability
- Closed multiple industry-leading Cloud Services Agreements resulting in USD 14.1 billion of contracted sales
- Announced agreement to acquire Cursor for USD 60 billion to accelerate the Al enterprise opportunity
- Released its most powerful Al model yet with Grok 4.5 in July 2026
- Delivered 66% revenue and 79% income from operations growth year-over-year for the Connectivity segment, driven by a doubling of Starlink Subscribers and continued momentum in Enterprise & Government
- Awarded over USD 6 billion in multi-year U.S. government contracts for Starshield.
- Revenues of $7.8 billion, up 92% from $4.1 billion
- Net loss of USD 541 million, an improvement of USD 467 million from net loss of USD 1.0 billion
- Adjusted EBITDA of USD 3.5 billion, up 191% from USD 1.2 billion
โ Spacex Earnings: 2026/Q2
โ SpaceX Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results:
โ SpaceX announced the following financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, as compared to the prior year quarter:
News: Starlink Mobile
โ Spacex Direct to Device Communications Project Approved by FCC
"In this Order and Authorization (Order), we grant in part and defer in part, with conditions, the application, as amended, of Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (โ SpaceX
"We also grant in part and defer in part, with conditions, โ SpaceX's
"Specifically, we authorize โ SpaceX
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ Discussion: Satellite Direct to Device (D2D) Communication
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ D2D today: โ SpaceX makes the satellite masquerade, in effect, as a cellular tower. Existing phones work. Therefore โ Apple/Samsung/โ Google don't necessarily gain much incremental hardware revenue from D2D itself.
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ 224G-LR SerDes PHY | Cadence (Serializer/Deserializer) and UCIe/Mlink D2D: As satellite communications become integrated into 5G standards, modem/chipset designers can optimise phones specifically for terrestrial + non-terrestrial networks. That puts companies such as MediaTek โ and potentially Qualcomm and the handset makers themselvesโmuch closer to the economic opportunity. Qualcommโs Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system supports two-way satellite messaging, location sharing, and SOS notifications, with Skylo completing certification for this capability in September 2024.
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ Satellite Direct-to-Device (D2H/D2D): Implementation will involve 3 stages:
- D2D 1.0 โ Satellite accommodates today's phone:
Existing/unmodified phones; satellite does the difficult work. - ๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ D2D 2.0 โ Phone and satellite meet halfway:
3GPP NTN, satellite-aware chipsets, broader spectrum and increasing 5G capability. - ๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ D2D 3.0 โ Ubiquitous machine connectivity:
Phones become one endpoint among vehicles, sensors, robots, autonomous systems and eventually off-Earth machines.
Developments
โ SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted on 4 Oct 2026 that he would rename the company's AI unit to SpaceXSI, following US President Donald Trump's push to use the term "super intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence." [Reuters: 4 Oct 2026]
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ Qualcommโs Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system supports two-way satellite messaging, location sharing, and SOS notifications, with Skylo completing certification for this capability in September 2024. Earlier efforts to partner with Iridium for proprietary satellite messaging on Android devices were terminated in late 2023, as smartphone OEMs preferred standards-based solutions. However, a joint end-to-end trial by Deutsche Telekom, Skylo, and Qualcomm successfully demonstrated SMS over GEO satellite using 3GPP Release 17 specifications, marking the first such integration in Europe.
โ Amazon LEO has ordered 6 additional Ariane 64 launches from Arianespace, bringing the total number planned under their agreement from 18 to 24. The missions will lift off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, building on the initial 18 already underway, with the new flights beginning in 2029. In 2026, Arianespace placed 100 โ Amazon Leo satellites into orbit on 3 Ariane 6 missions in less than 5 months. The 6 additional launches support the continued ramp-up of Ariane 6 to serve all its customers and strengthen Arianespace's ability to meet the needs of institutional missions and future European constellations. [Amazon: 10 Sep 2026]
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ Starlink Second Generation Satellites
๐ฐ๏ธ โ Globalstar (NASDAQ: GSAT), a next-generation telecommunications infrastructure and technology provider, has announced the successful launch and deployment of its latest satellites via a โ Spacex Falcon 9 rocket, marking another significant milestone in the continued expansion of the company's LEO satellite constellation.
๐ฐ๏ธ Following a successful launch, all satellites were successfully dispensed from the launch vehicle and have reached their intended orbital planes. โ Globalstar's Satellite Operations Command Center team has established communications with each satellite, and all are currently under the Company's command and control. Initial health assessments indicate the satellites are performing as expected, and engineers are actively monitoring their status as they progress through early orbit operations. [Globalstar: 16 Aug 2026]
๐ฐ๏ธ๐ฒ โ Amazon.com and โ Globalstar have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire Globalstar, enabling โ Amazon LEO to add direct-to-device (D2D) services to its low Earth orbit satellite network and extend cellular coverage to customers beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. In addition, โ Amazon and โ Apple announced an agreement for โ Amazon LEO to power satellite services for โ Apple iPhone and โ Apple Watch1, including Emergency SOS via satellite. Beginning in 2028, โ Amazon LEO will deploy its own next-generation D2D satellite system, allowing โ Amazon to deliver more advanced voice, data, and messaging services to mobile phones and other cellular devices. The Leo D2D system will offer substantially higher spectrum use and efficiency than legacy direct-to-cell systems, which translates into faster speeds and better performance for customers.
Current LEO Communication Systems
- โ Spacex Starlink: Current: about 10,970 active satellites providing global broadband internet.
- EuTelSat OneWeb: Current: About 650
- โ Amazon LEO (Project Kuiper): Current: ~392 active production satellites as deployment ramps up for its broadband network.
- Planet Labs: ~200 active small satellites capturing daily Earth-imaging and observation data
- Spire Global: Over 100 small CubeSats tracking maritime, aviation, and weather data.
- Iridium Communications: 66 active communication satellites plus operational spares in low Earth orbit.
- โ GlobalStar: Current: 24 Proposed: About 32
Proposed or Pre-Launch Constellations
Several major entities have filed for or plan significantly larger constellations, though these assets are not yet operational:
- โ SpaceX/xAI: Filed for a massive constellation of up to 1,000,000 satellites in January 2026.
- Starcloud: Filed for an additional 88,000 satellites to support its orbital compute network.
- Blue Origin: Filed for a network of over 50,000 satellites under Project Sunrise."
- โ Google: Plans 81 satellite clusters under Project Suncatcher," with prototypes expected in early 2027.
Other Pre-Launch Entities: Aetherflux, Lonestar, and OrbitsEdge are in pre-launch phases with plans for thousands, LEO/lunar, and demo satellites respectively, but currently have 0 operational orbital data centers.
The orbital data center market is valued at approximately USD 1.77 billion by 2029, with the industry transitioning from concept to active competition in early 2026.
Isar Aerospace on 5 Sep 2026 launched its first rocket into space from a site in Arctic Norway, bringing Europe closer to offering satellite flights from its own soil. The uncrewed Spectrum rocket was the first commercial flight to reach orbit from continental Europe, where several nations have said they want a share of a growing market for space missions.
Isar launch contracts:
- Isar Aerospace has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) under the European Launcher Challenge (ELC), securing approximately EUR 200 million in program commitments. [27 Aug 2026]
- Isar Aerospace signs launch contract with Astroscale Japan [1 Sep 2026]
Isar Aerospace vs โ Spacex: Currently addressing different markets and missions:
- โ SpaceX: global, high-volume, low-cost, reusable heavy orbital transport + rideshare + human spaceflight + Starlink deployment + government/defence missions.
- Isar/Spectrum: small/medium dedicated launch + precise scheduling/orbit selection + European institutional/defence missions + sovereign European access to space.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Communications Networks
News: "โ
Amazon Leo Direct-to-Device (D2D) [Amazon: 14 Apr 2026]
Beginning in 2028, โ Amazon Leo will deploy its own next-generation D2D satellite system, allowing Amazon to deliver more advanced voice, data, and messaging services to mobile phones and other cellular devices. The Leo D2D system will offer substantially higher spectrum use and efficiency than legacy direct-to-cell systems, which translates into faster speeds and better performance for customers. It will also integrate seamlessly with โ Amazon's first- and second-generation Leo systems, forming a powerful, unified network that combines fixed and mobile satellite services to support a wide range of customers and use cases. The complete โ Amazon Leo network will include thousands of advanced satellites in low Earth orbit and have enough capacity to support hundreds of millions of customer endpoints around the world.
โ Amazon Leo to power โ Apple satellite features
In addition to the agreement with โ Globalstar, โ Amazon and โ Apple signed an agreement to provide satellite connectivity for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features. Globalstar currently partners with Apple to power satellite service on iPhone 14 or later, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 3, allowing users to text emergency services, message friends and family, request roadside assistance, and share their location.
With the new Amazon-Apple agreement, Amazon will continue to support iPhone and Apple Watch models currently using Globalstarโs existing and planned upcoming low Earth orbit satellite constellations, being manufactured by MDA Space, and collaborate with Apple on future satellite services using Amazon Leo's expanded satellite network."
โ Globalstar Confirms Successful Launch of All 8 HIBLEO-4 Replacement Satellites via SpaceX Falcon 9
โ Globalstar has announced the successful launch and deployment of its latest satellites, marking another significant milestone in the continued expansion of its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. All satellites were successfully dispensed from the launch vehicle and have reached their intended orbital planes. โ Globalstar's Satellite Operations Command Center team has established communications with each satellite, and all are currently under the Company's command and control. Initial health assessments indicate the satellites are performing as expected, and engineers are actively monitoring their status as they progress through early orbit operations. [Globalstar: 16 Aug 2026]
News
โ Amazon intends to buy โ Globalstar in a USD 11.57 billion deal to take on Elon Musk's โ Starlink [ Report: 14 Apr 2026]
Intuitive Machines (one of our early investments in robotics) has positioned itself as a space infrastructure company.