Astranis has signed a contract with SpaceX for another Falcon 9 launch, to launch five more MicroGEO satellites later this year.
These satellites are headed to Geostationary Orbit (GEO) to provide broadband data services for customers all around the world — customers like Thaicom, a major satellite operator in Thailand, and APCO, an internet service provider in Mexico — where they will connect millions of people to affordable broadband internet. Once on-orbit, these five satellites will join the growing Astranis fleet.
On December 30, 2024, Astranis successfully launched four MicroGEO satellites on a dedicated Falcon 9, for customers in the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States. The satellites completed Initial Commissioning and on January 10th and began their orbit raise to GEO, where they will enter into service this summer. This followed the launch of the firm’s first first satellite, Arcturus, in 2023, which is operating on-orbit today, completing short-term demonstration missions for both commercial and US government customers.
That’s an increase from one to ten satellites in GEO in just a couple of years. If it sounds like that must be some kind of record, that’s because it is. Astranis is scaling faster than any other GEO operator in history, and the company isnow launching more satellites than the three biggest GEO incumbent satellite operators combined.
Astranis is firing on all cylinders— flying 5 MicroGEO satellites simultaneously on-orbit today, with more than 400 employees, and numerous upgrades to our in-house manufacturing and testing capacity. And the company is pushing the boundaries on new technology for high orbits, both for their upcoming Omega satellites and for new defense programs with the U.S. Government, including Resilient GPS.
