Telesat is a Canadian satellite communications company and operator, providing connectivity solutions to telecom, government, and enterprise clients globally. They are currently developing Telesat Lightspeed, a low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of 198 satellites designed for high-speed, low-latency broadband services. Telesat partners with companies like MDA Space, Orange, and Intellian for satellite manufacturing, terrestrial infrastructure, and user terminals. The company aims to begin launching satellites in 2026, with the constellation fully operational by 2027.
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Telesat aims to start deploying the 198 750-kilogram satellites for Lightspeed in mid-2026.
Telesat became the anchor customer for MDA’s latest satellite platform after abandoning plans to procure Lightspeed satellites from Thales Alenia Space, which Telesat determined would have cost $2,000,000,000 more.
Telesat Lightspeed’s onboard digital beamforming, integrated data processing, and optical inter-satellite links are intended to deliver better link performance, increased network efficiency, and enhanced flexibility to focus and dynamically deliver reliable capacity to customers.
Digital beamforming, integrated onboard data processing, and optical inter-satellite links on Telesat Lightspeed are intended to improve link performance, increase network efficiency, and enhance flexibility for delivering capacity to customers.
On 2023-11-14, Telesat selected Aalyria Technologies to orchestrate communications for its Lightspeed low-Earth orbit broadband network.
Telesat raised enough money in August to establish a mesh network in space with an initial Lightspeed constellation of 156 satellites.
Telesat is a Canadian geostationary operator that is planning to deploy commercial low Earth orbit broadband satellites in 2026.
Planet Labs PBC was selected as a subcontractor by SES Space & Defense and Telesat Government Solutions in late 2022 to demonstrate real-time space-to-space connectivity solutions from Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to in-space communication satellites operated by SES and Telesat.
Telesat expects the Lightspeed constellation to be $2,000,000,000 cheaper with MDA compared with earlier plans.
Telesat booked SpaceX for 14 launches between mid-2026 and mid-2027 to fully deploy the 198 satellites Lightspeed needs for global coverage.
Telesat previously had launch contracts for Lightspeed with Blue Origin and Relativity Space before contracting 14 Falcon 9 launches with SpaceX.
SpaceX signed a contract with Telesat for 14 Falcon 9 launches of the Lightspeed constellation in 2026 and 2027.
Telesat LEO 3 will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
Canadian operator Telesat signed a launch contract with SpaceX for 14 Falcon 9 launches scheduled for 2026 and 2027.
Telesat is deploying its Lightspeed broadband constellation to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.
Telesat Lightspeed is an optically-linked satellite network designed to provide multi-Gbps data links and low-latency broadband connectivity worldwide.
Telesat contracted 14 launches on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to deploy the Telesat Lightspeed constellation.
Telesat intends to begin delivering enterprise-class connectivity from the Lightspeed constellation in late 2027.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is a reusable orbital rocket that will be used to launch the Telesat Lightspeed satellites.
Telesat expects to begin providing global service from the Lightspeed constellation in 2027.