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 CEO Dan Goldberg expects mass production of MDA-built Lightspeed satellites to begin in the middle of the second half of 2025.
Telesat plans to retain launch optionality by using multiple launch providers including Blue Origin and Relativity Space.
Approximately $1,600,000,000 of the total $3,500,000,000 cost for an initial 156 Lightspeed satellites is being funded via Telesat equity, with the remainder coming from Canadian federal and provincial financing commitments.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets will be used to deploy the Telesat Lightspeed constellation.
MDA contracted on 2023-08-11 to deliver 198 satellites for Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation with launches starting in mid-2026.
MDA won a $1,600,000,000 contract to build 198 low Earth orbit satellites for Telesat.
EM Solutions collaborated with Space Flight Laboratory and Telesat on the transponder for the LEO 3 demonstration satellite.
The communications payload for Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite was designed and manufactured at EM Solutions’ Brisbane, Australia head office.
EM Solutions completed the first of its system-level tests for a transponder developed for Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite.
Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite was launched on 18 July.
The communications payload for Telesat’s LEO 3 satellite was designed and manufactured at EM Solutions’ Brisbane, Australia head office.
The payload on Telesat’s LEO 3 satellite uses a flexible bent-pipe architecture with Ka- and V-band uplinks and downlinking on either Ka- or Q-band.
Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite was launched on 2023-07-18.
EM Solutions successfully completed the first system-level tests for a transponder developed for Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite.
The Telesat Lightspeed satellites will be built, assembled, and tested at MDA's high-volume satellite manufacturing facilities in Montreal.
The contract between MDA and Telesat for Telesat Lightspeed is valued at approximately $2,100,000,000.
The Telesat Lightspeed contract includes the design, manufacture, assembly, and test of 198 satellites with options for Telesat to purchase up to 100 additional satellites.
Telesat expects to receive $260,000,000 for the last phase of its C-band clearing efforts following an $85,000,000 interim payment.
Eutelsat, Telesat, and Claro each hold smaller shares of U.S. C-band spectrum and did not need to order replacement spacecraft to complete the clearing.
Telesat intends to use its C-band incentive proceeds to help fund its proposed Lightspeed low Earth orbit constellation.