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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The launch of LEO 3 for Telesat and Space Flight Laboratory follows the successful deployment of three satellites built by Space Flight Laboratory for HawkEye 360 on an Electron mission in January 2023.
Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT) contracted Space Flight Laboratory to manufacture a low-Earth orbit demonstration satellite for the company.
Once deployed to orbit, LEO 3 will operate under an existing ITU network filing for Telesat Lightspeed.
LEO 3 will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
LEO 3 is a demonstration satellite intended to provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
Telesat originally ordered LEO 3 in August 2021.
Telesat expects to start deploying Lightspeed satellites around 2026, six years later than originally planned.
Telesat ordered a microsatellite called LEO 3 from Space Flight Laboratory, which is part of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Telesat’s first operational demonstrator, LEO 1, was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and launched in January 2018.
The $3,000,000,000 that Telesat has lined up represented about two-thirds of Lightspeed’s budget before inflation and supply chain issues added at least $250,000,000 in costs last year.
Telesat previously planned to use rockets still under development by Blue Origin and Relativity Space to deploy the Lightspeed constellation.
Erwin Hudson joined Telesat in 2017 to lead development of the LEO constellation that was projected at the time to launch in 2020 for commercial services starting in 2021.
Telesat has lined up about $3,000,000,000 for Lightspeed via internal resources and Canadian government funding.
Telesat’s adjusted EBITDA 2022-12-08% to 139 million Canadian dollars for the three months ended 2023-03-31.
Telesat expects to start deploying satellites for the Lightspeed constellation around 2026, six years later than originally planned.
Telesat’s revenues fell 5% to 183 million Canadian dollars for the three months ended 2023-03-31 compared with the same period last year on a foreign-exchange-adjusted basis.
The CONDOR Mk2 predecessor was delivered to Telesat Government Solutions as part of the DARPA Blackjack program.
The CONDOR Mk2 was recently delivered to Telesat Government Solutions as part of the DARPA Blackjack program.
Telesat’s adjusted EBITDA for 2022 was 568 million Canadian dollars, a 5% decline year-over-year and an 8% decline on a foreign-exchange-adjusted basis.
Telesat decided not to order any replacement geostationary satellites in the current year while it works to get Lightspeed into production.