US based company Spinlaunch, famous for its innovative launch system (a kind of a giant sling) anounced the creation of a spinoff called Meridian space to (spin)launch a new satellite constellation for broadband connectivity services. This constellation will have 250 microsatellites (70kg mass anounced) and provide 2Tbps capacity. Satellites will be very flat and can be stacked together for a single launch. Without onboard propulsion, so called “fixed track orbits” are proposed which should make the design of user terminals easier and cheaper. Targetted users are enterprises, in a similar way to Rivada. A deal signed with Kongsberg, that will both invest in Spinlaunch (12M$) and build the satellites through its subsidiary Nanoavionics consolidates this project.
Spinlaunch has made the news a few years back with it new launch system. However, this system is limited in payload (less than 200kg) and could probably not support the launch of a constellation. In addition, it requires hardening of the satellites and it does not seem that Spinlaunch made significant progress since these last tests.
This new constellation will use Ka, Ku and V band frequencies and propose 5G NTN connectivity. From the images of the terminals, it does not seem that the company plans to provide D2D services. With demonstrations startiing in 2026 (using existing buses from Nanoavionics), first operational services should be available late 2027. This is a very ambitious planning, given the lack of technical validation and the need for additional funding to build the system.
A very innovative project that focuses on the design of the constellation – less on the execution. Also, the announced capacity is much lsss than Starlink (anything between 100Tbps and much more) and more in line with existing OneWEB, which leads to the question: what will be the real competitive advantage vs Starlink and probably Kuiper?