Satellite Mega-Constellations

SpaceX

S

Active

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) designs, manufactures, and launches reusable rockets and spacecraft. The company operates Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon, Starlink, and the government-focused Starshield line while continuing to develop Starship for high-cadence heavy-lift missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Blue Origin

A

Active

Blue Origin is a privately held aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos that develops reusable launch vehicles, rocket engines, lunar landers, in-space mobility systems, and satellite communications infrastructure. Its current programs span the New Shepard suborbital system, the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket, the BE-4 engine family that also powers ULA's Vulcan, the Blue Moon lunar lander family, the Blue Ring spacecraft platform, and the TeraWave network.

Amazon

A

Public (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Amazon is building Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, as a low Earth orbit broadband network for customers and communities beyond the reach of existing terrestrial infrastructure. The system combines thousands of satellites with a global ground network and a three-terminal hardware lineup: Leo Nano, Leo Pro, and Leo Ultra. Amazon began enterprise preview in November 2025 and says broader service rollout will follow in 2026 as coverage and capacity increase. As of April 4, 2026, Amazon had deployed 241 satellites across nine missions and was preparing two more launches later that month.

Eutelsat OneWeb

A

Public (EPA/LSE: ETL)

Eutelsat OneWeb is the LEO connectivity business within Eutelsat Group, operating a globally deployed broadband constellation in ~1,200 km orbit. The business combines a 650+ satellite OneWeb network with Eutelsat's GEO fleet to serve government, enterprise, maritime, aviation, and telecom customers. After completing a EUR 1.5B capital raise in December 2025, Eutelsat moved into the next refresh cycle with 440 follow-on satellites procured, roughly EUR 1B of export-credit backing secured, and a central role in Europe's IRIS2 sovereign constellation program.

AST SpaceMobile

A

Public (NASDAQ: ASTS)

AST SpaceMobile is building a direct-to-cell satellite network designed to connect standard smartphones to space-based 4G and 5G service without special hardware. After proving the concept with BlueWalker 3 and launching BlueBird 1-6, the company entered 2026 with seven satellites in orbit, more than 50 mobile-network-operator partners covering nearly 3 billion subscribers, and its first meaningful revenue from gateway deliveries, MNO milestones, and government work. AST is now using fresh financing and a vertically integrated manufacturing ramp to push toward 45-60 satellites by the end of 2026 and expand from carrier partnerships into defense and government applications.

Telesat

B

Public (NASDAQ: TSAT / TSX: TSAT)

Telesat is a Canadian satellite operator running a legacy GEO communications business while building Telesat Lightspeed, its planned LEO network for telecom, enterprise, mobility, government, and defense users. Management says the first two production satellites remain targeted for late 2026, demand is particularly strong from government and defense customers, and full global commercial service is now expected around the end of Q1 2028. In March 2026 the company also added military Ka-band capacity to the initial 156 satellites, sharpening Lightspeed's sovereign-defense positioning.

Qianfan (千帆, also branded internationally as SPACESAIL) is China's first commercial LEO mega-constellation to enter formal network deployment. Operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies, the program launched its first batch in August 2024 and reached 126 satellites in orbit after the seventh 18-satellite mission on April 7, 2026. The company is targeting 324 satellites in orbit and initial global coverage during 2026, with a longer-term three-stage roadmap of 648 satellites for regional coverage, another 648 for broader global coverage, and a total constellation of nearly 15,000 satellites.