Monday, August 17, 2026

Rocket Lab's first MDA-built Globalstar satellites reach orbit

Rocket Lab

The first 8 of 17 satellite platforms Rocket Lab is building for MDA Space under a $143 million deal launched August 15 from Cape Canaveral and reached orbit, with Rocket Lab confirming all eight are performing nominally and generating power as commissioning begins. The 500 kg platforms are a tailored version of Rocket Lab's Lightning bus, built at its Long Beach headquarters, and will extend Globalstar's direct-to-device and IoT mobile satellite service once operational.