Competitors include Starlink and Oneweb.
According to foreign media reports , commercial satellite startup” Astranis “has recently announced the completion of $ 90 million in Series B financing. This round of financing includes debt and equity financing, of which $ 40 million in equity financing comes from Venrock, Y Combinator, A16Z, and other companies raised $ 50 million in debt financing from TriplePoint Capital. The funding will be used to support the launch of Astranis’ first commercial satellite.
Astranis was founded in 2015 by John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko, rocket scientists at Purdue University and MIT, and plans to build and launch a smaller, lower cost geostationary orbit communication satellite to provide Internet services.
Unlike Stralink and Oneweb, which use low-Earth orbit large satellite constellation networking to achieve global broadband network services, Astranis’ satellites are in geostationary orbits (synchronous orbits of earth satellites, orbits of communication satellites and earth synchronization, higher than 22,000 miles above the equator and can be used as a fixed relay station). According to reports, communication satellites operating in low earth orbit have a rotation period of about 90 minutes. To provide a global network through near-Earth satellites, hundreds or even thousands of satellites are needed to ensure complete coverage. In geosynchronous orbit, the first satellite can directly access the Internet.
Astranis ’s solution is similar to the existing satellite Internet method, but the current method uses a large communication satellite operating in geostationary orbit, weighing more than 14,000 pounds (about 6.36 tons), while Astranis uses a Small satellite, weighing about 770 pounds (about 350 kg). With its unique software-defined radio patented technology, Astranis makes the application of small satellites possible. This technology uses digital and analog technologies to make more bandwidth available on smaller and more complex hardware. span> makes transmission easier and cheaper.
It is reported that Astranis satellites cost about tens of millions of dollars each. In 2019, Astranis and SpaceX signed an agreement to use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch its first commercial telecommunications satellite, which will be launched as early as the fourth quarter of 2020.
Earlier, the company had received $ 13.5 million led by A16Z, followed by Y Combinator, Fifty Years, Refactor Capital, and Indicator Fund. / 01 / astranis-emerges-from-stealth-with-a-new-satellite-technology-for-connecting-the-world / “target =” _ blank “> Series A financing ; to date, the company has Raised $ 108 million. But other financially strong competitors are also targeting the same market opportunities, including SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper. The future market is still full of challenges.
For the team, before founding Astranis, Gedmark served as the executive chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and other companies are members. Co-founder McLinko led the development of Planet’s mechanical and electrical spacecraft.
Image source: Astranis official website