Apple's mobile satellite service (MSS) partner Globalstar has inked a C$1.1 billion contract with a Canadian company to produce more than fifty satellites. Apple took a stake in Globalstar last year as part of a deal to launch satellites that allow direct-to-cellular connectivity. Apple's deal came at a time when SpaceX had started to aggressively launch its Starlink direct-to-cell satellites and provide connectivity to users in partnership with T-Mobile. Globalstar's partnership is with the Canadian firm MDA Space, which manufactures Earth observation and communications satellites, among other equipment for the space industry.
Apple Partner Globalstar To Use low-Earth Orbit (LEO) For Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) Satellites
Apple took a 20% stake in Globalstar in November 2023 as part of a $1.5 billion payment. Within this payment, $400 million was for an equity purchase that allowed Apple to take a 20% stake in the company while the remaining $1.1 billion was to allow Globalstar to retire some of its debt and start building a mobile satellite service (MSS) network.
Later during the month, MDA Space announced that it had received a C$180 million contract to start working on new satellite construction. At the time, the contract kept its customer confidential, and the firm confirmed earlier today that its customer was Globalstar. The full value of the C$180 million contract was C$750 million, which has now been fully exercised. When coupled with a C$350 million additional backdrop, the total contract value is C$1.1 billion to enable Globalstar to procure more than 50 of MDA's Aurora satellites.
MDA announced its new Aurora satellites in 2023. These satellites are capable of traveling to multiple non-geostationary orbits and reconfigure themselves in space. They also feature a special 'regenerative' onboard process, which MDA claims can optimize communication routes within the satellite constellation. The satellites are referred to as software-defined spacecraft, and MDA kicked off a production facility expansion in Quebec in 2023 to allow it to churn out as many as two Aurora satellites daily.
Apart from Globalstar, Canadian space-based communications company Telesat is also a customer of MDA's Aurora satellites. This constellation will also populate low-Earth orbit (LEO), and the contract between the two firms requires MDA to build 198 such satellites.
LEO, courtesy of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet constellation, is become a popular destination of choice for satellite communications services providers. SpaceX operates the world's largest LEO satellite constellation, and apart from Apple and Globalstar, Amazon subsidiary Kuiper will also use the orbit for the Kuiper LEO constellation.
Kuiper will launch the satellites on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket and rely on a network architecture similar to Starlink's to provide users with internet connectivity. SpaceX already provides cellular coverage with Starlink through its partnership with T-Mobile.
Another space-based communication player, AST SpaceMobile, announced late last month that it had made the first space-based video call in history in Europe through a Vodafone partnership. SpaceX's Elon Musk also believes that his firm allow low-quality video streaming on smartphones via Starlink soon. Starlink's early mover advantage has enabled it to capture a sizable chunk of the global satellite internet market and populate commercial airliners with the service.
