Posted: Sat, Apr 5, 2025, 1:25 PM ET (1725 GMT)
Spinlaunch, a company best known for work on an unconventional launch system, is now planning a broadband satellite constellation. The company announced plans Thursday for Meridian Space, which would initially feature 280 satellites in low Earth orbit providing broadband services. SpinLaunch signed a contract worth 122.5 million euros ($136 million) with smallsat manufacturer Kongsberg NanoAvionics to manufacture the satellites, a deal that includes a $12 million investment by Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace into SpinLaunch. SpinLaunch plans to launch the first demo satellites in 2026, with operational satellites to follow as soon as late 2027. SpinLaunch is continuing work on an orbital launch system that would use a large centrifuge as a first stage, signing a lease agreement for land on Adak Island in Alaska to host that facility. Development of that system, though, will take at least several years.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Ars Technica article
•  SpinLaunch press release