Enlarge / A Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in this long-exposure photo. (credit: https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1700366036141580654/photo/1)
SpaceX will launch 14 Falcon 9 rockets beginning in 2026 to deploy satellites for Telesat's Lightspeed network, a constellation designed to provide broadband connectivity for businesses, governments, and telecom operators, officials announced Monday.
Telesat, a Canadian company that has been in business since 1969, has long been an operator of large communications satellites in geostationary orbit. But in 2016, the company announced it would deploy a fleet of low-Earth orbit satellites to beam low-latency, high-speed Internet around the world. The network, which Telesat calls Lightspeed, has faced delays and setbacks, eventually leading Telesat to switch satellite manufacturers from the European firm Thales Alenia Space to Canada-based MDA earlier this year.
On Monday, Telesat said it has selected SpaceX to launch the Lightspeed satellites on 14 Falcon 9 rockets from launch sites in Florida and California. Each Falcon 9 mission will loft up to 18 Lightspeed satellites on a single launch, according to Telesat. This announcement also signals a change in direction for Telesat, which previously announced launch contracts with Blue Origin and Relativity Space.
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