Sovereign launch is a hot topic for both Canadians and several other nations, but it isn’t the only space-related capability that governments have to consider. Another topic getting equal attention is sovereign communications: the ability to ensure that you always have access to space-based communications when you need them, without the concern that those capabilities might be compromised.
One American company, San Francisco’s Astranis Space Technologies, is aiming to provide potential solutions for that problem, leveraging a new approach to an old solution: communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Their work to date has led to the announcement Wednesday of a $468 million USD credit facility from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to provide their solutions to customers around the world.
Geosynchronous SmallSats
Astranis builds what they call microGEO satellites: satellites that operate in geosynchronous orbits, but which are much smaller than the huge satellites that are typically found in GEO. The company has developed several different types, but they’re generally focused on communications and global positioning, as these are often the most critical roles of space-based assets for sovereign nations.
Making it happen was a challenge; GEO features intense radiation and long mission durations. Astranis needed to figure out how to protect their smaller satellites from radiation without relying on heavy shielding, how to incorporate electric Hall Effect propulsion that would let the satellite achieve its distant orbit and then readjust over its 10 year lifespan without large stores of propellant, and how to develop a software-controlled antenna that could switch missions and roles as needed over that long lifespan.
Astranis has five satellites in orbit, and “a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts” according to announcement. The company said that existing customers include “Gulf Space Technology in Thailand, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, MB Group in Oman, stc group in Saudi Arabia,” as well as the U.S. government itself, where Astranis is part of the Resilient GPS program aimed at supplementing existing GEO positioning satellites.
Astranis said it has also raised over $1.2 billion in investments, and pointed to support from Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint.
The company credited their success to how “countries around the world are increasingly seeking sovereign, dedicated connectivity infrastructure,” without being reliant on low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations owned by third parties. Because the satellites operate in geosynchronous orbit, a comparatively small group of satellites can cover a whole country or region, making sovereign options more feasible.
While latency is longer than in LEO, these GEO solutions offer operational viability for applications such as positioning, navigation, and secured defence transmissions.
EXIM funding a “vote of confidence”
EXIM is focused on providing support to American companies, like Astranis, that are looking to export goods and services to the rest of the world, in order to enhance their competitiveness and viability in tough markets. This can include providing insurance, or it can include extending credit.
In the case of Astranis, EXIM’s $468 million credit facility operates much like a line of credit, where the company can borrow as needed without going through the process of requesting individual loans. J.P. Morgan’s Securitized Products Group was the sole Arranger and Structuring Agent for the Astranis-EXIM transaction.
According to the announcement, the credit facility will “fund domestic satellite production and the launch of global space infrastructure,” and expand Astranis’ ability to “manufacture and operate satellites within the United States” for commercial and government customers. That work is centred at the company’s 153,000-square-foot headquarters in northern California, where it employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs.
EXIM Chairman John Jovanovic said Astranis “is delivering mission-critical infrastructure to customers around the world,” and framed the financing as part of the bank’s push to help the United States “stay ahead of the curve in developing the industries of the future.” EXIM is also coordinating with NASA’s Office of Strategic Space Finance as it widens its support for U.S. space technology, the announcement says.
Astranis chief executive officer and co-founder John Gedmark called the financing “a huge vote of confidence.” The backing, he said, gives the company the capital to “ramp up production at home, deliver connectivity to customers around the world, and expand our work securing our country’s most valuable assets in GEO.”