While Kepler Communications continues to build out its own satellite communication constellation in low Earth orbit, it’s beginning to add customers who want to use the Aether-KU communications payload product line on their own satellites.
Today, Kepler announced that Spire Global will use the Aether-KU communications payload on three of their satellites and have an option to use the communications payload on an additional 47 satellites.
Kepler offers three Aether product lines. Aether-S offers “real-time, always-on, low-latency connectivity.” Aether-KU uses the same software defined radio technology on Kepler’s own satellites. Aether-KU provides “300+ Mbps from low Earth orbit (LEO) on a 3.4m dish and 240 Mbps on a Kymeta flat panel antenna.” The company also is planning on offering an Aether-O, which would use “an optical connection for Gbps speeds in bursts.”
Joel Spark, vice president of space services for Spire said, “Kepler is building a novel solution for ramping up data speed with their technology. This collaboration is a step-forward in building the internet in space. We look forward to leveraging the Kepler network to accelerate the data download capacity and bring the most technologically enhanced capabilities to our space services customers.”
Diane Burchett, vice president of engineering for Kepler added, “we are excited to offer a high-data rate solution, giving our customers the ability to deliver significantly larger quantities of data from their on-orbit assets. Spire Global is well positioned to be the lead client of the service, and we see a great deal of synergy between our offerings and the value Spire is creating for their customers.”
This isn’t the first deal Kepler has signed with Spire Global. In December 2021 Kepler announced that Spire Global would test an Aether-S payload on a satellite schedule to launch later this year.
Kepler said that the first Spire Global satellites with the Aether-Ku payload would launch in early 2023. The company also started that it is “anticipating additional demand for the solution following the introduction of the offering in March at Satellite 2022.”