Telesat announced on Monday they have signed with SpaceX for a multi-launch agreement aimed at deploying the Telesat Lightspeed constellation into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Telesat, formerly known as Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company headquartered in Ottawa.
Under this agreement, Telesat has secured 14 launches aboard SpaceX’s reliable and reusable Falcon 9 orbital rockets. Each launch will carry up to 18 Telesat Lightspeed satellites into LEO. This launch campaign is scheduled to kick off in 2026, taking advantage of SpaceX’s high launch frequency to swiftly deploy the constellation and enable Telesat to commence worldwide service by 2027.
Launches will be conducted from SpaceX’s facilities in California and Florida.
“SpaceX has been a trusted and effective launch provider to Telesat on our geostationary satellite programs and I am delighted that they will be supporting us with their highly reliable Falcon 9 rocket to deploy the Telesat Lightspeed constellation, the most ambitious program in Telesat’s 54-year history,” stated Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO.
The Telesat Lightspeed network, conceived to meet the stringent connectivity needs of enterprises and governments, will offer multi-Gbps data links, along with highly secure, resilient, and low-latency broadband connectivity accessible anywhere on the globe.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This deal with Telesat comes just days after SpaceX secured another launch contract with Globalstar. The company awarded SpaceX a $64 million contract to launch satellites, with financial backing from Apple, to its low-Earth orbit (LEO) communications constellation starting in 2025.
