Telesat’s spacecraft design for its Lightspeed satellite constellation has achieved a key early milestone with the preliminary design review (PDR) having completed successfully.
Telesat issued a joint press release with MDA Space who are the prime contractor for the initial 198 satellite constellation.
In the news release the companies said, “The PDR is a critical checkpoint in the program. Its successful completion demonstrates maturity in the design that meets the program’s functional and performance requirements. As part of the process, the PDRs for multiple key subsystems have also been successfully completed.”
With the PDR complete, the companies will now be working to completing the critical design review. Telesat plans to have the satellites ready to launch beginning in mid-2026 and has contracted SpaceX for 14 Falcon 9 launches.
SpaceX’s Starlink currently dominates the low Earth orbit (LEO) communications market. However, while SpaceX does dominate, a large part of their market is the consumer market, whereas Telesat’s offering is geared towards government customers, including the Canadian Department of Defence. Other customer segments they are targeting include aviation and maritime connectivity, internet service providers and backhaul services for mobile network operators.
SpaceX is however gaining traction with the aviation market and have created another program called Starshield Communications Services for the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. government partners.
Not be left out, Eutelsat OneWeb completed the launch of their LEO constellation, 634 satellites at the time, in May 2023. They are targeting similar markets as Telesat, though with a larger focus on Europe.
Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO said, “Our teams have worked hard to reach this important milestone, which validated the capability of the satellite design to meet the Telesat Lightspeed performance requirements. We are excited to move forward with the next phase, confident in the advanced capabilities of the satellites.”
MDA Space CEO Mike Greenley added, “The Telesat and MDA Space program teams have been working closely together to advance the Telesat Lightspeed vision and to reach this important program milestone. With construction of our new high-volume satellite manufacturing facility in Montreal underway, we are focused on continuing to advance the next phase of the program.”
