Companies With the Most Satellites in Orbit

This Toronto-based private telecommunications provider operates satellites that allow the high-capacity transfer of data from space-to-ground and satellite-to-satellite. In January, Kepler continued to expand its constellation by deploying four new satellites in its ongoing effort to bring the internet to space.

The Moscow-based subsidiary of Russian Space Agency Roscosmos operates civilian versions of the Russian military’s Strela-3 satellite system capable of near-global coverage for relaying Earth observation data, TV content, and communications to and from the International Space Station.

In 2016, O3b Networks became a wholly-owned subsidiary of another company on this list, SES S.A., which had been a financial backer of O3b when it was founded in 2007. O3b stands for “Other 3 billion,” referring to the share of the world’s population that has no access to broadband internet access. As the name implies, the goal of the company is to provide low-latency, fiber-quality internet connectivity in developing countries.

The Buenos Aires-based company provides Earth observation satellites capable of taking high resolution images of the Earth up to five times a day of any area or point of interest around the world. Early last year, the company announced it would use SpaceX to launch its satellites.

Paris-based EUTELSAT provides satellite communications services to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, including television and radio streaming, internet connectivity, and sea and air applications. In May, the company insisted its ongoing distribution of Russian channels during the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a continuation of its policy of neutrality, as no regulatory authority has asked it to stop.

Based in China’s northeastern Jilin province, Chang Guang Satellite is China’s first remote sensing satellite company, controlling a constellation of high-resolution Earth observation satellites. Its high-resolution images can be used for urban planning as well as in the mining, maritime, forestry, and agriculture industries.

This Covington, Louisiana-based satellite communications company can connect and relay data and satellite-phone communications from any location for consumers, companies, or governmental agencies. The company recently announced an agreement with a “large, global customer” to build a new communications network. That customer is rumored to be Apple.

Luxembourg-based Intelsat provides satellite communications for general air, land, and sea operations as well as disaster response and civil defense efforts. It also provides internet connectivity. The company’s acquisition last year of Gogo Commercial Aviation expanded its in-flight broadband connectivity on commercial flights.

Rochelle Park, New Jersey-based ORBCOMM specializes in Internet of Things, or IoT, the technology that allows machines to communicate with each other. It recently announced a deal with U.K.’s CoolKit to monitor and track the company’s fleet of refrigerated vans used in the pharmaceutical, health care, food, and agricultural industries.

Luxembourg-based SES operates satellites that provide global video streaming and data connectivity. Its 2016 acquisition of O3b Networks kicked off a years-long project to build a communications satellite system (under the name O3b mPOWER) that will expand broadband connectivity to rural areas in developing countries.

McLean, Virginia-based Iridium provides global voice and data communications to and from satellite phones and other devices. The company recently announced a partnership with defense contractor General Dynamics to bid on a $1.8 billion project to operate and manage the U.S. Department of Defense’s low-Earth orbit constellation.

The private Palo Alto-based operator of low-Earth orbit satellites focuses on Internet of Things, or IoT, which allows “smart” objects from cars to health monitors to connect and communicate with other objects. Elon Musk’s SpaceX acquired Swarm as a wholly owned subsidiary last year. The deal brings additional technological capabilities to SpaceX, which provides different services through its Starlink broadband satellite network.

San Francisco-based Spire Global specializes in delivering Earth monitoring satellite data like weather patterns, maritime/aviation activity, and terrestrial cloud networks. Spire Global recently partnered with Kepler Communications to use Kepler’s Ku-Band satellite communications technology.

Based in San Francisco, Planet Labs specializes in Earth imaging with the eventual goal of providing daily images of anywhere on the planet. This frequent imaging allows for near real-time mapping of changes on the planet’s surface. For example, the company provided images suggesting China has a new type of nuclear submarine at a shipyard in the north of the country.

London-based OneWeb, a broadband internet provider striving for global connectivity, is second only to SpaceX based on the number of satellites it has in orbit. It exited bankruptcy in 2020, leaving the U.K. government with partial ownership. Russia’s state-owned space corporation Roscosmos refused to continue launching OneWeb satellites until it severed ties with the British government. OneWeb responded by reaching out to SpaceX to launch its satellites from the U.S.

Space transport company SpaceX, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has taken a strong lead in the satellite space race with its Starlink satellite internet network. In addition to its many customers, SpaceX will use its rockets to deploy satellites for its primary competitor in satellite internet service, OneWeb. Last year, SpaceX acquired Swarm Technologies, a provider of Internet of Things communications, as a wholly owned subsidiary.