Blue Origin To Launch 5,408-Sat, High-Throughput Constellation
Blue Origin plans to start launching TeraWave in the fourth quarter of 2027, a 5,408-satellite, high-throughput communications network.
The satellites, orbiting in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), are to be connected with laser communications systems and serve “tens of thousands of enterprise, data center, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations,” Blue Origin said on Jan. 21.
The surprise announcement from the Jeff Bezos-founded company comes as Amazon, where Bezos is executive chairman and founder, is launching its Leo communications constellation. The two constellations share a prospective customers list including enterprise, data center and government users, although the Leo constellation also aims to provide internet service to individual consumers.
“TeraWave addresses the unmet needs of customers who are seeking higher throughput, symmetrical upload/download speeds, more redundancy, and rapid scalability,” Blue Origin says.
The Kent, Washington-based company adds that TeraWave is designed to deliver data “up to 6 Tbps [terabits per second] anywhere on Earth.
The opening of a satellite communications division within Blue Origin allows the company to vertically integrate with its launch service, potentially reducing the cost of deploying satellites. Vertical integration is a playbook pioneered by rival SpaceX, which has utilized its partially reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle to launch thousands of Starlink communications satellites.
Vertical integration became more feasible for Blue Origin following the successful launch and recovery of its New Glenn heavy launch vehicle’s booster stage in November. The company aims to increase its launch cadence in 2026.
In addition to launching its own TeraWave satellites, Blue Origin’s list of customers waiting for rides into space include the Amazon Leo constellation, the U.S. Space Force, AST SpaceMobile, Telesat Lightspeed and others.
In a Jan. 21 application filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Blue Origin proposes to operate 5,280 satellites in LEO and 128 high-capacity spacecraft in MEO. The LEO birds would fly between 323-336 mi. above Earth, using Q/V band radio frequency links. The MEO layer would consist of 128 satellites orbiting in five shells positioned at altitudes between 4,971-15,037 mi. to serve as high-capacity backbones. Those spacecraft would also have optical terminals capable of providing speeds of up to 6 Tbps to ground stations.
“On the ground, TeraWave will communicate through both gateway terminals and user terminals, which can be deployed anywhere in the world,” Blue Origin wrote in its filing. “The TeraWave system allows customers to either connect their user terminals point to point directly or connect to the terrestrial internet infrastructure using our network of gateway terminals.
“By providing a robust, high-capacity global connectivity platform, TeraWave will ensure industries such as aviation, defense and manufacturing to have access to continuous, high-quality connectivity,” the company added.
