Sateliot puts five more Alén Space satellites in orbit for its 5G IoT network

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Sateliot, the Spanish operator that wants small satellites to work as mobile towers in orbit, launched five more of them on 1 October. They flew on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California as part of the Transporter-18 rideshare, which carried some 130 payloads. The launch brings to 11 the satellites Sateliot has sent up since its founding. Galicia's Alén Space built them, Exolaunch integrated them with the rocket, KSAT and Leaf Space support tracking and telemetry, and Comfone supplies the IPX connection to mobile operators. Alén Space started as a University of Vigo spin-off in 2019 and has belonged to the GMV group since 2023.

The mission, named Draconis, is mainly about waiting less. Sateliot's network serves IoT devices, such as sensors on livestock, farms, ships and industrial equipment, that send small amounts of data and can hold them until a satellite comes round again. By the company's reckoning, the new units roughly double the average number of daily passes and cut revisit time in half. Each 6U CubeSat measures 20 x 10 x 35 centimetres, weighs about 10 kilograms, sits at around 510 kilometres and is meant to last five years. Next to the four launched in August 2024 on Transporter-11, they have an optimised payload, reworked data storage, a better onboard computer and attitude control, and memory more resistant to radiation, and they took half the development time. The model is wholesale: mobile operators extend their coverage through 3GPP standards, with no proprietary terminals. "We have validated the technology, and we are now increasing capacity and service frequency to scale the service together with mobile operators," said Jaume Sanpera, chief executive and co-founder.

The longer plan runs to more than 500 satellites. The next generation, Tritó, is due from 2027 with 5G NR NTN, store-and-forward based on 3GPP Release 19, multibeam phased-array digital antennas and direct-to-device services in view, and an agreement with PLD Space covers a dedicated mission on its future MIURA 5 rocket. The satellites are small; the sums involved are less so. Sateliot is working on a €100 million Series C, says it has raised around €100 million to date, and has set a revenue goal of €500 million for 2030. At the end of 2024 the European Investment Bank signed a €30 million loan with the company, backed by InvestEU.