Blue Origin Challenges SpaceX: Announces Satellite Network for Businesses and Governments

Over 5,000 Satellites to Be Deployed in Low and Medium Earth Orbits Starting in 2027

Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has announced plans to build a large-scale satellite network to provide ultra-fast communications services to businesses and governments.

Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon. Photo by AP Yonhap News

On January 21 (local time), Blue Origin announced that it will build TeraWave, a satellite communications network capable of delivering data speeds of up to 6 terabits per second (Tbps) anywhere on Earth. The company stated that this satellite internet service will be offered to businesses and government agencies that require stable connectivity and need to handle critical work.

The TeraWave satellite network, which will be deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), will consist of 5,408 optical communication satellites. Blue Origin plans to begin launching and deploying this satellite constellation in the fourth quarter of 2027. The company's reusable heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, which is currently under development, is expected to be used for the deployment of the TeraWave satellite network.

Blue Origin emphasized that TeraWave will be integrated with existing high-capacity infrastructure, providing additional path diversity and enhancing the overall resilience of the network.

SpaceX, which currently operates approximately 10,000 Starlink satellites, is considered the leading player in the low Earth orbit communications satellite market. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and head of SpaceX, has previously announced plans to build a space-based data center to complement the Starlink satellite network. In this context, Reuters pointed out that Blue Origin's TeraWave satellite network initiative is linked to the growing competition to build space-based data centers in response to the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.