SES Space & Defense to provide relay connectivity for Starlab space station
SES · Starlab
SES Space & Defense will deliver always-on LEO Relay Services to Starlab's commercial space station via O3b mPOWER.
what happened
SES Space & Defense and Starlab announced a partnership on July 27 under which SES will provide always-on LEO Relay Services (LRS) to Starlab via its O3b mPOWER medium-Earth-orbit constellation, per SES's own release and Via Satellite. The service relays data from Starlab, which is being developed under NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development (CLD) Program, through MEO to ground networks in near real time. Engineering collaboration ran through 2025 and 2026, modeling in-orbit performance and terminal solutions; SES services are set to be available at Starlab's launch and expand through its operational lifecycle.
why it matters
Starlab is one of NASA's anchor picks to succeed the ISS, and locking in a multi-orbit relay provider ahead of launch settles a piece of infrastructure every CLD station needs for continuous ground contact. The deal also extends SES Space & Defense's LEO Relay Services business, built on its existing MEO constellation, into the emerging commercial-station market rather than just government and defense customers.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- SES, Starlab
- Category
- partnership
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 5 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-07-27
- Published
- 2026-07-28 05:25 UTC