Telesat Lightspeed / connectivity constellation

faq

facts

orbit

events

• noise2026-09-02Farcast completes antenna demo for Telesat Lightspeed terminal
• notable2026-09-01Telesat and Cailabs to pursue optical ground links for government missions
• notable2026-08-13Telesat reports 25% revenue drop, warns on $1.7B debt maturity
• major2026-08-04Telesat wins C$2.3 billion Arctic satcom contract from Canada
• major2026-07-22FCC approves second C-band auction, clearing 160 MHz of satellite spectrum
• major2026-07-08Telesat signs $2.3 billion Canadian Arctic military satcom contract
• noise2026-07-02Telesat donates satellite capacity to Venezuela earthquake recovery effort

timeline

1. 20252025-04-07Telesat secures substantial multi-year Lightspeed services contract with Viasat (source, as of 2026-07-05)
2. 20242024-12-04Telesat and MDA complete preliminary design review for Lightspeed satellites (source, as of 2026-07-05)
3. 2024-09-13Telesat completes $2.54 billion Lightspeed funding with Canada and Quebec governments (source, as of 2026-07-05)
4. 2024-04-01Telesat and Government of Canada agree terms on C$2.14 billion Lightspeed loan (source, as of 2026-07-05)
5. 20232023-09-11Telesat signs 14-launch SpaceX agreement to deploy all Lightspeed satellites (source, as of 2026-07-05)
6. 2023-08-11Telesat contracts MDA as prime manufacturer for 198-satellite Lightspeed constellation (source, as of 2026-07-05)

sources