Global satellite network in development by space robotics company in Brampton

A global internet network of nearly 200 satellites that will soon be orbiting Earth are being designed by a space robotics company here in Brampton.

The project is called the Lightspeed LEO (low Earth orbit) satellite constellation, which will be run by satellite operating company Telesat.

The high-speed, low-latency internet network could be a competitor for Elon Musk’s Starlink with a global network of 198 satellites under development by Brampton-base space robotics company MDA Space Ltd.

CEO Mike Greenley said work is underway on a new high-volume satellite manufacturing facility in Montreal and that MDA is “continuing to advance the next phase of the program.”

And the network hit a milestone in the project with a successful spacecraft preliminary design review, MDA said on Wednesday.

Telesat plans to begin launching satellites in 2026 with the network online in 2027, according to reports.

In September, the federal government announced a loan of $2.14 billion to Telesat to help the company build the broadband satellite network.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Lightspeed network will help ensure Canadians “in smaller northern communities and in remote parts of the world can be connected.”

MDA Space Ltd. is an international space mission partner which opened its new headquarters in Brampton last year with state-of-the-art labs, manufacturing, R&D, assembly and test facilities.

Earlier this year the Brampton-based company won a $1-billion contract with the Canadian Space Agency for the next phases of the Canadarm3 robotics system.

The company is building the Canadarm3 which will be used aboard Gateway – a collaboration led by NASA to establish a space station in lunar orbit. The Gateway project is a key part of NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon.