Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat is busy developing its Lightspeed low Earth orbiting constellation. However, CEO Dan Goldberg told analysts on October 29th that there would be a three-month de...
Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat is busy developing its Lightspeed low Earth orbiting constellation. However, CEO Dan Goldberg told analysts on October 29th that there would be a three-month delay in launching the first of the Lightspeed craft.
The reason is that the first pair of Lightspeed satellites, described as ‘pathfinder’ craft, and which are being built by fellow-Canadian business MDA Space, are delayed.
The delay has a knock-on effect in that key dates for Telesat’s reserved launches on SpaceX rockets are also impacted. Reportedly, Telesat is looking to launch the two pathfinders on a SpaceX rocket around June 2028. Telesat has 14 launches booked with SpaceX and will need one more to complete the launch of the initial 156 Lightspeed satellites needed for the fleet. Eventually the fleet will comprise 225 satellites. Currently, Telesat expects SpaceX to handle launches of 15 Lightspeed satellites every three weeks in mid-to-late 2028 once the pathfinders have been launched.
Telesat said that as at September 30th, it had invested C$3.1 billion (€1.9bn) into Lightspeed.
The company also declared its results for the 3 and 9 months ended September 30th. “In our GEO business, we continue to be laser-focused on maximising the revenue and cash flow from our existing GEO satellite fleet while at the same time taking ahighly disciplined approach to cost management. Our GEO business has performed consistent with our expectations in the first nine months of the year, and we are reiterating our 2026 GEO revenue [guidance],” said Goldberg.
For the quarter ended September 30th, Telesat reported revenue of $81 million, a decrease of 20 percent ($20 million) compared to the same period of the prior year. “In our GEO segment, revenue for the quarter was $79 million, a decrease of 21 percent ($22 million) from the same period in 2025. The revenue decline was driven primarily by non-renewal of a broadcast contract in 2025 and a reduction in contracted capacity for a broadcast customer in 2026, combined with a reduction in service to a North American broadband customer and the removal from service of certain geostationary satellites,” said the company.
Categories: Articles, Broadband, Business, Policy, Regulation, Results, Satellite
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