Projections on satellite numbers in orbit differ on the finer details, but—big picture—analysts agree that number will grow exponentially in the coming decade.
To keep up with booming demand, satellite manufacturer Muon Space announced a fundamental shift in its business strategy this week. The company plans to focus less on one-off satellite projects, and more on constellations.
In many ways, the strategy is already in action. The company has 20 satellites manifested to launch in the next 20 months, and expects more contracts to close in the coming year, according to CEO Jonny Dyer.
Missions in the near-term include three RF sensing satellites for Sierra Nevada Corporation, planned to launch in Q1; and three wildfire monitoring sats for Earth Fire Alliance, expected to launch in the middle of this year.
Foundry fund: The strategic shift comes hot on the heels of a big building year for Muon.
- Last year, Muon closed a $44.5M Series B extension round, bringing the company’s total equity funding to $135M.
- Muon acquired propulsion startup Starlight Engines, more than doubled its workforce, and moved into a new production facility capable of producing 500 spacecraft annually.
- The company also signed a deal to integrate SpaceX’s Starlink mini-laser terminals into Muon’s Halo satellite platforms, with the aim of tapping into the Starlink network as soon as 2027.
Next steps: Now it’s all about execution. Muon has vertically integrated about 90%+ of the components of its largest satellite platform—MuSat XL—and plans to use that integration to grow its customer base. While other satellite manufacturers are working to increase inventories of off-the-shelf bus components, Muon is taking a more solutions-oriented approach.
“We’re just seeing a huge amount of positive response from the end-to-end approach we’re taking,” Dyer said. “[We’re] not just selling a bus or a piece of the problem…but everything from the spacecraft, also all of the integration, the operations, the data pipelines, [and] the network.”
Missions on the manifest include payloads with capabilities such as hyperspectral mapping, RF sensing, thermal infrared sensing, and weather and atmospheric intelligence. Muon has also closed a range of contracts with the DoD including SBIRs focused on environmental monitoring, and missile warning and tracking capabilities.
“The point of our business is not building the biggest satellite factory in the world. It is tailoring the technologies that we have to customers’ actual needs, and delivering them a complete solution,” Dyer said.
Don’t stop me now: Despite the flood of recent wins, Muon is still on the hunt for more opportunities to grow. Dyer told Payload that more M&A opportunities could be coming down the pipeline this year, and Muon plans to use inorganic growth to bring more of its supply chain in-house and increase the pool of missions it can support.
