Astranis: A Geostationary Communications Satellite Operator and Manufacturer

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The world's absolutely insatiable demand for bandwidth is providing a trillion-dollar market opportunity to the organizations operating in the Satellite Internet industry. Many companies strive to build satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit to provide low-cost broadband on Earth.

However, very few organizations are focusing on the GEO band, where the large legacy communication satellites are operating and orbiting the Earth at a fixed position to provide connectivity to a specific fixed region. Astranis follows the GEO band approach and has become a successful communications satellite designer and developer.

Going through this article will help you learn more about Astranis, its founders, startup story, products, business model, funding, and more.

Astranis - Company Highlights

Astranis – About
Astranis – Industry
Astranis – Founders and Team
Astranis – Startup Story
Astranis – Mission and Vision
Astranis – Business Model
Astranis – Products and Services
Astranis – Challenges Faced
Astranis – Funding and Investors
Astranis – Patents and Trademarks
Astranis – Growth
Astranis – Partners
Astranis – Competitors
Astranis – Future Plan

Astranis – About

Astranis Space Technologies Corporation, trading as Astranis, is a private US-based geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer. With its offices in Alaska, Peru, and North America, the company builds small, low-cost telecommunications satellites to provide internet access in remote areas.

Astranis – Industry

Astranis is operating in the Satellite Internet industry. Talking about satellite internet, it is a wireless network that covers satellite dishes orbiting the Earth. It helps people in remote locations access the internet and up-to-date information.

The global market size of satellite internet was estimated at $8,231.47 million in 2022 and is projected to grow 13.6% CAGR from 2023 to 2030. Now that satellite internet technology provides users with incredible speed and data, several developing economies like India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and others are rapidly adopting such services resulting in market growth.

In addition to, Astranis, Inmarsat, Viasat, Intelsat, Iridium Communications, and SpaceX are among the top-performing companies in the satellite internet industry.

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Astranis – Founders and Team

John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko are the founders of Astranis.

John Gedmark

John Gedmark is an American entrepreneur who graduated from Purdue University with a BSc and Stanford University with a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering.

In addition to Astranis, he co-founded Roosevelt Institute and Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Moreover, he has been an ex-Director of Flight Operations at the X Prize Foundation. Currently, he is the CEO of Astranis.

Ryan McLinko

Ryan McLinko attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics. He worked as Structural Engineer at TALARIS Google Lunar X PRIZE and Systems Engineer at Sierra Nevada Corporation.

Moreover, Ryan is Space Frontier Foundation's ex-Conference Advisor and Planet Labs's ex-Spacecraft Engineer. At present, he is Astranis' Co-Founder and CTO.

Astranis is a team of more than 300 world-class engineers from SpaceX, Boeing, and technology companies like Apple, Skybox, Qualcomm, and Google.

Astranis – Startup Story

Astranis was founded in 2015 by John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko based on the idea that small satellites in higher orbits can provide billions of people with cost-effective access to broadband internet.

It only started in 2016 and was part of the Y Combinator accelerator's Winter 2016 cohort. It was in 2018 that the company launched a prototype, and in the fourth quarter, Astranis finished the work on its first commercial satellite for a launch on a SpaceX rocket.

In January 2019, Astranis entered into its first commercial partnership with Pacific Dataport, Inc to triple Alaska's satellite internet capacity. The company successfully launched the 350 kg satellite on April 30, 2023, onboard a Falcon Heavy in addition to ViaSAT 3 Americas and Gravity Space's GS-1.

Astranis – Mission and Vision

The mission of Astranis is to help 4 billion people who are without internet access get online.

Astranis – Business Model

Astranis follows a unique payload technology that allows frequency and coverage flexibility along with maximum use of valuable spectrum. This approach enables the company to build satellites in 12-18 months, five times faster than the competitors.

Astranis provides bandwidth-as-a-service and unlocks unreachable markets by owning and operating its satellites and offering them to consumers as a turnkey solution. It further allows the company to launch small, dedicated satellites for small to medium-sized nations. Astranis' all satellites can provide a maximum capacity of 10 Gbps.

Astranis – Products and Services

Astranis offers MicroGEO Communications Satellites.

Astranis – Challenges Faced

Astranis found it challenging to pack the 20 times larger traditional geosynchronous satellites in the satellites about the size of dishwashers while surviving the harsh radiation environment of that distant orbit.

Astranis – Funding and Investors

Astranis has conducted 9 funding rounds and raised a total of $553.5 million. Its latest funding round – Venture – Series Unknown, was led on April 14, 2023, and secured $200 million. 40 investors fund the company, including Andreessen Horowitz, Rising Tide, BlackRock, Sahin Boydas, and Soma Capital.

Astranis – Patents and Trademarks

Astranis is registered with 3 patents, mainly in the 'Electric Communication Technique' category. Moreover, it has 5 registered trademarks, with 'Scientific and Electric Apparatus' being the popular category.

Astranis – Growth

Astranis earned annual revenue of $77.5 million in 2022, with $277,720 in revenue per employee. Moreover, it was valued at $1.6 billion in 2023. The company's employee count grew by 25% last year, and monthly web visit growth is 163.8%, with 47 949 monthly visits.

Astranis – Partners

Astranis has partnered with the following:

• SpaceX
• U.S. Department of Defense
• Aitelecom/APCO Networks
• Pacific Dataport
• Microcom
• Andesat

Astranis – Competitors

Astranis is ranked 6th among its 111 active competitors. Some of the company's primary competitors are:

• OneWeb
• Omnispace
• Orbion Space Technology
• SES Satellites
• Kacific Broadband Satellites
• Inmarsat HawkEye 360

Astranis – Future Plan

Astranis plans to launch five satellites, with many more to follow.

FAQs

What does Astranis do?

Astranis is a private US-based geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer. It follows the GEO band approach and has become a successful communications satellite designer and developer.

Who founded Astranis?

John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko are the founders of Astranis.

Where is Astranis's headquarters?  

Astranis's headquarters is located in San Francisco, California, United States.

What is satellite internet?

Satellite internet is a wireless network that covers satellite dishes orbiting the Earth. It helps people in remote locations access the internet and up-to-date information.

Who are the main competitors of Astranis?

Some of Astranis's primary competitors are:

• OneWeb
• Omnispace
• Orbion Space Technology
• SES Satellites
• Kacific Broadband Satellites
• Inmarsat HawkEye 360