Canadian startup targets defence, AI and earth observation with 10 newly launched satellites

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-startup-new-satellites-defence-ai-observation

Canadian startup Kepler Communications Inc. launched 10 new low-Earth-orbit satellites via SpaceX, the latest step in its buildout of a network for fast telecommunications services from space.

Kepler’s satellites, each weighing about 300 kilograms (660 pounds), were deployed from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base early Sunday morning.

The launch is a significant milestone for Kepler, which has raised $200 million since it was founded a decade ago. The company, based in Toronto, is developing an optical relay network for real-time communications from space.

These satellites will be used for Earth observation, defence and communications. They’ll function as “orbital data centers” that can store terabytes of information and run AI workloads in space, Mina Mitry, Kepler’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.

The satellites use lasers to transmit information, bringing space communications up from the “dial-up speeds” of older technologies, according to Mitry. Continue…