- Amazon struck an $11 billion deal to acquire satellite operator Globalstar — which powers Apple’s iPhone emergency satellite feature — immediately giving Amazon Leo a functioning network and scarce spectrum rights
- Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is set to launch again as soon as Friday, carrying its first commercial payload and helping chip away at a multi-year backlog of orders
- Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are racing to build NASA moon landers for the Artemis program, with a crew rendezvous test planned for mid-2027 and a lunar landing targeted for 2028
- The space data center race is heating up: SpaceX is seeking permission for up to one million AI computing satellites; Blue Origin filed for nearly 52,000 last month
What Happened?
Amazon moved decisively this week to close the satellite internet gap with Elon Musk’s Starlink, striking an $11 billion deal to acquire Globalstar — the satellite operator that powers Apple’s iPhone emergency satellite features and holds valuable spectrum rights that could complement Amazon Leo’s planned 7,700-satellite broadband constellation. The deal came alongside a new Apple partnership and gives Amazon Leo an operational satellite network immediately, bypassing years of buildout. Blue Origin simultaneously announced its New Glenn rocket would carry its first commercial payload as soon as Friday, while also advancing its lunar lander program toward a planned cargo mission to the moon’s surface this year.
Why It Matters?
The Bezos-Musk space rivalry has moved from symbolic to intensely commercial. SpaceX’s Starlink dominates satellite broadband with roughly 10,000 satellites, 10 million-plus customers, and projected revenue of more than $9 billion this year. Amazon Leo has been playing catch-up — even asking the FCC to waive a deadline requiring 1,600 satellites aloft by July, a milestone it was set to miss badly. The Globalstar acquisition changes the competitive math overnight: Amazon gains spectrum, infrastructure, and an Apple relationship that gives the iPhone maker a significant say in the company’s satellite roadmap. Blue Origin’s slow-and-steady approach to New Glenn — build it right the first time, versus SpaceX’s “blow it up and learn” philosophy — is starting to yield dividends, with a reliable launch vehicle that could finally start clearing its order backlog.
What’s Next?
The near-term milestones are stacked: New Glenn launches commercially as soon as Friday; NASA plans to test SpaceX and/or Blue Origin moon landers in mid-2027; Artemis III targets 2028 for a crewed lunar landing. In orbit, the data center race is accelerating fastest of all — SpaceX is pursuing regulatory permission for up to one million AI computing satellites, while Blue Origin filed for nearly 52,000 last month. The companies that lock up spectrum, launch capacity, and lunar infrastructure in the next two years will define the space economy for decades. For Bezos, the Globalstar deal signals a strategic shift from patient buildout to aggressive acquisition — the tortoise just started sprinting.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
