Astra Space Platform Services has requested Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority to launch and operate a non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system using V-band frequencies. As proposed, the Astra Constellation would ultimately consist of as many as 13,620 operational Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, supported by a global network of gateway earth stations utilising the identified V-band frequency bands for feeder links for space-to-earth transmit and receive.
The filing states: ‘With this FCC application, Astra will provide connectivity to a satellite constellation platform that will power a new generation of space-based services aligned with its stated mission to improve life on Earth from space. The Astra Constellation will provide global secure, high-bandwidth connectivity to enable communications services, environmental and natural resource applications, and national security missions.’
Astra, which is based in Alameda, California, was founded in 2016 by space veterans Chris Kemp, former CTO at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Dr Adam London. Within four years of its inception, Astra conducted its first flight to space in December 2020 from Kodiak, Alaska, which it says made it the fastest company to reach space.