In medium Earth orbit, the only system providing satellite broadband today is SES Networks’ constellation of 16 O3b satellites. A British startup with its own satellite constellation idea wants to change that. Methera Global Communications estimates it needs approximately $500 million to build and launch a constellation of satellites each equipped with 40 gigabits of capacity to beam down Ka-band connectivity to highly concentrated areas. If successful, Methera will launch its first operational spacecraft in 2027, with service starting the following year.
Chris McIntosh, CEO of Methera, a startup planning a constellation of at least 12 satellites in medium Earth orbit for broadband connectivity.
Methera’s CEO, left his position as CEO of Viasat UK in 2017 to lead Methera, joining co-founders David Gilmore from GapSat and David Robson, who was previously the head of advanced payloads for 25 years at EADS Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space). Gilmore and Robson started Methera in 2015.
The startup currently consists of 14 people and is based in Harwell with several other British startups. McIntosh describes “capacity density” as the key differentiator between his company’s proposed constellation and other emerging satellite systems. “Instead of trying to put a thin veneer of coverage around the globe, what we’re doing is providing a number of target areas with considerable capacity,” he said. Methera’s 700-kilogram satellites — the same mass as the first-generation O3b satellites — will hone capacity on extremely specific locations, targeting a small number of high-value customers, McIntosh said. The system will be able to “take a village or a town from no broadband whatsoever to being able to provide for everyone; as opposed to just a few,” he said.
If Methera can hit the cost and performance targets it anticipates, its system should be “relatively competitive with the current most advanced geostationary satellites” like those of Viasat and Hughes, according to Armand Musey, president of the consulting firm Summit Ridge Group. But positioning the satellites in medium Earth orbit means customers of Methera’s system will need advanced antennas that can track the satellites as they move relative to the Earth’s surface. “I’m not sure that there is a significant space segment cost that would offset the higher customer premise equipment,” Musey said. O3b faced the same challenge and, finding flat panel, electronically steerable antennas commercially unavailable, started service in 2014 with terminals using two dishes ensuring a constant link for uninterrupted service. McIntosh said Methera has been working for a number of years on a low-cost terminal design thanks to a multi-million pound grant from the UK and European space agencies. Methera is focusing on utilising commercial-off-the-shelf components and initially parabolic antennas and exploring “whether there is anything clever it can do to minimise handover time to improve the quality of service, as we believe that things have moved on since when O3b went through similar challenges”, McIntosh said. Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, a British company specialised in building small satellites, was one of Methera’s partners during the initial development stage, along with Arqiva, satellite equipment provider Global Invacom and consulting firm In Space Missions Ltd. Ben Stocker, SSTL’s director of telecommunications, told SpaceNews by email that the company completed a feasibility study for the Methera constellation. “SSTL participated, as part of a wider consortium, in a U.K. Space Agency funded study to define a feasible mission baseline and concept of operations for the Methera Space Segment,” Stocker said. “The study successfully concluded in July 2018, with a key part of the study being to identify the main elements of the system that drive cost and schedule. SSTL continue to work closely with Methera to further optimise the Space Segment solution.” McIntosh said confirmatory work is ongoing following the study.
Methera has a pending application with the U.K.’s telecom regulator Ofcom to license its low-latency satellite system, McIntosh said. The company has not applied for market access in the U.S. with the Federal Communications Commission because the U.S. is not an area of initial focus, he said. McIntosh highlighted emerging markets as Methera’s target areas. Methera doesn’t have any firm customer commitments yet, but does have significant signals of healthy interest through letters of intent, he said. “The biggest problem is deciding where to roll out so we can focus our energy on the ones we can take all the way to an order,” he said. By placing 12 satellites in 20,000-kilometer inclined orbits — about 2,000 kilometers below the U.S. Air Force’s GPS satellites — Methera will be able to reach anywhere on Earth’s surface, he said. Methera is currently operating using funds from a seed round, and is seeking to raise a series A this year. McIntosh declined to state the company’s target for the Series A. McIntosh said Methera sees an opportunity to work with other satellite constellations by providing additional capacity in areas of interest, especially for constellations where increasing throughput in a singular location would require scaling up the entire system through multiple additional satellites.
In December 2024 Methera formed a strategic partnerships and receives multi-million pound grant support from the UK and European Space agencies to drive development of an innovative AI-powered “Engine for Space Data Analysis” (ESPADA). This advanced programme is designed to meet the growing need to safeguard our planet and critical space infrastructure, setting new standards for space data management and security. Methera, an innovative UK satellite operator launching a multifunctional MEO constellation in 2027/28, have partnered with Oxford Dynamics, Kratos Communications, 3S Northumbria, Global Invacom and the Satellite Applications Catapult, to create an infrastructure for the rapid development, prototyping and introduction into service of novel MEO based space capabilities. ESPADA is the design and development of the space and ground-based systems to enable the dynamic collection, analysis and delivery of actionable insights/intelligence primarily utilising the Methera System and its unique MEO multifunctional constellation for Space Domain Awareness (SDA), Satellite Interference Management, Geolocation, and innovative payload hosting. Methera’s ESPADA project commenced in late 2024 and has been awarded multi-million pound funding from the UK Space Agency through a European Space Agency Pioneer Partnership Project (part of the ARTES Partner Programme) in October 2024.