Muon Space, a Californian satellite manufacturer, announced on October 21 that it will be using optical terminals supplied by SpaceX. This collaboration will enable Muon’s future Halo satellites to utilize the Starlink broadband constellation as a global data-relay network. These "mini laser" terminals are designed to connect Halo satellites to Starlink’s growing network of optical crosslinks in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), offering connectivity speeds of up to 25 gigabits per second across distances as far as 4,000 kilometers.
SpaceX initially revealed its intention to sell these terminals to other companies in March 2024. Shortly after, Vast, a commercial space station developer, announced plans to integrate them into the Haven-1 spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2026. Gregory Smirin, president of Muon, told SpaceNews that they plan to test this capability in LEO during the first quarter of 2027, before making it available to customers in the following quarter.
While specific financial details remain undisclosed, Smirin stated that Muon aims to "have this capacity for every one of our customers." Each Halo satellite, weighing between 100 and 500 kilograms, will typically be equipped with one to four Starlink mini laser terminals, depending on the required connectivity and redundancy. "I’d say the vast majority of our customers who we’ve talked about this with have expressed interest in one,” Smirin noted, sufficient for 70-80% persistent connectivity, contingent on orbit, as the satellite transfers to new Starlink nodes within range. He added, "That’s still a huge step forward from — depending on what’s being designed for a particular satellite or constellation — anywhere between 10% and 30% connectivity persistence with ground stations."
Muon operates its satellites on behalf of customers, who will pay for Starlink usage similar to existing ground station services, based on data volume or access time. The company has already launched four Halo satellites, including a prototype in March for FireSat, a wildfire-monitoring system developed in partnership with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance. Muon highlighted FireSat as an ideal application for the optical connectivity. Integrating Starlink terminals into future FireSat spacecraft could reduce data latency from an average of 20 minutes to near real-time, enabling incident commanders and first responders to receive almost instant alerts of new ignitions.
“It’s not just for initial detection,” Smirin emphasized, “the quicker you can update what’s happening with the perimeter, the intensity and the speed of movement, then the easier it is for the incident commanders to be able to move their people on their equipment. “So really driving down the latency to near zero is a huge operational win.”
Although the agreement with SpaceX is non-exclusive, Smirin believes Muon's vertically integrated strategy positions the company to maximize the benefits of the terminal hardware. “We think that full vertical integration of all the components of hardware that we put into our spacecraft, the software and the operations, sets us up really nicely to make the mini laser terminal the most productive it can be,” he said. “Because if you put it on something else that’s part of some Frankensat that’s constrained by power or processing or something else, then it’s not going to really perform as well.”
Muon announced in June its acquisition of satellite propulsion startup Starlight Engines as part of its vertical integration strategy, while also revealing an extension of its Series B round to $146 million. Seven Muon satellites are planned for launch next year, and Smirin expects the company to at least double its output annually as it increases production capacity at its new facility in San Jose, California. The ultimate goal is to be able to manufacture up to 500 spacecraft per year.