FCC clears Logos to deploy more than 4,000 broadband satellites

TAMPA, Fla. — Logos Space Services has secured U.S. regulatory approval to deploy up to 4,178 low Earth orbit broadband satellites.

The Federal Communications Commission partially granted the Redwood City, California-based venture’s constellation proposal Jan. 30, clearing operations in K-, Q- and V-band spectrum under certain conditions while deferring and denying parts of its higher-frequency requests.

The satellites would operate across seven orbital shells ranging from 870 kilometers to 925 kilometers above Earth, with inclinations spanning 28 to 90 degrees.

Under FCC rules, Logos must deploy and operate half of the constellation within seven years, with the remainder in place by Jan. 30, 2035.

Milo Medin, a former NASA project manager and Google executive who founded Logos in 2023, has said the venture only needs roughly a quarter of the proposed satellites to serve government and enterprise customers globally.

Logos announced a $50 million Series A funding round last year led by serial entrepreneur Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technologies (USIT), an investment firm that backs technologies with civilian and military applications. USIT has also invested in companies such as AI-powered defense firm Anduril and reusable launch vehicle developer Stoke Space.

“Secure, resilient communications infrastructure is a foundational requirement for both global competitiveness and enterprise operations, and receiving this approval meaningfully advances Logos’ deployment roadmap,” USIT managing partner Peter Tague said in a Feb. 5 news release announcing the FCC decision.

Logos says its use of higher-frequency spectrum, combined with high elevation angles and narrow beams, would reduce susceptibility to interference and jamming compared with more conventional broadband satellite systems.

Medin has previously told SpaceNews that Logos aims to secure partnerships in time to deploy its first operational satellite by 2027.

The startup first submitted plans for its constellation in 2024, amending the application a year later to refine the design and enlarge the proposal from an initial 3,960 satellites.

The FCC’s action comes amid growing debate over how quickly the agency should process satellite licensing applications for increasingly large and complex megaconstellations.