Photo Credit: SpaceX

Helios Wire, a satellite-enabled Internet of Things (IOT) connectivity company, revealed that its Pathfinder II satellite is scheduled to launch aboard Spaceflight‘s SSO-A SmallSat Express mission, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Nov. 19, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. This is the first satellite in a constellation of up to 28 smallsats that aim to provide global IOT coverage.

“This is undoubtedly an exciting leap forward for us and a foundational component of our future constellation. We expect it will shake up the way people think about IOT connectivity, in terms of application types that can be layered on top of the network, specifically analytics and blockchain,” explains Helios Wire Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder Scott Larson. “We’re very grateful to our team and partners for helping us reach this milestone and we remain focused on expanding our market opportunities and completing our next group of satellites.”

With a space-based system, connectivity and data could become even more secure and accessible. Ledgers and data can be backed up in space, while small data bursts can be leveraged by both small and large organizations operating across land and sea. “The key is finding the sweet spot in a system that is robust enough to offer the types of data rates that meet the needs of industrial applications, but also at a price point that actually allows for adoption by a wide range of customers,” Larson said.