Artist’s rendering of an Astranis satellite. Photo: Astranis

Astranis, the San Francisco-based remote satellite connectivity startup, has concluded its first major launch deal as it looks to make its business plan a commercial reality and success. The company announced Aug. 26 that it had signed a deal with SpaceX to put the first of its satellites into orbit next year, as it look to make an immediate impact in bridging the digital divide in Alaska.

Astranis has confirmed that it has reserved a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 with a launch window at Florida’s Cape Canaveral starting in the fourth quarter of 2020. This means that Pacific Dataport and Microcom, its Alaska partners, will be able to provide residential and commercial Alaskan customers in even the most remote parts of the state with faster, more affordable and more reliable true broadband internet service by March 2021.

Astranis formally entered into its agreement with Pacific Dataport and Microcom in January to provide data transmission capacity from GEO amounting to more than 7.5 gigabits per second.