Space

Space Satellites

Active Communications Satellites by Operator

Last-sourced counts. Starlink in orbit is 10,920 as of 5 Aug 2026 (planet4589). Amazon Leo 180 is Space Foundation's 2025 deployment count. AST SpaceMobile is 13 in orbit as of the Q2 2026 update.

Starlink Satellites Launched (Cumulative)

Year-end launched totals from the deployment log. In orbit is lower (10,920 on 5 Aug 2026) because early birds have deorbited.

Starlink Subscriber Growth

Company-disclosed milestones and quarter-ends only. Last sourced figure: 12.0 million active customers as of 30 Jun 2026 (SpaceX Q2 2026 8-K). Not interpolated past that date.

Iridium Billable Subscribers

Year-end counts from Iridium's 2025 annual report. 2.537 million at year-end 2025. Commercial IoT is the growth engine.

The Direct-to-Cell Race

Direct-to-cell connects ordinary, unmodified phones straight to satellites. Compares AST SpaceMobile, Starlink, and Globalstar (Apple).

Player	Approach	Satellites	Partners	Status
AST SpaceMobileASTS	A few very large phased-array satellites (next-generation BlueBird arrays near 2,400 square feet, the largest commercial arrays in low Earth orbit) beaming broadband, voice, and data direct to unmodified phones.	13 in orbit as of the Q2 2026 update. FY2025 10-K plan was 45 to 60 Block 2 satellites by end of 2026.	AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten	Pre-commercial consumer service. BlueBirds 11 to 13 launched in a 50-day window. Production described through BlueBird 46.
Starlink Direct to Cell	Direct-to-cell payloads carried on standard Starlink satellites. Many small satellites deliver 4G-class texting first, with voice and data expanding.	650+ direct-to-cell satellites in orbit	T-Mobile in the US, plus carriers in more than 20 countries	Live across six continents. The largest 4G coverage provider in the world by area; texting widely available.
Globalstar and Apple	Emergency SOS and limited messaging built into the iPhone. Not full broadband to the phone.	About 25 satellites, with a next-generation constellation funded by Apple	Apple (anchor customer and investor)	Live on iPhone 14 and later. Emergency and short messaging only.

AST SpaceMobile Constellation Status

13 spacecraft in orbit as of the Q2 2026 update versus the 10-K end-2026 plan and the 90-plus Block 2 cost-basis constellation. Consumer service has not started.

Commercial Satellites Deployed in 2025

Space Foundation: 4,040 commercial spacecraft launched in 2025. Starlink was 3,174 of them. Amazon Leo 180, Planet 74, Spire 30.

UCS Operating Satellites by Orbit (May 2023)

Last UCS public snapshot: 7,560 operating satellites with launches through 1 May 2023. A historical census, not a 2026 live catalog. LEO was 6,768.

UCS Operating Satellites by Country (May 2023)

Same dated UCS snapshot. The United States was 5,184 of 7,560, already dominated by commercial Starlink at that date.

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