LEO Gold Rush: The Billion-Dollar Race to Own Low Earth Orbit (2024–2030)
SpaceX’s Starlink has launched over 8,000 satellites since 2019, with about 4,000 active and service in more than 125 countries. OneWeb merged with Eutelsat in 2023, forming a GEO+LEO operator after launching 618 satellites. Amazon’s Project Kuiper targets 3,236 satellites, with its first operational launch set for April 2025. China’s Guowang aims for 13,000 satellites by the early 2030s, with 29 prototypes launched so far.