Why Satelyx Exists: Democratizing Space

Why Satelyx Exists

When we started this company, we asked ourselves a simple question: Why is building a satellite mission so hard?

The answer we found was sobering. The space industry had built an enormous moat around itself. Not through technological superiority alone, but through complexity, fragmentation, and a fundamental misalignment of incentives.

The Problem We Saw

Imagine you have a brilliant idea for a space mission. Maybe it’s Earth observation for climate data. Maybe it’s IoT connectivity for remote regions. Maybe it’s testing a new technology in orbit.

What happens next?

You need to:

• Design and build a satellite from scratch. That’s 2-3 years and $10-50M depending on complexity.
• Integrate custom subsystems because nothing is modular or standardized. More delays, more budget burn.
• Find a launch provider. Good luck booking a manifest slot without relationships. You’re probably looking at another year of waiting.
• Hire an operations team to manage the satellite once it’s in orbit. Suddenly you’re running a space company, not focusing on your mission.
• Navigate licensing and regulatory approval that can take months or years.

By the time you’re ready to launch, you’ve spent millions, hired dozens of people, and burned through years. The “Valley of Death” isn’t just a concept—it’s where most space startups go to die.

The sadder part? Many of these failures aren’t due to bad ideas. They fail because the friction to get to orbit is so high that the startup runs out of money before proving the mission works.

Why This Needs to Change

The world needs more space innovation, not less. Climate change requires better Earth observation. Remote communities need better connectivity. Scientific research depends on access to space.

But none of that happens if the barrier to entry remains this high.

We looked at other industries and saw a pattern. When barriers to entry drop, innovation explodes.

• Software got democratized through cloud computing.
• Hardware got democratized through 3D printing and prototyping services.
• But space? Space was still stuck in the 1990s.

Enter Satelyx

We decided to reverse-engineer the problem. Instead of asking “How do we help people build custom satellites,” we asked “What if we pre-built a satellite that could serve 80% of missions?”

That’s where Satelyx comes in.

We’ve taken the most common mission architectures and integrated battle-tested components into a proven platform. We handle the satellite build. We handle the integration. We handle the launch coordination. We manage operations.

You focus on your mission.

What This Means:

For Earth Observation startups: Instead of 24+ months and $30M to launch, you could have a mission in orbit in 6-12 months with 1/10th the funding.

For IoT companies: Get global connectivity without building the infrastructure yourself.

For researchers: Access space without the overhead of managing a space company.

For defense and commercial customers: Access proven, reliable satellite capacity on your timeline, not on launch provider schedules.

The Real Shift

What we’re really doing is decoupling the “having a space mission” from “being a space company.”

Right now, if you want your payload in orbit, you have to become a satellite operator. That’s not a feature—that’s a bug.

We’re fixing that bug.

It’s Not Just About Speed

Yes, we’re faster. Yes, we’re cheaper. But the real insight is this: we’re removing the need for space expertise to have a space mission.

We’re a platform. We’re a service. We’re the space equivalent of what Amazon Web Services did for computing.

Why Now?

Three things had to happen simultaneously:

1. Regulatory environment matured enough to allow commercial entities like us to operate.
2. Component technology improved enough that we could build a reliable, reusable platform.
3. Market demand exploded as industries realized they needed space-based solutions.

All three are happening right now.

Our Vision

Imagine a world where:

• Climate scientists can deploy satellite constellations without fundraising $100M.
• IoT companies can offer global connectivity as part of their product.
• Defense agencies get faster access to space assets.
• Every industry that benefits from space data can actually afford to use it.

That’s not a fantasy. That’s what’s possible when you remove the artificial barriers.

What Comes Next

We’re building the rocket fuel that will accelerate the next decade of space innovation.

We’ve got the components validated. We’ve got the integration proven. We’ve got customers lined up.

Now we’re scaling.

If you’ve got a mission that needs space, let’s talk. The Valley of Death doesn’t have to be the end of your journey.

It can be the beginning.

Building the future of space, one mission at a time.

Satelyx — Your tech belongs in orbit.