Loft Orbital

Loft Orbital, based in California, provides space infrastructure as a service, simplifying access to space for its customers. The company operates using a "condosat" model, which allows multiple customers to share satellite platforms, reducing costs and time to orbit.

Loft Orbital handles the entire mission lifecycle, from payload integration to satellite operations, using standardized satellite hardware and a proprietary mission-agnostic operations software called Cockpit.

Its key offerings are its (1) satellite launch services and virtual missions supported by its YAM satellite series, with YAM-6 being the latest, launched in March 2024 and (2) satellite management software.

Loft Orbital offers satellite launch solutions, which include a unique solution for satellite launches, as it creates an “abstraction layer” between satellite buses and payloads by purchasing standard satellites from vendors like Airbus and LeoStella and then equipping them with customers' payloads. This approach spares customers the need to buy, operate, and manage their own hardware and ground segment networks. Loft Orbital offers quarterly satellite launches, making space missions accessible within months.

This is coupled with Loft Orbital’s “virtual missions,” a software layer that eliminates the need for customer hardware. Customers can deploy their software applications onto Loft satellites, using on-board sensors and compute nodes to analyze data in real time and run various use cases. Loft has already conducted several virtual missions on its YAM-3 satellite. For virtual missions, customers will receive a software development kit, a testing environment, and access to Loft's mission-agnostic operations software, Cockpit. This approach significantly reduces the complexity and risk associated with space missions.

Loft Orbital's satellite management platforms include its Payload Hub and Cockpit software. The Payload Hub is a universal interface that allows rapid integration and management of various payloads, functioning as the satellite's control center for data flow and resource management. It includes onboard processing for edge computing and inter-satellite links. The Cockpit software simplifies satellite operations, enabling users to manage satellite constellations effectively without handling the complexities of spacecraft operations.

The business model features resource-based pricing, spreading payments across the mission's lifetime, and a performance-based service level agreement.

Key customers and partnerships

Loft Orbital serves a diverse range of customers, including Microsoft, NASA, DARPA, the U.S. Space Force, Honeywell, Arabsat, and SkyServe.

Noteworthy partnerships include a collaboration with Airbus to procure Arrow satellite platforms, the foundational satellite platform of the OneWeb constellation (Jan 2022). Loft Orbital also entered a satellite launch agreement with Exolaunch to provide mission management and integration services as well as SpaceX providing rideshare services to deliver its YAM-3 microsatellite to a sun-synchronous orbit (June 2020). The company is also part of Microsoft’s Azure Space Partner Community for its Azure Orbital Space SDK (April 2022). The Azure Orbital Space Edge SDK is a solution that facilitates the deployment of Virtual Missions on Loft's infrastructure. Other partners include Wyvern, Ball Aerospace, Viasat, and Arabsat. In August 2024, the company formed a joint venture, "Orbitworks," with Marlan Space to produce commercial low-Earth orbit satellite constellations.