Muon Space, a California-based startup, announced a partnership with SpaceX to equip its satellites with Starlink terminals, enabling continuous high-speed data links in low-Earth orbit. This marks the first commercial use of Starlink for in-flight connectivity beyond SpaceX itself. The integration aims to drastically reduce data latency for missions like wildfire detection.
Muon Space, founded four years ago by space industry veterans, specializes in designing, building, and operating low-Earth orbit satellite constellations for customers. The company has raised more than $180 million and aims to streamline satellite manufacturing amid declining launch costs. On October 21, 2025, Muon revealed its collaboration with SpaceX to install Starlink mini-laser terminals on its satellites, becoming the first external commercial user of the network for orbital communications.
This builds on the Polaris Dawn mission from over a year ago, where SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft connected to Starlink via laser links during the first fully commercial spacewalk by private astronauts Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis. Unlike traditional satellites that rely on sporadic ground station passes, Starlink offers near-continuous connectivity. A single mini-laser terminal provides 70 to 80 percent coverage, while a pair achieves 100 percent, according to Muon President Greg Smirin.
The partnership addresses key data delivery challenges. 'From the founding of the company, we were well-tuned to the fact that almost all of our customers are really ultimately interested in the data that they’re able to receive from their constellations,' said Pascal Stang, Muon's co-founder and chief technology officer. Using Starlink lasers enables more than 10x, possibly 50x, the data throughput compared to radio systems, with nearly instant latency. SpaceX's terminals achieve 25Gbps speeds over distances up to 2,500 miles.
One early beneficiary is FireSat, a program by the Google-backed Earth Fire Alliance to track wildfires. Its first demonstration satellite launched in March 2025, with three more planned next year and 50 by 2030. The National Reconnaissance Office plans to purchase FireSat data. Starlink integration could cut FireSat's data latency from 20 minutes to near real-time, aiding first responders in monitoring fire intensity and direction.
'High-speed, low-latency connectivity on orbit is foundational for modern space missions,' said Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink engineering at SpaceX. The first laser-equipped Muon satellite is slated for launch in early 2027 for an undisclosed customer. This could enable new applications, such as real-time AI processing in space or live high-resolution video streaming, transforming satellites into nodes on a global network.