Welcome to the Great American Satellite Age
A new wave of satellite startups, including San Francisco-based Basalt Space, is leveraging technological advances and reduced costs to expand access to satellite imaging, navigation, and communication services. These companies aim to provide private customers with dedicated satellite constellations, bypassing traditional gatekeepers and increasing data reliability. However, challenges remain around customer demand, regulatory scrutiny, and environmental and ethical concerns related to space debris and surveillance.
- ▪Basalt Space, founded by Max Bhatti, operates out of leased apartments in San Francisco’s Lower Nob Hill, where employees live and work in a hacker-house environment.
- ▪The company plans to offer clients their own satellite constellations, similar to cloud computing infrastructure, enabling direct control over data collection.
- ▪Recent geopolitical events, such as the war in Iran, have created demand for unrestricted satellite imagery, as existing providers like Planet Labs restrict access during conflicts.
- ▪Regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration have eased entry barriers for satellite startups, accelerating industry growth.
- ▪Concerns about space debris, light pollution, and invasive surveillance could challenge the rapid expansion of private satellite networks.
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Paresh DaveBusinessMay 4, 2026 5:00 AMWelcome to the Great American Satellite AgeA new generation of satellite startups in San Francisco is racing to capitalize on recent technological breakthroughs in space-based data collection and communications.Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyMax Bhatti and the four other engineers at Basalt Space worked 22 hours a day in March to assemble the startup’s first satellite so it would be finished in time for a launch deadline. “It makes 996 look like a vacation,” says Bhatti, the CEO. To keep electronics free of contamination, the team operated in a well-ventilated tent that Bhatti boasts is more dust-free than a hospital.
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