Delayed pathfinder satellites, early test spacecraft for the network, have pushed Telesat's global Lightspeed broadband service back about three months to around the end of the second quarter of 2028, Via Satellite reported Oct. 29, citing remarks by Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg.
Via Satellite reported that Goldberg told investors the firm will fly two initial test craft on a third-party Falcon 9 set to launch in mid-2027, saying it is "loath to use one of our valuable Falcon 9 launch slots" for two satellites. Goldberg said the pair are unfinished for flight but will be ready around June 2027, the outlet wrote. Those craft will test in orbit for about two months before Telesat's own Falcon 9 campaign with 15 satellites per flight, according to Via Satellite.
The outlet said that shift pushes the start of global service from the end of the first quarter of 2028 to the end of the second quarter of 2028.