Four companies are spending $50B+ to blanket Earth with satellite internet. Only one or two will dominate. Here's how each stacks up on technology, financing, customers, and long-term viability.
Inside Airbus Defence and Space: Europe's 35,000-employee space prime behind Galileo, Copernicus, OneWeb, and the Orion service module that flew NASA astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II.
Compare the major LEO mega-constellations in 2026: Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper, China's Guowang and Qianfan — satellites deployed, altitude, target size, status.
The UK launched its own satellite in 1971 — then killed the program. Now Scotland is building Europe's space coast, and Britain is betting billions on orbital return.
Airbus, Thales Alenia, and OHB build the satellites powering Galileo, Copernicus, OneWeb, and Orion — inside Europe's $15B space industrial base that rivals the US.
