OneWeb founder is back with E-Space, another LEO hopeful

Startup E-Space has hired the former CEO of satellite giant SES, Karim Michel Sabbagh, as its new head of strategy for strategy in Europe and the Middle East. The development is the latest indication that there's momentum behind Greg Wyler's latest satellite effort.

Figure 1: Karim Michael Sabbagh (pictured), the former CEO of SES, has joined Greg Wyler's new satellite startup.
(Source: E-Space)

Wyler, a longtime telecom executive, famously founded both O3b Networks and OneWeb. SES eventually acquired O3b Networks while OneWeb fell into a bankruptcy process after Wyler left the company. O3b has launched 12 satellites so far, while OneWeb counts more than 400.

Now, Wyler is back in the satellite game with E-Space, a company he launched earlier this year. As noted by Space News, Wyler's E-Space has ambitions to launch up to 300,000 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

E-Space isn't the only startup with grand satellite ambitions. From Amazon's Project Kuiper to Rivada, there is no shortage of corporate interest in launching and operating thousands of satellites for Internet services.

But E-Space is noteworthy due to a number of factors beyond Wyler's involvement. For example, the company has raised $50 million in seed financing and is on track to employ up to 100 people by the end of this year. Sabbagh's involvement in the company only raises its profile.

So, what is E-Space's plan? "Many nations have a high interest in their own LEO constellation with the added security of being able to manage, monitor and control their entire system. E-Space is working with nations to provide Constellations as a Service (CaaS) for lease, and Constellations as a Product (CaaP) for full ownership," the company wrote on its website. "We are making space affordable with full LEO constellations costing far less than legacy GEO satellites with many times the performance."

According to Space News, E-Space has already deployed three prototype satellites and plans to launch another batch early next year on an undisclosed rocket.

However, it's possible that E-Space's ambitions could moderate as it matures. For example, OneWeb initially planned to operate a 48,000-satellite constellation, but lowered that to 7,000 last year. The company now hopes to increase the number of operational satellites in its network from more than 400 today, to around 600 by the end of this year.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano