Mitsubishi Electric announced that it has acquired all shares of Infostellar. The deal was completed on July 1, making Infostellar a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric.
Infostellar provides cloud-based ground station services for satellite operators. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Through the acquisition, Mitsubishi Electric and Infostellar aim to expand ground station services for satellite operators. The companies said demand for these services is growing rapidly worldwide as small satellite constellations become more widely used.
The growth of satellite-based services is increasing the need for private-sector companies to develop and provide ground station networks. These networks are essential for operating satellite services and maintaining reliable communications with orbiting satellites.
Mitsubishi Electric has extensive expertise in satellites and ground facilities. The company has participated in satellite and ground facility projects in Japan and internationally.
For ground facilities, Mitsubishi Electric has developed advanced antenna and satellite control technologies. Its experience includes ground stations for communication, satellite tracking and control, and optical and radio telescopes for astronomical observation.
Infostellar provides ground segment as a service for orbiting satellites through its proprietary ground station platform, StellarStation. The platform virtually networks ground stations worldwide through the cloud.
StellarStation provides satellite operators with a centralized service and multiple satellite contact opportunities. The service is designed to help operators access ground station networks more flexibly and efficiently.
Mitsubishi Electric and Infostellar plan to accelerate the global expansion of ground station networks. The companies also aim to establish high-quality and reliable space communications infrastructure.
The collaboration will combine Mitsubishi Electric’s satellite and ground facility development, manufacturing, and system integration capabilities with Infostellar’s GSaaS platform and agile development capabilities. Mitsubishi Electric said these capabilities were built through many years of work in defense and space systems.
