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6m | Alan Burkitt-Gray
US nanosatellite company Swarm Technologies has launched its last 24 satellites, using a launch pad on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula operated by Rocket Lab.
California-based Swarm now has 36 satellites in orbit, the company said after the launch.
Rocket Lab had a number of other customers at its launch, including Valve, a gaming software company, which provided six other satellites between them.
Swarm is in the process of building a global Internet-of-things (IoT) network using its satellites, of which it expects to have 150 in service by the end of 2021. Among its customers is a company that plans to operate connected cars for Ford.
Once up and running, Swarm will charge $ 119 for each modem, which can be integrated into devices, and then a $ 5 per month usage charge.
Rocket Lab, supported by Bessemer Ventures and other sources, was started in California in 2006 by Peter Beck. This was the company’s first launch with a reusable rocket.
Beck said, “It has taken a tremendous effort from many Rocket Lab teams, and it is exciting to see the work paid off in an important step towards transforming Electron into a reusable rocket.”
In September Swarm used French company Arianespace to launch the first 12 nano-satellites on a single Vega rocket from French Guiana to South America.
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