WASHINGTON — Astranis, a San Francisco–based operator of small geostationary communications satellites, announced March 12 that retired U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten has joined the company as chairman of a newly formed advisory board.
Hyten is a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and spent much of his career overseeing military space programs, including as commander of Air Force Space Command. He has been a prominent critic of the Pentagon’s traditional approach to satellite architecture, which relies on a limited number of large, highly capable spacecraft.
While serving as head of U.S. Strategic Command, Hyten warned that such satellites could become “big, fat, juicy targets” for adversaries developing anti-satellite weapons. The phrase has continued to be cited in debates about shifting toward more distributed constellations of smaller satellites designed to be harder to disable and easier to replace.
He has also criticized the Pentagon’s space procurement system as slow and overly reliant on bespoke spacecraft, arguing for greater use of commercial technology and faster acquisition cycles.
Astranis is among the companies seeking to capitalize on those shifts. The firm builds and operates small communications satellites for geostationary orbit, typically weighing a few hundred kilograms, designed to deliver dedicated broadband capacity to specific regions at lower cost than traditional large GEO spacecraft.
“As chairman, General Hyten will advise the Astranis leadership team across all aspects of strategy, business and technology as the company builds resilient space architectures for both commercial and government customers,” Astranis co-founder and chief executive John Gedmark said in a statement.
Hyten said the company’s approach reflects broader changes in how governments are thinking about space systems.
“Astranis is uniquely positioned to drive a strategic shift to smaller, proliferated space systems in higher orbits,” he said in a statement. “Their progress over the past several years is impressive and the company’s technology represents innovative and resilient capabilities that I see playing a large role in advancing U.S. strategic interests.”
Astranis has five satellites currently in orbit providing communications services in markets including the Philippines and Mexico, as well as for mobility connectivity providers. Customers include telecom operators such as Thaicom and Orbith.
The company has also received development funding from the U.S. Space Force to explore adapting its satellites for military communications.
Astranis says it has raised more than $800 million in private investment and employs about 500 people.