Apple supplier Foxconn’s satellites hitch a ride with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in search of new revenue in orbit

Foxconn-made LEO satellites took off aboard a SpaceX rocket from southern California on Saturday in a bet on corporate and government use

Chairman Young Liu has been looking for ways to diversify, but the satellite business is much less predictable than smartphones

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Published: 5:38pm, 12 Nov 2023Updated: 6:57pm, 13 Nov 2023

The world’s biggest producer of iPhones is going to outer space.

Two prototype low-Earth orbit satellites made by Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group, took off aboard a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California on Saturday.

The launch of the LEO satellites marks a key moment for the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer as it diversifies into new sectors, a shift that is taking greater urgency as some of its established businesses such as smartphones and laptops struggle. Foxconn is aiming to demonstrate that it has satellite technology to tap growing demand for communications from space.

While Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies has made and launched more than 5,000 LEO satellites for its Starlink constellation, Foxconn is betting it will be able to make satellites primarily for corporate and government clients.

The satellites, co-developed with Taiwan’s National Central University, are the size of a backpack, weigh about 9 kilograms (20 pounds) each and carry cameras, communication devices and other equipment. They are designed to orbit Earth every 96 minutes at an altitude of 520 kilometres (323 miles).

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