Loft Orbital, Marlan Space lead $1B AI

A consortium is investing $1 billion to build an artificial intelligence satellite constellation. The expanded Altair constellation will serve customers in France, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and globally.

The program was announced during France's International Space Summit. It involves Loft Orbital, Marlan Space, a UAE-based investor subsidiary of Dubai's IHC, their joint venture Orbitworks, BlackSky, and Mistrial AI. This collaboration expands the planned Altair Earth observation constellation from 10 to 50 satellites.

Constellation Capabilities and Production

The full constellation will be equipped with a mix of radar, optical, and other sensors. Different satellites will have different capabilities. According to Loft Orbital, the system will process data in-orbit for specific applications.

These applications include maritime domain awareness, wildfire detection, disaster response, and security for ports and critical infrastructure. Orbitworks will produce the satellites in Abu Dhabi. The first 10 are already in production.

BlackSky will provide optical imagery satellites as part of the constellation. The company did not specify the number of satellites involved in the deal. They will be based on BlackSky's Gen-3 satellite platform.

Launch Schedule and Provider

The first satellites are set to begin launching this October. France's MaiaSpace, a subsidiary of Ariane Group, has been selected as the preferred launch provider for the constellation.

Loft Orbital CEO Pierre-Damien Vaujour said the project enables new solutions. "With this constellation, we're giving our partners building agentic AI workflows in space a true world-class satellite infrastructure," he stated. The company has worked for years on deploying and orchestrating AI applications in space.

Investment and Strategic Aims

The $1 billion investment follows a separate strategic move. On September 8, IHC acquired an 80% stake in Marlan Space to increase its investment in the space industry.

IHC CEO Syed Basar Shueb commented on the broader goals. He said the investment positions the UAE and France at the forefront of a rapidly evolving space economy by combining satellite infrastructure, AI, sovereign capabilities, and international partners. For IHC, it connects capital, technology, and global partnerships to build platforms with strategic relevance.

The Altair constellation was initially announced last year as an Orbitworks project for sovereign intelligence. The new funding and partnerships significantly scale its original scope.