A Starlink “mini laser” in operation on a Starlink satellite. Photo via Business Wire and Muon Space

Muon Space is integrating Starlink laser terminals onboard its satellites to give its constellation customers near real-time data transmission. Muon Space said Tuesday that this agreement integrates its satellites into Starlink’s global digital infrastructure. 

Muon Space designs and builds satellite constellations for customers based on its Halo platform. The company said it has already started integrating Starlink’s mini laser terminals into its current customer constellations and will be launching its first Halo satellite with Starlink terminals in the first quarter of 2027. 

The Starlink “mini laser” terminals are stated to offer speeds of 25 Gbps at distances up to 4,000 km, routing traffic through SpaceX’s in-orbit optical network to points of presence (PoP) on Earth. 

SpaceX first announced its intent last year at SATELLITE to sell its optical terminals to third parties, and the deal with Muon gives more insight into what that integration looks like. 

“By integrating Starlink mini lasers, Muon’s spacecraft can remain persistently connected through our in-space laser mesh, enabling real-time tasking, continuous command-and-control, and immediate data delivery to terrestrial points of presence. We’re excited to support Muon Space as they bring these capabilities to commercial missions,” Starlink Vice President Michael Nicolls said in a release. 

Muon Space said its customers are calling for near real-time access to their spacecraft and payloads for tasking, compute, and data transfer. 

“This is a sea change in how space systems operate,” said Pascal Stang, CTO of Muon Space. “With persistent optical broadband, Muon Halo satellites will move from being isolated vehicles to becoming active, real‑time nodes on Starlink’s global network. That shift transforms how missions are designed and how fast insights flow to decision‑makers on Earth.”

Muon specifically mentioned integrating Starlink terminals into the FireSat constellation for the Earth Fire Alliance for wildfire detection, saying the high-speed connectivity can cut the timeline of notifications from 20 minutes to nearly real-time. The company said it will allow incident commanders and first responders to receive near-instant alerts of new ignitions.