Back to Hub

LEO Satellite Data Downlink Burn Rate.

Computes the massive AWS Ground Station and AWS Snowball bandwidth costs required to successfully beam Terabytes of raw imagery from Low Earth Orbit back to processing servers.

## The 'Space Data' OPEX Trap

Space-tech founders often obsess over the cost of building the actual satellite and paying SpaceX for the rocket launch. They celebrate when the satellite reaches orbit. But that is when the true financial bleeding begins.

### FAQ

**Q: Why is downloading pictures from space so expensive?**
A: A Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite is flying at 17,000 MPH. It only has line-of-sight to a physical satellite dish on earth for about 8 to 12 minutes per orbit. To download 15 Gigabytes of high-res radar data in a 10-minute window requires highly specialized, expensive massive AWS Ground Station antennas. If your constellation is generating 2 Terabytes a month, your 'Internet Bill' back to Earth will bankrupt you.