Ganley (pictured) told the Irish Times for a report that his start-up has acquired the business from Liechenstein-based Trion Space, which was earlier planning the system of 600 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
Ganley had already told told Capacity this week that Rivada Space Networks has a licence for 4,000MHz of spectrum, which will be used to connect LEO satellites to data centres, telecoms operators and enterprises.
Trion acquired the spectrum from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency that regulates satellite services, says the Irish Times report.
According to the Irish Times, Rivada has acquired an 85% stake from the previous consortium, which was led by Liechtenstein investor Michael Frommelt.
According to his LinkedIn entry, Frommelt was chairman of Vaduz-based Trion Space from 2017 to February 2022. He continues to be CEO and chairman of Sophos Trust, which identifies itself as offering “both private and institutional clients support and expertise in the formation of legal entities, companies and trusts for third parties, in the trust company’s own name and for third-party account”.
According to the Irish Times report, 15% of Trion is still “owned by a German company”, in which there are several investors from China, it says. “But ultimate control of the space satellite project now already vests in a newly created German company, Rivada Space Networks”, which is a subsidiary of Ganley’s holding company.
He said that the company is aiming to start launches in 2024 and complete the constellation in 2028. It plans to put the satellites 1,000km above the Earth, in polar orbits with 25 satellites in each orbital plane.
The company has not yet assigned a construction contract to a satellite builder; nor has it awarded a launch contract. It expects to make awards by the end of the year.
