A major step forward in technology, the Hubble Network's groundbreaking accomplishment is the first-ever direct Bluetooth link with a satellite. This discovery has enormous potential for increasing connectivity to millions of devices worldwide in addition to validating the company's essential technology.
The Seattle-based company launched its first two satellites into orbit on SpaceX's Transporter-10 ride-sharing mission in March with success. It then verified that signals from the inbuilt 3.5mm Bluetooth chips could be received over 600 kilometers away.
Space-enabled Bluetooth devices have countless applications in a variety of industries, including inventory management, construction site surveillance, measuring soil temperature, tracking livestock, tracking pets, and child safety with GPS watches. This breakthrough will firstly assist companies that require intermittent network connectivity, such as remote asset monitoring in the oil and gas industry. Hubble wants to serve industries that require increasingly frequent updates, such soil monitoring and fall detection for the elderly, as the network of satellites grows.Customers will be able to easily upgrade the software on their devices to effortlessly connect their chipsets with Hubble's network once it is operational.
Initially skeptical about the viability of attaching Bluetooth chips to satellites, Hubble was founded in 2021 by aerospace engineer John Kim, Ben Wild (founder of Iotera, bought by Ring), and Alex Haro (co-creator of Life360). However, the business surmounted technical obstacles with creative solutions, such as unique phased array antennas, which allowed off-the-shelf Bluetooth chips to interact with satellites over great distances.
Taking into account the drawbacks of current IoT devices—such as excessive power consumption, high operating charges, and restricted worldwide connectivity—Hubble's approach presents a revolutionary remedy.
Following their admission to Y Combinator's Winter 2022 cohort and their successful acquisition of $20 million in Series A investment, Hubble worked on software that leverages off-the-shelf Bluetooth chips to enable low-power, long-range communication. Regarding space, the business received a patent for phased array antennas, which solved Doppler-related problems and allowed satellites in fast orbit to communicate with ground-based equipment.
This summer, Hubble intends to launch a third satellite as part of SpaceX's Transporter-11 mission, and a fourth satellite as part of Transporter-13. The business then intends to launch 32 more satellites, creating its first "production constellation" by late 2025 or early 2026, which will enable global communication with Hubble satellites for about 2-3 hours every day.
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