Loft Orbital and Marlan Space Plan $1bn AI Satellite Fleet with Mistral
Loft Orbital and Marlan Space have announced a $1 billion program to grow their AI satellite constellation from 10 to 50 satellites. Mistral will supply the onboard models, while BlackSky will provide high-resolution optical satellites. Orbitworks in Abu Dhabi will build them, with the first launch scheduled for October.
September 11, 2026 – 11:01 am
A render of Loft Orbital satellites in orbit.
Credit: Loft Orbital
Loft Orbital and Marlan Space aim to expand their AI-equipped satellite constellation, currently consisting of 10 satellites, to 50 through this initiative. Mistral will be responsible for providing the AI models onboard these satellites, as outlined in a press release dated September 9th. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly announced the partnership at the International Space Summit in Paris.
Marlan Space, an investor based in the UAE and a subsidiary of IHC (the Abu Dhabi holding company), is leading this venture. According to various sources:
- Sifted reported that Loft Orbital has secured a $1 billion contract with Marlan Space.
- Bloomberg stated that a consortium led by Loft Orbital and Marlan Space plans to invest $1 billion.
- Space Intel Report’s Peter B. de Selding noted that the funding comes from the Royal Group of Abu Dhabi.
The constellation, named Altair, will initially comprise 10 satellites, with Orbitworks (a joint venture between Marlan Space and French entities) securing a deal with the French space agency for its services last month.
Features and Applications:
These satellites will be equipped with radar, optical, and other sensors, processing data in orbit within seconds instead of hours through conventional systems. Customers can select AI models from an application store to run on these shared satellites.
The constellation aims to serve:
- Government users in France, Europe, and the UAE.
- Commercial customers worldwide, with initial applications including maritime domain awareness, wildfire detection, disaster response, port security, and critical infrastructure protection.
- Potential future uses mentioned by Marlan Space include road traffic management, agriculture, and environmental monitoring.
Partnerships and Supply Chain:
Mistral will supply the onboard models for reasoning and natural-language tasking, along with services in the application store. BlackSky, a US-based company, will provide high-resolution optical satellites. Brian O’Toole, BlackSky’s CEO, expressed pride in their involvement.