Two prototype low-Earth orbit satellites made by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, better known as Foxconn, lifted off Saturday on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California.
The launch of the LEO satellites marks a significant moment for the Taiwanese electronics maker as it diversifies into new areas, a shift that is becoming more urgent as some of its established businesses such as smartphones and laptops struggle. Foxconn aims to demonstrate that it has the satellite technology to meet the growing demand for communications from space.
While Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has built and launched more than 5,000 LEO satellites for its Starlink constellation, Foxconn is betting it will be able to build satellites primarily for corporate and government customers.
The satellites, co-developed with Taiwan’s National Central University, are the size of a backpack, each weighing about 9 kilograms (20 pounds) and carry cameras, communications equipment and other equipment. They are designed to orbit the Earth at an altitude of 520 kilometers (323 mi) every 96 minutes.
New Growth
Since taking over from founder Terry Gou in 2019, Foxconn Chairman Yang Liu has looked for ways to diversify — focusing on electric vehicles, digital health and robotics as well as technologies for artificial intelligence, semiconductors and communications satellites. Is focused.
“I needed to find something that would allow the company to grow for the next 10, 15 years,” Liu said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.
Revenue at Foxconn, the world’s third-largest private employer after Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Inc, is expected to fall about 6% this year to NT$6.2 trillion ($192 billion), according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
order book
Telecom, Media and Finance Associates Inc. Tim Farrar, president of Apple Inc., said that while Apple Inc. needs millions of iPhones every quarter and models are updated frequently, customers can go a long time between orders for LEO satellites, so business estimates are very low. is less. A consulting firm in Menlo Park, California. Foxconn makes two out of every three iPhones in the world.
For outsourcing manufacturers like Foxconn, “unless you find another company that comes in at the right time, your life can be very difficult,” he said.
According to Farrar, the government orders could provide some protection to Foxconn as it grows its satellite business.
“Foxconn is thinking, if the Taiwanese government gives us a baseline of orders every year, it will be OK,” he said.
Taiwan is working on plans to launch its first LEO communications satellite, part of a strategy to develop space-based alternatives to the undersea cables that provide most of the island’s internet connections.
Revenue at Foxconn, the world’s third-largest private employer after Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Inc, is expected to fall about 6% this year to NT$6.2 trillion ($192 billion), according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
Order Book
Telecom, Media and Finance Associates Inc. Tim Farrar, president of Apple Inc., said that while Apple Inc. needs millions of iPhones every quarter and models are updated frequently, customers can go a long time between orders for LEO satellites, so business estimates are very low. is less. A consulting firm in Menlo Park, California. Foxconn makes two out of every three iPhones in the world.
For outsourcing manufacturers like Foxconn, “unless you find another company that comes in at the right time, your life can be very difficult,” he said.
According to Farrar, the government orders could provide some protection to Foxconn as it grows its satellite business.
“Foxconn is thinking, if the Taiwanese government gives us a baseline of orders every year, it will be OK,” he said.
Taiwan is working on plans to launch its first LEO communications satellite, part of a strategy to develop space-based alternatives to the undersea cables that provide most of the island’s internet connections.
Another line of support will be Foxconn’s electric-vehicle businesses, because they require real-time communications technology, said Jason Wang, Foxconn analyst at Masterlink Securities Corp in Taipei.
“You need a solution for using your car,” Wang said. “If they want to export this business, they have to at least create an infrastructure to demonstrate the technology in Taiwan.”
The company’s background in electronics and knowledge gained from making smartphones, game consoles and other devices should help with this.
“Taiwan is very good at making all kinds of commercial products in electronics,” said Xiang-Yu Wang, a research fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taipei. “These Companies Can Easily Switch to Space”. – Bloomberg
