Mega-constellations in three minutes: O3b mPOWER, OneWeb and Starlink

In this video

Ali Georganaki published this 2 minute 50 second explainer on 30 November 2023 as a companion to the paper "Connecting Space Missions Through NGSO Constellations" (Frontiers in Communications and Networks, 2024). The description lists its scope: satellite communication, LEO, MEO, mega-constellations, non-terrestrial networks, O3b mPOWER, OneWeb, Starlink, orbital planes, and the use of these networks by other space missions. It is short, sober and free of marketing; the view count is small (a few hundred), which says nothing about its accuracy.

Why it matters for a business buyer

The three systems in the title are the three commercial answers to "non-geostationary" and they sit at different altitudes, which drives everything a buyer feels:

• Starlink, LEO at about 550 km: thousands of satellites, 25 to 60 ms latency on land, consumer-scale pricing, terminals that need no pointing.
• OneWeb, LEO at 1,200 km in 12 polar planes: 600+ satellites, roughly 70 ms, sold as managed capacity through distributors.
• O3b mPOWER (SES), MEO at about 8,000 km: a handful of high-throughput satellites with steerable beams, around 150 ms, committed gigabit-class links for cruise ships, mines, governments and mobile backhaul, tracked by larger antennas.

The video's orbital-plane view explains why coverage at high latitudes differs between systems and why a Walker geometry needs a given number of planes for continuous service. For a fleet or a remote-site operator the practical translation is in our maritime comparison: LEO for cost and latency, MEO or GEO where committed bandwidth and contractual availability matter more.

Watch this if

You need the orbit vocabulary before a supplier meeting, or a neutral three-minute clip to show a customer who has only heard of Starlink. For the deep version, Hypatia lets you simulate exactly these geometries.

Go further

Definitions: SES O3b mPOWER, mega-constellation, non-terrestrial network, orbital inclination. Directories: LEO providers, GEO providers, OneWeb providers.