Foxconn blasts into space to find life beyond the iPhone

The successful launch of Foxconn's satellite business, with aims to become a $1 trillion industry, has given the Taiwanese iPhone assembler a significant boost in confidence.

Last month, a SpaceX rocket from California carried two experimental satellites that the company had developed in collaboration with Taiwan's National Central University.

Pearl-1H and Pearl-1C, which weigh around 9 kg apiece and are outfitted with high-speed communications capabilities, complete a low-Earth orbit 96 minutes apart at a distance of about 520 kilometers. After launch, they were able to successfully connect with Taiwan's ground control.

The two satellites will be used for telecommunications research and space exploration in the coming year, according to Foxconn Chairman Young Liu. If everything goes as planned, testing for applications such as vehicle communication will continue, Liu said.

According to Morgan Stanley, the global space sector will bring in over $1 trillion in revenue by 2040, which is 2.6 times more than it predicted in 2022. Satellite internet service will be a contributing factor in this growth, which Foxconn, formerly known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, hopes to share in.

Launch costs were lowered by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which also launched the Starlink constellation of commercial satellites for communications. Amazon has entered the communications satellite industry, following SpaceX, and entrepreneurs are now working in this field.

According to Jesse Chao, the official at Foxconn responsible for beyond-5G communications, the satellite industry will eventually follow the smartphone industry's lead and move toward vertical specialization. This was stated in the Taiwanese media.

Foxconn is taking a similar approach to its venture into electric vehicles, attempting its hand at satellite development even as it strives to be a contract manufacturer.