raised $60 million in June for its constellation plans amid a goal to nearly double its team to 150 people by the end of 2021. Bennett said the company is set to start 2022 “with over 100 employees and will continue hiring aggressively in 2022.” Network tests Before Aether spacecraft capable of relaying data are deployed in orbit, initial terminal tests on a satellite Spire plans to launch in the fourth quarter of 2022 will be limited to verifying hardware performance and data rates. “To have the full [Aether] solution we’ll need to have our network deployed, which is planned to commence in Q1 2023,” a Kepler spokesperson said. However, Kepler said the terminal tests would enable Spire Global to evaluate how the Aether data-relay network could support Spire’s LEO constellation of more than 110 Lemur smallsats. Spire, which went public this year to expand its weather and tracking data business, operates a space-as-a-service business for third parties. The space-as-a-service offering enables commercial and government organizations to deploy their own applications and sensors relatively quickly, leveraging Spire’s space technology, ground station network and automated operations system. Israeli satellite IoT startup hiSky also plans to demonstrate technology