KSAT vs Leaf Space: Ground stations compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

KSAT ranks 19 on the Space 100 with a score of 81; Leaf Space ranks 82 with 66. KSAT is ahead on deployment, commercials, positioning, firepower and leverage. Level on production, progress and technology. KSAT is based in Tromsø, Norway, Leaf Space in Lomazzo, Italy. KSAT: Private, founded 2002. KSAT is named in 16 signals and Leaf Space in 16.

KSAT →

Tromsø, Troms, Norway · Space · Ground & data / Ground stations · Private · founded 2002 · www.ksat.no

KSAT operates a worldwide ground-station and antenna network, providing satellite operations, communications and data delivery for customers such as ESA and defense constellations.

Space 100 · rank 19 · score 81

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment10
Production6
Commercials8
Progress9
Technology6
Positioning10
Firepower8
Leverage8

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

KSAT is a Norwegian ground-station operator (a 50/50 JV of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Space Norway) running 200+ antennas across 23 sites, including the largest polar ground station on Earth at Svalbard (78N), a structural monopoly in polar ground segment. It is a NASA Near Space Network provider (including lunar services), added Australia and Maspalomas sites under a Maxar extension, and is moving its product into orbit via the Hyper program of orbiting ground stations (launch contract December 2025). A CEO transition occurred in January 2026, and standalone financials are equity-accounted and not separately filed (estimated 10-100m to 100-500m).

Latest signals

  • KSAT is advancing construction of its third lunar communications ground station near Yuma, Arizona.PR Newswire, all releases
  • AnyLink began aggregating multiple ground networks into a single optimized communications path.Payload
  • KSAT plans to expand its ground-station network into orbit with the Hyper relay network.Via Satellite

16 signals name KSAT.

Facts, with sources

  • Currently operates 17 satellitesVia Satellite
  • Has 20 more satellites in the pipelineVia Satellite
  • Currently operates 17 satellites for five customersVia Satellite

59 facts on file.

Leaf Space →

Lomazzo, Lombardy, Italy · Space · Ground & data / Ground stations · leaf.space

Leaf Space runs a managed ground-station network with RF and optical sites, offering Leaf Line, Leaf Key and Leaf Hosting connectivity services for customer satellites.

Space 100 · rank 82 · score 66

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment8
Production6
Commercials6
Progress9
Technology6
Positioning6
Firepower6
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Leaf Space is an Italian ground-segment company (Milan, self-described #2 global GSaaS) with 40+ owned ground stations across 19+ locations serving 140+ satellites (23-24,000+ passes a month at 99%+ success), differentiated by network-level scheduling optimization. It unveiled TreeNet (May 2026, satellites as nodes in a shared orbital mesh, moving toward always-on connectivity), brought its first Canadian station live (July 2026), and won trade recognition. Revenue is estimated at 10-100m (~$48-49M raised).

Latest signals

  • Cailabs and Leaf Space signed an MoU to integrate optical downlink into managed ground services.Leaf Space
  • Cailabs has six operational optical ground stations and more than 10 additional stations under contract.Leaf Space
  • Cailabs and Leaf Space plan a pilot for end-to-end optical satellite data delivery.Leaf Space

16 signals name Leaf Space.

Facts, with sources

  • Partnerships with D-Orbit and EnduroSat to launch four satellites with TreeNet nodes in H1 2027Leaf Space
  • More than 90 customersLeaf Space
  • MoU with Cailabs to integrate optical downlink into managed ground servicesLeaf Space

28 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

KSAT or Leaf Space: which is ahead in space?

KSAT ranks 19 on the Space 100 with a score of 81; Leaf Space ranks 82 with 66. KSAT is ahead on deployment, commercials, positioning, firepower and leverage. Level on production, progress and technology. KSAT is based in Tromsø, Norway, Leaf Space in Lomazzo, Italy. KSAT: Private, founded 2002. KSAT is named in 16 signals and Leaf Space in 16.

How do KSAT and Leaf Space compare?

KSAT ranks 19 on the Space 100 with a score of 81; Leaf Space ranks 82 with 66. KSAT is ahead on deployment, commercials, positioning, firepower and leverage. Level on production, progress and technology. KSAT is based in Tromsø, Norway, Leaf Space in Lomazzo, Italy. KSAT: Private, founded 2002. KSAT is named in 16 signals and Leaf Space in 16. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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