| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Ground Segment as a Service (GSaaS) |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Jonata Puglia, Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto, Michele Messina, Matteo Boiocchi |
Key people |
|
| Website | leaf.space |
Leaf Space S.p.A. is an Italian ground-segment-as-a-service (GSaaS) provider that operates a globally distributed network of radio-frequency and optical ground stations for satellite operators. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Lomazzo, Lombardy, the company supports more than 100 spacecraft with pay-as-you-go connectivity, autonomous pass-scheduling software, and per-minute pricing.[1]
History
Leaf Space was established in 2014 by four aerospace-engineering graduates—Jonata Puglia, Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto, Michele Messina and Matteo Boiocchi—who initially built their first S-band antenna in a garage near Milan.[2] Originally focusing on the launch market, Leaf Space instead decided to build a ground network due to the difficulty to receive funding for a new launcher in Italy.[3]
In March 2021, the company announced plans to open a U.S. office to serve government and commercial customers.[4]
Operations milestones
| Date | Monthly Passes | Satellites Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | Supported 14 satellites from six customers on SpaceX's Transporter-2 mission.[5] | ||
| February 2022 | Supported 13 satellites on SpaceX's Transporter-3 mission.[6] | ||
| March 2023 | 10,000[7] | 80[7] | |
| September 2024 | 15,000[8] | An increase of 50 percent over the year.[8] | |
| July 2025 | 140[9] | Supported 20 satellites on SpaceX's Transporter-14 mission, 28 percent of the total.[9] | |
| November 2025 | 22,000[1] | 171[10] | Supported 31 satellites on SpaceX's Transporter-15 mission, 30 percent of the total.[10] |
Funding and investors
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead / notable investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2023 | Series B | €20m equity + €15m EIB venture debt | CDP Venture Capital, Neva SGR, SIMEST, Digital Transition Fund, RedSeed Ventures, Primo Space, Whysol Investments[7] |
| January 2021 | Series A | €5m | Whysol Investments (€2m), Primo Ventures (€2m), RedSeed Ventures (€1m)[11] |
| September 2015 | Pre-series seed & grants | €5m[11] | EU programmes and Italian VC funds[2] |
Services and technology
The company's flagship service, Leaf Line, offers fully managed TT&C and payload downlink through an API interface, combined with smart scheduler that aids satellite operators in allocating the satellite passes.[12] Leaf Line supports S-band, X-band, and Ka-band operations. Dedicated antennas for specific use case frequencies are marketed under Leaf Key.
Ground-station network
- Coverage – 36 ground stations across 19 sites across the world as of October 2025.[13]
- Bands and specs – S-band uplink (2025–2110 MHz), S-band downlink, X-band downlink to 1.2 Gbps, Ka-band to 6 Gbps; limited UHF support.[12]
- Expansion – 6 additional antennas are currently planned as of November 2025.[12]
| Site | Antennas | Frequencies | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Paz, Mexico | 2 | S-X | Active | |
| Santiago, Chile | 3 | S-X | Active | |
| Punta Arenas, Chile | 3 | S-X, S-X-Ka | Active | Supports rideshare LEOP campaigns like SpaceX’s Transporter missions where multiple satellites are launched together and required a timely support to initiate first communication with Earth. [14] |
| Blönduós, Iceland | 3 | S-X, S-X-Ka | Active | |
| Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal | 3 | S-X | Active | Provides additional capacity for SSO orbits[15]. In collaboration with Edisoft[16] |
| Shetland, United Kingdom | 2 | S-X, S | Active | Boosts capacity for sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits [5] |
| Montsec, Spain | 2 | S-X | Active | |
| Plana, Bulgaria | 1 | S-X | Active | |
| Pretoria, South Africa | 2 | S-X | Active | |
| Absheron, Azerbaijan | 2 | S-X | Active | In collaboration with Azercosmos[17] |
| Mon Loisir, Mauritius | 1 | S-X | Active | |
| Peterborough, Australia | 1 | S-X | Active | |
| Awarua, New Zealand | 3 | S-X-Ka | Active | At Awarua SGS teleport[18] |
| Nangetty, West Australia | 2 | S-X | Active | In collaboration with Capricorn Space, delivers more capacity from the southern hemisphere to address increasing clients demand over that area[19] |
| Jeju, South Korea | 1 | S-X | Active | |
| Kandy, Sri Lanka | 1 | S-X | Active | Provids capabilities in the equatorial orbit for the first time [5] |
| Maui, Hawaii | 1 | S-X | Planned | |
| Utqiagvik, Alaska | 1 | S-X-Ka | Planned | |
| Talkeetna, Alaska | 1 | S-X | Planned | |
| Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada | 1 | S-X | Planned | In collaboration with Maritime Launch Services[20] |
| Al Ain, United Arab Emirates | 1 | S-X | Planned | |
| Longwood, St Helena | 1 | S-X | Planned | |
| Kaunas, Lithuania | No longer operational | Second Antenna[21]. No longer included on Leaf Space website. | ||
| Puertollano, Spain | No longer operational | Third Antenna[22]. In collaboration with Deimos Imaging[23]. No longer included on Leaf Space website. | ||
| Cork, Ireland | No longer operational | Fourth Antenna[24]. No longer included on Leaf Space website. | ||
| Italy | No longer operational | Included on Leaf Space map in 2021[5]. No longer included on Leaf Space website. |
Partnerships and MoUs
- Smallspark Space Systems – MoU with UK-based research, development, and innovation company Smallspark Space Systems to deliver joint bids for projects with the UK Government and other commercial operators in the UK (July 2020).[25]
- Agnikul – MoU with India-based launch service company Agnikul for the provisioning of ground segment services for their Agnibaan rocket, and provide packaged ground segment support for their customers (July 2020).[26]
- CYSEC – MoU with Switzerland-based cyber security company CYSEC to deliver end-to-end cyber security protection covering the ground station network and the mission control software (August 2020).[27]
- Odysseus Space – Partnership with Taiwan-based Odysseus Space to apply the CYCLOPS optical communications solution to develop a hybrid ground station network for both optical and radio frequency (RF) communications (October 2021).[28]
- Infostellar – MoU with Tokyo-based Infostellar to integrate with Infostellar's StellarStation and for Infostellar to be the exclusive representative of Leaf Space to the Japanese market (October 2025).[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Leaf Space Official Website". Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Leaf Space - About Us". Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Caleb, Henry (16 December 2015). "Italy's Leaf Space to establish U.S. office". Via Satellite. Satellite Today. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Debra, Werner (24 March 2021). "Italy's Leaf Space to establish U.S. office". Space News. Space News. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Leaf Space expands ground station network ahead of busy SpaceX ride-share mission". Leaf Space. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space Successfully Enables 13 Satellites on SpaceX Transporter-3 Rideshare Mission". Leaf Space. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Jewett, Rachel (28 July 2023). "Leaf Space Raises $22M in Series B Round to Grow Ground Segment Business". Via Satellite. Satellite Today. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b Clive, Simpson (7 November 2024). "Ground segment specialist Leaf Space boosts leadership team". Space Journal of Asgardia. Room. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Leaf Space Powers Early Orbit Phase for 28% of Transporter-14 Satellites". Leaf Space. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b Josh, Dinner (28 November 2025). "SpaceX rocket launches 140 satellites into orbit on Transporter-15, aces landing at sea". Space.com. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Primo Space & Whysol Investments lead a €5m Series A round in Leaf Space". Primo Capital. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b c "Leaf Space - Leaf Line". Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b Jewett, Rachel (29 October 2025). "Infostellar to Bring Leaf Space's Ground-as-a-Service to Japanese Market". Via Satellite. Satellite Today. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space Expands Network with its own teleport in Punta Arenas, Chile". Leaf Space. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space successfully commissions second 3.7M antenna in Azores". Leaf Space. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space Doubles its Capacity at Puertollano Teleport with a New GS". Leaf Space. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space Partners with Azercosmos to Install New Ground Station in Azerbaijan". Leaf Space. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "New Site Implemented in the Leaf Line ground station network: New Zealand – Awarua". Leaf Space. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space adds capacity to the southern hemisphere with a new 3.7m antenna in West Australia". Leaf Space. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space Secures Contract with Maritime Launch Services to Install New Ground Station at Spaceport Nova Scotia". Maritime Launch Services. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Our ground station #2, Lithuania". Leaf Space. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Our ground station #3, Spain". Leaf Space. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Leaf Space Doubles its Capacity at Puertollano Teleport with a New GS". Leaf Space. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Our ground station #4, Ireland". Leaf Space. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Nyirady, Annamarie (24 July 2020). "Smallspark Space Systems, Leaf Space Offer Ground Station Services to the UK". SatelliteToday. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "Ground Segment Services For Agnikul's Agnibaan Rocket To Be Managed by Leaf Space". SatNews. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "CYSEC and Leaf Space partner to offer end-to-end cyber security protection for satellite communications". Total Telecom. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Jewett, Rachel (28 October 2021). "Leaf Space and Odysseus Space to Develop Hybrid Optical Ground Station". Via Satellite. Satellite Today. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
