Want your own personal satellite? Here's how and what it'll cost

Richard N. Velotta, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 18, 2025

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The Las Vegas-based company that would operate the future Las Vegas Spaceport west of the city is offering wealthy customers a chance to own their own military-grade personal satellite.

United Spaceports Corp., the corporate entity that owns the Las Vegas Spaceport, has begun sales of the Black Star 1000 advanced military private satellite for a flat-rate fee of $5.5 million, which includes the small-refrigerator-sized satellite, the satellite’s trip into space with a contracted launch by a private company and a terrestrial command center.

Rob Lauer, CEO of United Spaceports, said satellites will provide the most secure data and communications platforms ever conceived.

“For the first time in human history, private citizens can own their own fully operational military-grade satellite — at a cost far lower than that of a private jet,” Lauer said. “We’ve entered an era where sovereign control of data is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity.”

Lauer said the need for a secure data and communications platform was demonstrated in mid-March when national security leaders participated in a group chat about imminent military operations against Houthie targets in Yemen. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz erroneously added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to the group chat. The matter was downplayed by President Donald Trump’s administration, but critics have continued to inquire about “Signalgate,” so named because the messaging app used in the chat is known as Signal.

What you’ll get

The Black Star 1000 satellite package includes:

-An AI-powered Nvidia data center.

-A cryptocurrency coin wallet.

-A remote sensor camera that will enable views of Earth.

-A telescope to view into outer space.

-Military-grade secure satellite communications.

-An X-band downlink for data transfers.

-An S-band for command and control of the satellite.

-Around-the-clock dedicated support.

-Solar arrays to provide energy to power the satellite.

-One satellite ground station.

-A launch into a low-Earth orbit on a SpaceX rocket. A low-Earth orbit, or LEO, enables users to communicate with the satellite every time it passes overhead.

-Modularized satellite architecture.

Lauer said there are additional features that can be added at a higher cost. As an alternative to low-Earth orbit, a customer could request a geostationary orbit, a higher and thus more expensive launch to around 22,000 miles above the equator that enables the satellite’s orbit to match the Earth’s rotation, allowing it to always remain at the same spot above the equator.

Another added cost would be to mount a receiver on a jet aircraft to maintain communication while airborne.

Lauer admits that the market for owning a satellite is small, but he pointed out that ultrarich customers may view such a platform as a necessity and that there are plenty of potential customers who enjoy owning one-of-a-kind fast cars and yachts.

“Until now, only governments had the power to space-based power and security,” Lauer said. “Today, we hand the keys to space to the world’s most powerful business people. Because the truth is simple: It’s never really secure unless you own it. Early adopters will be the pioneers of a new space age — one where digital sovereignty, privacy, and security are not just promised, but guaranteed.”

United Spaceports has begun taking deposits to launch private satellites within two years, but eventually, with the development of spaceplanes, Lauer hopes to someday deliver satellites from the local spaceport.

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