By Magdalena Petrova and Micah Maidenberg

Low Earth orbit $(LEO)$ is often defined as nearly 100 miles above Earth, but no more than roughly 1,200 miles up. It's home to well-known spacecraft like the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. It's also increasingly lucrative real estate for tech companies that want to cover the Earth in broadband internet.

Watch the video above to learn how SpaceX, Amazon.com and a host of other companies are racing to get thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit -- and what it means for global communications.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2026 11:45 ET (15:45 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.