How Can a BLE Chip Reach a Satellite 550 Kilometers Above Earth?

Seraphim Space Investment Trust has invested $30 million in Hubble Network, which is building satellite connectivity for devices equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy radios. The investment puts a technical question in focus: How can a short-range 2.4 GHz radio communicate with a satellite in low Earth orbit?

$30 Million for Satellite-Powered BLE

On August 18, 2026, London-listed Seraphim Space Investment Trust, a UK investment company focused on SpaceTech, announced a $30 million investment, approximately £22.2 million, in Hubble Network, a U.S. company headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

According to Seraphim, Hubble currently has seven satellites in orbit and a terrestrial network of more than 100 million access points. The company targets applications including asset tracking, logistics, supply chains and industrial monitoring.

How Does a BLE Radio Reach a Satellite 550 Kilometers Away?

A conventional BLE connection cannot bridge the roughly 550 kilometers between an IoT device on the ground and a satellite in low Earth orbit.

Hubble instead reuses the 2.4 GHz radio already integrated into compatible BLE chipsets. During a predicted satellite pass, the device temporarily leaves normal BLE operation and transmits using Hubble's proprietary low-data-rate satellite protocol at approximately 125 bit/s. After the pass, the device can return to standard BLE communication.

The key point is that Bluetooth itself is not operating over 550 kilometers. Hubble is using the same 2.4 GHz radio hardware with a different protocol optimized for very small IoT payloads and long-distance reception.

Reaching Space Requires More Than a Standard BLE Design

The satellite uplink places much higher demands on RF output and antenna design than conventional BLE communication. Hubble specifies at least +20 dBm radiated transmit power for its current satellite system. BLE chipsets with lower native output may therefore require a front-end module or power amplifier.

Hubble also recommends an antenna efficiency of at least 40 percent. In practical terms, this means that a substantial share of the RF power supplied to the antenna must actually be radiated instead of being lost in the antenna system.

Antenna orientation, surrounding materials and device installation therefore directly affect whether the satellite can receive the transmission. The result is not a conventional 550-kilometer BLE link, but a specialized direct-to-satellite IoT uplink that reuses BLE-compatible 2.4 GHz radio hardware.

The Device Waits for the Satellite

The Hubble Device SDK uses orbital data to calculate when a satellite will pass over the device. The device can therefore wake specifically for a predicted transmission window rather than transmitting continuously.

A satellite pass typically lasts three to five minutes. Hubble currently expects at least one transmission opportunity per day, and packets can be transmitted repeatedly during the pass to increase the probability of reception.

Small Payloads Instead of Broadband

The satellite link is designed for small IoT messages. Hubble currently supports payloads of 0, 4, 9 or 13 bytes.

Communication is one-way from the device to the satellite, and Hubble states that end-to-end delivery is typically completed within six hours. Suitable data can include status information, sensor values or periodic asset events rather than continuous or real-time communication.

Terrestrial BLE Where Coverage Exists

The same device can also use Hubble's terrestrial network.

In this mode, it broadcasts standard BLE advertisements. Nearby participating smartphones or dedicated gateways detect the signal and forward the event to Hubble's backend. The scanner contributes its own location, timestamp and signal information, allowing Hubble to associate the detection with the tracked device.

According to Hubble, more than 100 million scanning access points currently participate in this terrestrial network.

A Use Case: Tracking a Container Across Different Networks

A shipping container illustrates why the two connectivity paths can be useful together.

At a warehouse, logistics hub or customer site, the BLE device may be detected by terrestrial scanners. During an ocean crossing or at a remote site where such infrastructure is unavailable, the same radio can transmit a small status message through Hubble's satellite network.

This could allow one low-power device to cover different stages of a logistics journey without requiring a separate cellular and dedicated satellite modem.

The trade-offs remain significant: satellite messages are very small, transmission opportunities are limited, higher RF output is required and the satellite service does not provide real-time connectivity.

Hubble currently describes its satellite service as being in limited availability, with North American coverage specified for 2026.

The $30 million Seraphim investment provides further funding for the development of this architecture. For the wireless IoT market, the larger question is whether inexpensive BLE radio hardware can increasingly serve both terrestrial tracking and direct-to-satellite IoT connectivity.