Historically, commercial satellite systems have been developed and deployed on a generational basis, with geostationary satellites possessing a useful lifespan of approximately 15 years. These were launched one at a time and built for regional or country specific coverage, with sequencing limited to a small global fleet targeting land masses or ocean regions.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the satellite industry started to develop large-scale low- and mid-earth (or elliptical) mega-constellation systems. These systems faced significant technical, financial, regulatory, and market obstacles to full deployment, appearing somewhat ahead of their time.