Swarm: The Rise of Mega-Constellations and the Battle for Low Earth Orbit

Swarm: The Rise of Mega-Constellations and the Battle for Low Earth Orbit

Swarm is my forthcoming book on the rise of mega-constellations in low Earth orbit, and what happens when thousands of privately owned satellites start to shape geopolitics, military power, economic dependency, and crisis stability. From the early ambitions of satellite telephony to today’s always-on orbital internet, the story is as much about competition and governance as it is about engineering.

Synopsis

A new kind of strategic infrastructure is taking shape above our heads. Mega-constellations promise global broadband, resilient connectivity, and commercial acceleration, but they also introduce a quieter shift in power: whoever owns and operates orbital networks can influence communications, intelligence, navigation, and wartime endurance. Swarm traces how low Earth orbit went from an arena of prestige missions to a contested layer of the global economy, crowded with satellites that are simultaneously civilian services and latent strategic assets.

The book follows the industrial logic that made this possible, the regulatory choices that enabled scale, and the security consequences that are arriving faster than policy can absorb. It explores dual-use reality, orbital congestion and debris risk, the incentives that drive private actors, and the growing entanglement between states and commercial providers. In a world where space systems underpin deterrence, coercion, and escalation control, the orbital swarm is not background. It is part of the balance of power.

Read the sample Chapter

Swarm: The Rise of Mega-Constellations and the Battle for Low Earth Orbit - Prologue
The Sky is Full © Jay Allen 2025 Above Ukraine, the Future Arrived Early In the opening days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war appeared to follow a familiar script. Tanks breached borders. Missiles rained on cities. Airstrikes lit the skies over Kyiv. Yet high
JayAllen – TeknologiskJay Allen

Publication

  • Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (Potomac Books)
  • Publication date: Fall 2026
  • Format: (Hardback / ebook TBC)

Get the book

  • University of Nebraska Press (official page): Coming soon
  • Other retailers: (links to be added once listings go live)

What you will find inside

  • How mega-constellations moved from vision to industrial reality
  • Why “civilian” satellites increasingly matter in conflict
  • The regulatory and spectrum contest behind orbital scale
  • Congestion, debris, and the politics of orbital governance
  • Where the orbital economy goes next

Updates

If you’d like updates on launch, events, and excerpts, follow along here:

Last updated: 2026-01-07