“Data was certainly uplinked to satellite constantly.”
Once over the US, they probably just downloaded through a cellular 5G network.
Related. It is reported that, \
Russian researchers attached GPS trackers to migrating eagles.
The collars feedback their coordinates via SMS message as the eagles migrate. The team used the satellite images to see if the birds reached a safe location.
The study is useful in identifying behaviour patterns. Power lines are a particular threat to the birds, which are endangered in Russia and Central Asia.
During the summer in Kazakhstan, one unit accumulated a number of SMS messages over a period of four months that had failed to send as they were out of range. When the eagle flew unexpectedly to Iran, the backlog of messages were sent all at once triggering expensive roaming charges.
The resulting bill used up the entire tracking budget meant for all the eagles.