Archives for January 2020

Posted at the Advanced Television infosite is a report that OneWeb has announced a new distributor partnership with Pacific Dataport (PDI), a company founded by Microcom, a supplier of satellite communication systems, in Alaska.

The collaboration will enable delivery of OneWeb’s high speed, low latency, communications services across Alaska. This agreement marks a key milestone in service-readiness for OneWeb’s Network and its commitment to bring high-speed internet to the Arctic region.

PDI’s distribution agreement with OneWeb ensures that customers in the Arctic will enjoy OneWeb services as early as Q4 2020. Alaska’s unique qualities mean that it is a center for economic growth, and OneWeb’s seamless global network will be a key enabler of regional initiatives such as the collection of climate data, and the growth of a digital economy.

PDI was founded to bring connectivity to all of Alaska and it has a strong commitment to local community projects such as Alaska Seeds of Change, Alaska Healing Hearts, and several other local initiatives. OneWeb shares with PDI this ethos of local collaboration; Alaska is the home of one of the six remote schools chosen to enjoy free OneWeb connectivity.

Artistic rendition of a OneWeb satellite.

Campbell Macfarlane, President OneWeb Enterprise, said, “Working with PDI has been a fabulous collaborative experience.Their knowledge, deep customer relationships and prominence in Arctic commercial regions make it a natural fit to accelerate take-up of OneWeb’s Enterprise propositions. PDI immediately recognized the potential of OneWeb’s solutions to deliver high throughput, low latency services to customers in a broad range of markets.”

Chuck Schumann, CEO Pacific Dataport, added, “PDI is proud to sign Alaska’s first significant LEO service agreement with OneWeb as a network service provider. PDI is at the forefront of the satellite industry, continually looking ahead and implementing the very latest technologies available in the market for our customers. We are delighted to be working with OneWeb, who will provide us with high-speed broadband coverage to serve our customers in Alaska and the Arctic. PDI now has the advantage of being one of the first to be able to demo OneWeb’s service in Alaska and in the Arctic region from the end of this year, and already the enthusiasm from our customers to test and trial OneWeb services has been significant.”

A new era of space-based computing is now being tested on-orbit that will enable artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, cloud networking and advanced satellite communications (SATCOM) in a new software-defined architecture.

Artistic rendition of Tyvak’s 6U smallsat platform.

Image is courtesy of the company.

Recently, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U smallsat.

Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months, and was funded completely by Lockheed Martin Research and Development funding. This orbital proving ground is validating payload hardware and software, and is packed with new technology that fits into a satellite the size of a shoebox. Some of the key technologies being flight-tested include:

• HiveStar™ software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between satellites, shared processing capabilities and can take advantage of sensors aboard other smart satellites to customize missions in new ways previously difficult to achieve in space.
   
• A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission.
   
• 3D-printed wideband antenna housing developed by Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Research Technology Center.

Pony Express 1 is a dual-use payload that enables mesh networks in space through HiveStar™ and a second function that tests space to ground remote sensing. Future research missions this year, like Pony Express 2, will further advance cloud networking concepts among satellites, as well as validating Lockheed Martin’s SmartSat™ software-defined satellite architecture which enables streamlined hosting of flexible mission apps.

This mission consists of two, 12U cubesats with faster, more capable ultra-scale processors that unlock in-orbit data analytics and artificial intelligence. Equipped with miniaturized cross-link and precision timing, Pony Express 2 is a trailblazer for autonomous teaming in space and true cloud networking.

Rick Ambrose, EVP of Lockheed Martin Space, said that early on-orbit data shows Pony Express 1 is performing its important pathfinding mission very well. Lockheed Martin’s HiveStar™ technology on board will give the firm’s customers unparalleled speed, resiliency and flexibility for their changing mission needs by unlocking even greater processing power in space. This is the first of several rapid, self-funded experiments demonstrating our ability to systematically accelerate our customers’ speed to mission while reducing risk from new technologies.

OneWeb and SatixFy UK now have plans to add a digital technology pathway payload that will include a full digital payload into OneWeb’s launch schedule during 2021.

This new technology will pave the way for satellites with a higher level of flexibility to efficiently support peaks in demand without oversizing the constellation.

The digital-transparent payload will demonstrate full Beam Hopping capability in both Forward and Return Links. It will include an On-Board-Processing subsystem capable of running independent links on the User and Gateway links on the ground with different capacities. Electronically Steered Multi-Beam Antenna with True Time Delay beam-forming, capable of pointing and switching multiple beams to multiple directions simultaneously, are an additional major feature.

This combination of features enables significantly higher throughput to designated areas within satellite coverage, while continuing to meet all national security concerns. Active areas are dynamically allocated much higher capacity than areas that do not require as much bandwidth and are just being scanned to gauge demand.

The Beam hopping capability also enables seamless handover for mobile devices, between beams and satellites. An example would be an Aero terminal for In-Flight Connectivity, able to operate on both LEO and GEO simultaneously and maintaining make-before-break connectivity between the rising and setting satellites. Maximum capacity can be directed from multiple sources to hot-spots like busy airports.

Advanced discussions are in progress for collaboration and support from the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency.

OneWeb launched its first satellites in February 2019 and will shortly start a regular launch program to deliver global commercial broadband services at the end of 2021.

Yoel Gat, CEO of the SatixFy Group, stated the firm has designed several chip sets across the full satellite value chain, including terminals, payloads and gateways, creating a full eco-system based on the company’s own software. This new OneWeb satellite will demonstrate all of these capabilities.

Massimiliano Ladovaz, CTO at OneWeb, said this leading-edge satellite will be fully operational and is a great opportunity to showcase what can be delivered with the company’s payload technology. The improved performance, greater efficiency and targeted capacity, together with sophisticated ground infrastructure, puts OneWeb at the forefront of LEO communications network services.

The Satellogic team is proud to share that the company has successfully delivered two new spacecraft into LEO — the satellites were launched via a Long March 2D rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China,  joining Satellogic’s eight other satellites that are already on-orbit.

This launch is but the first of many planned such events scheduled for 2020. Satellogic is excited by how the company has grown alongside the firm’s customers’ needs and has increased the capabilities of the fleet, allowing the firm to consistently improve what is offered to our customers in regard to geospatial analytics and insights for decision making.
 

Both satellites are equipped with two payloads: a multi-spectral camera with 1 meter resolution and a hyperspectral camera with 30 meter resolution. During launch, each stage was completed successfully and on schedule, as follows:

• 03:00 — 1st stage separation.
• 03:05:30 — Main payload separation.
• 03:06:00 — NewSat-7 separation, powered up for the first time in space. A new satellite was born: Sophie.
• 03:06:30 — NewSat-8 separation, powered up for the first time in space. A new satellite was born: Marie.
• 03:31 — First pass over Troll ground station in Antarctica, first telemetry packets received, Sophie and Marie are part of the Aleph constellation and welcomed to our space family! Early verification of satellites’ good health through beacons. Each subsystem responsible checked online telemetry.
• 07:25 — Later pass over Svalbard North Pole ground station, tests and verifications completed to understand satellite health. Early orbits stored telemetry download, analysis and maneuvers for satellite stabilization and verification process performed by the Operations and Commissioning team at the company’s Buenos Aires office.

“Book ’em”, and that’s what occurred when TriSept Corporation, provider of launch integration, management and brokerage services for commercial and government missions, announced it has procured a full mission aboard an Orbex Prime launch vehicle set to lift off in the fall of 2022 from the UK’s first spaceport in Sutherland, Scotland. TriSept is an integration provider in the U.S. space market, enabling the launch of more than 200 satellites on 70 different missions aboard 20 different launch vehicles from 13 launch sites across the globe.

Designed and developed by UK-based Orbex, the Orbex Prime launch vehicle offers a payload capacity of 150kg to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), ideally suited for a broad range of commercial, government and scientific missions lifting off from Europe. In December 2019, Orbex revealed the advanced engineering techniques and materials that it is using at its factory in Forres, Scotland, to create the next generation of renewably-fuelled European launch vehicles. The Orbex Prime, which is up to 30 percent lighter than other small launch vehicles, utilizes bio-propane, a clean-burning, renewable fuel that cuts carbon emissions by 90 percent compared to traditional hydrocarbon fuels. 

Rob Spicer, TriSept’s President and CEO

Rob Spicer, TriSept President and CEO stated that TriSept is honored to add Orbex Prime to their growing launch portfolio, as they expand into the European space market and prepare to fill an exciting and diverse manifest aboard one of the most innovative and efficient launch vehicles in the world. TriSept is already deep in discussions with spacecraft developers and a broad range of upcoming missions about securing rideshare slots aboard the Orbex rocket, which we expect will carry a complement of eight to twenty cubesats and microsatellites into orbit in 2022.

Chris Larmour, Orbex CEOadded that this exciting mission with their first U.S. customer entering the European market will be a major milestone for the Orbex Prime launcher. By bringing together Europe’s leading private launch services company and the launch integration and management leadership of TriSept, this is surely a mission to watch as the UK’s first spaceport emerges onto the global stage.

TriSept helped shape the rideshare and smallsat missions it supports today with one of the space industry’s experienced launch integration teams. TriSept played a lead role in early rideshare innovations aboard the SpaceX Falcon 1 in 2009 and most recently the Rocket Lab Electron and the NASA ELaNa XIX mission that lifted 10 CubeSats into orbit in December 2018. Recently selected to continue providing launch integration and management support of NASA’s CubeSat missions through 2025, TriSept is working with all of the leading traditional and new space satellite manufacturers and launch vehicle providers. 

China launched on January 15 a new optical remote-sensing satellite for commercial use into planned orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province.

The satellite, belonging to the Jilin-1 satellite family (also named Red Flag-1 H9) was launched by a Long March-2D carrier rocket at 10:53 a.m., Beijing time. The new satellite, developed by the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., has a super-wide coverage and a resolution at the sub-meter level and is also capable of high-speed data storage and transmission.

A Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province lofts China’s Red Flag-1 H9, along with three small satellites.

Photo is courtesy of Xinhua/Lu Xing.

It will work with the 15 satellites of the Jilin-1 family that have already been sent into orbit to form a constellation that will provide remote-sensing data and services for governmental and industrial users.

Via the same carrier rocket, three small satellites — including NewSat7 and NewSat8 developed by an Argentinian company — were also sent into space.

The Long March-2D carrier rocket was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Wednesday’s launch was the 325th mission of the Long March series carrier rockets.

Article source: XINHUANET

TriSept Corporation has procured a full mission aboard an Orbex Prime launch vehicle that is set to lift off in the fall of 2022 from the UK’s first spaceport in Sutherland, Scotland.

With its expansion into the UK space market already underway, TriSept is building a multiple spacecraft manifest for a dedicated rideshare mission aboard the reusable Orbex Prime smallsat launcher. TriSept is a long-time go-to launch integration provider in the U.S. space market, enabling the launch of more than 200 satellites on 70 different missions aboard 20 different launch vehicles from 13 launch sites across the globe

The Harwell Space Campus in Oxford, England.

TriSept announced last month it will have a full-time presence at the Harwell Space Campus in Oxford, England, starting this year. Designed and developed by UK-based Orbex, the Orbex Prime launch vehicle offers a payload capacity of 150 kg. to SSO, ideally suited for a broad range of commercial, government and scientific missions lifting off from Europe.

In December of 2019, Orbex revealed the advanced engineering techniques and materials that it is using at its factory in Forres, Scotland, to create the next generation of renewable-fueled European launch vehicles.The Orbex Prime, which is as much as 30 percent lighter than other small launch vehicles, uses bio-propane, a clean-burning, renewable fuel that cuts carbon emissions by 90 percent compared to traditional hydrocarbon fuels.

TriSept helped shape the very rideshare and smallsat missions it supports today with one of the space industry’s most experienced launch integration teams. TriSept played a lead role in early rideshare innovations aboard the SpaceX Falcon 1 in 2009 and, most recently, the Rocket Lab Electron and the NASA ELaNa XIX mission that lifted 10 cubesats into orbit in December 2018.

Recently selected to continue providing launch integration and management support of NASA’s cubesat missions through 2025, TriSept is working with all of the leading traditional and new space satellite manufacturers and launch vehicle providers.

With $40 million in project financing, Orbex is focused on bringing new innovations and efficiencies to the micro-launcher industry in order to offer faster, better and less expensiv e access to space from Europe. In December, Orbex’s disruptive potential was recognized when the company was included in the 2019 Sunday Times Fast Track Disruptors to Watch: 10 Companies Changing The World. The accolade was based on research across a cross-section of UK industries that examined factors such as business model, management team, investor credibility and total funds raised. Orbex is the only manufacturer to be included in the shortlist.

Rob Spicer, TriSept President and CEO, said the company is honored to add Orbex Prime to the firm’s growing launch portfolio, as TriSept expands into the European space market and prepare sto fill an exciting and diverse manifest aboard one of the most innovative and efficient launch vehicles in the world. TriSept is already deep in discussions with spacecraft developers and a broad range of upcoming missions about securing rideshare slots aboard the Orbex rocket, which we expect will carry a complement of eight to 20 smallsats into orbit in 2022.”

Chris Larmour, Orbex CEO, added that this exciting mission with the company’s first U.S. customer entering the European market will be a major milestone for the Orbex Prime launcher. By bringing together Europe’s leading private launch services company and the launch integration and management leadership of TriSept, this is surely a mission to watch as the UK’s first spaceport emerges onto the global stage.

The “Nanosatellite and Microsatellite Market by Component (Hardware, Software & Data Processing, Launch Services), Type (Nanosatellite and Microsatellite), Application, Vertical (Government, Defense, Civil), and Region – Global Forecast to 2024” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

The global nanosatellite and microsatellite (smallsat) market size is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $3.6 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.8% during the forecast period. The satellites are used for several applications, such as communication, Earth Observation (EO) and remote sensing, scientific research, biological experiments, academic training, reconnaissance, and various other applications by the defense, intelligence, civil, commercial, and/or government users. Continuous advancements in the miniaturization of technologies, such as electronics; low-mission costs; and the increasing use of satellite constellations are major drivers of the market.

Hardware is the core of smallsats, which are readily available with vendors for easy integration and plug-and-play processes. These hardware contribute to the complete mass of the satellites and based on the weight of these hardware; smallsats are categorized as nanosatellites or microsatellites. The hardware segment includes subsystems, such as payloads, structures, telecommunications, on-board computers, power systems, attitude control systems, and propulsion systems. The growth in this segment is significant with a number of players offering low-cost hardware and manufacturing services.

Smallsats have brought novel opportunities for Earth Observation (EO) and remote sensing using inexpensive craft to capture images of the Earth and gather specific data. Nanosatellites and microsatellites are expected to play a major role in remote sensing missions, due to their enhanced computational and communication capabilities, along with competencies in taking decisions about the time and data to be shared. Successful programs to develop and examine advanced hyperspectral imaging systems compatible with nanosatellite and microsatellite missions enable small satellites to generate high-quality complex images.

North America leads in the adoption of smallsats and provides great opportunities for growth of the overall market. The region has always been an early adopter of new technology or software, and the North American market grows at a faster rate initially as compared to any other region. The demand for nanosatellites and microsatellites in North America is being driven by the booming digitalization across industries along with a surging demand for EO satellites, which offer extremely high resolution earth images and videos, as close as 1 meter or less, of the Earth’s surface

Rocket Lab will open a new facility in Long Beach, California, that will serve as the firm’s Corporate Headquarters, provide incremental production capacity as well as Mission Control Center capabilities.

Construction on Rocket Lab’s Long Beach Complex has begun, with the facility scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2020. The Complex has been designed to produce more than 12 full Electron launch vehicles each year to support a monthly launch cadence from Rocket Lab’s first U.S. launch site, Launch Complex 2 in Wallops Island, Virginia. Production facilities for Rocket Lab’s flagship Rutherford engine will also be expanded, with the company planning to produce more than 150 engines for the Electron launch vehicle in 2020.

Artistic rendition of Rocket Lab’s new Huntington Beach HQ.

Rocket Lab’s rapidly growing satellite manufacturing capabilities are a key driver behind the new Long Beach complex. In 2019 the company expanded beyond launch services and began designing and manufacturing Rocket Lab satellites to provide an end-to-end mission service. Based on flight-proven technology employed in the Electron Kick Stage, Rocket Lab satellites are a complete spacecraft solution for a range of LEO and Lunar orbit missions, from constellation development, through to technology demonstrations and hosted payloads. The new Long Beach complex will support end-to-end production and testing of Rocket Lab satellites, with the first satellites booked to launch on Electron from Q3 2020.

Rocket Lab’s first U.S-based Mission Control Center will also be located at the Long Beach Complex. By operating two launch sites and two Mission Control Centers, Rocket Lab can conduct simultaneous launches from Launch Complexes 1 and 2 to meet the growing need for responsive space launch.

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Peter Beck, stated that the new Long Beach Complex will mean larger production facilities, purpose-built customer experience areas and room to grow as the company enters another busy launch year. He said that as the company enters their third year of orbital launches and expand into satellite manufacturing, Rocket Lab is investing in major infrastructure and growing the team to provide frequent and reliable access to orbit for small satellites. Long Beach is an ideal location for the team; it has a vibrant space community, it’s close to many of the firm’s suppliers and offers room to grow. The City of Long Beach has been incredibly welcoming and we look forward to working with them to continue growing the local space economy.

There are currently more than 50 roles open for positions at the new Long Beach Complex, including positions in engineering, avionics production, Mission Management, Launch Services and more.

Tyvak‘s latest 6U smallsat, Tyvak-0129, which launched on PSLV C48 in December, has achieved mission success — this was the company’s on-orbit technology demonstration mission and marks the inaugural flight of the company’s next-generation spacecraft systems, which performed beyond expectations.

The launch of the Tyvak-0129 smallsat aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket on December 11, 2019.

Photo is courtesy of ISRO.

Tyvak-0129 consists of 32 next-generation spacecraft subsystems, designed and qualified by Tyvak, based on proven design heritage. The technologies include communications, control, power, and computer processing systems.

All the vehicle’s subsystems, from reaction wheels to rad-hard watchdog, possess levels of autonomy and machine intelligence never before put into space. These technologies serve as the foundation for all future Tyvak missions, enabling Tyvak’s customers to achieve their mission objectives with flexible and scalable space-qualified systems.

Artistic rendition of Tyvak’s 6U smallsat platform.

Image is courtesy of the company.

The modular design of Tyvak’s new smallsat platforms allows spacecraft to be configured and manufactured in a few months for missions from 10 to 290 kg.

Anthony Previte, Tyvak’s CEO, said the company’s next-generation technologies are the result of advancements and investments made throughout multiple iterations of the firm’s spacecraft subsystems over the past six years. Tyvak-0129 is a prime example of how the company’s agile mission principles guide everything the firm accomplishes. With the successful on-orbit demonstration completed, Tyvalk will now commence the large-scale production of these subsystems in the firm’s state-of-the-art facilities using the company’s proven quality assurance processes.