Archives for June 2020

exactEarth Ltd. (“the Company”) and IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) have a new alliance agreement that will provide a new combined tracking service, AIS Platinum, offering unprecedented frequency and coverage of vessel movements worldwide.

The AIS Platinum solution will provide an exceptionally fast flow of real-time intelligence to assist organizations that require the most time-critical intelligence. The solution has been developed with exactEarth’s global, persistent real-time Satellite AIS service, exactView™ RT powered by Harris, which will consist of a system of more than 60 maritime satellite payloads.

exactEarth’s satellite coverage is coupled with more than 2,000 IHS Markit terrestrial AIS stations that will provide further geographical coverage in high-density areas along coastal locations and busy port locations around the world. Additional global trade intelligence from IHS Markit will provide insights on commodity movements, along with ship information, including details on the owner, the operator and technical manager, among other information, that will give customers a clearer picture of the operating and commercial structure of the movement of goods.

Stuart Strachan, SVP for maritime and trade at IHS Markit, said this unique partnership between two industry leaders in the vessel tracking sector will deliver major benefits to customers in the commodity, finance, security and government sectors. The combination of the firm’s capabilities means customers of AIS Platinum will experience significant enhancements to what is available today from combined terrestrial / Satellite AIS services in terms of coverage, frequency and latency. No other vendor in the market will be able to offer a combined AIS service of this quality and speed.

Peter Mabson, CEO at exactEarth, said that when measured by vessel detection, update rates, reliability and expected longevity, exactView RT is the premium high-performance service in the satellite AIS industry. We are extremely pleased to be partnering with IHS Markit to expand our market footprint and to provide such improvements to the customer experience. High density areas in the Gulf of Mexico and South China Sea have always been difficult for detection rates, due to the volume of vessels in close proximity. Moving forward, with the combined coverage of both terrestrial and exactView RT satellite AIS services, customers will see far greater detection rates than any other service on the market.

AIS Platinum has been created for customers requiring real-time vessel position information and intelligence, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Quant Analysts: Vessel position information within computer algorithms and programs enables the identification of, and capitalization on, available trading opportunities. Historical data can also assist with identifying profit opportunities.
• Commodity Traders: As commodity markets move and change throughout the world, verified intelligence on commodity shipment activities helps commodity traders stay ahead of markets and capitalize on trading opportunities.
• Compliance Officers: Information can help reveal whether a company is conducting its business in full compliance with all national and international laws and regulations that pertain to the financial sector, ensuring that business operations are not conducted with sanctioned countries, companies, or individuals.
• Defence Intelligence Analysts: Information can give visibility within a maritime domain to understand the potential risks that vessels may pose. Analysts can use the information to understand anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact the security and safety of a country.
• Customs & Border Agents: Help agents evaluate the impact of illegal importing and exporting of commodities through seaborne activity. Track and trace irregular behavior that could indicate drug trafficking, illegal arms importation and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Skylark Nano III

Shetland in Scotland isn’t just for ponies … as of Saturday, June 13th, Edinburgh-based Skyrora successfully launched its Skylark Nano rocket from that remote land, in the Fethaland Peninsula at North Roe, on the Scottish island of Shetland. This was the first, ever, to take place in Shetland, which brought comments indicating that ‘UK’s space race is heating up’.

Skyrora, based in Edinburgh, plans to launch from one of the three proposed spaceports in Scotland and commercially launching from Shetland in the future is a potential option for them. 

Reaching an altitude of six kilometers, this marked the third time the two-meter (6.5ft) projectile took to the skies. The launch was completed for educational purposes, collecting meteorological data, measuring wind profiles, analyzing the vehicles trajectory and providing critical training in support of Skyrora’s future plans. 

Skyrora invited local journalists to attend the launch and to be a part of the education and learning process. All social distancing measures were met during the launch days. 

Robin Hague, head of launch at Skyroa, said that the launch signifies a vital step towards Skyrora’s ambitions to become the UK’s “go-to” satellite launch provider. They’re ecstatic and truly proud. This is a great success for Skylark Nano, and the Skyrora team in general. Launching from Shetland is very important for them because it’s a potential option for their Skyrora XL orbital commercial launch vehicle. To understand the local launch conditions learning more about the wind profiles in Shetland is critical.

He continued saying that Skylark Nano’s third successive launch is testament to the engineers who have worked tirelessly to bring to life a reusable rocket that can provide valuable intelligence for the future of the UK space program.

It comes after Skyrora successfully completed a full static fire test on their Skylark-L launch vehicle. 

Volodymyr Levykin, CEO Skyrora, said that with this successful launch from Shetland they are further closing the gap to making the UK a rocket launching nation again.

Continuing on saying that for Skyrora this test was all about learning and training. The innovation at Skyrora is enormous, not only are they producing high quality results, but they are doing so with minimum impact to the environment as they strive to develop eco-friendly technology in their launches. At a time of such uncertainty it is important they keep focusing on ingenuity and enterprise. They hope reaching space will inspire the whole nation and show the younger generation what the future of UK Space hold.

Skylark Nano’s first launch took place in Ross-shire in summer 2018, with the firm continuing to develop cutting-edge research and technology ahead of its first planned commercial orbital launches. Expanding their company across Scotland will allow them to leverage the highly skilled workforce available with their aim of creating 170 jobs by the end of 2023. Skyrora is developing launch vehicle technology that builds on previous rocket systems with the aim of reducing the cost of launches thanks to proven technology and advanced engineering methods.

The firm draws on Britain’s launch heritage and aims to build a robust supply chain while creating new employment opportunities to inspire the next generation of talent.

Chris Forrester

Journalist Chris Forrester has posted the following at the Advanced Television infosite… after a day’s delay, a SpaceX rocket placed the ninth batch of Starlink satellites into orbit at 5:21 a.m., Florida time, on June 13th.

The normal Starlink manifest is 60 satellites per launch; however, on this flight there was also a cargo of three ‘piggyback’ satellites for San Francisco-based Planet Labs and that firm’s SkySat Earth Observation (EO) satellites, and thus, the SpaceX’s portfolio was comprised 58 of their own craft.

A few minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 booster made a textbook landing onto the floating barge, ‘Of Course I Still Love You’. This was the third time that the booster had been recovered.

The launch means that SpaceX now has some 538 craft on orbit (and probably around 525-530 that are working as planned). Elon Musk says that his Starlink service will debut “later this summer,” first serving Alaska and the northern US and Canadian regions. He has said that he only needs about 400 satellites on orbit to provide a basic ‘beta’ service and that a fleet of 800 would provide “moderate” coverage for public subscribers/users.

The next Starlink launch is planned for June 24th.  Potential users can now sign up (on the Starlink website) for hard news and service announcements.

Musk’s plan is to girdle the Earth with tens of thousands of broadband-friendly high-speed satellites. Musk says Starlink “will rapidly expand to near-global coverage of the populated world by 2021. Starlink will deliver high speed broadband Internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable.”

All that Musk now do is to develop global partners and customers to start paying for a service…

 

An additional post by Chris at the Advanced Television infosite reveals that would-be mega-constellation operator OneWeb, now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has a key date looming — June 26th is a deadline for final bids to be entered for either the whole business or parts of the company.

The bankruptcy is being handled by a court in New York and, according to Space Intel Report (SIR), the original two Chinese companies to have expressed an interest has now grown to four in number.

SIR says that the initial tire-kicking from the likes of SpaceX and Amazon has faded while a Eutelsat/French-backed bid has failed to win support from outside France. There is still interest from UK and US parties. UK regulator Ofcom, for example, is the licensing authority for OneWeb. The UK military is said to be interested.

The rules of the bankruptcy are that, unless successful bids are entered by June 26th, then OneWeb will have an auction of assets on July 2nd. The auction is obliged to take the “highest or best bid” for the assets which will be sold free and clear of encumbrances.

Interested bidders have to pay a 10 percent deposit of the value of their bid.

Two satellites, Xingyun-2 01 and 02, are launched by a Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, May 12, 2020. (Photo by Shan Biao/Xinhua)

Two satellites for China’s space-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) project have completed phase-1 tests in orbit, sources with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation said.

The satellites, Xingyun-2 01 and 02, were launched by a Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket on May 12 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Engineers tested the satellite platforms, payloads, and key technologies such as inter-satellite links. The results were in line with expectations, the corporation said.

Additional in-orbit tests will be continued for the completion of the Xingyun project, China’s first self-developed, space-based IoT constellation.

The project is anticipated to solve problems detected in the IoT businesses’ communication blind-zone, as a result of deficient coverage of cellular wireless communication networks.

By around 2023, the Xingyun project will have completed construction of the space-based IoT constellation with 80 low-orbit communication satellites.

The Xingyun-2 01 and 02 satellites employ the technology of inter-satellite laser links, which enables the in-orbit satellites to communicate over long distances and hence upgrade the real-time performance of communication services.

By Wang Fan, Xinhau news

Planet’s Dove smallsats.
Image is courtesy of the company.

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service, or Copernicus EMS, uses Planet data to help provide emergency response mapping services for a variety of disaster situations, ranging from geophysical and meteorological hazards to humanitarian and man-made crises.

When events occur, authorized users can alert Copernicus EMS to an emergency location, and the service provides satellite-derived products for quick and effective response. It also provides information that can aid in disaster preparedness, prevention and recovery.

Copernicus EMS is managed by the European Commission and operated by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for providing satellite data for the requested products, both from Sentinel missions and from commercial data providers. Planet and ESA entered into an agreement allowing ESA to access both PlanetScope and SkySat as one of the Copernicus Contributing Missions—with the aim of combining Planet data with information gleaned from Sentinel satellites.

As Copernicus EMS has access to Planet’s SkySat constellation—which will have increased rapid revisit capabilities due to the upcoming launch of more SkySats—the service is able to provide governments and other organizations with critical geospatial information within hours or days of a disaster, charting changes in near-real time. With access to Planet’s extensive PlanetScope and SkySat imagery archive, Copernicus EMS is also able to supply organizations with imagery of a location before an event occurs. This allows the service to provide risk and recovery maps and an early warning and monitoring component, which includes support in case of droughts, wildfires and floods.

The service connects decision-makers with the critical geoinformation they need, empowering them to assess situations with more clarity and make educated decisions.

Spaceflight Inc. has been acquired by Mitsui & Co., Ltd., in partnership with Yamasa Co., Ltd. — this acquisition is now complete with the final review of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

In February 2020, Spaceflight’s parent company, Spaceflight Industries, announced it had signed an agreement with the Japanese companies for the sale of the launch service provider, pending the CFIUS review. The review was completes in April and the acquisition finalized on June 12, 2020. Mitsui & Co. and Yamasa will have 50/50 joint venture ownership in Spaceflight, but the launch service provider will continue to operate as a privately held, independent U.S.-based company.

The acquisition is a unique opportunity for Spaceflight to further invest and expand its commercial and government rideshare launch services while Mitsui & Co. expands its portfolio to offer space services.

Since its founding in 2013, Spaceflight has launched a record-setting 271 satellites via 29 rocket launches, establishing itself as the leading rideshare service provider. The company offers comprehensive launch and integration services across a global portfolio of vehicles, including Falcon 9, PSLV, SSLV, Electron, Antares, and Vega.

Spaceflight successfully executed nine missions in 2019, the most rideshare launches the company has performed in one year, with four launches spanning 16 days across three continents. In 2018, Spaceflight executed its historic dedicated rideshare mission, SSO-A, which deployed 64 satellites from 17 different countries from a Falcon 9. The company also completed the first-ever rideshare mission to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) in 2019, launching the first privately funded lunar lander.

Spaceflight headquarters will remain in Seattle with Blake continuing to serve as the CEO and President, reporting to a newly formed board of directors established with a majority of U.S.-based persons.

Curt Blake, the CEO and President of Spaceflight, said the completion of this deal is an exciting step for Spaceflight. Joining the high-growth Mitsui & Co. portfolio positions Spaceflight to deliver and expand on the comprehensive launch services the company offers. The firm is exploring the development of new, standardized, deployment systems, new digital initiatives, and other programs that further help the company’s customers reliably and affordably access space, in the most flexible way possible. Spaceflight’s biggest priority, as always, is ensuring all customers are fully supported through this transition and the necessary steps are being taken to establish infrastructure to meet their needs.

Tomohiro Musha, GM of Transportation & Machinery Business Div. IV in Mitsui & Co., added that Spaceflight has contributed significantly to the space industry, pushing boundaries and achieving great success making rideshare a credible and reliable option for smallsat launches. The acquisition of this industry leader will allow the company to expand business in exciting new ways.

Bradford Space and ECAPS manufacture and deliver the high performance (HPGP) 1N thruster for the firm’s satellite customers’ attitude and orbit control needs.

The company has a large number of these thrusters on order, in production and at the customer. These include:

Preparatory activities for Moog’s first SL-OMV mission out of the United Kingdom with a scheduled delivery of 6 units in Q3, 2020. For more information about this mission, see Small Launch Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle will Enable UK Launched Small Satellite Missions.

SL-OMV ready to deploy six payloads to their optimal orbits.
Image is courtesy of Moog.

Procurement and manufacturing begun on 100 thrusters for Boeing.

Eight 1N HPGP High Throughput systems for the first Astranis micro-GEO mission. Targeting delivery by Q3 and ready for launch Q1, 2021 this program will feature an innovative combined HPGP / EP system.

Bradford ECAPS’s 1N HPGP Thruster.
Image is courtesy of the company.

Twelve thrusters delivered to VACCO in Q4 2019 and the latest four have been delivered in March 2020 for use on Millennium Space Systems ALTAIR spacecraft.

Millennium Space Systems
ALTAIR™ spacecraft.
Image is courtesy of NASA.

Four thrusters delivered to NanoAvionics in early May 2020.

The NanoAvionics smallsat bus.
Image is courtesy of the company.

A double-capacity SkySat-like system is being engineered and built at Bradford Space in the Netherlands for York Space Systems, US, with a scheduled delivery in Q2, 2021.

SkySat Systems Ready for Launch
The Bradford ECAPS propulsion systems for SkySats 16 – 18 are fueled and ready for lift-off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station USA onboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink 8 mission. Three other systems, for SkySats 19 – 21, will be launched later this summer on another SpaceX Falcon 9. For more details on this SkySat Block 3 mission go to Planet’s announcement SkySats 16-21 To Launch On SpaceX Falcon 9 Rideshare Missions.

Artistic rendition of Planet’s SkySats on-orbit.
Image is courtesy of the company.

The SkySat propulsion is a highly compact system originally designed by ECAPS for Skybox Imaging, now Planet. The SkySat spacecraft are powered by four 1N HPGP thrusters and ADN propellant, providing the highest performance in the liquid monopropellant market.

To date, 19 propulsion systems have been delivered to Planet of which 13 have been successfully deployed and are operating in orbit. Earlier successful launches in this series are:

• SkySat 3 – Launched in June 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre,
  India (Antrix’s PSLV, C-34)
• SkySats 4-7 – Launched in September 2016 from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana (Arianespace’s Vega, 007)
• SkySats 8-13 – Launched in October 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA (Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C, 010)
• SkySats 14-15 – Launched in December 2018 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA (SpaceX’s Falcon 9, 064)

Other Upcoming Missions Equipped with ECAPS Thrusters

• The Astroscale ELSA-d, launching in October 2020 (TBC), will have eight 1N HPGP thrusters
• Fueling of the ArgoMoon subsystem, built by VACCO and powered by one ECAPS 100mN thruster with ADN propellant, is scheduled to be “fueled at the factory” at one of the ECAPS facilities in Sweden in Q4, 2020
• One tailored SkySat system, comprising four ECAPS 1N HPGP thrusters on the Blue Canyon Tetra-3 mission for launch in Q1, 2021

5N and 22N HPGP Thruster Development
These larger thrusters, designed for attitude, trajectory and orbit control on small, medium and larger satellites, are in development and almost ready for production. ECAPS is working with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to characterize the performance of each system for use on future NASA observatory and/or interplanetary missions. The 22N is on track to be flight qualified by the end of this year, and the 5N will be fully qualified by early 2021.

Arianespace is preparing for the first launch of 2020, on Thursday, June 18. With this mission, designated Flight VV16, Arianespace stresses its wide range of services to address the nano- and micro-satellite market sub-segment, by serving both institutional and commercial needs.

The creation of such a new service using the company’s light-lift Vega led to the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) project. For its fifth mission in 2020, and the first Vega flight of the year, the launch will take place from the Vega Launch Complex (SLV) in Kourou, French Guiana. Arianespace will orbit 53 satellites with seven microsatellites (from 15 kg. to 150 kg.) on the upper portion, along with 46 smaller CubeSats on the lower portion’s Hexamodule, on the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof of Concept (PoC) Flight. VV16’s mission, with 21 customers from 13 countries on board that will serve different types of applications: Earth observation, telecommunications, science, technology/education, etc. The SSMS rideshare concept is now integrated into Arianespace commercial offer, as a new service to address the small satellite market.

The European Space Agency (ESA) funded the SSMS hardware development, and also contributed with the European Union to the funding of this “Proof of Concept” (PoC) flight. The combined European efforts will enhance Arianespace’s response to the rideshare demand with solutions that are perfectly suited to the flourishing small satellite market.

Arianespace ensures their clients that by choosing Arianespace, all customers are entitled to the same level of quality and reliability, and new customers such as laboratories, universities and start-ups are guaranteed the optimum conditions for the launch of their space projects.

This Arianespace’s concept —with multiple small satellites from 1 kg. to 500 kg. being flown together on Vega with the objective of sharing the launch cost — has been developed with the support of ESA and Avio. The satellite dispenser is an ESA product developed by Avio under ESA leadership and it is produced by the Czech company, SAB Aerospace s.r.o. (CZ). Satellite integration has been performed for the first time in Europe (Czech Republi

With this new service, Arianespace will be able to respond to the constellation and small satellite market demand thanks to the dual strategy of shared launches on Vega / Vega C and Ariane 6.