Archives for June 2020

Exolaunch has signed a Launch Services Agreement with Loft Orbital to deliver Loft Orbital’s YAM smallsat into SSO via a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

A Falcon 9 launch vehicle lift off. Image is courtesy of SpaceX.

Under the contract, Exolaunch will deliver mission management, deployment and integration services to Loft Orbital, who operates microsatellites and flies customers’ payloads as a service. The launch is targeted for December 2020 and is part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program.

The YAM-3 smallsat will carry various payloads for Loft Orbital’s customers, including an Internet of Things (IoT) payload, an onboard autonomy demonstration, a positioning and queuing demonstration and blockchain applications. Using a unique aggregation approach, Loft Orbital offers its customers end-to-end services and delivery of missions to orbit on a standardized satellite bus. Its customers provide payloads, sensors or experiments while also saving time and avoiding the complexity and costs of building their own spacecraft.

YAM-3 will be deployed from a Falcon 9 ESPA port with CarboNIX, Exolaunch’s shock-free, lightweight, separation system for smallsats. This launch will mark the first cooperation between Loft Orbital and Exolaunch. In addition to the upcoming Falcon 9 mission, Exolaunch is set to arrange the launch and provide deployment services for Loft Orbital’s next microsatellite in 2021.

Exolaunch’s CarboNIX.

Earlier this spring, Exolaunch procured launch capacity from SpaceX to launch multiple small satellites aboard Falcon 9 as part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program. Exolaunch will provide comprehensive rideshare mission management, deployment and integration services for the customers joining this launch. Exolaunch has numerous customers who already signed up for this mission, and the company now begins to release more information on its manifest.

To date, Exolaunch has successfully arranged launch campaigns for nearly one hundred small satellites. The company’s expertise in rideshare launches – in combination with its brand new multi-port adapters, flight-proven sequencers and CarboNIX shock-free separation systems – allows smallsat developers to benefit from top-tier mission management under SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program.

Pierre-Damien Vaujour, Co-CEO at Loft Orbital, said the company is thrilled to be partnering with Exolaunch for YAM-3’s launch. Loft Orbital has been extremely impressed with the Exolaunch team and the CarboNIX technology. Remaining satellite bus, payload and launch vehicle agnostic is a core part of Loft Orbital’s value proposition and YAM-3 is a prime example of the schedule benefits resulting from that strategy.

Jeanne Medvedeva, Commercial Director at Exolaunch, added that Loft Orbital’s unique service of aggregating multiple payloads on their satellites addresses the industry’s acute demand for reduced complexity and costs. Exolaunch is proud to deploy the YAM-3 microsatellite into orbit with Falcon 9 and provide comprehensive mission support for the launch and the firm looks forward to supporting additional YAM launches in the future.

Artistic rendition is courtesy of Loft Orbital.

GomSpace has signed a contract to develop and deliver a smallsat to the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) — this contract is worth 19 MSEK.

The satellite will demonstrate military tactical communications on the UHF band from a polar Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The primary mission objective is to demonstrate the military use and relevance of an Arctic satellite relay for tactical communication radios.

Another objective is to demonstrate that such a capability can be made operational in within 2 years from project start and less than 18 months after signing this contract. Launch is planned to October 2021.

Niels Buus, CEO of GomSpace, said the firm is thrilled to engage in this project with FFI that will use the full range of GomSpace capabilities to deliver the platform as well as be deeply involved in the payload development, the launch and early operations and the company will be supporting the mission operations.

Lars Erling Bråten, Principal Scientist at FFI, added that to carry out this project on the fast track is an important goal of the project, with the long-term objective to establish an operational system that can provide this kind of SATCOM capability in the Arctic region.

The 53 satellite passengers for Arianespace’s rideshare flight with its Vega light-lift launcher have been integrated at the Spaceport in French Guiana, marking a key milestone in preparation for the June 18 Proof of Concept mission with Europe’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS).

Shown during the SSMS payload integration process for Arianespace’s Flight VV16 is the ION CubeSat carrier – a platform that will deploy 12 CubeSats after being placed in orbit by the Vega launcher.

Photos are courtesy of Arianespace.

During activity at the Spaceport, Vega’s payload of seven microsatellites (weighing 15 to 150 kg.), along with 46 smaller cubesats, were installed on the SSMS platform – from which they will be deployed into Sun-Synchronous orbits (SSO) during the Vega mission.

The SSMS hardware development was funded by the European Space Agency (ESA); the European Union contributed to the financing of this Proof of Concept 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.

The SSMS provides a new dedicated European rideshare solution with Vega that is modular and capable of accommodating a full range of payload combinations. Vega’s upcoming Proof of Concept mission – designated Flight VV16 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system – was conceived in the context of ESA’s LLL (Light satellite, Low-cost, Launch opportunity) initiative.

The lift performance for Vega on Flight VV16 is approximately 1,310 kg.

During the June 18 nighttime mission, Vega’s liftoff and ascent will be powered by the launcher’s solid-propellant first, second and third stages, followed by four ignitions of the AVUM bi-propellent upper stage.

During Vega’s flight sequence, the seven smallsats will be deployed from 40 minutes into the mission through 52 minutes; followed by the cubesats’ phased release from 1 hour, 42 minutes to just under 1 hour, 44 minutes, 56 seconds.

Italy’s Avio is the production prime contractor for Vega, delivering the integrated launcher to Arianespace. Avio also developed the small satellite delivery system and the specific mission preparation process for Flight VV16, performing these tasks under ESA leadership. Design authority for the multi-payload dispenser system is SAB Aerospace s.r.o. of the Czech Republic.

Arianespace personnel are using smart glasses during certain payload checkout activities for Flight VV16 at the Spaceport in French Guiana, enabling customers to remotely monitor operations performed on satellites that will be orbited this month by the Vega light-lift launcher.

Photos are courtesy of Arianespace.

York Space Systems has been selected as a strategic partner and subcontractor by LatConnect 60, a firm that is currently developing a smallsat constellation that will provide greater access and control to critical Earth Observation (EO) data required by the Australian government and a wide range of commercial clients across the world.

York Space Systems will manufacture its spacecraft platform for the constellation as well as provide its full mission operations and deployment capabilities at an unprecedented cost and delivery time.

LatConnect 60’s initial constellation of three satellites will carry multiple payloads, with each satellite capable of both RF Signal Intelligence and High Resolution Multispectral Imaging. The first satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2021. LatConnect 60 is working to deliver AI capabilities onboard its satellites, where each satellite is able to autonomously geolocate and process RF signals identified in order to trigger its imaging payload and any other secondary payloads to conduct data collection over an Area of Interest. Collected data is fused and delivered to end users in an Activity Intelligence Report.

York Space Systems’ spacecraft platform is designed to improve affordability and ease of access to space for next generation space companies around the world. The platform itself can support a wide range of missions, including Earth observation, the key focus of the LatConnect 60 constellation. Pricing and fast delivery of satellites is an attractive differentiator for York and is a primary factor in gaining LatConnect 60’s business.

Dirk Wallinger, CEO of York Space Systems, said the firm strongly believes in LatConnect 60’s mission, especially as it serves to help national security surveillance efforts by the Australian government. York Space Systems is eager to work with their team on this constellation build out to highlight the company’s delivery times and competitive price points as well as to be a part of the latest innovation in space.

LatConnect 60 CEO Venkat Pillay added that in addition to York’s fast delivery time, which is well under nine months to orbit and at an attractive price point, the company also found their design methodology, delivery and mission services plan to be well defined. This partnership will enable LatConnect 60 to provide a truly responsive space capability at affordable service levels to the firm’s clients in Australia and Asia Pacific.

An agreement between RBC Signals in Seattle, Washington, a provider of flexible and cost-effective space communication services, and SatRevolution, a forerunner of new space industry in Poland, today announced they have signed an agreement. The contract secures Telemetry Tracking and Command (TT&C) and data downloads for SatRevolution, supporting a group of the new space company’s cubesats slated for launch in December 2020. 

Christopher Richins, CEO of RBC Signals said that the RBC Signals team is proud to support SatRevolution’s cubesats with their global space communications network. Their infrastructure is uniquely suited to support operators like SatRevolution with resilient, flexible and cost-effective services that reliably meet their mission needs.

The SatRevolution satellites include dedicated and shared in-orbit demonstration platforms for SatRevolution customers. RBC Signals will provide data delivery services for the spacecraft via the company’s global ground station network. The network is comprised of over 70 antennas in over 50 strategic locations across the globe. SatRevolution will be able to schedule access to ground stations seamlessly through ROSS, RBC Signal’s intuitive online interface for requesting antenna time.

Grzegorz Zwolinski, co-founder and COO of SatRevolution concluded that they’re happy to begin their cooperation with RBC Signals. At SatRevolution, they believe the ‘ground station as-a-service’ approach is a very scalable and cost-effective way to manage ground services for multiple satellites.

The agreement between SatRevolution and RBC Signals spans multiple missions with the option for continued services thereafter.

 

 

SWIFT-UTX UHF-Band Communications Transmitter (l),
HYDRO S-C™ (r).

Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) has announced the company has been contracted to provide key communications and propulsion capabilities to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in support of the NASA PUNCH Mission.

TUI will be delivering flight units of both its SWIFT®-XTS X-band software defined radio (SDR) and its HYDROS™-C water-electrolysis thruster.

The PUNCH mission will consist of a constellation of four smallsats that will launch as early as 2022 and they will orbit the Earth in formation to study how the Sun’s atmosphere, or corona, connects with the interplanetary medium. PUNCH will provide the first global images of how the solar corona infuses the solar wind with mass and energy.

A constant outflow of solar material streams out from the Sun, depicted here in an artist’s rendering. On June 20, 2019, NASA selected two new missions – the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission and Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) – to study the origins of this solar wind and how it affects Earth. Together, the missions support NASA’s mandate to protect astronauts and technology in space from such radiation.
Image credit: NASA

The SWIFT-XTS radio will be used for telemetry and control as well as main mission data downlink. The SWIFT-XTS radio is a compact and affordable S-band transceiver coupled with a high-speed X-band transmitter.  Its “software defined” attributes make it readily configurable to support a wide range of mission needs, including in-flight adjustment of operating frequencies and modulations. The SWIFT software defined radios enable satellite operators to rapidly configure and tune their communications systems to maximize the amount of data they can deliver through the congested radio frequency spectrum.

TUI will also be providing an 8W X-band RF power amplifier for this program to enable the satellites to reliably close the communications link to ground stations from their distant orbits. The company’s SWIFT-XTS Software Defined Radio supports both reliable telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) and high-speed mission data delivery for small satellite missions.

The HYDROS-C is a shoebox-sized propulsion module that uses water as propellant. Unlike other water-based thrusters that simply expel heated steam, TUI’s HYDROS-C module first uses electrolysis to split water into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen. The HYDROS-C module then burns the hydrogen and oxygen in a traditional bipropellant thruster. This water electrolysis method enables HYDROS to deliver better thrust efficiency than existing electric propulsion options and provides higher fuel economy than chemical thrusters. By using water, HYDROS-C is a truly “green propellant” solution that is safe for personnel during satellite integration as well as for primary payloads during launch. The availability of water on the moon and near-Earth asteroids makes HYDROS-C appealing as a refuellable propulsion option for future exploration architectures.

SwRI’s Dr. Craig DeForest, the PUNCH mission Principal Investigator, noted that procuring these complete spacecraft subsystems “off-the-rack” is critical to the PUNCH science. The growing commercial ecosystem for space enables a constellation of four, separate, high-capability spacecraft, within the cost of a single traditionally-built satellite.

Dr. Rob Hoyt, TUI’s President, said understanding how the sun drives the solar wind is critical to understanding how the sun influences space weather near the Earth as well as the fundamental processes that create solar systems. Tethers Unlimited will contribute the firm’s unique communications and propulsion technologies to enable these tiny spacecraft to accomplish such an important scientific mission.

Image is courtesy of NASA JPL.

The Old City of Tripoli, Libya imaged at 50 centimeters per pixel from an altitude of 456 kilometers. © 2020, Planet Labs Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Over the past year, Planet has seen increased demand for its SkySat imagery to fulfill customers’ needs for timely, accurate and frequent information across the decision cycle — the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified this trend, as traditional surveying and inspection methods are not currently possible.

To meet the present moment, and demonstrate the company’s commitment to rapidly deliver more value to customers every year, Planet has unveiled three new releases as part of their overall tasking offerings. Combined, these releases enhance the core imagery for analysis as well as reduce friction to acquire that data.

Higher Resolution
50 cm imagery: In just six months, we successfully lowered our SkySat constellation to enhance the spatial resolution of our SkySat imagery from 80 to 50 cm for our ortho product. This improvement enables customers to get a more precise view of changing conditions on the ground and adds more granular context to decision-making. This is particularly important for commercial and government mapping use cases, where seeing smaller features like road surface markings are key.

50 cm SkySat imagery of the Mundra Power Plant in Gujarat, India, on April 4, 2020. © 2020, Planet Labs Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Tasking Dashboard
Planet’s imaging pipeline and delivery infrastructure have been built in the cloud and the Tasking Dashboard and API are the latest results of that foundation. The Tasking Dashboard is a new user interface that allows customers to request SkySat collections, while our new API provides efficient, automated access. Instead of spending precious time going back and forth with a human rep, with the Tasking Dashboard and API, customers can autonomously submit, modify and cancel SkySat imagery requests. This enables visibility into the end-to-end experience, from order to fulfillment, so expectations can be managed with analysts and teams.

Screenshot of Planet’s Tasking Dashboard © 2020, Planet Labs Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Rapid Revisit, with up to 12x revisit capabilities
Planet guarantees sub-daily revisit and the upcoming launch of six new SkySats will allow the company to image certain locations up to 12 times per day, at a global average of 7 times per day. This unprecedented capability will provide more rapid response to global events and enable imaging at times of the day previously unseen by satellites.

At Planet’s SkySat offerings support the company’s growing customer base, from federal and civil governments, to commercial forestry to energy and more. These product advances are key components of Planet’s overall mission to democratize access to satellite imagery, providing critical intelligence to customers and organizations when they need it most.

The first SkySat image (taken in the morning) and second SkySat image (taken in the afternoon) were collected on May 20, 2020, and show the remains of the Edenville Dam, breached after heavy rainfall over Michigan. The silvery appearance of the water in the morning is due to sunglint, which is the reflection of light directly into the satellite’s telescope. © 2020, Planet Labs Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Story by Martin Van Ryswyk, the Senior Vice President of Product at Planet

A launch delay, through no fault of their own caused by the COVID-19 virus, is finally back on schedule for Rocket Lab’s 12th Electron launch, the ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ mission from Launch Complex 1. Originally slated to launch in late March the mission will lift payloads for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space. The mission has been named ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ in recognition of Rocket Lab board member and avid Queen fan Scott Smith, who recently passed away.

‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ is a rideshare mission that will launch several small satellites, including the ANDESITE (Ad-Hoc Network Demonstration for Extended Satellite-Based Inquiry and Other Team Endeavors) satellite created by electrical and mechanical engineering students and professors at Boston University. The satellite will launch as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) and will conduct groundbreaking scientific study into Earth’s magnetic field.

Once in space, the ANDESITE satellite will initiate measurements of the magnetosphere with onboard sensors, later releasing eight pico satellites carrying small magnetometer sensors to track electric currents flowing in and out of the atmosphere, a phenomenon also known as space weather. These variations in the electrical activity racing through space can have a big impact on our lives here on Earth, causing interruptions to things like radio communications and electrical systems. The ANDESITE satellite follows on from Rocket Lab’s first ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) launch for NASA, the ELaNa-19 mission, which launched a host of educational satellites to orbit on Electron in December 2018.

Launch Window: 

Rocket Lab is currently targeting no earlier than 04:43, June 11, UTC for lift-off. 

Time zones:

UTC: 11 June (04:43 – 06:32)

NZT: 11 June (16:43 – 18:32)

ET: 11 June (00:43 – 02:32)

PT: 10 June (21:43 – 23:32)

Rocket Lab has backup opportunities available through June 24th.

The mission also carries three payloads designed, built and operated by the NRO. The mission was procured under the agency’s Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract vehicle. RASR allows the NRO to explore new launch opportunities that provide a streamlined, commercial approach for getting small satellites into space, as well as provide those working in the small satellite community with timely and cost-effective access to space. This mission follows Rocket Lab’s first dedicated mission for the NRO, Birds of a Feather, which was launched on January 312020 NZT from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1.

The ANDESITE and NRO payloads will be joined on the mission by the M2 Pathfinder satellite, a collaboration between the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space and the Australian Government. The M2 Pathfinder will test communications architecture and other technologies that will assist in informing the future space capabilities of Australia. The satellite will demonstrate the ability of an onboard software-based radio to operate and reconfigure while in orbit. Rocket Lab will not be carrying out any recovery testing on the Electron launch vehicle during this mission.

Last month, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., known as Geely Holding Group, announced the company has begun construction on an intelligent satellite production and testing center, thereby making the firm the first private carmaker to produce satellites in China.

The new facility is being built by Geely Holding Group’s subsidiary, Geely Technology Group, in Taizhou, east China’s Zhejiang province.

The facility will include a modular satellite manufacturing center, a satellite testing center, a satellite R&D center and a cloud computing center and will be able to develop and produce a variety of different satellite models. The satellite strategy will be implemented by Geespace, a Geely-run company established in 2018 for the development, launch and operation of low-orbit satellites.

By the end of 2020, Geespace will begin the launch of its commercial low-orbit satellite network that will facilitate highly accurate navigation for self-driving cars.

Li Shufu, the Chairman of Geely Holding Group, said that the automotive industry faces huge challenges and equally huge opportunities. Geely must take the initiative to embrace change, develop through innovation, find new synergies online and offline, and cooperate with global partners to become a global technology leader, drive change in mobility, and create new value for users. He added that Geely’s entry into the field of satellites is part of its transformation into a global mobility technology group.

A company spokesperson stated that the firm’s expansion into low-orbit satellites marks a significant milestone in the creation of a truly smart three-dimensional mobility ecosystem. Low-orbit satellites will be able to offer high-speed internet connectivity, highly precise navigation and cloud computing capabilities.

The Suez Canal, Egypt.
Image capture by Axelspace.

Axelspace Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan Space Systems (“J-spacesystems”) to promote the use of satellite data in the field of capacity building and human resource development.

Since 2012, J-spacesystems has engaged in capacity building programs in order to contribute to SDGs and address global social issues through the use of satellite data. To date, these programs have reached over 100 individuals in 30 countries around the world. In the past these programs have sought to reduce costs by using freely available satellite imagery, which does not always offer satisfactory imaging frequency or resolution for analysis. Furthermore, imagery of more specific locations and observation requests are unavailable.

AxelGlobe is Axelspace’s next generation Earth observation (EO) platform that will offer convenient access to imaging data at the resolution of 2.5 meters – a level which is rarely seen in freely available data. With four launches planned in 2020, the AxelGlobe constellation will soon comprise five satellites and offer the ability to image any location on Earth once every three days. By 2022, we plan to further expand the constellation to offer updated imaging on a daily basis.

Artistic rendition of an Axelspace smallsat. Image is courtesy of the company.

Through this partnership, Axelspace and J-spacesystems will use AxelGlobe data to meet the high resolution and high frequency needs of the aforementioned capacity building programs (including support for programs such as the Japanese Government’s ABE Initiative*1), as well as promote the broader use of such data to address issues raised by program participants. In doing so, our companies hope to make a substantial contribution to achieving SDGs.

*1 ABE Initiative At the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in June 2013, Japan unveiled a public-private partnership program to support stable and sustainable economic development in Africa. In his keynote speech, Prime Minister Abe announced the Africa Business Education Initiative for Youth (“ABE Initiative”), a five-year program offering 1,000 young people in Africa opportunities to pursue undergraduate and graduate education at Japanese universities, as well as internships at Japanese companies. As highlighted in the “Proposal by the Public-Private Council for the Promotion of TICAD V”, this initiative seeks to support human resource development in both the private and public sectors of Africa, deepen awareness of Japanese technology and companies among African nations, and increase the number of Africans visiting Japan. Additionally, the “ABE Initiative 3.0” was announced at TICAD VII as a six-year program with the goal of training 3,000 individuals. For further details please refer to the following website:

www.jica.go.jp/english/countries/africa/internship.html

www.jica.go.jp/africahiroba/business/detail/03/ku57pq00001jwm0b-att/abc_pamphlet_en.pdf