Archives for August 2020

EnduroSat has joined the Orbital Transports partner network and will make their cubesat products and services available through the Space Catalog.

EnduroSat products include cubesat platforms ranging from 1U to 6U; transmitters, receivers, and antennas for UHF, S-band and X-band communications, and a variety of cubesat avionics, solar panels and power modules.

The Space Catalog is Orbital Transports’ digital portal for the smallsat industry that showcases some of the industry’s most innovative and reliable companies. As a one-stop shop for smallsat missions, the catalog features cubesat and smallsat buses, COTS hardware components, ground station services and mission operations software, orbital transfer services, hosted payloads, satellite servicing and refueling technologies.

Executive Comments

“We have been expanding successfully our partnerships in the last few months. The Space Catalog will be a great step toward growing our contact network,” said Raycho Raychev, CEO of EnduroSat. “We look forward to cooperating with Orbital Transports and providing ever-growing value to our partners and customers.”

“We’re very happy to add EnduroSat to the Space Catalog,” stated David Hurst, CEO of Orbital Transports. “Their nanosatellites are known for their high quality and reliability, and will be an asset in any mission. Including EnduroSat in the Catalog really ups the game for the whole industry.”

Also joining the Space Catalog is yuri GmbH and that firm will offer their modular experiment hardware and services for microgravity research.

yuri offers a growing portfolio of off-the-shelf, flight-proven, reusable modules suitable for conducting microgravity experiments ranging from growing cell cultures in three dimensions and studying protein crystallization, to understanding fluid dynamics and interfacial phenomenon in the absence of gravity.

Executive Comments

“Research in microgravity helps us understand the inner workings of biological and physical systems and therefore enables advancements in pharmaceutical development, biotechnology, agriculture and material science,” said Philipp Schulien, Chief Technology Officer for yuri. “Our experiment modules enable researchers studying molecular and cellular processes to explore the unique properties of the microgravity environment.”

“While life sciences microgravity research can be conducted aboard the International Space Station, with this partnership we are expanding the capabilities of commercial small satellites as life sciences microgravity research platforms,” noted David Hurst, Orbital Transports’ CEO. “This opens up an entire new product area for us, and we plan to carry additional products for microgravity research in the near future.”

An online B2B platform to facilitate the matching of payloads with available launch capacity has been developed by German IT company HOSTmi GmbH.

This enables the hosting of payloads across a diverse range of space platforms globally, including orbital, sub-orbital and deep space campaigns. Southern Launch, as a provider of launch services in South Australia, has recognized the benefit that the HOSTmi platform can provide to its customers, and so has executed a Brokerage Agreement with HOSTmi.

The premise of the HOSTmi platform is that every rocket launched has a certain capacity of payload it can carry to a specific orbit. Generally, the mass of the primary payload will be less than the mass that the rocket can lift, so there is spare capacity available.

Rocket manufacturers and operators try to sell this extra capacity to smaller payloads which are then added to the primary payload and launched at the same time. Although there are a few disadvantages, given the secondary payload must follow the schedule of the main customer or accept certain orbital restrictions, it can be a very attractive solution for budgetary reasons.

HOSTmi analyzed this market and built a platform which acts as a dedicated space marketplace for such secondary payloads. At their website, a potential customer can enter the characteristics of their payload and the launch date and orbit. The fully-automated algorithm then proposes launchers which can accept this secondary payload at the right moment in time.

As both a Launch Service Provider (LSP) and launch facility operator, Southern Launch will use the HOSTmi service to offer an intuitive and responsive service to worldwide satellite customers to source both dedicated launches and ride share opportunities on vehicles operating at Southern Launch sites.

Executive Comments

Lloyd Damp, Founder and CEO of Southern Launch said, “As a launch operator, we’ve recognized that this service has huge potential for our customers and the growing space ecosystem. Having access to the HOSTmi platform will help Southern Launch operate more frequently, with more payloads increasing the return on investment and further boosting Southern Launch and Australia as a focal point for access to space.”

Managing Director of HOSTmi, Pouya Haschemi, added, “Southern Launch offers a novel and unique solution in an emerging and promising market, namely the launch market. We notice that an increasing number of launch providers from different regions of the world are entering the market. They have clever people, latest technologies, innovative approaches, and a vast market. The only aspect that is lacking for most of them are optimal geographical conditions to turn the aforementioned attributes into a high-quality service. Southern Launch has identified a key market demand, which they aim to meet with a great end-to-end solution underpinned by the best geographic and environmental conditions. We at HOSTmi believe that Southern Launch is taking place exactly where the aviation industry started 100 years ago when the first global hubs for airlines were established. Given the historical development of the aviation industry and the prospects of the space industry as such, we believe that Southern Launch will provide significant value to our customers who are looking for a straightforward, agile and cost effective solution to realize their space missions.”

For those thinking of launching their smallsats or cubesats, please join GK Launch Services and the firm’s virtual side meeting that is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. during the SmallSat Conference— access this direct link to attend…

The company will provide an overview of Soyuz-2 capabilities for smallsat access to space. The topic is: New launch opportunities for Small Satellites on Soyuz-2.

Even though this year is different and the firm is not in sunny Utah, GK Launch Services remains excited to meet attendees during this virtual event.

GK Launch Services is an operator of commercial launches. The company was established by the Russian State Space Corporation, “Roscosmos,” to implement commercial contracts for the launch of spacecraft using Soyuz-2 family launch vehicles from Russian spaceports.

MECANO ID is “exhibiting” a new, smallsat deployer at the SmallSat Conference, selecting this event to present their world of their new EOS (Ejection Of Satellite) deployer for smallsats.

The EOS deployment system’s first goal is to carefully carry the smallsat during the launch. As soon as the required altitude has been reached, EOS will eject the smallsat to its designated orbit with high stability.

EOS spent the last year under development by MECANO ID with the support of French Space Agency (CNES) and NewSpace Factory (NSF). The system has been developed to support any worldwide launchers and any satellites from 20 to 60 kg with a set of unique advantages.

Based on more than 20 years of collaboration, the CNES has selected to support MECANO ID in the EOS development, which is a crucial link between satellite and launcher. This key support is due to CNES unique dual know-how as much in launcher systems as in orbital systems.

The unique MECANO ID in-house know-how in engineering, composite manufacturing, and environmental testing brings high flexibility to its customers. MECANO ID can provide services and expertise as well as prime contracting that is fully committed to superior results. In the field of smallsats, the company traditionally supports satellites providers in mechanical and thermal architectures, engineering and space qualification. EOS is the first MECANO ID product specifically dedicated to smallsats market.

All stakeholders are invited to discover the EOS capabilities at the Small Satellite Conference.

Executive Comment

“We are proud to participate to this 33rd Annual Conference on Small Satellites and to exhibit EOS, the very first creation of our Deployment Systems Product Line. EOS encloses a lot of our knowledge from 25 years of experience in designing, sizing and qualifying space structure,” said Stéphane Galinier, Business Development Manager of the company.

“EOS system combines very low mass (less than 4 kg), predictable mechanical levels, very low spin at ejection and 5 free external faces allowing satellite appendixes such as sensors or antennas,” added Didier Zely, Manager of the Deployment Systems Product Line.

Open Cosmos has sealed a deal with satellite communications operator Sateliot to build and operate the company’s smallsat constellation, which will provide continuous global Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity under a 5G architecture.

Open Cosmos has begun the manufacture of the first of the 100 satellites that will allow Sateliot to start offering IoT services by the close of 2022.

The microwave oven sized satellites will operate in LEO, flying at an approximate altitude of 500 km to guarantee IoT connectivity on a global scale and in almost real time.

In the next two years, it is forecast that there will be more than 50 billion IoT devices globally. Sateliot will partner with conventional telecommunication providers around the world to ensure ubiquitous coverage.

Sateliot will also offer monitoring and tracking systems, data analysis, and processes in areas, such as: maritime, railways, aeronautical, agriculture and farming, gas and petroleum exploration, electric or critical infrastructure.

Executive Comments

Rafel Jordá, Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, said, “We are excited to have satellite production underway for these satellites and be progressing all other aspects of the mission, including system integration, launch, licensing & logistics, as well as orbit operations. We are delighted to partner with Sateliot to enable the reality of IoT anywhere.”

Jaume Sanpera, Co-Founder and CEO of Sateliot, stated, “a bond with a partner, such as Open Cosmos, allows us to move forward with our project, meeting head on the requirements and challenges the New Space industry faces, while keeping control over the design of the antennae and the radio that will allow the operational and commercial management of our telecommunications service.”

Momentus, a provider of in-space transportation services for satellites, has announced a hosting service for customer payloads, providing access for analytics and in-space demonstrations at a fraction of the cost of designing, building, launching and operating a dedicated smallsat.

Starting in June of 2021, excess capacity will be made available to hosted payload customers on Momentus’ vehicles for customers’ technology demonstrations, qualifications or short-term experiments. These missions will be self-contained and can be hosted by our Vigoride transfer vehicle from the end of the shuttle logistics mission, to the end of its mission life prior to deorbiting.

Two service models are available: Charter and Shuttle Service. The Charter Service will allow payloads to be the sole customer onboard with maximum lifespan, power and data download capacity attributed to the single customer. In the Shuttle Service model, the hosted payload will be a rideshare along with other payloads hosted or deployed from the Vigoride transfer vehicle.

To view full specifications for Hosted Payloads, please access this direct link…

The in-Space collaborative/sharing economy has disruptive ramifications for the industry. By lowering the barriers to entry and increasing the launch cadence, access to space becomes widely affordable for the masses including universities, startups, entrepreneurs and governments. This Satellite-as-a-Service business model sees Momentus providing “white glove” service, with the only customer responsibility being that of the payload.

The scientific applications alone raised an industry-wide proof of concept because of the rising need from scientists and environmentalists to monitor climate change. For example, now research institutes can deploy new solar cell technologies, large unfurlable antennas and payloads requiring up to 1 kW of power or up to 300 kg of mass without having to worry about building their own satellite or operating it on orbit.

As a SpaceX rideshare partner, Momentus is manifested on rides to Sun-synchronous and mid-inclined low Earth orbits, where Vigoride will be deployed to access custom deployment altitudes and orbits in space.

Horizon Technologies, a global provider of airborne Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) products for NATO and Allied governmental end-users, has been issued a patent (US 10,727,932 B2) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

This patent covers Horizon Technologies’ fundamental Xtender technology that allows the smallest cubesats and UAVs to detect, geolocate, and intercept Sat Phone communications, remotely, from a miniature software-defined radio (SDR). This is Horizon Technologies’ 2nd registered patent.

Executive Comment

John Beckner, the company’s CEO, said, “This new patent for our transformational Xtender technology represents a key milestone for Horizon Technologies. Xtender enables the users of even the smallest UAVs to have the same Sat Phone SIGINT capability of larger UAVS and manned aircraft. Even more importantly, our patented Xtender technology is one of the building blocks of our Amber CubeSat constellation and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) space-based intelligence system. Our Amber CubeSat constellation, will not only have the ability to geolocate L-band emitters like Sat Phones, but actually allow for the real-time demodulation of the signals. This capability is unique in the emerging field of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) CubeSat-driven SIGINT. We also believe that the issuance of this patent enhances Horizon Technologies’ ability to attract financial and industry strategic partners to help further the company’s continuing profitable growth.”

Airbus U.S. Space and Defense is bringing experts from the Airbus Bartolomeo team to host a live webinar at the virtual SmallSat Conference.

Join Dr. Christian Steimle and Mr. Bill Corley on Tuesday, August 4, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., EST, for an informative hour dedicated to understanding this all-in-one Space Mission Service. The discussion will cover the basics of Bartolomeo, touching on mission status, specs, and future potential Space missions.

There will be a live Q&A session with Bill and Christian following the presentation. To learn more and to register for the webinar please select this direct link…

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) is on track to start building the U.S. Air Force’s first Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) after completing the program’s critical design review (CDR).

L3Harris will integrate the program’s experimental payload with an ESPAStar Platform, planned for launch in 2022. The system is designed to augment space-based position, navigation and timing capabilities for warfighters.

The NTS-3 payload features a modular design and can adapt to support various mission needs. The experiment will demonstrate capabilities that can be accomplished through a stand-alone satellite constellation or as a hosted payload.

Less than a year after award, the company cleared the first development hurdle in half the time similar satellite programs take. The Space Enterprise Consortium selected L3Harris for the $84 million contract in 2018 as the prime system integrator to design, develop, integrate and test NTS-3. L3Harris is combining experimental antennas, flexible and secure signals, increased automation, and use of commercial command and control assets.

Designated as one of the Air Force’s first vanguard programs, NTS-3 will examine ways to improve the resiliency of the military’s positioning, navigation and timing capabilities. It will also develop key technologies relevant to the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, with the opportunity for insertion of these technologies into the GPS IIIF program. The program is a collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space and Missile Systems Center, U.S. Space Force, and Air Force Lifecycle Management Center.

Executive Comment

“Collaboration with our customers has enabled us to move rapidly through important milestones to design this experimental satellite,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “Our goal is to deliver new signals to support rapidly evolving warfighter missions.”