Archives for August 2020

At the 34th annual Small Satellite Conference, NanoAvionics announced a significant business growth, increasing its revenue by about 300% during the last 12 months, as a result of strong contract volume and geographical expansion.

The company also revealed its vertical integration approach, taking full control of each aspect in the development of its clients’ satellites from systems development to mission integration, logistics and operations.

The company has successfully expanded its operations into the USA with two manufacturing facilities. NanoAvionics’ primary hub for the United States is in Columbia (IL) while its second base in Midland, Texas, functions as a scalable resource that allows the company to mass produce their nanosatellite buses for constellation orders.

To take advantage of opportunities in the vital US market, NanoAvionics also hired Franklin Brent Abbott as its CEO of NanoAvionics US Inc. Prior to joining NanoAvionics, he was the Chief Executive for AAC/Clyde Space North America and held several senior roles at Surrey Satellite Technologies US (SST-US).

The success of these strategic steps together with the modular design and low cost of their preconfigured nanosatellite buses has led to a number of scientific, commercial and civil use of space missions. Customers include research and space agencies like NASA, ESA and MIT as well as a number of private companies such as Thales Alenia Space for the Omnispace constellation, Lacuna Space’s Space Gateway for IoT service providers, and Sen’s high-definition video streaming media service, taking advantage of NanoAvionics’ real-time coverage capability that can be built into their nanosatellites.

The flexible architecture of the flight-proven and modular nanosatellite buses and the provision of one of the highest payload volumes for this class of small satellites were also important reasons in the selection for these wide range of missions, constellations and diverse applications.

Those in-house developments follow the company’s path of continually innovating its technology. For example, in June this year, ESA awarded €1 million to NanoAvionics to develop new smallsat propulsion technologies. NanoAvionics has also been developing an intuitive and user-friendly mission control software (MCS) as well as next generation payload controller, meeting high data throughput requirements of telecom payloads or high-res images, which will be introduced to its customers for the upcoming missions.

Executive Comment

“NanoAvionics had a tremendous year and we have taken a big step forward towards our goal to become the global leader in nanosatellites and go-to partner for nanosatellite constellations in Low Earth Orbit,” said Vytenis J. Buzas, CEO NanoAvionics. “We already offer a ‘golden ratio’ of speed, quality, price and functionality when it comes to nano-satellite buses. And with 90% of our clients already buying additional services such as satellite registration, insurance and launch brokerage, becoming a one-stop-shop is a logical next step.”

Even for those with only passing knowledge of the SmallSat Alliance know that the organization is a strong advocate of US space agencies adopting a Hybrid Space Architecture that combines government and commercial satellites, big and small. On August 3, Dr. Chris Scolese, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), announced the following in a pre-recorded video for the 2020 Small Satellite Conference:

“To meet future demands, the NRO is taking an integrated Hybrid Architecture approach. This approach to or constellation leverages the unique capabilities of our large satellites with smaller proliferated satellites that provide mission augmentation, regional emphasis, and reconstitution; AND commercial satellites that allow us to meet mission needs with unclassified, shareable imagery that allows us to reserve our national assets for the most sensitive missions. This combination of national and commercial, large and small satellites gives us increased flexibility, responsiveness, and resiliency.”

The SmallSat Alliance couldn’t be more excited and applaud the leadership of Dr. Scolese and the rest of the NRO team in moving out quickly to adopt this new approach and thereby ensuring the future vitality of the national security mission and the US space economy.

The Small Satellite Conference is hosting Dr. Scolese for a 1 hour, live, online keynote session on August 3 at 3:00 p.m., ET. Steve Nixon, the President of the SmallSat Alliance, will be moderating the first panel (“Space Mission Architectures“) immediately following the keynote at 4:00 p.m., ET.

You can register by following the links from the Space Dynamics Lab Events website.

Spaceflight Inc., during the opening of Small Satellite Conference 2020, is providing information regarding an array of new sweeping programs to deliver launch schedule assurance and greater flexibility to smallsat customers needing frequent, reliable, and cost-effective ways to get spacecraft on orbit.

“One thing we’ve learned about launching smallsats over the past 10 years is that there is a growing requirement for flexibility in everything from contracting to switching vehicles, orbital destinations, booking options, and integration services,” said Curt Blake, President and CEO of Spaceflight. “With our expertise working with all major launch vehicles, we have the unique advantage of building flexibility into all aspects of our business to meet our customers’ individual mission needs. It’s foundational to our vision of getting spacecraft on orbit exactly when and where our customers want, and we’re excited to unveil several first-of-their-kind programs to support it.”

Designed to increase flexibility across the entire launch spectrum, Spaceflight’s new services and programs include:

Transparent pricing, no hidden fees: Combating the standard practice of offering a low introductory per-kilogram launch price for smallsats and charging extra for flight hardware, spacecraft shipping, regulatory guidance or integration services, Spaceflight offers acll-in pricing for its launch services.

• “Book My Launch” online reservation system: As easy as booking an airline flight, Spaceflight has developed a convenient way to book a smallsat launch completely online. Users simply specify their spacecraft configurations, indicate orbital destination, desired launch timing, and any extras such as insurance, fueling and licensing, and reserve with a credit card.

• “Mission Control” platform: Once booked on a launch, Spaceflight customers securely log into Spaceflight’s new Mission Control web platform to manage mission tasks, upload documents, access templates and FAQs, track progress and milestones. Everything associated with current and past launches is at your fingertips for easy, convenient and always-available mission management.

• New Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles: The company recently announced it will be flying the first in its portfolio of new space vehicles, Sherpa-FX, on its next SpaceX rideshare mission, slated no earlier than December 2020. The Sherpa-NG (next generation) family of orbital transfer vehicles provides the flexibility, orbital diversification, and mission assurance developers need, while reducing costs and improving lead times to get on orbit.

• Reconfigurable avionics: Spaceflight is actively developing a highly flexible and rapidly reconfigurable separation sequencer which provides industry-leading capabilities for smallsat deployments. In addition to custom sequencing scripts, the sequencer hosts communications hardware to independently downlink separation telemetry, and is designed to work with most available separation systems.

• Tracking and identifying spacecraft program: Spaceflight is introducing flight-proven technologies to help customers identify and track their spacecraft immediately following launch and deployment. With these tracking systems, customers will have access to information that can facilitate first contact and early operations, mitigate space congestion, and provide the foundation of effective and responsible space traffic management.

• New launch vehicles and agreements: Spaceflight works with a global portfolio of launch vehicles, including Falcon 9, Antares, Electron, Vega, and PSLV, to provide a variety of launch options to its customers. It has also signed launch agreements with emerging new vehicles, including NSIL’s SSLV, Relativity’s Terran 1, and Firefly’s Alpha, to accommodate customers’ specific mission plans.

“Delays in launch are inevitable but being able to switch launches when they occur is critically important to ensure our IoT network constellation gets on orbit as efficiently and expeditiously as possible,” said Kjell Karlsen, CFO of Astrocast. “Spaceflight not only offers an expansive portfolio of launch options, but their integration and mission management expertise in working with the various vehicles, as well as their experience with the international regulations and licensing, has given Astrocast a reliable and valuable partner. Working with Spaceflight has been a pleasure, and we’re looking forward to our next launch with them on their next SpaceX rideshare aboard the Sherpa-FX flyer.”

For more information on any of the new services, registered SmallSat 2020 attendees can visit Spaceflight’s virtual exhibit August 3 through 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., MDT, to talk with staff, or contact sales@spaceflight.com for more details.

Leaf Space, a company that provides ground segment services for smallsats, has signed an MoU consolidating a partnership agreement with CYSEC, a Swiss cybersecurity company, to offer end-to-end cyber security protection for satellite communications (SATCOM).

Smallsats with a size ranging from a shoebox to the size of a washing machine are revolutionizing the space industry by combining excellent capabilities with lower development costs and a shorter time-to-market, making them attractive for a whole new range of services relying on data collected in space.

Cybersecurity has not been, historically, a priority for space engineers, with the focus being on maximizing the available mass on board rather than adding extra security features. That situation is changing as smallsats are quite capable in collecting sensitive and valuable data, raising numerous questions on the resilience of the ground and space infrastructure against cyber attacks.

CYSEC is a cybersecurity company with a mission to offer smallsat operators the first off-the-shelf solutions protecting their infrastructure and data against cyber risks. Initially supported by the ESA Business Incubation program to research the gap in the market and develop dedicated solutions, CYSEC is now releasing a full product portfolio for both the ground and space segments providing end-to-end cyber security protection for satellite communications.

As a ground segment as-a-service relying on a growing critical infrastructure with ground stations distributed all over the globe, Leaf Space is well-positioned to understand the cybersecurity challenges faced by smallsat operators.

Due to the complexity of satellite architectures, there are many possible entry points for a hacker from which to eavesdrop, tamper with information, cause a service interruption or, even worse, take control of satellites.

ARCA, CYSEC’s flagship product, consists of a secured backend infrastructure that can run critical software and store sensitive data. Its main advantage is the simplicity of its integration as it is compatible with modern virtualization tools that software developers use today such as Docker, Kubernetes, VMWare, etc while using state-of-the-art certified hardware. The collaboration between CYSEC and Leaf Space offers an end-to-end protection covering the ground station network and the mission control software on the ground hosted by the satellite operator.

The partners will extend their collaboration by offering smallsat operators and manufacturers the possibility of adding a dedicated root of trust on board the satellites. The companies are in advanced discussions with several operators to implement a common security architecture on the ground that combines the Leaf Space network of ground stations with the mission control software in ARCA.

Executive Comments

Jonata Puglia, CEO of Leaf Space, said, “Cybersecurity is now a major concern for certain Newspace actors and will become always more relevant in the near future in our industry. As a provider of ground infrastructure we want our customers to benefit from the best level of protection available today. CYSEC is the first to propose pragmatic solutions to this issue. ”

A few simple steps can efficiently discourage criminals, as Mathieu Bailly, VP Space at CYSEC explained, “Our goal is to offer operators accessible tools that show the best compromise between the level of protection and the impact on the satellite design and operations. With the help of Leaf Space, we can now easily secure all ground operations using our ARCA platform. In addition to the ground segment, we want to stress the importance of having a root of trust on board the satellite to prevent any attack prior to launch. We designed our ARCASpace product line to secure the minimum amount of information required to trust all operations performed on board.”

Giovanni Pandolfi, Leaf Space CTO, added, “ARCA truly makes cyber security finally accessible for smallsat operators without even having to change their current habits. Combining the Leaf Space network engine with the mission control software in the ARCA trusted execution environment is a game-changer in terms of cyber resilience.”

Alexandre Karlov, CYSEC CTO, noted, “We understood very quickly that in the smallsat market there is no cybersecurity culture yet. In particular about the generation, storage, management and handling of the cryptographic secrets that will be used on board the satellite during the mission, for example to encrypt the payload data collected in space. If these secrets are compromised then the entire mission is at risk.”

A focus for the Space Dynamics Laboratory during the SmallSat Conference is a small satellite built by the company that is providing scientists unprecedented images for a spacecraft of its size.

Measuring only 10 centimeters wide, 10 centimeters high and 30 centimeters long, the smallsat was designed, manufactured, integrated, and tested by SDL and carries the Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter payload built by the Earth and Space Institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The program is funded by NASA and is under the direction of principal investigator Dr. J. Vanderlei Martins. HARP is designed to measure the microphysical properties of cloud and aerosol particles in Earth’s atmosphere.

HARP was launched on November 2, 2019, from a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket in its Cygnus cargo spacecraft. Following a three-month stay on the International Space Station, HARP was deployed into orbit on February 19, 2020.

SDL also manages mission operations for HARP’s flight while UMBC manages the science operations.

Cloud and aerosol processes influence climate change, which affects our oceans, weather, ecosystems, and society at large. The largest impediments to estimating climate change are a lack of quantitative information about aerosol forcing, insufficient understanding of aerosol-cloud processes, and cloud feedbacks in the climate system. New observations and a better understanding of aerosol-cloud processes will help to narrow climate change estimate uncertainties.

HARP, an imaging polarimeter with hyper-angular capability, can make a strong contribution to characterizing ice and water cloud properties. Polarization and an increased number of observation angles provides a much clearer picture of cloud droplet distribution, adding the width of the droplet distribution to the currently measured effective radius.

Executive Comment

“Dr. Martins and his team from UMBC are providing NASA with incredibly specialized images from low earth orbit of our atmosphere, further validating that Earth science from space can be achieved with small satellites,” said Tim Neilsen, SDL program manager for HARP. “The application of space-based Earth observation technology has historically been the domain of large satellites. HARP helps to confirm that miniaturized sensors on small satellites can provide a high degree of fidelity at a fraction of the cost and time it takes to build larger satellites.”

“HARP is the first ever instrument in space to perform moderate spatial resolution measurements of the cloud droplet size distribution using a hyperangular polarization capability. HARP is also a precursor for future image polarimeters to perform global measurements of aerosol and cloud properties, including the HARP2 instrument that is currently being built at UMBC to fly in the NASA PACE mission,” said Dr. Martins.

RBC Signals is hosting a webinar during the SmallSat Conference that focuses on the Evolving State of Ground Stations and Data.  

CEO Christopher Richins and President Ron Faith will be hosting this event on Monday, August 3, at 12:00 p.m., MDT. They will explore:

• Data centric architectures needed in the ground segment to realize the full potential of satellites
• Trends and challenges in ground segment architecture to address the coming flood of small satellite data, including antennas, software defined radios, compute and storage at the edge and public cloud integration

To attend this webinar event, please access this direct link…

SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. have joined the Orbital Transports partner network and will offer their Reentry Device (RED) product line in the Space Catalog.

The RED-50, RED-25 and RED-4U products are on-demand, payload return capsules that provide low-cost, autonomous, downmass capabilities from Earth orbit. The RED systems accommodate flexible payload configurations, precision reentry, and thermal management requirements to provide rapid return for LEO orbit manufacturing and experimentation.

The capsule-shaped systems are nominally capable of returning 6-50 kg of payload from space to anywhere within the contiguous United States. RED-25 can return payloads up to 25 kg from LEO.

The RED product line will be available through the Space Catalog, Orbital Transports’ digital portal for the smallsat industry showcasing some of the industry’s most innovative and reliable companies. Featuring smallsat buses, COTS hardware components, ground station services and mission operations software, orbital transfer services, hosted payloads, and satellite servicing and refueling technologies, the Space Catalog provides a convenient go-to resource to check out the latest and greatest that the smallsat industry has to offer.

Executive Comments

“The capability to put an experiment on a smallsat and return the research materials back to Earth at the end of the mission has generated great enthusiasm among NASA and academic research scientists,” said David Hurst, CEO of Orbital Transports. “It enables microgravity experiments with sample return for customers in the biotech, pharma, and space manufacturing sectors. We’re excited to make this whole new class of smallsat mission possibilities available in the Space Catalog.”

“We developed the RED product line to provide an on-demand, low-cost reentry device to reduce the barrier to access the LEO economy,” said Tyler Kunsa, Business Unit Lead of reentry capsules at SpaceWorks. “We view LEO as the next commercial frontier to develop novel materials, create new pharmaceuticals, support regenerative medicine, and collect on-orbit samples. Our RED product line fills a key gap in the LEO commercial business case by providing routine and high-cadence ‘downmass’ capabilities from orbit.”

Arralis is virtually participating in this year’s SmallSat Conference. This company is involved in advanced millimeter wave technology.

The company operates in the communications, satellite, aerospace and defence markets with Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs), packaged modules, sub-systems and complete high definition radars and satellite receivers.

The firm’s business model is to design and build every part of a radar or communication system from the devices through modules, sub-systems, systems and innovative antennas. Arralis hold patents in antennas and exceptionally low loss waveguide transitions up to 110 GHz.

Arralis has locations in UK, Ireland and in the USA; in Florida, the company is building an ITAR compliant design and production facility.

The company is “showing” their…

• Arralis K/Ka band Satellite Communication Transceivers
  This transceiver module enables direct interface with a modem or Software Defined Radio (SDR) and enables full-function Ka-band satellite systems.
  The RF outputs and inputs are standard waveguide flanges for high reliability and low loss antenna connections. In order to maximize data rates, the transmitter has an output monitoring function that enables precise amplitude stability when coupled with external pre-distortion or gain control systems.
  The module is a complete RF satellite system that allows spacecraft designers a fast, reliable and cost effective means of implementing high data- rate Ka Band payloads.Additional channels can be added in both the Transmit and Receive paths to accommodate specific customer requirement.

• The LE-K1330308 is a High Power MMIC Amplifier fabricated on space qualified 0.25um GaN on SiC. LE-K1330308 operates from 17.5-20 GHz and typically delivers 10W saturated output power, with power-added efficiency of 25% and large-signal gain of 20dB in a compact die size of 3.6×2.9mm.
  LE-K1330308 is matched to 50Ω with integrated DC blocking capacitors on RF ports. The part incorporates an output power detector to assist with system integration and is well suited for satellite communications and point to point applications.

An Arralis video of the firm’s products for space applications that is viewable at this direct link…

While the company won’t be able to meet in person this year, ASTRA invites virtual attendees to connect with the company during the SmallSat 2020 Virtual Conference — ASTRA has a booth (#9) for this year’s virtual setting and the firm is eager for the chance to meet with those attending this event.

The company will be engaging in live chats and will be able to answer any questions. Additionally…

• Connect with ASTRA at their Virtual Booth, to find the latest information and updates on our current projects… the firm’s live chat will occur daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., EST. Select this direct link…
• Webinar – ASTRA Space: Turning Data into Actionable Knowledge
  Monday, August 3, 2020
  1:00-2:00 PM ET
  Join at this direct link…
• Workshop Instruments / Science II
  Thursday, August 6, 2020
  2:00-3:00 PM ET
  Join at this direct link…
• ASTRA Live Chat
  Daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  Join at this direct link…

Web Industries Inc. will highlight their capability to design and manufacture thermal insulation blankets and micrometeoroid shielding products at the Small Satellite Conference 2020, August 3-6. Normally held at Utah State University, Logan, Utah, this year’s SmallSat will take place entirely online, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Space and aerospace OEMs and other visitors registered for SmallSat are invited to meet online with Web Industries officials at one of four designated time slots during the conference. All meetings are individual and confidential. Web engineers will be on hand to meet at the following times: 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday, Aug. 3, through Thursday, August 6.

At SmallSat, Web Industries will showcase its multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets and formatted materials for thermal management tasks aboard satellites and space vehicles. MLI blankets are lightweight components consisting of multiple layers of film or foil that reflect radiated heat energy, offering exceptional performance in space environments.

In a new development, Web is employing Creo CAD software for the first time in the firm’s design of MLI blankets. The software enhances Web’s ability to process three-dimensional images and convert them into two-dimensional shapes, resulting in MLI blankets that more closely conform with dimensional requirements.

In addition, Web will exhibit its proven capability to design and manufacture micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shielding products. High-velocity MMOD particles pose a serious risk of damage to satellites and space vehicles, especially in low Earth orbits. MMOD shields consist of multiple layers of Kevlar® and other high-strength materials. Successive shield layers break up MMOD particles on contact and prevent debris from damaging the spacecraft.

Executive Comment

“During SmallSat, Web representatives plan to address certain key issues of interest to space/satellite OEMs as part of the virtual meeting framework,” said Web’s Business Development Manager for Thermal Insulation, Lee Smith. “These include efforts to speed turnaround and reduce cycle times in MLI blanket production, the benefits of increasingly automated MLI manufacturing, and the ability to supply finished blankets with integrated fasteners directly to the launch pad.”