Archives for October 2020

A launch delay on Thursday due to a small technical issue was corrected enabling today’s successful launch on Saturday, October 24, at 11:31 a.m. EDT, 11:31 UTC launch of SpaceX’s 60 Starlink satellites. The launch to orbit took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket launched at 11:31 a.m. during the instantaneous window, in which SpaceX did not have a longer timeframe to wait out possible weather violations. This mission also marked the 100th successful flight of a Falcon rocket since Falcon 1 first flew to orbit in 2008.

Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The Starlink satellites deployed approximately 1 hour and 3 minutes after liftoff.

On Thursday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet that the team reported “a small-seeming issue with loss of upper stage camera,” referring to the rocket’s second stage. “Probably nothing serious, but standing down to re-examine (the) whole vehicle just in case.”

Leading up to Saturday’s launch, SpaceX lead manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said the issue was resolved and the rocket was healthy.

SpaceX landed the booster about eight minutes after launch on the droneship called Just Read the Instruction already waiting in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the third flight for this rocket first-stage. SpaceX wasn’t attempting to catch the fairings for this launch but will retrieve them after they land in the water.

NanoAvionics has revealed the remaining three payloads of the firm’s ‘D-2/AtlaCom-1’ rideshare mission hosted on board their M6P 6U smallsat bus.

The additional payloads, a camera for hyperspectral remote sensing, a new high-gain X-band antenna and an upgraded X-Band downlink transmitter, are all part of an international collaboration by an international consortium and its partners called “HyperActive”.

The consortium partners for this international collaboration comprise Dragonfly Aerospace (South Africa), Space JLTZ (Mexico) and NanoAvionics US as a supplier to the consortium, as well as mission contributors Polytechnical University of Atlacomulco (Mexico), and CubeCom (South Africa).

Expected to launch in mid-2021, the primary aim of the HyperActive program is a flight demonstration of the hyperspectral imaging and communication payloads. The secondary aim is to evaluate market interest for hyperspectral imaging data captured and processed as part of the program.

Within this collaboration, NanoAvionics will act as the supplier to the HyperActive consortium, taking care of all aspects related to the satellite mission including among others payload integration, performance testing, spacecraft registration and logistics, frequency allocation and payload on-orbit operations.

Responsible for processing the collected hyperspectral data and distributing it to interested parties around the world is Space JLTZ, a space company from Puebla, Mexico. The generated data can be used to develop innovation solutions and optimize various industries such as agriculture yield, mining, livestock, detection of changes in vegetation, pollutants and urban changes including monitoring of vehicles.

For example, a hyperspectral sensor can ‘see’ the spectral signature of an invasive disease threatening an entire harvest, allowing farmers to take preventive steps. Initially, the data will be openly available to all interested parties worldwide, including the Polytechnical University of Atlacomulco, which will allow its students to explore and discover possible applications.

Executive Comments

“This program shows how important international collaboration can be to the NewSpace sector and how it enables low barrier entry for space data businesses,” said F. Brent Abbott, CEO of NanoAvionics US. “I’m very proud that NanoAvionics is part of this effort as well as stimulating education development and contributing to global social benefits such as ocean and agricultural monitoring. NanoAvionics also values its role as a strategic ally for space development in Mexico. Mexico’s participation in the AtlaCom-1 project is possible thanks to the support of Space JLTZ, its extraordinary team and its visionary CEO and president, José Luis Terreros Corrales, The long-term vision and the efforts around AtlaCom-1 by the Mexican Space Agency, and especially the exemplary support of the Municipality of Atlacomulco of Mexico and its space enthusiastic Mayor and engineer, Roberto Tellez Monroy, this team is making history and have laid the ground work to establish a nanosatellite infrastructure for future space missions in Mexico.”

“The team at Dragonfly Aerospace is excited to be working with these great partners on this mission,” said Bryan Dean, CEO of Dragonfly Aerospace. “It fits very well with our plans to team up with leading satellite bus and image processing partners to provide compelling solutions to end users. The Mantis imager is the latest addition to our range of cost-effective hyperspectral imagers which also includes the Chameleon imager that we delivered for flight earlier this year.”

José Luis Terreros Corrales, CEO and President of Space JLTZ, said, “It is a well-known truth that space exploration is the next step for humankind. Speaking as president of Space JLTZ but mostly as a Mexican I couldn’t be more excited and prouder of launching this project and sending Mexico onto a space path. We know this alliance with two giants, NanoAvionics and Dragonfly, is only the beginning of a great partnership that will change the course of the space industry in Mexico.”

Axelspace Corporation has launched their business continuity plan (BCP) support service to conduct timely situational analysis in response to accidents and natural disasters, using satellite imagery data.

In preparation for occurrence of incidents, including unexpected events and accidents, BCP support service will periodically monitor the designated areas by capturing with satellite imagery data. It allows to take immediate control of the crisis situation, verify the situation of target assets and the surrounding environment in a confidential manner, by conducting emergency capturing based on predetermined terms.

In addition, monitoring of the current situation and verification of the surrounding environment during the recovery phase is made possible, without going to the actual location, because of periodic monitoring prior to the occurrence of the incident.

In many cases, situational analysis is conducted in an unplanned approach as the crisis unfolds, leading to difficulty in conducting verification, especially in areas restricted to enter. On the other hand, the conventional satellite imagery data takes time to arrange for the capture and has the issue of high cost for emergency capturing order.

With this BCP support service, the plan starts as low as US$500/month to capture every three months during the normal times and in times of crisis, will automatically capture, deliver the data and in addition, can provide data analysis service based on the client’s needs.

Compared to putting a new order request at the time of incident occurrence, the BCP support service plan has a huge advantage on ease of ordering, handling speed and cost, although there will be a separate emergency handling service cost.

Reach out for details, as the emergency handling cost will be different, based on the kind of service required at the time of crisis and the latency requirements upon the occurrence of the incidents.

In delivering the BCP support service, Axelspace will mainly be using AxelGlobe, the company’s proprietary rapid Earth observation monitoring platform, currently in development.

The first GRUS, the satellite used for AxelGlobe, was launched in December 2018 and in service already. 4 additional satellites will be launched soon, making it a 5-satellite system, allowing to monitor anywhere in the world every 3 days.

Yet another SpaceX Starlink mission is planned targeting Thursday, October 22 at 12:14 p.m. EDT, 16:14 UTC, for its fifteenth Starlink mission, which will launch 60 Starlink satellites to orbit. Falcon 9 will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. There is a backup opportunity available on Friday, October 23 at 11:53 a.m. EDT, 15:53 UTC.

Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. You can watch the launch webcast live starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.  

Earlier this week, Ector County Independent School District in Texas announced their participation in a pilot program to help local students and their families access high-speed, low-latency internet. Similar to other rural communities, many residents of Ector County have limited to no connectivity.

This issue was brought to the forefront for the school district earlier this year when COVID-19 forced school building closures and nearly two in five students did not have access to reliable high-speed internet at home. Starting in 2021, Starlink will connect up to 45 households in the community as part of the pilot program. As network capabilities continue to grow, it will then expand service to an additional 90 households in the school district.

D-Orbit secured 15 million euros financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in September, marking the first time that the EIB has funded a space firm — the funds will advance the expansion of the company, whose goal is to redefine the standards of the orbital transportation industry.

In March, the company had already secured a funding round of more than $10 million led by the Italian Neva F.I.R.S.T., Intesa Sanpaolo’s Corporate Venture Capital investment vehicle managed by Neva SGR, and some new and existing investors. Among the new investors are 808 Ventures, an Australian tech investor, the US-based View Different, Savim and two Italian private investment vehicles Geostazionaria and ClubDealOnline (contributing about $3 million).

Existing investors, such as Seraphim Capital, Noosphere Ventures, Elysia Capital, CDP Venture Capital Sgr., Nova Capital and TT Venture, also reaffirmed their commitment and trust in the company by incrementing their initial investments.

D-Orbit recently launched their ION Satellite Carrier, a satellite platform developed and operated in house that is able to host several satellites and deploy them in their precise operational slot in one or more orbits and the firm is completing the ground testing campaign of a new satellite carrier destined for a second, fully booked ION mission.

Executive Comment

“We are truly grateful to all our shareholders, those who have just joined our Company and those who have believed in us from the very beginning, like Indaco SGR, Comoventures, and Il Club degli Investitori,” said Luca Rossettini, Founder and CEO of D-Orbit. “Their trust and support have enabled us to carry on with our roadmap through these extraordinary times reaching exceptional objectives.”

Less than a week after the September launch of GHGSat-C1 (‘Iris’), built by Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), GHGSat Inc. recorded the smallsat’s first successful measurement of a methane emission from a known oil and gas facility in Turkmenistan. A week later, the satellite operator tasked Iris to measure a much smaller, controlled methane release from a test site in Alberta, Canada. The satellite-based measurement was successful and confirmed with an airborne sensor.

GHGSat Inc. created the sample image by colorizing the methane concentration measurements that exceeded normal background levels captured over the Alberta test site. The colorized measurements are overlaid on an aerial photograph to provide context.

Precise attitude control and sensor pointing are critical to the success of an atmospheric monitoring microsatellite like GHGSat-C1. The 20x30x40-centimeter satellite must keep its greenhouse gas measuring spectrometer pointed at an area of interest on the ground as the satellite continues on its path.

GHGSat-C1 (‘Iris’) was launched on September 2, 2020, aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Also on that launch was NEMO-HD, an Earth observation microsatellite built by SFL for Slovenia.

GHGSat Inc. awarded SFL the development contract for GHGSat-C1 after building the pathfinding GHGSat-D (“Claire”) smallsat in 2016. Using high-precision target tracking capabilities developed by SFL, Claire successfully demonstrated that sources of methane and other gas emissions could be detected and measured from space. SFL is currently developing another microsatellite, GHGSat-C2, for the company.

Executive Comments

“The successful measurement of methane concentrations in the air above the oil and gas facility indicates the advanced microsatellite attitude control and precise point technologies developed by SFL and built into GHGSat-C1 are functioning as designed,” said SFL Director Dr. Robert E. Zee. “We have a very mature and high-performance attitude control system that can handle various maneuvers and pointing modes with relative ease” said Zee. “In particular, we fine-tuned the attitude control required for GHGSat-C1 by leveraging the results from the GHGSat-D demonstration mission in 2016.”

Established at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) in 1998, SFL has developed CubeSats, nanosatellites, and microsatellites that have achieved more than 128 cumulative years of operation in orbit. These microspace missions have included SFL’s trusted attitude control and, in some cases, formation-flying capabilities. Other core SFL-developed components include modular (scalable) power systems, onboard radios, flight computers, and control software.

TriSept Corporation has signed a launch services contract with the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) unit to broker and integrate a milestone cubesat technology demonstration mission scheduled to launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron early next year.

As part of the demonstration mission, the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command will test a proven smallsat bus as host of its new 3U Gunsmoke-J technology initiative aimed at fostering the development of new, game-changing capabilities for the U.S. Army’s tactical ground forces.

TriSept secured both the U.S. Army’s rideshare slot and payload dispenser, which will release the 3U CubeSat into orbit once in space aboard the Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle. TriSept will integrate the small satellite with the CubeSat dispenser at Rocket Lab’s Long Beach, California facility about 30 days before the scheduled launch date.

TriSept’s team will then travel to the Rocket Lab launch site in Mahia, New Zealand, where it will manage the integration and encapsulation of the dispenser device, carrying the satellite and electrical interfaces inside the fairing, about two to three weeks prior to liftoff atop Electron’s upper stage.

Executive Comments

“Gunsmoke-J is a joint capability technology demonstration executed by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and sponsored by both the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Army,” said Eddie Johnson, Gunsmoke-J Program Manager, U.S. Army SMDC Technical Center. “This science and technology effort will demonstrate an entry-level capability in a 3U form factor relevant to U.S. Army warfighter needs. The mission will also help inform future acquisition decisions.”

“This leading-edge mission for the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command will orbit aboard a satellite smaller than a loaf of bread, but will have a huge impact on milestone developments in warfighter capabilities on the battlefield and beyond,” said Rob Spicer, TriSept CEO. “TriSept is thrilled to have secured the rideshare slot, dispenser hardware, regulatory compliance in both nations, and spacecraft integration for this important technology demonstration in space. We look forward to integrating this small but game-changing payload aboard a Rocket Lab Electron in the coming months.”

“This rideshare exemplifies the very heart of our overall vision at Rocket Lab; that even the smallest of the small satellites can make a major difference in both commercial and government markets,” said Lars Hoffman, SVP of Global Launch Services for Rocket Lab. “The U.S. Army will be able to hone its capabilities around the world as a result of this CubeSat mission for the Space and Missile Defense Command. We look forward to another Electron launch with TriSept’s key launch integration and overall program support ahead of liftoff set for Q1 next year.”

Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”) and Kepler Communications Inc. (“Kepler”) have signed a launch service agreement to deploy two additional satellites for Kepler’s GEN1 constellation in 2021.

Momentus’ rideshare service will include launch provisions and delivery to the customer’s desired orbital altitude while maintaining the SSO inclination using Momentus’ Vigoride transfer vehicle. The GEN1 platform supports both Kepler’s Global Data Service, a wideband high-capacity data service, and EverywhereIoT, a narrowband solution for Internet of Things applications.

With deployment beginning in late 2020, Kepler’s GEN1 constellation is the first to offer both wideband and narrowband services from LEO. The two new satellites will deliver additional commercial capacity for Kepler’s Global Data Service and provide additional support for on-going technology demonstrations for EverywhereIoT.

For communications and IoT satellites, the Local Time of the Ascending Node (LTAN/LTDN) is important in terms of offering fleet coverage diversity so that a satellite operator can offer data and analytics over a variety of times. Once in orbit, Momentus’ Vigoride transfer vehicle can change the LTAN/LTDN of a spacecraft deployed by using precession — a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. Kepler will be a prominent customer for Momentus’ LTAN shift service as they build out their constellation.

Executive Comments

Jared Bottoms, Director, Space Systems at Kepler, said, “Securing this launch with Momentus represents a key milestone in the deployment of our GEN1 constellation. We look forward to the successful launch, and the benefits of the Vigoride service. Assurance on an accurate LTAN insertion is key for Kepler as we serve users on a global scale, and this played a significant role in our selection of Momentus for this mission.”

Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus, said, “Momentus is honored to enable Kepler’s IOT constellation and will efficiently deploy their GEN1 satellites to precise and specific orbits, thereby enabling Kepler to expand their commercial service.”

mu Space and Advanced Technology, Satellite and Space Technologies venture — led by an aerospace engineer James Yenbamroong (Founder and CEO of the company) — are in talks to raise as much as $25 million in series B funding at a pre-money valuation of $75 million (2.3 billion Baht.)

According to a document reviewed by people familiar with the company’s fundraising activities, the new funding will raise the value of ‘mu Space’ to more than $100 million.

The new funding is expected to conclude in the fourth quarter. The new $25 million series B funding will be spent on the development of a High Throughput Satellite (HTS), whose majority of its components will be developed by ‘mu Space’ engineers. The satellite will be deployed to provide commercial broadband internet services in Thailand and the Asia Pacific Region.

The new funding will also help the company build a medium-sized ‘future’ factory to develop and manufacture space technology, which includes satellites, automation systems, and robots. These innovations will be placed into service in the future. It is expected that the projects will boost investment and employment by generating thousands of new high-paying job opportunities that meet the future demand for the rapidly-growing space technology industry.

Leveraging on existing strong ground infrastructure assets, ‘mu Space’ has partnered with “TOT,” the Thai state-owned telecommunications infrastructure company, to establish a gateway system and provide ground services in key areas of various provinces in Thailand. In addition, ‘mu Space’ plans to demonstrate the new 5G technology in its factory in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area, where defence and aerospace industries are getting the highest priority in terms of government incentives and assistance, creating high-paying jobs for tech companies in the Eastern region.

As a future technology company, upcoming technologies from mu Space particularly a data center and spaceship concepts will support the rapid development of business sectors that have exceptionally high growth prospects such as Telecommunications, Banks, Securities, including the Industry of Automotive and Aerospace manufacturers.

The SVP of Kasikorn Securities said at a press conference of the MOU signing ceremony between TOT and mu Space that the satellite market — particularly, internet broadband services and the local mobile backhaul market — will likely continue to grow up to $1.3 billion per year in Thailand. He added that ‘mu Space’ aims to be a new leading technology player in the satellite industry and the pioneer in transforming the global space industry. According to Morgan Stanley, the value of the space economy will increase to $1.1 Trillion by 2040 globally.

‘mu Space’ previous investors include Mr. Prasop Jirawatwong, the owner of Nice Group — a major sports apparel manufacturer for Nike and Adidas — B. Grimm Power infrastructure conglomerate, Majuven Fund, LP Venture Capital, and Private Equity. Shared investors include high net worth individual trusts, family, and friends. Several investors who invested with the company before have confirmed to contribute in this fundraising round, along with new investors.

‘mu Space,’ founded in 2017, develops satellite and space technologies. In 2018, the company made history for sending the first payload into space from Asia to be onboard with New Shepard, a Blue Origin‘s rocket. ‘mu Space’ plans to launch its satellite and to lead space technology development in Asia-Pacific.

In addition, the ultimate goal of ‘mu Space’ is to solve resource depletion and overpopulation problems by finding new resources outside the earth. The company is determined to build future infrastructure for human colonies and factories on the Moon. The company is aiming to make space tourism possible in years to come.