Archives for November 2020

The acquisition of global satellite communications company, OneWeb, has been completed as of Friday, November 20, following a successful UK Government bid in July of 2020 in a consortium with international telecoms operator, Bharti Global.

This is a significant strategic investment, demonstrating the government’s commitment to the UK’s space sector and ambition to put Britain at the forefront of a new commercial space-age. OneWeb is now staffing up to complete the development of its first generation constellation, adding new employees in the UK. The government will continue to work with OneWeb to maximize the benefits to the UK from the OneWeb program, both before and after commercial launch.

The company has the foundation of the network already in place, with 74 satellites launched and infrastructure in development in strategic locations around the world. The company is launching another 34 to 36 satellites in December, bringing its on-orbit fleet to 110 satellites. OneWeb is on track to start commercial connectivity services to the UK and the Arctic region in late 2021 and will expand to delivering global services in 2022.

The UK government is committed to work with OneWeb’s shareholder partners to use this investment as a platform to promote UK jobs and supply chains and protect UK critical assets and intellectual property.

OneWeb will provide a new source of broadband connectivity for businesses, communities, and governments around the world. It could also improve connectivity in a broad range of sectors, including aviation, maritime, government, and enterprise customers, unlocking digital services and applications in a wide range of locations that historically have not access to low latency broadband connectivity.

OneWeb was formed in 2012 and has been developing cutting-edge satellite technology from its facilities both here in the UK and in the United States.

The UK government will have a final say over any future sale of the company and over future access to OneWeb technology by other countries on national security grounds.

Executive Comments

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said, “This strategic investment demonstrates Government’s commitment to the UK’s space sector in the long-term and our ambition to put Britain at the cutting edge of the latest advances in space technology. Access to our own global fleet of satellites has the potential to connect people worldwide, providing fast UK-backed broadband from the Shetlands to the Sahara and from Pole to Pole. This deal gives us the chance to build on our strong advanced manufacturing and services base in the UK, creating jobs and technical expertise.”

Sunil Bharti, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Global, added, “Together with our partners at HMG, we are looking forward to a new LEO opportunity. Innovation, resilience and growth in the high-tech sector are all served by this powerful global opportunity. By the end of 2022, OneWeb will be a truly global force for good.”

Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, noted, “This landmark government investment marks the start of an incredibly exciting period for OneWeb and the whole UK space sector, which can play a vital role in our economic recovery. Global connectivity has never been more important and there is a significant opportunity for satellite constellations to deliver a range of valuable services to consumers, businesses and government.”

AAC Clyde Space has embarked upon a three year project named xSPANCION with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop an innovative, satellite constellation service, including the manufacture of 10 spacecraft.

The UK Space Agency, through ESA, will co-fund the project. AAC Clyde Space intends to, outside this project, enter into customer service agreements for data delivery from the constellation. During the first phase of the project running until mid-2021, AAC Clyde Space will deliver a preliminary design for its next generation space as a service offering.

The value of this first phase is 1.8 million euros, of which 0.9 million euros will be co-funded by UK Space Agency through ESA, providing sufficient resources to achieve comfortably this part of the project. The co-funding from UK Space Agency will be recognized as revenue with no net margin, as AAC Clyde Space and partners will co-fund the remaining 0.9 million euros.

Once the first phase is successfully completed, the project culminates in the manufacture of 10 satellites and a demonstration of four of those satellites in orbit. The value of this part of the project is 17.9 million euros, of which 8.9 million euros will be co-funded by UK Space Agency through ESA.

In parallel, and in anticipation to the second phase, AAC Clyde Space intends to enter into customer agreements for data delivery from its constellation services, bringing additional match co-fund to the project. The latter part of the project will ready AAC Clyde Space for large volume production and constellation operations. The project encompasses design of a satellite platform and production process, manufacturing, licensing, and launch co-ordination, as well as the development of new technologies for the future constellation, such as for propulsion, intersatellite links, safe and secure transmission of data and a customer interface.

Several parts of the project will benefit from development work financed by Scottish Enterprise as announced in June of 2020. The project is structured as a Public Private Partnership, through which AAC Clyde Space will collaborate with Bright Ascension, the University of Strathclyde, D-Orbit UK, the Satellite Applications Catapult and Alden Legal UK.

Executive Comments

“xSPANCION will revolutionize our space as a service offering. It will allow us to significantly reduce the cost of every message collected, every image captured, supporting those business cases that to date have not been able to justify the capex to have 100s of sensors in orbit. Fundamentally, our customers will no longer have to worry about how to access space, they can focus on how to enhance their core business. The xSPANCION project will catalyze a new generation of applications not previously possible,” said AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes.

“This game-changing project will see AAC Clyde Space develop cutting edge technology, including communication between satellites to increase data performance, and help keep the UK at the forefront of the global small satellite market. Building satellites quicker and in higher volumes is not only vital to meet the increasing demand for services we all rely on, it also supports the launch of small satellites from UK soil in the coming years. The UK is a leading investor in telecommunications research, which is why we recently committed a £250 million of investment to back ESA projects led by innovative companies like AAC Clyde Space,” added the UK Space Agency Chief Executive, Dr. Graham Turnock.

Horizon Technologies has shipped their first AMBER cubesat payload to AAC Clyde Space in Glasgow, Scotland — once the first payload arrives in Scotland, it will undergo testing and then be integrated into the AAC Clyde Space bus in preparation for launch.

AMBER is a public/private partnership with the UK Government and Horizon Technologies uses innovative and proprietary technologies to collect and geolocate RF signals from Earth without the need of self-reporting technologies, such as AIS (Automatic Identification System), in detecting and monitoring vessels and without the use of “clusters” of satellites.

AMBER uses single cubesats rather than “clusters. This results in lower total system costs and these savings are passed on to Horizon Technologies’ customers. In addition to geolocation, the AMBER constellation will provide a detailed and advanced (demodulated) data set on the signals which are collected.

The company’s worldwide customers (many of them current users of our FlyingFish airborne SIGINT system) want far more than just geolocations for RF emitters. Customers want actionable intelligence data on targets of interest in addition to geolocation. For many maritime targets of interest, it is important to meet customer requirements for detailed, granular data such as extracted GPS locations, specific radar ID data, L-Band metadata/content, etc., from emitters. AMBER provides this detail.

Despite COVID, Horizon Technologies is completing its most successful year — FlyingFish sales and customers are at an all-time high. Next year, thanks to the outstanding dedication of the entire Horizon Technologies development team, and the firm’s partners, AMBER will be on-orbit and providing critical MDA data to our commercial and government customers.

Executive Comment

Horizon Technologies CEO, John Beckner, stated that “Horizon Technologies is not only on track to launch the first AMBER Maritime Intelligence CubeSat into orbit in mid-2021, but will be launching additional AMBER CubeSats next year.” Beckner noted, “We are thrilled with the continued support we are receiving from AAC NEWS RELEASE Clyde Space and the success of our partnership with them. Due to Covid-related delays affecting our launch windows, we have had time to implement major improvements in the expanded dataset we will be providing to our customers, and are very excited in being able to provide solutions to customers’ Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) challenges.”

Rocket Lab has successfully launched their 16^th Electron mission and deployed 30 small satellites to orbit, the largest number of satellites deployed by Electron to date on a single mission. 

The ‘Return to Sender’ mission also saw Rocket Lab complete a successful splashdown and recovery of the first stage of an Electron launch vehicle for the first time, bringing the stage back to Earth under a parachute after launch. The recovery of a stage is a major milestone in Rocket Lab’s pursuit to make Electron a reusable rocket to increase launch frequency and reduce launch costs for small satellites.

Approximately two and a half minutes after lift-off, at an altitude of around 80 km, Electron’s first and second stages separated per standard mission procedure. Once the engines shut down on Electron’s first stage, a reaction control system re-oriented the stage 180-degrees to place it on an ideal angle for re-entry, enabling it to survive the incredible heat and pressure known as “The Wall” during its descent back to Earth. A drogue parachute was deployed to increase drag and to stabilize the first stage as it descended, before a large main parachute was deployed in the final kilometres of descent.

The stage splashed down as planned. Rocket Lab’s recovery team will transport the stage back to Rocket Lab’s production complex, where engineers will inspect the stage to gather data that will inform future recovery missions. 

The ‘Return to Sender’ mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula at 15:20 UTC, 20 November 2020, deploying satellites from the below listed companies and organizations. The mission brings the total number of satellites launched by Rocket Lab to 95.

Among the payloads deployed were satellites designed to test new methods of deorbiting space debris, enable internet from space, and build upon a maritime surveillance constellation. The mission also saw New Zealand’s first student-built payload deployed to orbit, the APSS-1 satellite, which is designed to monitor electrical activity in Earth’s upper atmosphere to test whether ionospheric disturbances might be linked to earthquakes. Rocket Lab sponsored the project by providing the launch at no cost to the University of Auckland.

Joining the satellites for the ride to orbit was a mass simulator shaped like a garden gnome, launched to space in support of Starship Children’s Hospital. Manufactured by award-winning design studio Weta Workshop for Valve’s Gabe Newell, Gnome Chompski is a 150 mm, 3D printed, titanium gnome, created as a nod to an achievement in the game Half-Life 2 that sees players carry a gnome through the came before depositing him in a rocket to be launched to space.

While watching Gnome Chompski get launched to space for real was a spectacle enjoyed by gamers worldwide, Mr. Chompski also served an important R&D function by allowing Rocket Lab to test and qualify novel 3D printing techniques that could be employed for future spacecraft components. Gnome Chompski’s time in space is limited though, as he remains attached to Electron’s Kick Stage and will de-orbit with it when the stage burns up on re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.

For every person who watched the launch webcast, Mr. Newell donated a dollar to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Starship Children’s Hospital. More than $80,000 has so far been raised so far, and viewers still have more than 20 hours to watch the launch via YouTube at this direct link  and the view will count towards the total.

Note: All article imagery is courtesy of Rocket Lab’s launch streaming site.

Payloads…

DRAGRACER — Organization: TriSept

The DRAGRACER mission will test the effectiveness of new tether technologies designed to accelerate spacecraft reentry and reduce orbital debris at the conclusion of space missions. TriSept has completed the integration of a pair of qualified Millennium Space Systems 6U small satellites, one featuring the tether drag device and one without. The controlled spacecraft should deorbit in approximately 45 days, while the second spacecraft is expected to remain in orbit for seven to nine years, according to Tethers Unlimited, developer of the 70-meter-long (230 feet) Terminator Tape aboard the control satellite.

BRO-2 and BRO-3 — Organization: Unseenlabs

BRO-2 and BRO-3 are the second and third satellites in French company Unseenlabs’ planned constellation of about 20 satellites dedicated to maritime surveillance. The first BRO satellite was launched to orbit by Rocket Lab in August 2019. Unseenlabs’ constellation enables improved monitoring of activities at sea, such as illegal fishing and anti-environmental behavior. Thanks to a unique proprietary technology, the BRO satellites are the first to be able to independently and precisely locate and fingerprint Radio Frequency (RF) emitters all around the globe, day or night, in any weather condition, and without requiring any special embarked tracking device. With three satellites in orbit, Unseenlabs’ clients can now benefit from the shortest revisit time available on the satellite RF geolocation market.

APSS-1 — Organization: Auckland Program for Space Systems, The University of Auckland

The student-built Waka Āmiorangi Aotearoa APSS-1 satellite is designed to monitor electrical activity in Earth’s upper atmosphere to test whether ionospheric disturbances might be linked to earthquakes. The data from this mission will deliver deeper knowledge of these hard-to-access altitudes and drive understanding of how phenomena such as solar wind and geophysical events affect this atmospheric region.

Spacebees — Organization: Swarm Technologies

Swarm will launch the latest 24 1/4U SpaceBEE satellites to continue building out its planned constellation of 150 satellites to provide affordable satellite communications services to IoT devices in remote regions around the world. Swarm’s uniquely small satellites enable the company to provide network services and user hardware at the industry’s lowest cost and deliver maximum value to customers across a range of industries including maritime shipping, agriculture, energy, and ground transportation. The SpaceBEES will be integrated into two of Rocket Lab’s 3U Maxwell CubeSat dispensers for orbital deployment.

Mass Simulator: Gnome Chompski — Organization: Gabe Newell, Founder of Valve Software

Manufactured with support from multi-award-winning design studio Weta Workshop, the unique space component is additively manufactured from titanium and printed in the shape of Half-Life gaming icon Gnome Chompski. The mission serves as an homage to the innovation and creativity of gamers worldwide, and also aims to test and qualify a novel 3D printing technique that could be employed for future spacecraft components. The 150 mm gnome will remain attached to the Kick Stage during all mission phases and will burn up upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere during the de-orbiting process.

Executive Comment

“What the team achieved today in recovering Electron’s first stage is no mean feat. It took a monumental effort from many teams across Rocket Lab, and it’s exciting to see that work pay off in a major step towards making Electron a reusable rocket,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “It’s a privilege to once again provide access to orbit for our returning customers Unseenlabs, Swarm Technologies, and TriSept, and to deploy a satellite for the University of Auckland for the very first time,” said Mr Beck. “Thank you to our incredible customers, and to the tireless team behind Electron who delivered mission success once again.”

A strategic marketing firm working exclusively across the international space sector has been awarded a development grant from the UK Space Agency to establish a space hub on behalf of the Scottish Space Leadership Council (SSLC).

AstroAgency will use this financial support to advance the SSLC into a formalized entity, with the ultimate aim of connecting and promoting Scotland’s fast-growing space ecosystem nationally and internationally.

The SSLC was formed in 2016 as a voluntary, cross-sectoral representative organisation in response to the need for greater connection and collaboration within the Scottish and wider UK space community.

Established by industry experts, the space intelligence and marketing firm has grown to 12 staff in its first year, securing a long list of high profile and established global space clients and new entrants looking to transition into the sector.

Executive Comments

UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway explained, “This funding will arm local leaders up and down the UK with the tools they need to put their local areas at the front of the commercial space race, while refuelling the tank of the UK economy.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Iain Stewart, added, “Today’s funding announcement is another example of how the UK Government is securing the UK’s position as a global leader in the space sector. The investment in Scottish projects will contribute to regional economic growth and support the development of the space industry across the country.”

Scottish Trade, Investment & Innovation Minister, Ivan McKee, said, “The SSLC, with strong support from the Scottish Government and its agencies, already plays an important role in the development of our growing space sector, most recently bringing together the developing spaceports across the UK to form the Spaceports Alliance. This funding will further enhance its work and support our ambitions for Scotland to become Europe’s leading space nation. I welcome the UK Space Agency’s recognition of the importance of a unified industry voice from Scotland and for my part, I will champion the views of our sector at all levels of government. The Scottish Government’s aim is for Scotland to secure a £4 billion slice of the global space market by 2030, an ambitious but realistic target, and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration in order to further develop the sector and promote opportunities for our businesses.”

AstroAgency Founder Daniel Smith stated, “We look forward to outlining a strategy that ensures the SSLC remains at the forefront of industry developments. AstroAgency’s strategic space marketing focus means that we don’t simply raise awareness in space activity, but identify partnership and investment opportunities, provide regular market intelligence and connect partners directly into the NewSpace ecosystem. Our experienced international space team understands the opportunities that this innovative industry can deliver across every sector imaginable, not to mention the important role it has to play in boosting local economies and protecting our environment.”

Chair of the Scottish Space Leadership Council, John Innes, commented, “The SSLC, working together with the AstroAgency team, look forward to establishing a formalized Scottish hub suited to connecting and promoting the country’s vibrant space sector.”

Linda Hannah, Interim CEO of Scottish Enterprise, added, “The companies, organizations and support structures within the sector are on the same mission to create a thriving, world-leading and innovative hub that will drive an ambitious growth plan to create the jobs and tech solutions of the future too — this award is great news for the space sector.”

Skyrora has conducted a series of static test fires of their 3^rd stage LEO engine, including a vacuum chamber test, designed to replicate space-like conditions to further advance its launch ambitions.

All tests, totaling 100 and conducted at the company’s Engine Test Complex located in Fife, Scotland, were successful, and the results met Skyrora’s test criteria. This means that this sub-system of the three-stage orbital launcher, “Skyrora XL” is ready for an envisaged launch that is planned for 2023.

Skyrora’s LEO engine is unique as it can re-ignite numerous amounts of times in orbit to deliver payloads into different altitudes and phases, as required for the mission and acting as a ‘taxi’ service to satellite customers. 

With the ongoing development of the Skyrora XL orbital vehicle, Skyrora has already signed over 23 letters of intent with interested customers and is planning to have a launch service agreement in place within the next six months. Plans such as these will open 150 – 170 job opportunities across Scotland.

The primary purpose of Skyrora’s test program was to verify the life-time cycle according to ESA standards for their 3.5kN LEO engine, as well as testing vacuum configuration, operational envelope limits and Thrust Vector Control (TVC). This meant that the engine was fired three times longer than a normal mission required, while also conducting a number of re-ignitions. 

Skyrora is heavily focused on the environmental impact of their launch vehicles, Skylark L and Skyrora XL, with plans to use their kerosene equivalent derived from unrecyclable plastic waste as their rocket propellant. In January of 2020, the fuel known as Ecosene was successfully tested on Skyrora’s LEO engine. Skyrora is determined to become an eco-friendly launch provider and to continue to focus their efforts in protecting the planet.

A major accomplishment for the Scotland-based company during these 100 tests was that Skyrora’s LEO engine achieved 1,500 seconds of operation within 20 firing tests under vacuum conditions. Skyrora used a gas-dynamic tube, designed and manufactured in-house, to provide the necessary low-pressure environment, as the engine is to be operated in the upper atmosphere.

The 3.5kN engine has the ability to conveniently and reliably restart in orbit (because of the Hydrogen Peroxide system). It is this element that makes it suitable as an orbital maneuvering unit or a space tug.  The functionality of an orbital maneuvering unit or space tug could include a range of tasks, from space debris removal to aiding in a moon mission. 

The next step for Skyrora is to develop the 70kN engine, that will be installed on the first and second stage of the commercial-class orbital vehicle, Skyrora XL. Skyrora is also looking at launch options and locations for their suborbital vehicle “Skylark L.”  

Executive Comment

Head of Engineering, Dr. Jack-James Marlow, said, “These tests were a fundamental step for our verification programme for the third stage LEO engine, which make us a stage closer to fully developing our polar orbital vehicle, Skyrora XL. We designed and manufactured a vacuum tube to allow us to lower ambient pressure conditions to approximately 10% of sea level. This is a great technological achievement for Skyrora.” 

Orbit Fab has signed an agreement with Spaceflight Inc. to launch the company’s first operational fuel depot to orbit. Tanker 001 Tenzing, which will provide fuel for the fast growing in-orbit servicing industry, is expected to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than in June 2021.

Once launched, Tanker 001 Tenzing will store propellant in sun synchronous orbit, where it will be available to satellite servicing vehicles or other spacecraft that need to replenish fuel supplies. The tanker is one of several payloads to launch on a Spaceflight Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle, which is capable of executing multiple deployments. Spaceflight’s first OTV, Sherpa-FX, is scheduled to debut no earlier than December 2020 on a SpaceX rideshare mission and provides independent and detailed deployment telemetry, and flexible interfaces, all at a low cost.

Orbit Fab’s fuel depots are designed to support more sustainable spacecraft through the use of the Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI), which has been adopted by multiple spacecraft manufacturers to extend the life of their satellites. RAFTI, which is also known as a “Satellite Gas Cap,” was developed in cooperation with 30 companies and organizations and it is expected to become the industry’s common refueling interface.

In today’s contested space domain RAFTI provides reliable propellant transfer both on the ground and in orbit with a self-driving satellite kit for docking and attachment of two spacecraft without the need for complex robotic arms.

Earlier this year Orbit Fab received a $3 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to fully flight qualify the RAFTI service valve, and it received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to test its docking system. Previously, Orbit Fab successfully demonstrated its propellant storage and delivery systems in an unprecedented private transfer of water to the International Space Station.

Executive Comments

“For capital intensive emerging markets, the way to identify value is by the velocity of new entrants,” said Daniel Faber, Orbit Fab CEO. “In-orbit servicing companies are rapidly proliferating with a five-fold increase since we founded Orbit Fab in 2018. Our gas stations in space are an essential resource to fuel this industry and support the infrastructure in space that enables projected commerce, exploration and national security.”

“Orbit Fab’s RAFTI supports the Air Force and Space Force need for space combat logistics capabilities (On-Orbit Servicing), which enables space domain awareness,” said Jeremy Schiel, CDO of Orbit Fab. “Refueling is a requirement in the emerging Space Force architecture and for good reason. You don’t want to run out of fuel in the middle of a confrontation.”