Archives for November 2020

The UK subsidiary of SSC (Swedish Space Corporation) has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency ESA to develop a next generation concept for space to ground communications targeting NewSpace (cubesats and smallsats) market.

The initiative is supported by the UK Space Agency and aims at developing a range of new technologies that will address some of the market entry barriers faced by cubesat organizations across the globe.

The Global Newspace Network Evolution (GNNetE) project brings together a number of new technologies that address costs and technical difficulties surrounding space to ground communications. It aims to support activities of CubeSat operators and manufacturers who are developing cost effective small to medium constellations and solutions for rapid deployment of space assets.

The SSC UK team is working closely with a wide range of European CubeSat manufacturers and technology partners to develop solutions that can eliminate some of their most challenging technical problems, such as spectrum allocation and effective management of spacecraft constellations.

Executive Comments

“Space to ground communications have not yet managed to harness the dramatic technology advances and cost efficiencies that CubeSats have brought to the space segment. We are committed to changing this by introducing a range of new technologies into this market. We are working with some of the most talented teams in the world and I am confident that we can deliver the next generation of space communication technologies,” said Iraklis Hatziathanasiou, Vice President of Business Development at SSC UK.

“This program acts as a catalyst for the development of next generation satellite communications systems and marks the start of the journey of our UK venture to become a world leading player in this field. We have a very ambitious growth target and we are grateful for the support of the UK Space Agency, ESA and the wider space community that has embraced our activities,” added John Stuart, Managing Director at SSC UK.

The UK subsidiary of SSC (Swedish Space Corporation) has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency ESA to develop a next generation concept for space to ground communications targeting NewSpace (cubesats and smallsats) market.

The initiative is supported by the UK Space Agency and aims at developing a range of new technologies that will address some of the market entry barriers faced by cubesat organizations across the globe.

The Global Newspace Network Evolution (GNNetE) project brings together a number of new technologies that address costs and technical difficulties surrounding space to ground communications. It aims to support activities of CubeSat operators and manufacturers who are developing cost effective small to medium constellations and solutions for rapid deployment of space assets.

The SSC UK team is working closely with a wide range of European CubeSat manufacturers and technology partners to develop solutions that can eliminate some of their most challenging technical problems, such as spectrum allocation and effective management of spacecraft constellations.

Executive Comments

“Space to ground communications have not yet managed to harness the dramatic technology advances and cost efficiencies that CubeSats have brought to the space segment. We are committed to changing this by introducing a range of new technologies into this market. We are working with some of the most talented teams in the world and I am confident that we can deliver the next generation of space communication technologies,” said Iraklis Hatziathanasiou, Vice President of Business Development at SSC UK.

“This program acts as a catalyst for the development of next generation satellite communications systems and marks the start of the journey of our UK venture to become a world leading player in this field. We have a very ambitious growth target and we are grateful for the support of the UK Space Agency, ESA and the wider space community that has embraced our activities,” added John Stuart, Managing Director at SSC UK.

Lacuna Space has successfully launched and has established communications with their fourth IoT (Internet of Things) gateway in space. The satellite, carrying a new generation of space gateways, was transported to LEO onboard the PSLV-C49 mission from India last Saturday, November 7, 2020. The mission will cover a geographic band around the entire globe between the 40th parallels North and South, stretching from Madrid all the way down to Cape Town.

One of Lacuna’s early partners has been Sustainability Tech, a technology systems developer that focuses on tropical forest ecosystems in Southeast Asia. Sustainability Tech is working with Lacuna Space to produce new satellite-connected sensors that monitor wetland hydrology. These enable a variety of companies, from commercial plantation managers to conservation projects such as peatland restoration, to monitor fire risk and water levels from any internet-connected device.

Peatland ecosystems, a type of wetlands, are home to some of the world’s rarest and unique species and store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. With over 14 million hectares (140,000 km2), Indonesia has some of the largest peatlands globally. Degradation from commercial development has turned them into a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions (globally they account for six percent of anthropogenic CO2 emissions) and led to increased fires and haze. The damage poses enormous climate risk and negatively affects the health of rural people and local economies. Peatland restoration can significantly reduce these emissions.

The satellite platform and early operations have been supplied by smallsat integrator NanoAvionics. Other key equipment was provided by Oxford Space Systems and Parametric in Switzerland. Service commissioning — the on-orbit checkout period — is underway and telemetry data is already being received by the company. The mission is expected to enter full service before the close of this year.

Executive Comments

“We are continuing to push the boundaries of what’s technically possible with extremely low power IoT technology with each generation of IoT gateways we are putting into space,” said Rob Spurrett, CEO of Lacuna Space. “This latest one offers higher sensitivity and capacity for message reception from LoRaWAN® (long range wide area network) devices. It also allows us to better cover regions around the equator offering more opportunities for our technology partners and IoT services providers across South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.”

Josh Van Vianen, Managing Director of Sustainability Tech, added, “The Lacuna satellite connection allows our clients to monitor their peatland restoration impact in harsh environments with more reliable uptime and lower costs compared with first generation systems. This is exactly the type of technology needed to massively scale up the climate solutions necessary to protect our planet from further warming. By partnering with Lacuna, Sustainability Tech is improving its sensor suite and enabling clients to effectively monitor and manage large areas with access to better data. Low orbit satellites improve coverage for these sensor networks and reduce costs for clients, which include conservation and climate mitigation projects, researchers and agribusiness that need real-time management tools. The partnership with Lacuna will benefit all local actors, ensuring they can transparently measure their impacts and implement interventions at scale.”

Another partner is Interco Cloud, an IT integrator based in Colombia, that Lacuna Space has been working with to develop forest monitoring services across Latin America. Together they also enable governments in the region to monitor electricity generation from solar farms in the remote regions, where other networks become cost prohibitive. Nelson Velandia, the CEO of Interco Cloud, noted, “The low availability of land connectivity, especially in the jungle tropics, hinders the viability of these projects. Lacuna Space is a strategic partner to integrate these types of solutions, where short messages are needed, making the project viable. This new satellite in equatorial orbit will also allow us to better advance such projects.”

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) has successfully deployed their Scouting Mission satellites (KSM1) via the launch on India Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C49 from Chennai, India, on the November 7, 2020.

Kleos’ cluster of four satellites have been launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre under a rideshare contract with Spaceflight Inc. Deployment from the launch vehicle into their allocated orbit at 37 degree inclination has occurred and initial communications has been established. The on-orbit commissioning phase now commences to prepare the satellites to collect data over crucial areas of interest such as Strait of Hormuz, South China Sea, East/West Africa, Southern Sea of Japan, northern Australian coast, e.g., the Timor Sea.

The multi-satellite Scouting Mission system forms the foundation of a constellation that delivers a global picture of hidden maritime activity, enhancing the intelligence capability of government and commercial entities when AIS (Automatic Identification System) is defeated, imagery is unclear, or targets are out of patrol range. The first scouting mission is comprised of 4x satellites built by GomSpace in Denmark.

While the first cluster is in orbit, Kleos remains focused on securing additional Government and commercial contracts and is on track to generate first revenues in Q1 2021. The development of Kleos’ second cluster of satellites (KSF1), is already underway and subsequent to an initial review on the 6th November is expected to pass PDR within the next week.

That activity is on track to have satellites procured, assembled and integrated for the mid 2021 launch slot (window opens 1st June 2021). This mission will be named Polar Vigilance Mission and is a cluster of four satellites, launching into SSO. The Polar Vigilance Mission will enhance the company’s RF geolocation data delivered by the Kleos Scouting Mission by covering areas North and South of the Scouting Mission 37 degree inclined orbit in addition to increasing overall coverage time in the equatorial region and increasing revenues.

Executive Comments

Kleos CEO Andy Bowyer said, “We are very excited to have our cluster of four satellites in orbit, only three years after founding Kleos Space. This launch marks an important milestone for Kleos to start delivering our commercial and independent data to government agencies, the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) community and organisations interested in locating threats, assets or those in need of search and rescue. I would like to thank the entire team at Kleos Space, GomSpace, ISRO and Space Flight as they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to get our Scouting satellites launched in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Additionally I would like to thank the wider team around us, we have an incredible group of shareholders, stakeholders and partners who have been on this journey with us, and I look forward to working with them as we now grow.”

Kleos CTO Miles Ashcroft said of the successful launch, “This is the fruition of a massive amount of hard work by the team. They have made sure this has happened through the most unusual of times, and I am grateful for their dedication which has been exemplary. I am proud of them for what they have achieved, and they should be proud of themselves too. We are in a good position for developing our systems to exploit data, we are making fantastic progress on the next mission (KSF1) already, these really are exciting times for Kleos.”

Franz Fayot, Luxembourg Minister of the Economy, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, congratulated the Kleos Space team and said, “With the launch of the first satellites, the team of Kleos has reached yet another milestone in the successful development of the company. Kleos and its activities in Luxembourg are a perfect showcase to demonstrate how space- Kleos Space S.A.- 26, rue des Gaulois – L-1618 Luxembourg 2/ 4 related companies find here a nurturing and supportive environment with an established community of high-tech businesses, researchers, and entrepreneurs along with access to the necessary support, services and facilities.”

François Bausch, Luxembourg Minister of Defence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mobility and Public Works, added, “It is for me of utmost importance that all our endeavours serve to keep our World, but also Space, a peaceful domain. We should therefore develop meaningful capacities for our common defence as well as for society in general. The activities of Kleos in Luxembourg and the launch of these first satellites are perfectly in line with this objective and we look forward to Kleos contributing to our efforts to build valuable data sets. While using innovative technologies developed in Luxembourg, Kleos can contribute to make this World a bit more safe and secure. I would sincerely like to congratulate Kleos for the launch of these first satellites and wish you a lot of success.”

Omnispace has just signed a launch agreement with Exolaunch who will deliver two, Thales Alenia Space-built satellites into orbit aboard SpaceX’s rideshare missions.

Exolaunch will provide launch, mission management, integration and deployment services for the two Omnispace satellites, targeted for launch in 2022.

Omnispace is combining the global footprint of a non-geostationary orbit satellite constellation with the world’s leading mobile wireless networks into a seamless ‘one global network.’ The network will support 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 5G telecommunications standards with the satellite component operating in the S-band. The company aims to set new standards for global connectivity solutions for the internet of things (IoT), mobile satellite and mobile broadband markets.

Omnispace, the company that is reinventing mobile communications by building a global hybrid network, today signed a launch agreement with Exolaunch, the rideshare launch and deployment services provider for the New Space industry. Exolaunch will deliver two Thales Alenia Space-built satellites into orbit aboard SpaceX’s rideshare missions.

Exolaunch will provide launch, mission management, integration and deployment services for the two Omnispace satellites, targeted for launch in 2022.

Omnispace is combining the global footprint of a non-geostationary orbit satellite constellation with the world’s leading mobile wireless networks into a seamless ‘one global network.’ The network will support 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 5G telecommunications standards with the satellite component operating in the S-band. The company aims to set new standards for global connectivity solutions for the internet of things (IoT), mobile satellite and mobile broadband markets.

The Omnispace network will be deployed in phases beginning in 2022. The global hybrid network will offer enterprise and government users a reliable, scalable and affordable 5G connectivity solutions worldwide.

Executive Comments

“Omnispace is rethinking how communications networks operate. The launch of these satellites will enable the first phase of implementation towards delivering our world-class hybrid network, bringing the power of 5G from space to mobile networks, anywhere around the world,” said Ram Viswanathan, CEO, Omnispace LLC. “Exolaunch was chosen to launch these first next-generation satellites for its proven experience deploying systems into orbit and the flexibility they afford us in executing our program.”

“We are proud to be part of the team that will for the first time bring the power and reach of satellite to the mobile wireless industry,” said Jeanne Medvedeva, VP, Launch Services, Exolaunch. “We support Omnispace in its commitment to deliver highly reliable mobile 5G connectivity solutions everywhere around the globe.”

Executive Comments

“Omnispace is rethinking how communications networks operate. The launch of these satellites will enable the first phase of implementation towards delivering our world-class hybrid network, bringing the power of 5G from space to mobile networks, anywhere around the world,” said Ram Viswanathan, CEO, Omnispace LLC. “Exolaunch was chosen to launch these first next-generation satellites for its proven experience deploying systems into orbit and the flexibility they afford us in executing our program.”

“We are proud to be part of the team that will for the first time bring the power and reach of satellite to the mobile wireless industry,” said Jeanne Medvedeva, VP, Launch Services, Exolaunch. “We support Omnispace in its commitment to deliver highly reliable mobile 5G connectivity solutions everywhere around the globe.”

Telesat and the Government of Canada have completed their agreement to ensure affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity across all of Canada with Telesat’s LEO satellite constellation.

Following a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in July of 2019, this $600 million (CAD) agreement enables internet and mobility service providers to acquire Telesat LEO capacity at substantially reduced rates to bring universal broadband connectivity to rural, Northern and Indigenous communities across Canada. Telesat will be eligible to receive amounts under the agreement over a ten year period once the Telesat LEO constellation enters service.

With just 41% of rural households, and only approximately one quarter of Indigenous communities in Canada having access to fast, reliable broadband Internet service today, delivering affordable, high quality connectivity to all of Canada is essential.

Telesat LEO will provide the reliable, secure, fiber-like broadband connections needed to bridge the digital divide in Canada, ensuring that Canadians living in rural and remote communities have access to affordable high-quality broadband that meets the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) goal of at least 50 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload speeds with unlimited data.

In the wake of the global pandemic, dependable connectivity for Canadians has never been more important, as all aspects of life – from healthcare to work to education to remaining connected to family and friends – became virtual. Telesat LEO represents a holistic approach to connecting entire communities: delivering Gbps of broadband capacity into the community provides internet connectivity that supports households, schools, healthcare facilities, and government services, and also enhances and expands the reach of LTE and 5G networks across all of Canada, including in far northern, remote, rural and Indigenous communities.

Under the terms of the agreement, a dedicated pool of Telesat LEO rural connectivity capacity will be available to Service Providers at greatly reduced rates on a first come, first served basis to provide connectivity for eligible communities. With Telesat LEO’s high performance network capacity, service providers will offer broadband services to their end users of at least 50/10 Mbps speeds with unlimited data, and mobility service providers will offer LTE services.

Executive Comment

“Telesat LEO will transform connectivity in Canada, and this agreement will bring affordable enterprise grade, high-speed connectivity to underserved Canadians no matter where they live and work,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “We applaud the Government of Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for leveraging revolutionary technologies like Telesat LEO to drive widespread social and economic benefits. We look forward to working with Canadian service providers to provide this capacity to qualified communities across the country to get all Canadians connected as soon as possible.”

The CERES-1, China’s latest launch vehicle that is designed for commercial use, completed a maiden flight on Saturday, November 7, and pushed a satellite into its planned SSO orbit at 500 km.

The solid-propellant rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China at 3:12 pm (Beijing Time). On board the rocket was a satellite — Tianqi-11 — that is integral to the Tianqi narrowband IoT constellation whose main purpose is to collect data and facilitate transmission. The plan for the CERES-1 is to use this carrier rocket for smallsat launches to LEO.

The launch vehicle was developed by the Chinese firm Beijing Guodian Gaoke Technology Co. Ltd., otherwise known as Galactic Energy, now becoming the second private company in China to have successfully launched a satellite to orbit.

The 50 kg Tianqi-11 satellite was developed by Shanghai ASES Spaceflight Technology Co. Ltd. as a member of China’s Tianqi (“Apocalypse”) narrowband Internet of Things constellation.

A new small sat system with sample return capability will be available for review at the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research. Orbital Transports, Inc. has been selected to provide a pre-recorded Technical Presentation entitled, “CubeSats (with Optional Payload Return Module) as a Microgravity Research Platform,” at this year’s virtual annual meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research on November 5-6. This presentation may be seen on the Orbital Transports YouTube Channel.

“This new smallsat system with sample return capability from Orbital Transports opens the door to whole new avenues of space-related research that have never before been possible,” said Dr. Chris Porada, a professor with microgravity-based biological research experience at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina. “Given its numerous unique advantages, it is my prediction that this exciting new platform will quickly become the go-to means for researchers to study the effects of microgravity and space radiation.”

Known as Biotech Zero-G, this solution is just one of the products available in the Biotech & Microgravity section of the SmallSat Catalog. Orbital Transports recognizes that not every microgravity-based biological experiment is suitable for the International Space Station, and that International Space Station lockers and launches aren’t always available. Biotech Zero-G is for the scientist who needs the following for his/her experiments (as compared to the International Space Station):

• On-demand sample return
• Increasing number of launch options
• Independence from ISS crew availability
• No biological sample restrictions as exist for ISS
• Variable mission duration vs. minimal flexibility on ISS
• Independence from ISS launch/Dragon capsule return schedule
• Polar orbits and ability to transit the South Atlantic Anomaly useful for space radiation research, not accessible from ISS

Biotech Zero-G is a turn-key service for biotechnology and pharmaceutical researchers interested in conducting experiments in space-based microgravity environments. This orbital bio-research platform provides microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices within a self-contained autonomous biotech lab module that provides remote monitoring and real-time manipulation of samples.

The experiments are hosted on a small satellite with a payload return capsule capable of atmospheric reentry and rapid recovery of research materials. Launches are available to many destination orbits, including access to polar orbits useful for space radiation research. Mission duration is highly flexible and research materials can be returned from orbit at any time and delivered to the customer within 30 hours of de-orbiting.