Archives for November 2020

Rocket Lab has announced their next Electron mission, one that will feature a diverse range of payloads from the United States, France and New Zealand.

The mission, which will be Rocket Lab’s 16th Electron launch, will lift-off from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula during a 14-day launch window that opens on November 16 NZT / November 15 UTC.

Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle will loft 30 satellites to a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at 500 km altitude for a range of customers, including TriSept, Unseenlabs, Swarm Technologies, Te Pūnaha Ātea – Auckland Space Institute, and Gabe Newell, the co-founder of global gaming software company Valve.

The satellites span a range of operations, from TriSept’s tech demonstration of new tether systems designed to accelerate spacecraft reentry and reduce orbital debris, through to the next generation of maritime surveillance satellites for Unseenlabs, as well as communications satellites for Swarm Technolgies. The mission will also deploy New Zealand’s first student-built satellite, the APSS-1 satellite for Te Pūnaha Ātea – Auckland Space Institute at The University of Auckland.

A mass simulator will also be fixed to this mission’s Kick Stage in the form of a 3D printed gnome created for Valve’s Gabe Newell by multi-award-winning design studio Weta Workshop, the creative studio behind Lord of the Rings, Avatar and Mulan. The unique space component is additively manufactured into 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. Mr. Newell, will be donating one dollar to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Starship Children’s Hospital for every person who watches the launch online at www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream.

Despite launching together as a rideshare, each satellite will be deployed to a unique orbit thanks to Rocket Lab’s Kick Stage. Once the Electron launch vehicle’s second stage reaches orbit, the Kick Stage separates and takes over as a space tug to conduct the final leg of the journey, providing propulsion and pointing to deliver multiple satellites to precise, individual orbits.

Executive Comment

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO, said, “Small satellite operators shouldn’t have to compromise on orbits when flying on a rideshare mission, and we’re excited to provide tailored access to space for 30 satellites on this mission. It’s why we created the Kick Stage to enable custom orbits on every mission, and eliminate the added complexity, time, and cost of having to develop your own spacecraft propulsion or using a third-party space tug.”

About the payloads

Payload: 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.

Payload: 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.

Payload: APSS-1 — Organization: Te Pūnaha Ātea – Auckland Space Institute, 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 can predict 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.

Payload: 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 12U 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. 

GomSpace has signed a contract with CODALTEC / Colombian Air Force (“FAC”) to begin the FACSAT-2 satellite mission and other intensive virtual technology transfer program. The contract is worth 6.9 MSEK (770KUSD) and will be delivered over the next 6-8 months.

The FACSAT-2 project involves design, manufacture, test and operation of an advanced 6U remote sensing spacecraft. The program will build on the successful collaboration established and local capability built during the FACSAT-1 program under which a Colombian 3U satellites was launched in 2018 and is today in continued operation by FAC. 

This is the second step to develop a small satellite capability in Colombia with the Colombian Air Force directly involved in all phases of implementing the program. The present contract covers preliminary design activities and continued capacity building to be performed with close collaboration between GomSpace experts and FAC personnel.

“This new contract with the Colombian Air Force shows the value GomSpace is providing to customers seeking to gain technological competence while building their own space capacity. We are very pleased to have the Colombian Air Force as a returning customer.” says Niels Buus, CEO of GomSpace.

NanoAvionics, is enjoying the need to expand its space sector business in the United Kingdom. The company is moving to a new, larger facility for satellite assembly, integration and testing (AIT) as well as sales, technical support and R&D activities in Basingstoke (50 miles/80 km outside Central London) this month.

This is in addition to having already developed a hub in Lithuania and two in the USA. The move, financed by NanoAvionics, is a first step for its UK growth plans by creating jobs in the space sector and a local technology cluster with a dedicated supply chain of companies in Britain.

The new facility will allow NanoAvionics to keep thriving and provide nanosatellite AIT services to its growing and existing customer base in the UK. NanoAvionics’ customers in the UK include IoT connectivity provider Lacuna Space and Sen, a space company developing its “EarthTV” constellation to stream real-time and timely Ultra-High Definition (UHD) videos of Earth.

“Following the establishment of our first office at Harwell Campus last year, NanoAvionics is now further expanding its business in the UK by investing in this new AIT facility, creating jobs and by developing a technology cluster and supply chain, similarly to what we have done in Lithuania and the USA,” said Vytenis J. Buzas, CEO of NanoAvionics. “To grow our Satellite production capabilities locally, we are going to connect with companies in Britain such as printed circuit board suppliers, electronics manufacturers, cable assembly providers, producers of mechanical components and surface treatment providers.”

As a result of its ongoing geographical expansion and strong contract volume, NanoAvionics announced a significant revenue increase by about 300 percent during the last 12 months in August this year. NanoAvionics’ 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 with research and space agencies like NASA, ESA and MIT as well as private companies such as Thales Alenia Space for the Omnispace constellation and Accion Systems to test their propulsion technology.

Heading the company’s operations in the UK is Robin Sampson, business development manager for NanoAvionics UK and Western Europe. “The ambition which the UK has shown in competing within the global space industry resonates with NanoAvionics and brought us to the UK in the first place. One of the reasons that we’ve doubled-down on our investment in the UK, is that we see the potential to conduct world-class industrial research and development here. 5G telecoms and IoT technologies are set to play a big part in all of our futures and NanoAvionics is well equipped to support and benefit from the UK’s positioning in this key enabling technology and we look forward to connecting with the 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey.

“NanoAvionics has also played a key role in enabling chemical propulsion systems on 6U nanosatellite systems, and we have developed some world-class IP in this area. This is something we now seek to develop further with stakeholders at the UK National Propulsion Test Facility.

“Basingstoke is a great location for us because it offers a good and quick connection to other important locations in the UK. And Belvedere House, in the town centre of Basingstoke, offered NanoAvionics a suitable space to install a cleanroom and all the necessary equipment for our nanosatellite production, with an opportunity to scale. I’d particularly like to thank Enterprise M3 for their help in enabling our move.”

Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cllr Ken Rhatigan said, “I am delighted that NanoAvionics has chosen to invest in Basingstoke. This decision is a real vote of confidence in what our borough has to offer for businesses as our economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As Basingstoke has been named as one of the top UK locations for investment in growing technology companies, NanoAvionics is a welcome addition to Basing View and joins a number of other companies who are leading the way in developing technology that will transform the way we live in the future.”

Francesca Caramelle, trade and investment coordinator at M3 Enterprise said, “The addition of an ambitious company like NanoAvionics to the growing EM3 space cluster demonstrates the confidence the space sector has in both the cluster – which is now valued at over £9billion – and the wider EM3 region. The local enterprise partnership (LEP) is looking forward to a close, collaborative relationship with NanoAvionics following the opening of their UK office in Belvedere House and seeing first-hand how new, innovative and high-tech jobs can help add to the opportunities available in Basingstoke.”

The official opening of NanoAvionics’ new facility will take place on November 19, 2020 with an online event including a presentation about the company and its plans in the UK, a virtual tour and dedicated breakout sessions for suppliers, governmental organizations as well as a nanosatellite systems engineering workshop.

Exotrail has implemented ExoOPS, the company’s mission design and satellite operation software suite for the French Space Agency (CNES).

In the frame of a software licensing contract signed this summer, CNES mission design analysis and system engineering teams are now using ExoOPS – Mission Design advanced functionalities developed by Exotrail in its ExoOPS software suite. Available as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), ExoOPS – Mission Design relies on an orbital mechanics environment designed and developed by Exotrail software & space mechanics team based in Toulouse (France).

Through user-friendly interfaces, ExoOPS – Mission Design provides CNES teams, in addition to others existing tools, with a quick processing and easy-to-use software able to run complex mission design analysis such as multiple scenario constellation deployment, simulation and optimization of low-thrust maneuvers, propulsive system benchmarking analysis up to spacecraft sub-system performance analysis.

ExoOPS – Mission Design Connected to IDM-CIC, an orbital platform definition and design software tool used by CNES in phase A/0 project, ExoOPSTM – Mission Design allows users to run low-thrust analysis for spacecraft mission carrying electric propulsion system through smooth and easy data exchanges.

Executive Comment

David Henri, Exotrail’s Chairman and CEO, said, “We thank CNES in becoming one of the key users of ExoOPS – Mission Design. We are delighted with the feedback we are getting from very experienced teams and which will fully benefit our product roadmap. Our main objective is to position ExoOPS software suite as a leading orbital mechanics tool into the market to support deployment of complex mission from the early design phase to on-orbit operations.”

GomSpace has signed a contract with CODALTEC / Colombian Air Force (“FAC”) to begin the FACSAT-2 satellite mission and other intensive virtual technology transfer program. The contract is worth 6.9 MSEK (770KUSD) and will be delivered over the next 6-8 months.

The FACSAT-2 project involves design, manufacture, test and operation of an advanced 6U remote sensing spacecraft. The program will build on the successful collaboration established and local capability built during the FACSAT-1 program under which a Colombian 3U satellites was launched in 2018 and is today in continued operation by FAC. 

This is the second step to develop a small satellite capability in Colombia with the Colombian Air Force directly involved in all phases of implementing the program. The present contract covers preliminary design activities and continued capacity building to be performed with close collaboration between GomSpace experts and FAC personnel.

“This new contract with the Colombian Air Force shows the value GomSpace is providing to customers seeking to gain technological competence while building their own space capacity. We are very pleased to have the Colombian Air Force as a returning customer.” says Niels Buus, CEO of GomSpace.