NetSat: Four satellites in formation at an altitude of 600km.

Four NetSat smallsats will autonomously control — for the first time — a three-dimensional configuration in space to enable new observation methods for climate research as well as for innovative future telecommunication systems.

To capture an object without blind spots, it needs to be imaged from different directions and by sensor data fusion, from which information is then derived. In NetSat, four nano-satellites will demonstrate relevant techniques for optimum self-organization of a satellite formation in three-dimensional space. This opens new perspectives in Earth Observation (EO) as well as for future telecommunication networks. In addition, there are strategies for collision avoidance.

The four smallsats (each one possesses a mass of 4 kg) are currently being finalized at the research center Zentrum für Telematik (ZfT) in Würzburg (Germany. In August of 2020, they will be delivered to orbit via a Russian Soyuz-rocket at a 600 km altitude.

The objectives of NetSat are to produce scientific breakthroughs for control of the three-dimensional configuration to provide optimum observation conditions. For this purpose, each satellite carries a highly efficient, electric propulsion system (developed by the Austrian company, Enpulsion) and a high-precision attitude control system composed of extremely small and power-efficient reaction wheels (from S4–Smart Small Satellite Systems and Wittenstein Cyber Motors).

The telecommunication link between the satellites supports data exchange on position, attitude and planned maneuvers. In combination with advanced control methods, the coordination of these four smallsats can be realized. While the long-term task planning is done by the space control center in Würzburg, the reaction on deviations and the fine tuning of the formation is handled autonomously by the smallsats onboard software.

The NetSat mission is sponsored by an ERC Advanced Grant and by the Bavarian Ministry of Economics. In 2012, the European Research Council (ERC) honored Prof. Dr. Klaus Schilling with the highly valued European research award to promote scientific pioneer research in space technology and control systems. The independent research, institute Zentrum für Telematik (ZfT) in Würzburg, was selected as the host institution for NetSat due to that organization’s outstanding test infrastructure for multi-satellite systems. (https://erc.europa.eu/projects-figures/stories/small-cooperative-future-spacecraft-systems )

The NetSat results will be directly transferred to the follow-up smallsat Eo missions: TIM – Telematics International Mission:

• The ZfT coordinates, within the RLS partnership from 5 continents, the implementation and use of 9 satellites for innovative 3D-EO for volcano eruptions, earthquakes and environment monitoring. (launch expected in 2021; www.rls-sciences.org/small-satellites.html)
• In CloudCT, the self-organization of 10 smallsats will be used to characterize, via computed tomography methods, the interior of clouds, obtaining… for the first time… important parameters for climate models. (launch expected to occur in 2022; cordis.europa.eu/project/id/810370)

Measurement networks composed of smallsats will provide quickly improved decision support for emergency situations as well as address challenges in climate change.

Integration of a NetSat satellite at Zentrum für Telematik.

Virgin Orbit has announced that their Launch Demo mission starts on Sunday, May 24th, and extends through Monday, May 25th, with an opportunity to launch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pacific (17:00 – 21:00 GMT), each day.

The 747 carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl will prepare to take off from Mojave Air and Space Port, fly out over the Pacific ocean and release our two-stage, orbital rocket, LauncherOne — which will then proceed to ignite its engine in mid-air for the first time.

This Launch Demo marks the apex of a five-year-long development program. On this journey to open up space for everyone, Virgin Orbit has conducted hundreds of hotfires of the engines and the rocket stages, performed two dozen test flights with the carrier aircraft and conducted countless other tests of every bit of the system that could be tested on the ground.

Launching from the Earth to space is difficult — thousands of components all need to function as planned, while controlling high energy and flying at incredibly fast speeds. The vehicle’s structures must be robust enough to tolerate traveling at up to 18,000 mph without disintegrating; the temperatures and pressures of its propellants can’t be too high or too low; every internal valve must click open and closed in perfect synchronicity…  there’s a long list of factors that need to line up in order to make it all the way. The company is mindful of the fact that for the governments and companies who have preceded us in developing spaceflight systems, maiden flights have statistically ended in failure about half of the time.

In the future, the goal of the launches will be to deploy satellites for a new generation of space-based services. For this Launch Demo, though, the goal is to safely learn as much as possible and prove out the LauncherOne system the company has worked so hard to design, build, test and operate.

The instant the Newton Three engine ignites, Virgin Orbit will have done something no one has ever done before — lighting an orbital-class, liquid-fueled, horizontally-launched vehicle in flight. If LauncherOne reaches an altitude of 50 miles on this mission, it will be the first time this kind of launch system has reached space.

The mission will continue for as long as possible. The longer LauncherOne flies, the more data can be able to collect. Should the historical odds be defied and if this becomes one of those exceedingly rare teams to complete a mission on first attempt, the company will deploy a test payload into an orbit, take the data and then quickly de-orbit so as not to clutter the heavens.

For near real-time updates, follow the company on Twitter (@Virgin_Orbit).

IOD-1 GEMS 3U demonstration satellite deployed on July 3, 2019.

Orbital Micro Systems (OMS) has entered into collaboration with the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Mortenson Center in Global Engineering (MCGE) for their Drought Resilience Impact Platform (DRIP) program — as part of the relationship, OMS will provide Earth Observation (EO) data collected by its Global Earth Monitoring System (GEMS) satellites to the effort.

DRIP gathers daily information, enabling scientists and engineers to monitor the water supply serving some three million people in East Africa. Using multiple data sources, DRIP provides critical information on drought conditions and trends which affect food security, health, safety, and other critical issues throughout the region.

GEMS uses highly optimized microwave radiometers to passively measure atmospheric temperature and moisture content from small satellites operating in low earth orbit (LEO.) A single GEMS satellite observes the entire surface of the earth approximately two and one-half times each day. In addition, GEMS data enhances the information gathered from IoT sensors and ground-based monitoring points, enabling DRIP to deliver more detailed information to a region’s decision makers.

Dr. Evan Thomas, Director, MCGE and CU associate professor, said the observations received from OMS will not only help a better understanding of the conditions on the ground in East Africa, but will also enable DRIP to monitor drought conditions in other regions, including the United States. In addition, OMS brings expertise in data science and engineering which will help support DRIP’s core mission to characterize environmental, weather, and climate parameters in all the covered geographies.

Michael Hurowitz, OMS CTO, added that empowering solutions that impact global welfare and productivity are core principles of OMS, and the firm is delighted to be a part of the continuing DRIP success. As OMS continues building out the GEMS constellation of satellites, the company anticipates gathering live observations for any point on Earth at intervals of one hour or less. Delivering observed weather data at this level of temporal frequency has—until this point—never been possible. These frequent intervals will empower systems such as DRIP to easily expand to new regions while enhancing the platform’s performance.

GEMS EO datasets are available to download for evaluation from the website.

Roccor created a deployable L-band antenna that makes possible the reception and transmission of Link 16 signals via spacecraft.
Image is courtesy of Blue Canyon Technologies.

Roccor has created a deployable L-band antenna that makes possible the reception and transmission of Link 16 signals via spacecraft.

The project is in partnership with Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) and the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate and is part of the world’s first-ever, Link 16-capable, LEO spacecraft demonstration mission called XVI, which will launch later this year.

Roccor’s helical, two-meter-long deployable RF aperture, will be extended and supported on-orbit by Roccor’s slit-tube composite ROC™ boom, a product the company has successfully demonstrated in space on three other antenna systems for top-tier military customers.

A Roccor deployable boom.

According to Davis, the widely proliferated Link 16 tactical communication network is the preferred choice of U.S. Department of Defense customers and a number of NATO allies for communication between ships, aircraft, maritime vessels, and troops operating at the tactical edge.

Bruce Davis, Roccor’s Director of Space Antenna and De-orbit Products, stated this will significantly broaden the Link 16 tactical communications network capabilities. Viasat came to the company with a hard problem and a tight timeframe. They needed robust broadband capabilities – ‘big ears’ – to enable communications across a range of frequencies and they wanted to demonstrate it on a small satellite platform that is easily scalable to constellation-class missions. The Roccor solution extends the range of Link 16 networks, substantially enhancing situational awareness and mission capabilities for U.S. military personnel operating across the global battlespace.

Mark Lake, Roccor’s CTO, noted that the Link 16 antenna development program is a success story the company shares with the XVI mission customer, Viasat, and the firm’s technology development sponsor, AFRL. Roccor’s satellite antenna portfolio has grown from years of investment in simple, low-cost deployment mechanism technologies – like the ROC™ boom system used to deploy the Link 16 antenna – that are revolutionizing deployment systems for constellation missions. The upcoming XVI antenna deployment comes on the heels of decades of research and development and millions of dollars of investment into high-strain composite deployment systems starting in the early 2000s at AFRL and reduced to flight-certified products at Roccor over the past five years.

According to Lake, Roccor won an additional $3 million contract through Space and Missile Systems Center and AFRL space pitch day last fall to evolve the current Link 16 demonstration mission antenna into a production-ready design capable of serving the needs of upcoming constellation providers starting in 2021.

Late last year, Ken Peterman, President, Government Systems, Viasat, said that Roccor’s antenna will be vital to the success of the XVI program. This Link-16 capable Low Earth Orbit spacecraft will address the Department of Defense’s urgent need for a fast-to-market, cost-effective, space-based Link 16 solution that will help our forces maintain the technological edge needed across today’s battlespace.

Harris Corporation launched their first smallsat – HSAT1 – with Roccor booms onboard.

Kleos Space (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) has been awarded a contract to prepare Kleos data to be accessed by the Micro-Satellite Military Utility (MSMU Project) Project Arrangement (PA), which is an agreement under the Responsive Space Capabilities Memorandum of Understanding involving the Departments and Ministries of Defense of Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom and United States.

The MSMU Project aims to develop a blueprint for a Multinational Heterogeneous Space Enterprise (ISR Enterprise), to provide military users with reliable access to a broad spectrum of information in an opportunistic environment. The MSMU Project is building the architecture and infrastructure to enable machine intelligence, including automation, human-machine teaming, and ultimately, artificial intelligence; these initiatives will define how the ISR Enterprise executes operations.

The program is coordinated by the Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) in collaboration with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites that are in Chennai, India, awaiting launch on Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) PSLV C49, will detect and geolocate maritime radio frequency transmissions to provide global activity-based intelligence, enhancing the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities when Automatic Identification System (AIS) is defeated, imagery unclear or targets out of patrol range.

Kleos’ satellites will be in a 37-degree inclination.

Andy Bowyer

Andy Bowyer, the company’s CEO, commented  that his opportunity delivered by the team; Peter Round and Karyn Hayes-Ryan, is a great achievement and validation for the company. The firm is seeing increasing demand for Kleos’ global geolocation intelligence data, which will enhance the ISR capabilities of governments and commercial entities.

Karyn
Hayes-Ryan

Karyn Hayes-Ryan, Director noted that the company’s satellites and data will enhance defense capabilities when fused with other data sets in the Government environment, as well as providing timely monitoring of illegal fishing, oil embargoes and other illicit action that both damages the environment and hurts economies.