Archives for January 2021

Due to surface electrical fields, today’s launch of the SpaceX Transporter-1 mission has been scrubbed. The 70 m tall Falcon 9 rocket is sound and no anomalies have been reported for any of the launch elements.

This first Smallsat Rideshare Mission for SpaceX has another launch opportunity on Sunday, January 24, with the launch window at 10:00 EST.

Original launch information…

SpaceX is targeting Saturday, January 23, for launch of Transporter-1, SpaceX’s first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida — the 42-minute launch window opens at 9:40 a.m. EST, or 14:40 UTC.

Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously supported launch of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission, the ANASIS-II mission, a Starlink mission, and launch of Dragon’s 21st cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

On board this launch are 133 commercial and government spacecraft (including cubesats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles) plus 10 Starlink satellites – the most spacecraft ever deployed on a single mission. The Starlink satellites aboard this mission will be the first in the constellation to deploy to a polar orbit.

Watch this SpaceX launch starting about 15 minutes before liftoff at this direct link…

SpaceX is targeting Saturday, January 23, for launch of Transporter-1, SpaceX’s first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida — the 42-minute launch window opens at 9:40 a.m. EST, or 14:40 UTC.

Falcon 9’s first stage booster previously supported launch of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission, the ANASIS-II mission, a Starlink mission, and launch of Dragon’s 21st cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

On board this launch are 133 commercial and government spacecraft (including cubesats, microsats, and orbital transfer vehicles) plus 10 Starlink satellites – the most spacecraft ever deployed on a single mission. The Starlink satellites aboard this mission will be the first in the constellation to deploy to a polar orbit.

Watch this SpaceX launch starting about 15 minutes before liftoff at this direct link…

HawkEye 360‘s next generation of advanced commercial RF sensing satellites are scheduled to launch Saturday morning, January 23, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral as part of Spaceflight Inc.’s SXRS-3 rideshare mission.

HawkEye Cluster 2 Launch
Date: January 23, 2021
Time: 9:40-10:22 AM EST

Watch the launch live as the buildout of the HawkEye 360’s commercial RF sensing constellation continue at this direct link… 

Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”) and Qosmosys, a new venture founded in Singapore last year, have announced a service agreement for two 3UXL protoflight cubesats in 2022, followed by two options in 2023.

Momentus will provide the orbital maneuvering services necessary to deliver the spacecraft to a circular or elliptical orbit, depending on each mission requirement. Qosmosys has its specific platform design, dubbed Zeus, which will be built with major contributions from NuSpace in Singapore.

NuSpace has also been selected to assemble and integrate all Zeus spacecraft. NuSpace signed a separate service agreement with Momentus last year for the company’s NuX-1 smallsat to be launched later in 2021.

“Momentus has exported the spirit of Silicon Valley to Singapore, bringing some fresh perspectives to launch services. Our Qosmosys missions demand a purposeful use of orbits,therefore, with Momentus, we clearly take significant benefits with their injection precision,” said Francois Dubrulle, Founder of Qosmosys. “Moreover, Momentus offers an effective solution for Qosmosys for assured access to space, flying on a regular schedule with SpaceX, and adding extra flexibility and customization to our myriad of spacecraft to be launched.”

“Momentus is thrilled to contribute to the development of an innovative business idea in space while fostering the development of NewSpace in Asia and, more specifically, Singapore,” added Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. “We love and share Qosmosys’ bold vision of making thevastness of space accessible to all mankind – in earth orbit and beyond.”

Momentus has developed a cost-effective and energy efficient in-space transport system based on water plasma propulsion technology. Momentus has in-place serviceagreements with private satellite companies, government agencies, and research organizations.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus have agreed on service orders for two independent payload missions to be launched to the Bartolomeo payload hosting facility on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

The first payload mission is ESA’s Exobiology Platform (EXPO). This facility carries a set of radiation experiments aimed at better understanding the evolution of organic molecules and organisms in the space. Placed in a Zenith-facing slot, the facility will connect two scientific modules to Bartolomeo. These modules will host everything needed for the experiments, including the scientific sample containers, fluidics systems and sensors related to the individual experiments called Exocube, IceCold and OREOcube. At the end of the three-year mission, the samples will be returned to Earth for detailed investigation and analysis.

The second payload is the Euro Material Ageing experiment platform (SESAME), developed by the French Space Agency (CNES). This mission will study the ageing behavior of new materials in space and will also make use of Bartolomeo’s payload return option. After a year of exposure in space, the experiments will be returned to Earth, allowing scientists to thoroughly investigate the samples and fully understand the effects of the space environment on the materials.

These service orders, amounting to 6.5 million euros, are the first under a new framework agreement which ESA and Airbus have put in place, pre-defining the overall commercial conditions for ESA payload missions on Bartolomeo.

Airbus’ Bartolomeo platform was launched and robotically attached to the ISS Columbus Module in 2020. Following the final connection of the cabling during an Extravehicular Activity (EVA), or ‘spacewalk’, in early 2021, the platform will be ready for in-space commissioning.

Bartolomeo is an Airbus investment into the ISS infrastructure, enabling hosting of up to 12 external payloads in the space environment, providing unique opportunities for in-orbit demonstration and verification missions. It is operated in a partnership between Airbus, ESA, NASA and the ISS National Laboratory.

Bartolomeo is suitable for many types of missions, including Earth Observation (EO), environmental and climate research, robotics, material sciences and astrophysics. It provides sought-after payload-hosting capabilities for customers and researchers to test space technologies, verify a new space business approach, conduct scientific experiments in microgravity or enter into in-space manufacturing endeavours.

Launch opportunities are available on every servicing mission to the ISS, which occur about every three months. The payload accommodation allows slots for a wide range of payload mass, from 5 to 450 kg. As an evolution of the platform, Airbus will provide optical data downlink capacity of one to two terabytes per day.

Payloads can be prepared and ready to operate within one and a half years after contract signature. Payload sizes, interfaces, preparation before launch and integration processes are largely standardized. This reduces lead times and significantly reduces costs compared to traditional mission costs.

Airbus offers this easy access to space as an all-in-one mission service. This includes technical support in preparing the payload mission; launch and installation; operations and data transfer; and an optional return to Earth.

“With this framework contract, we are making it significantly easier for ESA to use the Bartolomeo Service for quick and affordable use of the ISS,” said David Parker, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration. “Commercial arrangements have been streamlined, which enables our researchers to enjoy the full benefits of Bartolomeo’s short lead times and high flexibility. We are very pleased to have the first two ESA payloads secured on the platform, and are looking forward to using this new European asset on the ISS.”

Andreas Hammer, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus, said, “We are looking forward to working with our partners at ESA on bringing these two and future payloads to space – and back again as needed. The strong interest from across ESA and other institutions as well as a number of commercial players confirms the need for our efficient and affordable payload hosting solutions in LEO.”

Led by the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), the AUD$6.5 million SASAT1 Space Services Mission was announced in Adelaide, South Australia.

Based at Lot Fourteen, which is also home to the Australian Space Agency, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) will undertake the application prototyping.

Local satellite manufacturing company Inovor Technologies will design and build the satellite while South Australian space company Myriota is contracted for the Internet of Things (IoT) space services.

The SASAT1 Space Services Mission will commence in early 2021 to deliver the satellite in 15 months for launch into orbit. The satellite will be available for a further three years to 2025 for data collection and operations under current funding.

SmartSat CRC Chief Executive Professor Andy Koronios said the mission will provide opportunities for startup companies to use the ongoing data captured by the satellite to develop analytics applications for government and commercial use. “The SASAT1 Space Services Mission positions South Australia to play an even greater role in national initiatives like water quality monitoring and bushfire mitigation,” he said.

The SASAT1 Space Services Mission is funded through the South Australian Government’s Economic and Business Growth Fund.

The South Australian space ecosystem has grown in recent years, with collaborations with NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the presence of numerous successful startups such as Fleet Space Technologies, Lux Aerobot, and Southern Launch.

News story is courtesy of The Lead.

Satellogic has announced a Multiple Launch Services Agreement (MLA) with SpaceX — through this agreement, SpaceX becomes Satellogic’s preferred vendor for rideshare missions.

The first launch, scheduled for June 2021, will deliver Satellogic satellites to LEO via a Falcon 9 rocket.

This agreement with SpaceX will enable Satellogic to maintain and extend their position as the global leader in high-resolution, high-frequency geospatial analytics. Satellogic expects to complete the initial buildout of their Earth Observation Constellation by the end of 2022. At that point the company will have the capacity to deliver weekly, high-resolution coverage of the entire landmass of the planet. Through a series of rideshare launches over the next two years and beyond, the company will be moving from weekly to daily world remaps by 2025 with more than 300 microsatellites in orbit.

Both Satellogic and SpaceX have a vertically integrated approach. Satellogic builds their own spacecraft, manages an entire constellation, and performs data analyses, creating efficiencies that drive down the cost of geospatial analytics at an order of magnitude far beyond that of their competitors. Similarly, SpaceX’s ownership over the entire development process for their rockets has enabled new advances in launch technology. Falcon 9’s reusability allows SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket, driving down the cost of space access.

This partnership puts Satellogic in a unique position to capitalize on SpaceX’s competitive rideshare program and frequent launch schedule. By securing SpaceX as their preferred partner for rideshare missions, Satellogic will be able to accelerate the time between satellite development and deployment. This accelerated timeline will allow Satellogic to continue to rapidly expand their in-orbit capacity, while also increasing revisit capabilities to monitor the planet on a high-frequency basis, serving customers at the right price.

With Satellogic’s collection capacity and unit economics, the company is poised to democratize Earth Observation (EO) imagery by massively expanding their capacity to serve large verticals including agriculture, energy, forestry, insurance, telecommunications and financial services, among others. Satellogic provides a disruptive and compelling economic use case to current users of EO imagery, as well the ability to simplify the image collection process, eventually replacing considerably less efficient technologies and solutions such as drones, helicopters, planes, and boots-on-the-ground manpower.

After completing three launches in 2020, Satellogic’s in-orbit capacity now enables access to up to four daily revisits of any point of interest and the collection of more than 4 million sq. km per day in high-resolution data. This industry-leading capacity expands access to sub-meter imagery for both Satellogic Solutions and Dedicated Satellite Constellations (DSC) customers. Further, Satellogic’s robust capacity and today’s MLA with SpaceX represents a new and exciting phase in Satellogic’s growing relationship with the US government and commercial partners and customers.

“What SpaceX has accomplished through their agile launch schedule is a perfect complement to our own business model at Satellogic — which prioritizes the ability to iterate quickly at every stage of development, as well as quickly deploy updated capabilities to our customers,” said Alan Kharsansky, VP of Mission Engineering and Operations at Satellogic. “As the global leader in high-resolution, high-frequency data collection from space, this partnership enables us to continue to grow our fleet at an aggressive pace that matches the increased demand for geospatial insights across industries.”

“Satellogic’s business model makes them the ideal partner for SpaceX’s rideshare missions. SpaceX’s frequent launch schedule means that Satellogic’s end customers will get the latest satellite technology as soon as it’s ready to launch,” said Tom Ochinero, Vice President of Commercial Sales at SpaceX. “We’re excited to support Satellogic’s ambitions to democratize access to geospatial analytics.”