Sateliot, the satellite telecommunications operator, is finalizing with Open Cosmos, the company that operates end-to-end space missions, the launch of its first smallsat, which is scheduled for the morning of March 20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Open Cosmos is the design creator and manufacturer of this first smallsat of what will eventually total one hundred satellites. These satellites will make up the constellation in which Sateliot will extend the IoT connection with 5G coverage globally and massively in the coming years. In addition, in recent weeks the company has been working on the integration of the payload, as well as on the logistics and exhaustive pre-launch testing phase.
The satellite has arrived from the Harwell technology and innovation campus where it has been manufactured in the United Kingdom, to Kazakhstan, where it is undergoing strict export and verification regimes in controlled environments to ensure its viability in its development.
Additionally, the satellite has already been integrated into the deployer, the box where it will be inserted into the rocket that will be responsible for its ejection into space once it reaches the orbit where it will operate, located around 500 km from Earth. A deployer that is connected to a sequencer will be responsible for activating the opening of the deployment system.
Once this phase is completed, Sateliot’s nanosatellite awaits launch aboard the Soyuz 2.1A rocket. Until it is launched into orbit, it will share the journey with the mission’s main satellite, the South Korean earth observation satellite CAS500-1, as well as some thirty other satellites.
Once it is launched into orbit, it will share the journey with the mission’s main satellite, the South Korean earth observation satellite CAS500-1, as well as some thirty other satellites.
With its launch into orbit, Sateliot will then enter a new technological phase, which will allow it to carry out field tests in real environments, providing very useful information for the evolution of its constellation, which is expected to start offering commercial service from 2022.
About the nanosatellite
This nanosatellite, 3B5GSAT, is the first of three in which Sateliot will test the IoT service with 5G coverage, and it comprises an innovative small technology, smaller than a microwave and weighing no more than 10 kg, made up of 10x10x10 cm cubes whose standards are adapted to the function to be performed.
Moreover, unlike large geostationary satellites that are almost 36,000 kilometres high, it will be in a low orbit, flying at only about 500 kilometres to ensure global IoT connectivity. It will travel at a speed of about 7 km per second, circling the Earth once every 90 minutes.
Open Cosmos is a space company that operates end-to-end satellite missions. It offers a comprehensive service that addresses the entire value chain of the space sector, covering the design, manufacture, mission management and launch of customised satellites for companies, institutions and governments around the world. These satellites are used primarily to do three things: collect critical Earth data for economic, environmental or security decisions; provide telecommunications services on a global scale; or develop space science and technology. Founded in 2015 in the UK, the company has experienced stellar growth and is currently expanding its business internationally. Its team is made up of a multidisciplinary group of more than 50 highly qualified professionals who make Open Cosmos an innovative, cutting-edge company and a leader in what they call ‘Enabling Space’, a sector whose space technology enables other industries to make profitable business decisions based on reliable global data. More information at https://www.open-cosmos.com/
Sateliot is the first satellite telecommunications operator to provide global and continuous connectivity to all the elements that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT) universe under the 5G protocol. Thanks to a constellation of state-of-the-art nanosatellites, located at low altitude and acting as mobile towers, Sateliot is the perfect complement to large telecommunications companies by providing them with the necessary infrastructure where terrestrial technologies do not reach. More information on our website, Twitter and LinkedIn.