Rocket Lab will play a critical role in an international climate change mission by developing a Mission Operations Control Center (MOCC) for MethaneSAT, a unique satellite mission created to foster and accelerate reductions in the emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for at least a quarter of today’s planetary warming.

Led by the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, the 350 kg class MethaneSAT will locate and measure methane from the oil, gas, and agriculture industries around the globe, enabling regulators, businesses, and researchers to track and reduce emissions faster. With a highly sensitive spectrometer capable of detecting methane concentrations as low as two parts per billion, MethaneSAT will quantify and report emissions in near real-time from sources large and small, providing regular monitoring of regions accounting for more than 80% of global oil and gas production. MethaneSAT will publish data free of charge so that stakeholders and the public can compare progress by both companies and countries.

Rocket Lab will develop, manage, and operate the Mission Operations and Control Center (MOCC) for MethaneSAT in Auckland, New Zealand, as part of the New Zealand Government’s NZD$26 million commitment to the international program. Rocket Lab will deliver the critical IT and software infrastructure necessary to task the satellite on orbit including tracking, pointing and positioning, and collision avoidance.

Rocket Lab will also manage the collection and dissemination of climate change data generated by MethaneSAT to the program’s international cohort of scientists and researchers. MethaneSAT’s team includes experts from some of the world’s most seasoned aerospace organizations in both the commercial and public sectors, as well as researchers from Harvard University and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory who are developing MethaneSAT’s data acquisition and analytical capabilities.

Rocket Lab brings deep space heritage to the MethaneSAT project having launched 19 missions, deployed more than 100 satellites and operated its own Photon spacecraft on-orbit. Having developed two state-of-the-art Mission Control Centers in New Zealand and the United States, Rocket Lab is able to bring extensive experience to the MethaneSAT project, enabling the New Zealand Government to deliver on its commitments to the MethaneSAT program and participate in its first internationally partnered space mission.

Rocket Lab will manage mission operations for the first 12 months before continuing in an ongoing support capacity by training New Zealand’s future space operators and scientists in mission management and satellite operations. In addition to hosting the MOCC, New Zealand’s commitment to MethaneSAT will also provide overall project support and an expanded scientific research effort using data from MethaneSAT.

The Mission Operations Control Center for MethaneSAT will be functional by mid-2022 ahead of on-orbit operations expected to begin in Q4 later that year.

Rocket Lab CEO and founder, Peter Beck, said, “In the same way that Rocket Lab’s technology changed the way satellites are launched and operated, the ability to detect and measure gas leaks from space will undoubtedly change the way climate change is understood and managed. This is an internationally significant mission that can help alleviate modern society’s impact on Earth in a big way, and we’re thrilled to be able to play our part in helping to mitigate climate change through MethaneSAT.”

Kleos Space S.A (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1, Kleos or Company) has confirmed that the development of the company’s second satellite cluster, the Polar Vigilance Mission (KSF1), is on track for a mid-2021 SpaceX launch, this news coming after the firm successfully completed their Integration Readiness Review and the satellites start the build process with satellite builder ISISPACE.

The four Polar Vigilance smallsats are in the assembly and testing phase in preparation for final acceptance. Kleos’ satellites will then be delivered to the launch site for integration into the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The KSF1 Polar Vigilance Mission satellites are scheduled for a mid-2021 launch under a rideshare contract with Spaceflight Inc. The KSF1 satellites will launch into a 500 to 600 km SSO, increasing Kleos’ coverage to the north and south of the 37° inclination of the Scouting Mission satellites, which successfully launched in early November of 2020. Kleos’ third satellite cluster, the Polar Patrol Mission, is scheduled to launch in December 2021 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.

Kleos’ satellites detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to provide global activity-based intelligence, improving the detection of ‘dark’ activities such as drug and people smuggling, border challenges, and illegal fishing.

Kleos Space CTO Miles Ashcroft said, “Development of the KSF1 cluster is progressing at an incredible pace with delivery to site planned for the end of May. Kleos is leveraging the experience and enthusiasm of its satellite builder, Netherlands-based ISISPACE, to develop and deliver the satellites quickly as well as improve hardware and software capability. We are growing our constellation rapidly in 2021 with a further cluster scheduled for launch towards the end of the year. Every satellite cluster launched increases the ground covered and the time covered, thus, the value of our radio frequency geolocation data increases, enabling tiered subscription licenses for governments and commercial entities to be offered.”

OQ Technology has signed an agreement with Spaceflight Inc. to procure launch capacity and provide associated launch and integration services for the company’s first batch of six satellites from their planned constellation of more than 60 spacecraft.

The agreement allots launch capacity and reservation on combined rideshare and dedicated launches in a fast and agile approach while offering OQ Technology the necessary flexibility in price, volume and time of launch. The agreement concerns the deployment of OQ’s Batch-1 for favorable pricing and the right to bid for future Batch-2 deployment.

OQ has developed an innovative solution extending cellular 5G Internet-of-Things (IoT) coverage beyond the cell tower, enabling mobile operators to extend their services to areas they were previously unable to reach as well as offering seamless roaming connectivity for mobile assets in remote and rural areas at a fraction of the price of what today’s satellite operators charge.

In 2019, OQ managed to test cellular Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) using commercial LEO smallsats with a “direct-to-satellite” communication. The technology enables mobile users to roam seamlessly between terrestrial and satellite networks. Unlike other services, NB-IoT meets the global open standard established by 3GPP and has an existing worldwide ecosystem of mobile operators, vendors, chip manufacturers, and users.

OQ is planning the gradual deployment of a global network of more than 60 satellites in multiple batches to enable fast scalability and global coverage. The spacecraft will be a combination of owned satellites, hosted payloads, or software deployment on other companies’ regenerative payload satellites. OQ is planning another additional launch of one satellite, working with Spaceflight to manage the launch.

Spaceflight has successfully launched more than 350 customer payloads across 37 launches across eight different launch vehicles, including the Falcon 9, Electron, PSLV, and Vega. Spaceflight’s diverse portfolio of launches offers customers a variety of rideshare, dedicated and last mile delivery launch options to meet their unique mission needs.

“Spaceflight developed a very attractive and flexible plan that allows us to deploy the network easily and in a record time. This helps us to meet the growing market demand of cellular IoT globally. The first Batch of satellites will address latency-tolerant IoT/M2M users that need Narrowband IoT connectivity, followed by gradual constellation deployment for critical near-real time applications,” said Omar Qaise, CEO of OQ Technology.

Hypersat has awarded a design-phase contract to QinetiQ Inc. (QinetiQ) for their next generation hyperspectral satellite — this study will be an enabling activity for a potential constellation of six LEO satellites that Hypersat plans to launch and that will be capable of producing greater information about the material properties on Earth than any current capability in orbit.

QinetiQ will lead a team of specialist engineering and technology organisations across the US that includes Redwire, Millennium Engineering and Integration, LLC and Brandywine Photonics. The team selected Virgin Orbit as the launch provider in part because of the unparalleled agility, mobility, and responsiveness afforded by air-launch, which allows for shorter call-up times and more flexible scheduling for customers, as well as direct injection into precise target orbits. In addition to the value for commercial customers, this capability enables a major strategic advantage to government organisations seeking to maintain unencumbered overhead intelligence.

Each satellite will achieve its incredible resolution by offering hyperspectral imaging – the ability to capture and process an image at wavelengths across the whole reflective spectrum from visible light to longwave infrared, pixel by pixel. This enables the identification of items in an image with superb precision, whether a camouflaged vehicle; diseased crops within a harvest; or gases leaking from a pipeline. That level of information allows users to make informed decisions only dreamed of in the past.

The first satellite, to be launched in early 2023, will have 500 spectral bands across the visible to shortwave infrared region and a ground sample distance of 6m – almost twice that available from existing LEO satellites. The following five satellites will offer longwave infrared images and even more capability in the shortwave infrared region.

The high spatial and high spectrum pixel resolution available from its sensor payload will allow the satellites to be used not only in defense and security applications, but also for other commercial sectors, such as agriculture and insurance, where highly accurate earth observation images can inform critical decisions.

Derek Woods, Founder, President and CEO of Hypersat LLC, said, “The partnership with QinetiQ and Virgin Orbit ensures our satellites are on a path to orbit with the most capable team possible. We look forward to redefining earth observation with an unparalleled hyperspectral and long wave capability.”

Mary Williams, President, QinetiQ Inc. said, “We are excited to partner with Hypersat and Virgin Orbit on this ground breaking program. QinetiQ’s expertise in hyperspectral systems development and data analytics is helping to provide cutting edge technology for both public and commercial organizations; bringing space-based technology to defense and security customers while also supporting the remote sensing needs of civil, environmental and commercial industries.”

“Virgin Orbit is making good on our promise to unleash the small satellite revolution,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “QinetiQ’s team embodies the bold energy of this new era of space. It’s extremely exciting to join with our partners to deploy new capabilities and new ideas that will shape our world.”

WARPSPACE Co., Ltd., a space startup from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, has closed their Series A financing round with additional funding of 400M JPY ($3.6 million) from The Space Frontier Fund (operated by Sparks Innovation for Future Co., Ltd.) and KSK Angel Fund LLC, which is led by professional soccer player Keisuke Honda. This funding marks the first close of the Series A round and the second close is scheduled to be in May of this year.

In addition, as of March 8, WARPSPACE has transitioned to a company with a board of directors. Misuzu Onuki, who is in charge of investment in the Space Frontier Fund and also serves as a member and director of space industry-related organizations, is taking the role of an outside director at WARPSPACE. Through a series of efforts, the company will accelerate the development of “WarpHub InterSat,” which is scheduled to be launched at the end of 2022.

WarpHub InterSat is the world’s first inter-satellite optical communication relay network service using small optical relay satellites. The company isaiming to launch the service in 2023. The number of satellites is increasing exponentially in LEO, which is between 500 to 800 km from the surface of the Earth. WarpHub Intersat enables the satellites to constantly communicate with the ground stations with high-speed optical communication, which also enables the satellite operators to access more satellite data in near real-time, which contributes to the realization of a sustainable global economy of the earth.

Established in 2016. WARPSPACE has launched three communication satellites including the one made in the predecessor university project. In addition to expertise in satellite engineering, the firm is developing space business by taking advantage of partnerships with research institutes, such as JAXA and the experimental and test facilities owned by Tsukuba Science City.

Following the selection of the first Scout satellite mission last December, ESA has also given the greenlight to start negotiations with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in the UK to lead the development of HydroGNSS.

Complementing ESA’s series of Earth Explorer research missions, Scout missions are a new element in ESA’s Earth Observation FutureEO Program. The idea is to demonstrate the capability of smallsats to deliver value-added science, either by the miniaturization of existing technologies or by demonstrating new sensing techniques.

Adopting an agile development process, the aim is to implement a Scout mission, from kick-off to launch, within three years, and for a maximum of 30 million euros. This budget includes the development of the space and ground segments, launch, and in-orbit commissioning.

The first Scout mission, ESP-MACCS, focuses on understanding and quantifying processes in the upper atmosphere over the Tropics – these processes play an important role in the overall evolution of the atmosphere.

This second Scout mission will provide measurements of key hydrological climate variables, including soil moisture, freeze–thaw state over permafrost, inundation and wetlands, and above-ground biomass, using a technique called GNSS reflectometry. The satellite measures the signal reflected off the land, ice, and ocean from existing GNSS missions such as Galileo and GPS. Although these signals are faint, they can be collected by a low power receiver that can be accommodated on a smallsat in LEO, making it compatible with a Scout mission.

The industrial consortium consists of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (UK) in charge of the development of the complete system, and a consortium of scientific institutes that will develop the retrieval techniques to access these key hydrological climate variable from the reflected signal: the National Oceanography Centre (UK), the Nottingham Geospatial Institute (UK), the University of Rome La Sapienza (IT), the Institute of Space Studies Catalonia (ES), and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FI).

ESA’s Acting Director of Earth Observation Programs, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, said, “The decision to implement HydroGNSS after ESP-MACCS demonstrates that the Earth observation community is very interested in the concept of Scout missions. We are confident that this interest will further flourish when we see the first data in 2024.”

Findus Venture GMBH (“Findus Venture”) and Spire Global, Inc. (“Spire” or the “Company”) will collaborate on their launch of the ADLER-2 satellite in Q4 2022 in a bid to tackle the growing problem of space debris.

This new satellite aims to further enhance orbital debris monitoring in low earth orbit, and expand novel atmospheric sensing capabilities to study clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere. ADLER-2 will be a multi-payload satellite that uses Spire’s LEMUR 6U smallsat platform and will carry three customer payloads:

• An enhanced version of an orbital debris tracking radar developed by Spire on behalf of Findus Venture

• An Austrian Particle Impact Detector piezo-sensor developed by the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), designed to detect debris particle impacts

• The GRASP-Airphoton Multi-Angle Polarimeter (GAPMAP), a wide field-of-view imaging instrument optimised for cubesat technology and designed for accurate and comprehensive measurements of the microphysical properties of aerosol particles and clouds in the atmosphere.

These new observations will perform air quality measurements around the globe and will support estimates of climate change patterns on Earth.

This is the second satellite collaboration between Spire and Findus Venture, following the ADLER-1 mission, which is set to launch into space in December 2021. ADLER-2 is expected to help increase the debris detection rate thanks to use of a debris detection radar with a larger antenna and increased detection range, and also to double the number of observations logged.

Spire will build, launch and operate the satellite, leveraging its radio frequency CubeSat design and manufacturing capability with its satellite tasking, collection, processing, data dissemination, and command and control infrastructure. Spire will also provide the orbital debris radar to Findus, integrate the other sensors, and enable access to all of them via an easy-to-use application programming interface (API).

This agreement between Findus Venture and Spire is based on a flexible subscription model with a monthly payment plan. This model benefits Spire’s customers by reducing high upfront expenditures, enabling predictable service charges distribution, and allowing an easier extension of the service provision beyond the lifecycle of the hardware.

Christian Federspiel, CEO, Findus Venture, said, “It is essential to understand space debris in order to build and operate satellite-based commercial services with service-level agreements. The intention of the ADLER-x series of satellites is to contribute to a deeper knowledge of space debris.”

Theresa Condor, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Spire Space Services, said, “The rapid and substantial growth of space-based activity in recent decades presents us with many opportunities but also significant challenges. Space debris, and the increased risk of collisions between objects, is something we need to manage carefully and as a first step we need to improve our understanding of what is happening and when. The ADLER-2 will join the ADLER-1 in helping us better detect debris and understand what we need to do to solve this challenge. Our business subscription model, evidenced by this second successful partnership with Findus Venture, also means we can work faster and more efficiently, at a lower upfront cost for our clients.”

Spire is a global provider of space-based data and analytics that offers unique datasets and powerful insights about Earth from the ultimate vantage point so organizations can make decisions with confidence, accuracy, and speed. Spire uses a multi-purpose satellite constellation to source hard to acquire, valuable data and enriches it with predictive solutions. Spire then provides this data as a subscription to organizations around the world so they can improve business operations, decrease their environmental footprint, deploy resources for growth and competitive advantage, and mitigate risk. Spire gives commercial and government organizations the competitive advantage they seek to innovate and solve some of the world’s toughest problems with insights from space. Spire has offices in San Francisco, California, Boulder, Colorado, Washington DC, Glasgow, Luxembourg, and Singapore. On March 1, 2021, Spire Global, Inc. and NavSight Holdings, Inc. announced they had entered into a definitive merger agreement for a business combination that would result in Spire becoming a publicly listed company.

The next Arianespace mission is planned from Vostochny Cosmodrome with Soyuz on April 26 and is scheduled to deliver 36 satellites into orbit.

By operating this fifth flight on behalf of OneWeb, Arianespace will bring the total fleet to 182 satellites in LEO. Arianespace is proud to share in the fulfillment of its customer’s ultimate ambition: providing internet access for everyone, everywhere.

Flight ST31, the third commercial mission performed by Arianespace and its Starsem affiliate from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, will put 36 of OneWeb’s satellites into a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometers.

The mission will have a total duration of three hours and 51 minutes and will include nine separations of four satellites that will raise themselves to their operational orbit. This sixth launch to the benefit of OneWeb will bring up to speed Arianespace’s operations this year and will raise from 146 to 182 the number of satellites deployed for the global telecommunications operator.

OneWeb’s constellation will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity services to a wide range of customer sectors including aviation, maritime, backhaul services, as well as governments, emergency response services and more. Central to its purpose, OneWeb seeks to bring connectivity to every place where fiber cannot reach, and thereby bridge the digital divide.

Once deployed, the OneWeb constellation will enable user terminals that are capable of offering 3G, LTE, 5G and Wi-Fi coverage, providing high-speed access globally – by air, sea and land.

OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space, is the constellation’s prime contractor. The satellites were built thanks to its leading-edge satellite manufacturing process that can build up to two satellites a day on a series production line dedicated to the assembly, integration, and testing of the satellites.