Archives for June 2021

Additional checks of the payloads and the launch vehicle are being required by the SpaceX team and that has forced the previously stated June 25 Transporter-2 mission to be suspended on that date.

The new date for the launch is now no sooner than Monday, June 28. Saturday, June 26, had been considered as the next window of opportunity; however, the threat of summer storms negated that date, as well.

This is another impressive payload mission for SpaceX, with 90 or so smallsats being sent to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) via a Falcon 8 rocket. A previous 143 smallsat payload mission record was established by SpaceX when conducted in January.

SkyWatch Space Applications Inc. (“SkyWatch”) has signed an agreement to deliver data management capabilities to SatRevolution.

Based on the UniBus 3U cubesat platform developed by SatRevolution, STORK-4 and STORK-5 are the first optical satellites to be launched as part of the company’s 14-satellite STORK constellation. Once deployed, STORK-4 and STORK-5 will collect multi-spectral medium-resolution imagery and data for agricultural and energy customers in the US, Poland, and globally.

SkyWatch’s TerraStream platform will provide data management, ordering, processing, and delivery services for the upcoming mission. The turnkey data management platform allows satellite operators to focus on developing core intellectual property while scaling a business with analysis-ready data and reduced time to market.

Integration with SkyWatch’s EarthCache platform, which provides application developers and GIS specialists with satellite imagery at scale, allows TerraStream customers to expand their market reach and add a new revenue stream to their business from day one.

“At SatRevolution, we believe that remote sensing can help solve problems around the world, from recovering from natural disasters, to helping farmers improve crop yield,” said Grzegorz Zwolinski, CEO at SatRevolution. “However, the barriers to entering the satellite market are really high. Working with SkyWatch has allowed us to enter this new market faster and more profitably.”

“We’re honored to have been selected by our friends at SatRevolution to support their STORK mission,” said James Slifierz, CEO at SkyWatch. “Enabling new and exciting commercial satellite operators is the key to further democratizing Earth observation data, and we’re thrilled to partner with SatRevolution to bring this high-quality and affordable data down to Earth and into the hands of people who need it most, via the TerraStream and EarthCache platforms.”

D-Orbit has signed a contract with Aistech Space for the launch and deployment of a 6U cubesat aboard ION Satellite Carrier (ION), D-Orbit’s orbital transportation vehicle.

The smallsat, named Guardian, carries a multi-spectral telescope designed by Aistech Space, with a variety of sensors from the visible (RGB), near infrared (NIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) spectrum.

Guardian will be launched and deployed with ION Satellite Carrier, the orbital transportation vehicle designed, manufactured and operated by D-Orbit to transport a batch of satellites into space, perform orbital maneuvers and deploy them with precision into their operational orbits. Guardian will be integrated inside ION’s dispensers, alongside other spacecraft, and deployed according to Aistech Space’s requirements.

Aistech Space is planning to deploy a constellation of 20 Guardian satellites. This will be one of the first commercial constellations able to collect thermal data on demand. Information captured by Aistech Space’s multi-spectral telescope will support decision-making in fields such as water management, forestry, environmental monitoring, and maritime security.

The launch, slated for December 2021, will be the fourth mission of D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier.

“We are excited about this new collaboration,” said Renato Panesi, COO of D-Orbit. “Aistech’s ultimate plan for a multi-payload and multi-platform constellation of 120 small satellites spaced in 10 orbital planes is one of the main scenarios for which we designed the ION Satellite Carrier. We are looking forward to working with them and contributing to the realization of their project.”

“Our mission is to work with organizations around the world to tackle critical threats to people and the environment, and build a better, more sustainable future for the next generation,” said Guillermo Valenzuela, CEO and Co-Founder of Aistech Space. “Our Guardian satellites will provide organizations with critical information for mitigating large-scale threats, such as forest fires, floods, pollution, and illegal activity.”

AAC Clyde Space (“AAC”) has won a £4.6 million order for a full turn-key solution from Horizon Space Technologies that includes two new smallsat launches, operations and data delivery — they will become part of the Horizon Space Technologies’ Amber constellation dedicated to delivering Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) intelligence data.

The EPIC-6U satellites will be able to locate and track vessels worldwide by geolocating and demodulating RF signals in a system that can be used to fight piracy, illegal trans-shipments, illegal fishing, and refugee smuggling, but can also be used for other purposes such as detecting and tracking a variety of RF emitters. The mission delivers a commercial service and may be extended to include more than ten (10) additional Amber cubesats. Horizon Space Technologies’ first customer is the UK National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) in Portsmouth, England.

The two smallsats in this order are scheduled for launch in the 2nd half of 2022. The order is a follow-on order from the Satellite Applications Catapult IOD program (IOD-3 AMBER), for which AAC will also deliver a 6U cubesat to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021, from where orbit deployment will occur.

“Amber is a perfect illustration of where new satellite technologies pry up demand for space-based services from existing and new customers. We look forward to taking an active role in reinforcing this strong trend for many years to come,” said AAC Clyde Space CEO, Luis Gomes.

“We are looking forward to expanding our current partnership with AAC Clyde Space as we move forward with more launches and advanced versions of our mission payload. They are a key part of the Amber team,” said Horizon Technologies CEO John Beckner.

Amber in testing

Horizon Technologies is a global leader in innovative solutions for signals intelligence. The satellites will be manufactured at AAC’s site in Glasgow.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Please visit: www.aac-clyde.space or contact:

CEO Luis Gomes investor@aac-clydespace.com

CFO Mats Thideman, investor@aac-clydespace.com, mobile +46 70 556 09 73

The information in this press release is such that AAC Clyde Space AB (publ) shall announce publicly according to the EU Regulation No 596/2014 on market abuse (MAR). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above.

ABOUT AAC CLYDE SPACE

AAC Clyde Space specialises in small satellite technologies and services that enable businesses, governments and educational organisations to access high-quality, timely data from space. Its growing capabilities bring together three divisions:

Space Data as a Service – delivering data from space directly to customers

Space missions – turnkey solutions that empower customers to streamline their space missions

Space products and components – a full range of off-the-shelf and tailor-made subsystems, components and sensors

AAC Clyde Space aims to become a world leader in commercial small satellites and services from space, applying advances in its technology to tackle global challenges and improve our life on Earth.

The Group’s main operations are located in Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the USA, with partner networks in Japan and South Korea.

AAC Clyde Space’s shares are traded on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market. Erik Penser Bank AB, e-mail certifiedadviser@penser.se, telephone +46 8 463 83 00, is the Certified Adviser. The share is also traded on the US OTCQX-market under the symbol ACCMF.

ABOUT HORIZON TECHNOLOGIES. WHERE VISION TURNS INTO REALITY.

Horizon Technologies is a Global Leader in Innovative SIGINT and Space-Based Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Intelligence Solutions. Horizon Technologies recently completed its Series A funding round with Maven Capital Partners and Virgin Money.

Horizon Aerospace Technologies is a world leader in airborne Sat Phone monitoring systems for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) applications, equipping governments worldwide by enhancing their SIGINT capabilities. We are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the FlyingFish BlackFish SIGINT systems which are in operation on numerous platforms worldwide. We participate daily in SAR missions via NATO and FRONTEX in the Mediterranean Sea, and are heavily involved in international operations around the globe.

Horizon Space Technologies is the prime contractor for the UK Government’s Amber program. The Amber program will consist of Amber CubeSats in multiple orbital planes providing global Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) data to NMIC (led by the Royal Navy).

Xenesis, Inc., an innovator in the free-space optical communications (FSO) technology sector, has taken an additional step toward vertical integration in space tech by acquiring a minority interest in Assured Space Access Technologies (ASAT). 

ASAT is led by Sean McDaniel, also CEO and co-founder of Atlas Space Operations (ATLAS). This move is the result of a mutual vision for advanced space communication technology shared between McDaniel and Mark LaPenna, the CEO of Xenesis. While each company focuses their operations in different areas and applications for satellite and space technology, the union will allow for certain synergies to be developed across the teams, as well as lead to better alignment on government and military solutions.

McDaniel spun off ATLAS Space Operations from Assured Space in 2015. Recently, Assured Space was awarded a Phase I SBIR through AFWERX to commercialize their dual purpose RF Lens based antenna technology, while adding value to US Space Force SATCOM and Space Domain Awareness missions.

This announcement comes on the heels of another recent acquisition by the Xenesis team of a minority equity position in Space Micro Inc. (SMI).

“We are excited about our equity share in Assured and look forward to further co-development of intellectual property for Air Force as well as Space Force and other Xenesis customers that can benefit from the same cutting-edge IP,” said LaPenna.

“Mark and I have a shared vision for advancing the art of the possible in satellite communications technologies since we met in 2016.  ASAT’s 20 year history working on advanced US Government satellite programs coupled with our recently acquired RF Lens and Compressed Sensing technology brings interesting possibilities to the satellite communications stage for RF and optical,” said McDaniel.

D-Orbit has signed a launch service contract with Stellar Project, an Italian satellite component developer and manufacturer, for the launch and operations of Stellar Project’s LaserCube payload on D-Orbit’s upcoming ION Satellite Carrier’s mission.

Stellar Project’s LaserCube is a patented, miniature, low power, high performance, laser communication terminal that has been specifically designed for smallsats. With an independent pointing capability that allows throughput performance more than 10 times higher than traditional radio devices, LaserCube will enable innovative business opportunities in fields such as Earth imagery, weather forecasting, global telecommunications, and internet services.

LaserCube, as the optical telecommunication highway for smallsats, will deliver an increase in data volume, communication security and speed: another step toward accessible and affordable space technology for all.

ION Satellite Carrier (photo below) is an orbital transportation vehicle designed, manufactured and operated by D-Orbit that is capable of precisely deploying smallsats into their operational orbital slot and of operating multiple third-party payloads during the same mission.

“We are excited to test Stellar Project’s innovative technology,” said Matteo Andreas Lorenzoni, D-Orbit’s Launch Strategy Manager. “As a company that has begun their journey in Italy, we are proud to collaborate with an Italian startup that aims at revolutionizing the New Space industry and becoming a leader in its field.”

“We are very happy of the collaboration with D-Orbit to carry out the first mission of our “LaserCube,” said Alessandro Francesconi, Stellar Project’s Co-founder and Managing Director. “We look forward to exploring the potential of our technology as a first step toward the enablement of optical communication in space for small satellites.”

According to the agreement, D-Orbit will integrate the LaserCube payload onboard ION as well as arrange ground transportation from the integration site to the launch site at Cape Canaveral, and will overview the integration onboard the launch vehicle until launch to the target orbit. D-Orbit will then initiate the on-orbit demonstration (IOD) phase of the mission, operate the payload onboard according to a plan of operations agreed with Stellar Project, and downlink all the relevant data. The mission, named WILD RIDE, is scheduled for launch in June of 2021.

Spaceport America and the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) have announced that the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, has been selected as the winner of the 2021 Virtual Spaceport America Cup. Spaceport America also announced the return of an in-person Spaceport America Cup in 2022 from June 21-25 at the closing ceremony of the 2021 virtual event.

Seventy-five teams from 16 different countries competed during the three-day, online event, that occurred from June 18-20. The virtual competition allowed university student teams to submit rocket designs for evaluation and included technical presentations and forums, keynote addresses from aerospace industry leaders and rocket safety training. Competitors also had the opportunity to meet with sponsors and exhibitors to learn more about aerospace career pathways and recruitment.

“Congratulations to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and all the other teams that competed in the 2021 Virtual Spaceport America Cup,” said Spaceport America Executive Director, Scott McLaughlin. “The event turnout has been incredible, and the caliber of the design and innovation has really impressed us. We look forward to welcoming the teams back to New Mexico in 2022.”

“ESRA is extremely pleased to be able to provide a virtual competition this year,” said ESRA President, Cliff Olmsted. “We thank Spaceport America and all of our sponsors especially Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, AIAA, Kansas City National Security Campus Honeywell and Kron Technologies for supporting this event and meeting with the students. The level of engagement and commitment by university teams competing from across the globe has been outstanding and inspiring. These teams are paving the way to the future. We are looking forward to the 2022 competition!“

Other awards and recipients include:

The Team Sportsmanship Award goes to Carleton University, with the runner up being Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The Team Sportsmanship Award recognizes a team which goes above and beyond to assist their fellow teams and the event organizers assure the Spaceport America Cup Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition is a productive, safe, and enjoyable experience for all involved.

The Nancy Squires Team Spirit Award was given to Kathmandu University, with the runner up being Auburn University. The Team Spirit Award recognizes a team which arrives at the Spaceport America Cup with proverbial (or literal) smiles on their face, a school flag in their hand, and never lets either waiver throughout the event. They show great pride in their work, learn from their mistakes, remain positive when things don’t go their way, engage members of the general public with respect and enthusiasm, and show respect for invited guests by attending and participating guest speaker presentations whenever possible.

The Kron Video Challenge was awarded to Cukurova University. The Kron Video Challenge is a new Technical Challenge for the best team video. The video covers the team’s year-long journey leading up to the Virtual Spaceport America Cup Event.

SDL awards 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for teams whose payloads exhibit innovation through scientific or technical objectives, payload construction and overall professionalism, readiness and execution of design objectives. The 2021 winners are 1st Place with a prize of $1,000: The George Washington University from Washington D.C, United States, with their Marco-Polo payload demonstrating gimballed laser communications.

2nd Place with a prize of $750: AGH University of Science and Technology, from Krakow, Poland, with the Space Habitat Research Effectiveness of Anesthetic Monitoring Payload, or SHREAMP, demonstrating the effects of sedation on invertebrates during space flight.

3rd Place with a prize of $500: University of Sydney, from Sydney, Australia, with the Tetratheca payload demonstrating picosateliite detumbling.

The Jim Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence awarded to Poznan University of Technology, with the runner up being the University of Samsun. The Jim Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence recognizes a team which demonstrates exceptional overall engineering discipline and technical skill through their analyses and conclusions, project or program planning and execution, operational procedure, manufacturing processes, iterative improvement, systems engineering methodology, robust design, etc.

The Dr. Gil Moore Award for Innovation was awarded to University of Waterloo, and the runner up was Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. The Dr. Gil Moore Award for Innovation recognizes a team whose project includes one or more features (including analytic or operational processes as well as components or assemblies) the judging panel finds genuinely “novel”, “inventive”, or solving a unique problem identified by the team.

The Charles Hoult Award for Modeling & Simulation given to Monash University, with the runner up being Team 140 from the University of Western Macedonia. The Charles Hoult Award for Modeling & Simulation recognizes a team demonstrating excellence in math modeling and computational analyses.

The Spaceport America Cup is the world’s largest intercollegiate rocketry engineering contest (IREC) and has been held in New Mexico since 2017. Over 1,700 students and faculty come to Southern New Mexico for the annual IREC competition. Drawn by the opportunity to collaborate and compete at a world-class spaceport facility, they represent the best and brightest from more than 100 institutions located across the world.

The annual Spaceport America Cup was canceled in 2020 due to the global pandemic and the decision to make the event virtual for 2021 was made to accommodate the restrictions teams faced across the globe.

Fleet Space Technologies will launch their sixth smallsat, Centauri 4 (C4), aboard SpaceX Falcon9 on Saturday morning , June 26, at 4:26 a.m., Adelaide, Australia, time, with the US launch occurring at Cape Canaveral. 

To be delivered into orbit at 450 km above the Earth, Centauri 4 is the size of a shoebox and has been integrated with digital beamforming technology, making this Fleet Space’s most advanced payload. This is a major achievement for the company to incorporate this tech in a smallsat payload, due to the small craft’s power and volume constraints, and this will allow for substantial increases in throughput of customer data, service a higher number of customer portals at once as well as increase data reliability and security by reducing the impact of interference. C4 will implement Fleet Space’s first 3D printed antenna system, completely designed in-house.

Fleet Space has released a video explaining the achievements of their beamforming team at this direct vlink…

“Space is no longer the sole domain of governments and multi-billion dollar satellites. Space is open for business, and we’re only just starting to tap into what is possible,” said Fleet Space CEO Flavia Tata Nardini. “With our digital beamforming technology, we are changing space and making it accessible. With a crowded radio spectrum containing all of the world’s wireless communications, bandwidth efficiency is everything. Our engineers have managed to fit this incredible technology in the vacuum of space on a tiny nanosat. This is where Fleet Space’s technology makes it world first. I have been working and launching nanosatellites for more than 10 years now and I have never been so excited by a technological breakthrough such as this latest generation of the payload. This and the new 3D printed antennas that my amazing team have built at Fleet Space. We can finally demonstrate how powerful nanosatellites can be in the comms world. We call this payload the Knight. Look at it, you can understand why!”

Additionally, there is a 2nd experimental payload which will have an even greater increase in data capacity — this new generation payload is a huge milestone in the company’s planned constellation of 140 smallsats.

Now with the ability to shape and steer multiple beams in their nanosatellites and, therefore, reduce interference, Fleet Space can perform more work, transfer more data and do it in flexible and secure ways never before possible at this scale. The firm’s smallsats are servicing IoT customers who will reap the rewards of collecting and organizing vast amounts of data from every remote corner of the Earth. Critical infrastructure customer use cases include tracking power outages, receiving alerts of unwanted encroachments along easements and bushfire risks, through to applications in defence, mining and logistics. 

Fleet Space already has five smallsats on-orbit in their LEO constellation. With significant growth in the company’s development of cutting-edge technologies, the company’s capabilities of their agnostic hybrid satellite, low-powered, wide area network (LPWAN) are being used for the development of remote, massive, IoT applications, on the Earth, the Moon and Mars, through the firm’s Seven Sisters Lunar Mission. 

Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch at this direct link on June 26…