Archives for July 2021

D-Orbit successfully launched another ION Satellite Carrier (ION), the company’s proprietary, orbital transportation vehicle — ION lifted off on June 30, 2021, at 9:31 pm CEST, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida, and 60 minutes after liftoff, the vehicle was successfully deployed into a 500 km SSO.

ION SCV 003 deployed six satellites into distinct orbits and performed the on-orbit demonstration of 12 hosted payloads. The mission serves clients from 14 different nationalities and brings the total payloads launched by D-Orbit to 63 in number.

ION Satellite Carrier is a space cargo vehicle designed, manufactured and operated by D-Orbit. ION is able to accommodate multiple satellites, transport them into space, perform orbital maneuvers, and release them precisely into independent orbital slots. ION’s unique integrated capabilities also enable the spacecraft to perform in-orbit demonstration (IOD) services for third-party hosted payloads.

ION SCV 003 serves a wide range of international clients, like the Spanish Elecnor Deimos, the Bulgarian EnduroSat, and the Kuwaiti Orbital Space, which will launch the country’s first radio amateur satellite. Also on board, under contract with ISILAUNCH and integrated into a QuadPack from Dutch satellite manufacturer ISISPACE, are Finnish Reaktor Space Lab, Marshall Intech Technology from UAE, and the Royal Thai Airforce.

The mission entered into the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), during which mission controllers performed a series of health check procedures in preparation for the operational phase, which started with the deployment of the satellites. ION delivered each satellite into a distinct orbit following a highly customized plan that defined the moment of release as well as the direction and speed of ejection of each spacecraft.

After the conclusion of the deployment phase, WILD RIDE will proceed with the on-orbit demonstration of LaserCube, an optical communication device from the Italian-based company Stellar Project, and the testing of Nebula, an on-demand, on-orbit cloud computing and data storage service at the core of D-Orbit’s upcoming advanced services. The first iteration of Nebula, which features an intelligent automation SpaceCloud iX5-100 radiation tolerant computing module by specialist Unibap, will demonstrate a range of innovative applications for advanced geospatial EO and Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) applications using sophisticated, AI/ML algorithms for extremely low-latency decision support. The experiments will be conducted in collaboration with commercial partners such as the video compression techniques industry specialist V-Nova and the AI research accelerator Frontier Development Lab, a public / private research lab run by Trillium Technologies in partnership with the University of Oxford and supported by ESA.

A series of organizations, among which Enea AB, SaraniaSat Inc., 12G Flight Systems, and Ubotica Technologies, is involved in this phase of the mission to further test the capabilities of the cloud ecosystem and its applications.

Finally, ION will enter the decommissioning phase through the testing of ADEO-N2, a small, 1U-size, de-orbit sail subsystem, developed by the German space structures company HPS, that will lead to a faster, residue-free incineration of ION upon re-entry.

“This is our third mission in less than nine months, and our incoming fourth mission is already fully booked,” said Luca Rossettini, D-Orbit’s CEO. “The pace at which we’re moving is a true testament to the economic benefits delivered to satellite operators and space companies leveraging space logistics’ services. I’m proud of what we have accomplished so far, thanks to the extraordinary skills and dedication of our team, and excited to witness our contribution to the new space sector as our company grows, and our technology keeps pushing the envelope of what is possible.”

The mission will also feature a SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) experiment in collaboration with media artist Daniela de Paulis and INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica). The experiment, which investigates the possibility to communicate with other kinds of life in the universe, consists in the transmission of simulated alien messages to be received and decoded by radio telescopes worldwide.

While celebrating the beginning of the new mission, the team is already preparing for the next one, scheduled for December 2021, and already fully booked.

OneWeb has successfully launched another 36 satellites to mark the completion of the company’s ‘Five to 50’ mission.

With this major milestone, the Company is ready to deliver connectivity across the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, and the Arctic Region. The launch means that OneWeb can now provide connectivity solutions to fully fixed energy rigs operating onshore and offshore in the 50N and above region. Longer term, the development will potentially unlock new, untapped commercial fishing and merchant shipping operations in the Arctic as well as enabling improved environmental monitoring of sensitive eco-systems in this region. 

The latest launch takes OneWeb’s on-orbit constellation to 254 satellites, or 40% of OneWeb’s planned fleet of 648 LEO satellites that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity. OneWeb intends to make global service available in 2022.

Service demonstrations will start this summer in several key locations – including Alaska and Canada – as OneWeb prepares for commercial service in the next six months. Offering enterprise-grade connectivity services, the Company has already announced distribution partnerships across several industries and businesses including with BT, ROCK Network, AST Group, PDI, Alaska Communications and others, as OneWeb expands its global capabilities. The Company continues to engage with telecommunications providers, ISPs, and governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services and sees growing demand for new solutions to connect the hardest to reach places.

This 58th Soyuz mission was conducted by Arianespace and their Starsem affiliate was completed from Vostochny Cosmodrome for the fifth time on July 1 at 13:48 BST and represents OneWeb’s eighth launch, overall. By operating this flight on behalf of OneWeb, Arianespace participates in the fulfillment of its customer’s ultimate ambition: providing internet access to help bridge the digital divide.

OneWeb’s satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in 9 batches over a period of 3 hours 52 minutes, with signal acquisition on all 36 satellites now confirmed.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson, MP, said, “This latest launch of OneWeb satellites will put high-speed broadband within reach of the whole Northern Hemisphere later this year, including improving connectivity in the remotest parts of the UK. Backed by the British Government, OneWeb proves what is possible when public and private investment come together, putting the UK at the forefront of the latest technologies, opening up new markets, and ultimately transforming the lives of people around the world.”

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, said, “Today’s momentous milestone demonstrates that OneWeb is now a leader in LEO broadband connectivity, serving a wide range of stakeholders across the Northern Hemisphere. This fifth launch amid the unprecedented global pandemic is truly remarkable and I congratulate the management team and fellow shareholders on the success. Bharti’s doubling of its investment earlier this week is testament to the commitment to OneWeb’s mission. We now look forward to the next chapter in OneWeb’s story, preparing the company for commercial service in the less than six months to deliver our global connectivity solutions to communities around the world.”

The Rt. Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng, MP, Secretary of State, BEIS, added, “This launch is an exciting milestone in providing some of the world’s most remote locations with fast, UK-backed broadband less than a year since British government investment made this possible. With yet another successful mission, the people of the UK can be proud that this country is at the heart of the latest advances in small satellite technology. OneWeb’s coverage across the Northern Hemisphere now puts the United Kingdom at the forefront of the latest developments in Low Earth Orbit technology, and we will capitalise on the company’s unique position within this growing market to build a strong domestic space industry and cement our status as a global science and technology superpower.”

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, said, “This is a truly historic moment for OneWeb, the culmination of months of positive momentum in our ‘Five to 50’ program, increased investment from our global partners and the rapid onboarding of new customers. We are incredibly excited to start delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity first to the UK and the Arctic region and to see our network scale over the coming months as we continue building to global service. Thanks to all our incredible partners who have been with us on this journey and are instrumental to making OneWeb’s mission a success.” 

Analytical Space has appointed four new leaders to the company’s senior leadership team — this expansion of the company’s senior leadership team enables the firm to fast track the development of the Fast Pixel Network, in preparation for a 2022 initial deployment.

The following appointments, effective immediately, come after a record year for Analytical Space, after the company secured over $4.5 million in revenue and developed more than $20 million in revenue backlog:

Katherine Monson, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
Katherine is an experienced aerospace executive, having supported thousands of satellite and rocket programs during her time serving as CEO of KSAT Inc. She is passionate about creating communications infrastructure for the growing space industry. She will be leading the Operations and Business Development efforts of the Analytical Space team. Katherine started her career in Government working at the Pentagon for the Undersecretary of Acquisitions, Technology, and Logistics (OUSD AT&L). She has also previously served as Spire’s Head of Ground Stations, helping to build out the company’s key infrastructure components.

Dr. Jose Velazco, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO)
Dr. Velazco brings more than 25 years of expertise designing and integrating cutting edge Optical and RF communications technologies within industry and government leadership positions. He will be overseeing Analytical Space’s Research and Development initiatives. He joins Analytical Space after serving as the Technical Supervisor of NASA JPL’s Advanced RF & Optical Technologies group, where he developed many patents related to his work with advanced telecommunications payloads. Dr. Velazco is a visionary thinker in the field of satellite communications and is passionate about enabling new satellite sensor types and delivering higher fidelity datasets via the improvement of existing satellite communications infrastructure. Dr. Velazco began his career in industry by founding Microwave Technologies Inc., a Research and Development firm that developed microwave electronic components for the Department of Defense, NASA, and the National Institute of Health.

Rhonda Landers, VP of Finance
Rhonda has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles within finance, strategy and operations.  She joins Analytical Space to lead the Company’s financial operations and play an integral role in corporate strategy development. Rhonda most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Nanosteel, a venture-backed, private company focused on the development and commercialization of advanced high strength steel. Through similar advanced technology CFO positions at companies such as Globe Wireless and Seawave LCC, she has demonstrated leadership in capital raising, strategic planning, scaling operations, and strategic initiatives  for continued business growth including strategic investments, licensing and acquisitions.

Alejandra Herrera, Head of People
Alejandra joins Analytical Space to lead the HR and recruiting departments after more than 30 years of experience growing and scaling startups. She has led multiple scaling efforts, across a variety of technology-centric businesses and specializes in rapidly growing distributed and remote teams. Ale has served as the Head of Operations at The Boston Consulting Group, Sr. Director of HR at Brightstar, Director of HR and Administration at Deremate.com, and Sr. VP of HR at Xapo. At Analytical Space, Alejandra will focus on furthering the technical depth of the team, while retaining a diverse and inclusive company culture.

“As we translate our vision of a global data relay network into reality, I’m excited to welcome Katherine, Jose, Rhonda and Alejandra to the Analytical Space executive team. They come with decades of experience imagining and materializing innovative concepts in the space industry, navigating companies from early capability demonstrations to sustainable business models, and rapidly scaling organizations while maintaining a mission driven and inclusive culture.” said Analytical Space CEO, Dan Nevius. “I’m honored and humbled by their decisions to deploy their incredible talents toward accelerating ASI’s mission of building the in-orbit infrastructure to give humanity access to a high fidelity, persistent view of our planet.”

Analytical Space is launching a network of satellite relays that will provide a high-speed data connection for Earth observation satellites. ASI’s network will allow satellite operators to generate more data and get it to the ground faster, all while using their existing hardware. By closing the connectivity gaps in orbit, our network will unlock new possibilities for innovation in space, enable insights to optimize the global economy, and help us understand our planet like never before.

Spiral Blue successfully launched their first prototype, Space Edge Zero (SEZ) computers into orbit onboard Virgin Orbit’s air-to-space LauncherOne rocket.

Launched from the Mojave Air and Spaceport in California, the rideshare mission, “Tubular Bells, Part One” has sent two of Spiral Blue’s SEZ computers aboard two SatRevolution satellites into a 500 km altitude SSO around the planet along with seven satellites developed by the US Department of Defence, The Royal Netherlands Air Force, and SatRevolution.

This mission will provide an opportunity for Spiral Blue to perform end-to-end testing and space qualification of their SEZ computer that is currently hosted on SatRevolution’s STORK-4 and STORK-5 optical satellites. Spiral Blue’s SEZ computer will introduce in-space processing of satellite images, currently unavailable to EO satellites. Traditionally, EO data is downloaded into a raw format from satellites and must then be heavily processed on Earth into a format that is useful to non-technical decision makers. The SEZ ensures that only the information needed by the end user is delivered, improving the efficiency of satellites and making EO data more affordable and accessible.

In this mission, 5 meter resolution imagery captured by SatRevolution’s optical satellites will be passed onto an onboard SEZ unit, allowing the prototype computer to take in and process EO imagery in real time. Following on-orbit qualification, the SEZ will be tested in Q4 2021 and throughout 2022.

“We’re incredibly thankful to see the successful launch and deployment of the satellites carrying our Space Edge Computers,” Spiral Blue’s CEO, Taofiq Huq, said. “We are looking forward to working with SatRevolution to begin testing our hardware in orbit.”

Spiral Blue was recently a recipient of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Supply Chain Capability Improvement Grant, a grant that supports the Australian space industry to build capacity to deliver products and services into domestic and/or international space industry supply chains that could support Moon to Mars activities. This grant is supporting the development of Spiral Blue’s Space Edge Services platform. The company is also developing Vessel Detect under a Defence Innovation Hub contract.

Spiral Blue is a Sydney SME focused on building the next generation of Earth observation services with artificial intelligence and Space Edge Computing. Spiral Blue technology has applications in defence, city planning, utilities, and other industries. Founded in 2018, the company launched its first Space Edge Zero prototype into orbit in July 2021.

AAC Clyde Space has entered into a $8.4 million contract to deliver high-resolution, multi-band, hyperspectral data from space to Canadian Earth Observation (EO) company Wyvern Inc. over an initial four-year period, with an intended start mid-2022.

Under the agreement, AAC Clyde Space will design, manufacture and own three, 6U EPIC satellites equipped with hyperspectral payloads, while Wyvern Inc. commits to subscribe to the data service for four years. After the first four years, the contract can be extended on an annual basis. In March of 2021, AAC Clyde Space announced the company had agreed with Wyvern to secure the launch of three satellites into orbit in 2022 for this purpose.

The first satellite is planned for launch during first half year 2022, followed by two satellites planned for launch during the second half year 2022.

The satellites will deliver hyperspectral data, a method for capturing images of Earth across multiple bands, providing much more information than the three main color bands that the human eye captures. Wyvern will first offer the data to the agriculture sector where it will help optimize yields, and detect invasive plants, pests and changes in soil makeup.

“We are delighted that Wyvern, a specialist in Earth observation, has opted for the Space Data as a Service model to capture data. It will enable them to focus on delivering high quality services to their customers, while leaving to us to do what we do best – design, manufacture and operate spacecrafts,” says AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes. “This contract is our largest Space Data as a Service contract to date. I foresee many more to come, both larger and smaller, as businesses discover this cost efficient and convenient way to access data from space-based assets.”

Wyvern’s CEO Chris Robson said, “Wyvern aims to deliver Earth observation data in the hyperspectral bands to new customers at greater value. Working with AAC Clyde Space is a first step in securing the market while we develop optical technology that will continue to revolutionize space-based data for a variety of sectors.”