Archives for November 2021

Capella Space has announced that the company will become the first commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) supplier to demonstrate Optical Inter-Satellite Link (OISL) compatibility with the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA)’s new National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA).

SAR data is a highly valuable asset for the SDA and the U.S. Department of Defense. The next generation of Capella’s persistent SAR monitoring capabilities will leverage new technology that enables high delivery speeds and direct access to its 24/7 all-weather data for U.S. Government customers.

Capella Space will install optical communications terminals (OCTs) on its commercial SAR satellites, starting in late 2022. This will enable the company to use highly efficient laser communications technology to send and receive data to and from its satellites in LEO, relaying data to compatibly equipped government satellites and military operations on the ground. The integration of OCTs onto Capella’s SAR constellation will drastically reduce latency from image collect to download and ensure spaceborne data is quickly available to inform critical decision-making for terrestrial missions.

Capella Space selected Mynaric’s CONDOR Mk3 Optical Communications Terminal. The company selected Mynaric’s technology following a thorough vetting process. Mynaric has previously demonstrated compatibility with the SDA systems and standards.

Capella Space has partnered with a number of U.S. Department of Defense agencies, including the National Reconnaissance Office, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and the U.S. Space Force. This announcement follows a new Collaborative Research Agreement with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Technical Defense Center as well as the hiring of Amy Hopkins as Capella’s new vice president and general manager of U.S. Government.

Since officially launching commercial operations in January 2021, Capella’s new innovations and the growth of its federal team positions it to serve U.S. Government customers with fast, direct access to reliable SAR data in order to solve challenges from tactical users to global policy making.

In 2016, Capella Space was founded to enable a richer understanding of our planet in entirely new and powerful ways. The company saw an opportunity to use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to monitor the Earth, including the 75% that is either covered in the darkness of night or obscured by clouds.

“Our team at Capella Space is thrilled to become the first commercial SAR company to demonstrate compatibility with the SDA’s National Defense Space Architecture and standards,” said Christian Lenz, CTO at Capella Space. “Enabling our satellites to integrate with the new SDA architecture efficiently is a critical step for us to work seamlessly with the U.S. defense and intelligence sector. We are proud to be able to work with the SDA in demonstrating this cutting-edge technology.”

“We are honored to be selected as the optical communications terminal vendor for Capella Space’s integration work with the SDA. The announcement today highlights the importance of standardization and compatibility within the industry,” said Bulent Altan, CEO of Mynaric, “Our recently announced CONDOR Mk3 is fully compliant to the SDA’s interoperability standard and a natural match for Capella’s innovative approach integrating commercial capabilities with governmental customers.”

The SmallSat Symposium Silicon Valley 2022 will be in session from February 8 through 10, with the event workshops occurring on February 7.

The SmallSat Symposium will, once again, be conducted at Silicon Valley’s Computer History Museum.

Realize — 97 percent of all launched satellites are smallsats — that is a massive and profound shift in the satellite market. Smallsats are poised to massively accelerate their on-orbit presence as their reliability, functionality and effectiveness are realized more and more by industry actors.

The 2022 Symposium brings together leaders who will identify the critical trends occurring within the smallsat environs. The companies leading new technologies will also present their perspectives to attendees.

The SmallSat Symposium is an absolutely ideal environment for open communication between attendees and presenters and exhibitors as well as an important business networking event. The critical insights offered into the smallsat industry are the hallmarks of this must-attend satellite industry event.

The SmallSat Symposium Exhibitors and Sponsors include…

Planet has entered into an agreement to acquire VanderSat, a provider of advanced Earth data and analytics.

Under the agreement, Planet is set to acquire VanderSat for approximately $28 million, which consists of $18 million in shares of Class A common stock of Planet Labs PBC, valued at a per share price equal to the closing price of Class A common stock of Planet Labs PBC on the NYSE on the last trading day prior to the consummation of the acquisition of VanderSat, and approximately $10 million in cash.

Vandersat’s products help customers better measure and understand water management and crop health in major markets. Planet intends to leverage VanderSat’s technologies and products in further pursuit of bringing to market next-generation solutions that combine the best of commercial and public satellite data to provide clear and actionable information to help industries, non-profits, and governments around the world.

VanderSat has expertise in providing insights to customers by drawing from NASA, ESA and JAXA satellite data and has built a suite of products that report on key conditions on the Earth’s surface, such as soil moisture, land surface temperature, vegetation optical depth, and biomass. VanderSat’s unique algorithms deliver daily, global data products with great accuracy, unhindered by changing cloud-cover and atmospheric conditions.

At Planet, one of the company’s goals is to bridge the gap between real-world problems and the complexity of remote-sensing science. VanderSat is another step toward that goal with their advanced analytics. Planet believes their products will accelerate and expand the firm’s position in one of the company’s most important verticals – agriculture – and help mature the offerings for other,s such as insurance, civil government and finance. For example, easier-to-consume data can enable modeling to help financial institutions and insurers quantify climate impacts on water availability and crop production.

This transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions, as well as the closing of Planet’s business combination with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV (“dMY IV”). This will be Planet’s fourth acquisition (BlackBridge ‘15, Terra Bella ‘17 and Boundless ‘19).

The VanderSat team is based in Haarlem, Netherlands, and will further increase Planet’s commitment to the European ecosystem. The entire team, including their founder, Dr. Richard de Jeu and CEO Dr. van Leeuwen, will be joining Planet.

“VanderSat is a mission-driven company with the goal to serve one billion hectares of land in 2024. By joining Planet, our mission and impact will be dramatically accelerated and together, we aim to reach that goal in 2022,” said Dr. Thijs van Leeuwen, CEO of VanderSat.

“We’re thrilled to be welcoming the VanderSat team to Planet. We expect VanderSat’s analytics and industry expertise will help Planet provide solutions ‘up the stack’ to bridge the gap from complex remote-sensing science to products that offer improved data to the ecosystem and our customers. And when one combines their new data with Planet’s, the value is far greater than the sum of its parts,” said Will Marshall, CEO and Co-Founder of Planet. “We believe VanderSat’s products will add value in Planet’s core verticals of agriculture, and civil government, and will help us open up to others such as insurance and banking, to help grow our business.”

Planet has entered into an agreement to acquire VanderSat, a provider of advanced Earth data and analytics.

Under the agreement, Planet is set to acquire VanderSat for approximately $28 million, which consists of $18 million in shares of Class A common stock of Planet Labs PBC, valued at a per share price equal to the closing price of Class A common stock of Planet Labs PBC on the NYSE on the last trading day prior to the consummation of the acquisition of VanderSat, and approximately $10 million in cash.

Vandersat’s products help customers better measure and understand water management and crop health in major markets. Planet intends to leverage VanderSat’s technologies and products in further pursuit of bringing to market next-generation solutions that combine the best of commercial and public satellite data to provide clear and actionable information to help industries, non-profits, and governments around the world.

VanderSat has expertise in providing insights to customers by drawing from NASA, ESA and JAXA satellite data and has built a suite of products that report on key conditions on the Earth’s surface, such as soil moisture, land surface temperature, vegetation optical depth, and biomass. VanderSat’s unique algorithms deliver daily, global data products with great accuracy, unhindered by changing cloud-cover and atmospheric conditions.

At Planet, one of the company’s goals is to bridge the gap between real-world problems and the complexity of remote-sensing science. VanderSat is another step toward that goal with their advanced analytics. Planet believes their products will accelerate and expand the firm’s position in one of the company’s most important verticals – agriculture – and help mature the offerings for other,s such as insurance, civil government and finance. For example, easier-to-consume data can enable modeling to help financial institutions and insurers quantify climate impacts on water availability and crop production.

This transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions, as well as the closing of Planet’s business combination with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV (“dMY IV”). This will be Planet’s fourth acquisition (BlackBridge ‘15, Terra Bella ‘17 and Boundless ‘19).

The VanderSat team is based in Haarlem, Netherlands, and will further increase Planet’s commitment to the European ecosystem. The entire team, including their founder, Dr. Richard de Jeu and CEO Dr. van Leeuwen, will be joining Planet.

“VanderSat is a mission-driven company with the goal to serve one billion hectares of land in 2024. By joining Planet, our mission and impact will be dramatically accelerated and together, we aim to reach that goal in 2022,” said Dr. Thijs van Leeuwen, CEO of VanderSat.

“We’re thrilled to be welcoming the VanderSat team to Planet. We expect VanderSat’s analytics and industry expertise will help Planet provide solutions ‘up the stack’ to bridge the gap from complex remote-sensing science to products that offer improved data to the ecosystem and our customers. And when one combines their new data with Planet’s, the value is far greater than the sum of its parts,” said Will Marshall, CEO and Co-Founder of Planet. “We believe VanderSat’s products will add value in Planet’s core verticals of agriculture, and civil government, and will help us open up to others such as insurance and banking, to help grow our business.”

Capella Space has announced that the company will become the first commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) supplier to demonstrate Optical Inter-Satellite Link (OISL) compatibility with the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA)’s new National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA).

SAR data is a highly valuable asset for the SDA and the U.S. Department of Defense. The next generation of Capella’s persistent SAR monitoring capabilities will leverage new technology that enables high delivery speeds and direct access to its 24/7 all-weather data for U.S. Government customers.

Capella Space will install optical communications terminals (OCTs) on its commercial SAR satellites, starting in late 2022. This will enable the company to use highly efficient laser communications technology to send and receive data to and from its satellites in LEO, relaying data to compatibly equipped government satellites and military operations on the ground. The integration of OCTs onto Capella’s SAR constellation will drastically reduce latency from image collect to download and ensure spaceborne data is quickly available to inform critical decision-making for terrestrial missions.

Capella Space selected Mynaric’s CONDOR Mk3 Optical Communications Terminal. The company selected Mynaric’s technology following a thorough vetting process. Mynaric has previously demonstrated compatibility with the SDA systems and standards.

Capella Space has partnered with a number of U.S. Department of Defense agencies, including the National Reconnaissance Office, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and the U.S. Space Force. This announcement follows a new Collaborative Research Agreement with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Technical Defense Center as well as the hiring of Amy Hopkins as Capella’s new vice president and general manager of U.S. Government.

Since officially launching commercial operations in January 2021, Capella’s new innovations and the growth of its federal team positions it to serve U.S. Government customers with fast, direct access to reliable SAR data in order to solve challenges from tactical users to global policy making.

In 2016, Capella Space was founded to enable a richer understanding of our planet in entirely new and powerful ways. The company saw an opportunity to use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to monitor the Earth, including the 75% that is either covered in the darkness of night or obscured by clouds.

“Our team at Capella Space is thrilled to become the first commercial SAR company to demonstrate compatibility with the SDA’s National Defense Space Architecture and standards,” said Christian Lenz, CTO at Capella Space. “Enabling our satellites to integrate with the new SDA architecture efficiently is a critical step for us to work seamlessly with the U.S. defense and intelligence sector. We are proud to be able to work with the SDA in demonstrating this cutting-edge technology.”

“We are honored to be selected as the optical communications terminal vendor for Capella Space’s integration work with the SDA. The announcement today highlights the importance of standardization and compatibility within the industry,” said Bulent Altan, CEO of Mynaric, “Our recently announced CONDOR Mk3 is fully compliant to the SDA’s interoperability standard and a natural match for Capella’s innovative approach integrating commercial capabilities with governmental customers.”

WORK Microwave will demonstrate their latest space technology solutions at Space Tech Expo Europe 2021 in Bremen, Germany. Benefiting from more than 35 years of experience in satellite ground-segment equipment, WORK Microwave’s solutions are deployed in real-world missions with LEO and MEO constellations, as well as optical down-to-Earth links. Key highlights will include WORK Microwave’s new optical receiver and detector.

WORK Microwave will demonstrate an end-to-end cubesat solution. From space, an XLink Transceiver from IQ Spacecom will connect seamlessly with the AX-60 IP modem from WORK Microwave. Both platforms connect to IP networks and provide easy-to-use, straightforward connectivity. The solution allows operators to reliably perform telecommand and telemetry transmission tasks to and from satellites. As one of the world’s first end-to-end cubesat solutions, it supports SATCOM for both the ground and space segments. In addition, the solution features space communication waveforms according to CCSDS Recommended Standards (Blue Books) 131.0 and 231.0.

At the heart of the solution is WORK Microwave’s AX-60-S02190 CCSDS TM/TC Modem, a ground station modem for CCSDS 131.0– and 231.0-based mission communication to IQ Spacecom XLink space segment transceivers. The modem features a CCSDS 131.0-B-3 compliant downlink, CCSDS 231.0-B-3 compliant uplink, symbol rates of 10 ksps up to 75 Msps, and IQ diagram output, with a proven and flexible A-Series SDR architecture.

Optical Ground Station Receiver and Detector
WORK Microwave’s recently developed and released solutions for optical ground segment use feature leading-edge optical technology. The future-proof solutions can transfer over a secure downlink laser when very high data throughput rates are needed.

• FSOD1 Free Space Optical Detector
  The FSOD1 is a fiber-coupled optical detector for the reception of optical free space communication. The detector features a highly responsive InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD) with fiber coupled input. The amplified and limited output make it suitable for receiving hard decision on-off-keying signals. Built in a 19-inch rack-mount housing, the detector includes both a front-panel user interface and network access via SNMP and HTTP interface, assuring easy integration into satellite ground station infrastructures.

• AR-80-OPT Optical Multi-Mission Receiver
  The AR-80-OPT receiver is dedicated to supporting the processing of optical direct-to-Earth links. Designed for multi-mission support, it enables effective ground station reception. Optical On-Off-Keying (O3K) and High-Photon-Efficiency (HPE) transmissions can be processed via a common input that operates either based on hard-decision decoding or the processing of logarithmic-likelihood-ratios (LLR).

OQ Technology, a 5G satellite operator, has successfully completed the in orbit commissioning (IOC) of its Tiger-2 nanosatellite, and will begin customer demonstrations. The company is currently in discussion with several potential customers interested in using the company’s satellite-based 5G IoT services and will start commercial services for “latency-tolerant” low-power devices this beginning next year.

“Completing the IOC phase and the successful tests with our terminals in remote locations was a crucial step to start generating revenue via the satellite and progress the constellation with more satellites to be launched in early 2022,” said Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology. “In addition to potential customers, we are also negotiating with cellular chip partners to scale up the satellite access capability to existing cellular IoT chips globally. Our next step is starting service demonstrations with our potential customers and their use cases.”

Following the successful launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), OQ Technology began its IOC phase on August 15. Over the next weeks OQ conducted various operations to verify the performance of the satellite’s payload, which from the first switch on performed successfully on both uplink and downlink. OQ also tested and calibrated its working terminals in different fixed and mobile environments, in the desert and for indoor usage. During tests, OQ was able to send the terminal’s GPS location to the satellite from inside a fast-moving car without having a direct line-of-sight to the sky. Even when buried in the desert sand, the terminal was still sending signals to the satellite, making it ideal for many agricultural applications. While the high level of signal to noise ratio surpassed OQ’s high expectations. 

Qaise said, “Being able to track our terminals even indoors and covered by soil adds further possible services that we can offer to our customers. It opens the door for many potential use cases other satellite operators cannot provide. And it demonstrates the impact and possibilities of this new generation of 5G over satellite. 

“As a result, we’re now close to signing a memorandum of understanding with a respected research institute to collaborate on satellite-based services in the Middle East and Africa that could be a first step in that direction.”

Over the next few years, OQ Technology is planning to launch a constellation of 72 satellites, providing 5G IoT and machine to machine (M2M) communication. Its ‘cell-tower inside the satellite’ technology ultimately will provide real-time global connectivity with ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). 

OQ aims to connect 70-80 percent of the world without internet access, initially offering opportunities for latency-tolerant applications such as smart farming, metering, and environmental monitoring such as measurement of hazardous gases in oil and gas fields or corrosion tracking in pipes, before moving to more real-time applications such as alarms, tracking, leak detection, robotics, smart cars, and drones control. 

AAC Clyde Space and their partners have successfully completed the first phase of the xSPANCION project with a successful Preliminary Design Review (PDR), conducted jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Together with the partners, the company has agreed to accelerate the project by kicking off the Spacecraft Manufacturing Preparation Phase. To achieve this, a Phase 2 has been introduced to the project valued at 5.6 million euros, of which the UK Space Agency, through the ESA’s Pioneer Partnership Projects, will contribute 2.8 million euros.

The three year project aims to develop a satellite constellation service. The first phase of the project up to Preliminary Design Review was initiated in late 2020.

The Manufacturing Preparation Phase, or Phase 2, has now started and is expected to be finalized by the end of 2022. It includes detailed design of constellation-ready spacecraft, development of digital production processes, constellation operations capability together with licensing, regulation, and more efficient launch coordination to deliver a step-change in capability to deliver constellations.

AAC Clyde Space continues discussions with selected customers to enter agreements for data delivery from the constellation service. The dialogues are ongoing and are expected to be completed before the start of the third and final phase of the project, which includes the manufacturing of 10 novel spacecraft and the launch of 4 demonstration spacecraft. Phase 3 is expected to commence during the first six months of 2022, with completion end of 2023.

The xSPANCION project is supported by the UK Space Agency through the ESA ARTES Pioneer Partnership Program and is structured as a Public Private Partnership, in which AAC Clyde Space and its partners, Bright Ascension Ltd., the University of Strathclyde, D-Orbit UK, Alden Legal UK and the Satellite Applications Catapult, are working in partnership with the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to develop a Space Data as a Service offering.

“xSPANCION promises to revolutionize our Space Data as a Service offering with technology that will allow us to share significantly lower costs for space-based data with customers. We want the project to catalyze a new generation of applications not previously possible, appealing to both new and existing customers. The start of Phase 2 will ensure that we can continue the project at full speed,” said AAC Clyde Space CEO, Luis Gomes.

“ESA’s Pioneer program provides innovators and entrepreneurs like AAC Clyde Space the framework to develop new products and services in a cost-effective and agile way, creating jobs, boosting prosperity and supporting the success of the European space industry,” said ESA Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Director, Elodie Viau. 

ICEYE has engaged in a contract with the NOAA to support the monitoring and response to environmental hazards in the maritime sector.

With this partnership, ICEYE will provide NOAA with radar satellite imagery to evaluate the impact of different environmental hazards in near-real time including oil spills, large-scale illegal fishing operations and ocean conditions related to the accumulation of marine debris. In addition, NOAA is looking into using ICEYE to identify already burned areas within active fires to help fire responders. The need for NOAA to monitor these hazards twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, is supported by ICEYE’s around the clock tasking capabilities.

The collaboration will expand on NOAA’s recent use of ICEYE imagery that was used in combination with other sources to respond to environmental hazards. Both parties collaborated closely after Hurricane Ida to verify the condition of oil rigs and infrastructure along the Gulf Coast, resulting in NOAA identifying over a dozen oil spills.

NOAA also leveraged ICEYE’s satellite imagery off the coast of southern California in response to the recent oil leak from a submerged pipeline. The imagery and data provided by ICEYE offered situational awareness to oil spill response crews by identifying the migration of the oil on the water and its movement over time caused by tides, currents and winds.

Unlike a traditional Earth imaging satellite, ICEYE’s constellation of SAR satellites bounce a powerful radar beam off the surface of the Earth from approximately 550 kilometers in space, thereby painting a picture of what is happening on the ground below. The technology can see through clouds, smoke and even image the ground at night. This provides customers with persistent coverage of fast breaking events on the ground and in all weather conditions.

“At ICEYE, we often say that you can’t respond to what you can’t see,” said Eric Jensen, President of ICEYE US. “With the world's largest constellation of SAR satellites, we are able to offer unmatched monitoring capabilities for our clients, providing them with the ability to persistently monitor any location on earth, at any time of day and in any type of weather. We are very pleased to be able to collaborate with NOAA in their response efforts and we look forward to assisting them on future events.”

Recently, Isar Aerospace and EnduroSat entered into a launch service agreement — EnduroSat is focusing on developing the next gen of satellite constellations and exploration programs and is one of the fastest growing space companies in Europe.

Between 2022 and 2025, EnduroSat will use Isar Aerospace’s services to launch multiple satellites to orbit from Norwegian launch site in Andøya. This agreement is another confirmation of the trust that the space industry is placing in Isar Aerospace and a strong example for the growing development of the European space ecosystem.

The agreement proves the growing development of the European space ecosystem as well as underlines the strong opportunities for research and development in Eastern Europe, especially in Bulgaria. These capabilities are needed for Europe’s endeavor to develop its commercial space industry and secure autonomous access to space. Both Isar Aerospace and EnduroSat were founded to reduce barriers for access to space and to provide efficient and sustainable solutions for space operations.

“We are excited to support EnduroSat on their impressive growth path with flexible and cost-effective launch solutions. Even more, as we both share the same belief: creating access to space will improve our life on Earth,” said Daniel Metzler, Co-Founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace. 

“This is yet another great success for Isar Aerospace’s commercial development, and we thank EnduroSat for the trust and confidence it has placed in our team,” said Stella Guillen, Chief Commercial Officer of Isar Aerospace.

“We are happy to sign a launch agreement with Isar Aerospace. This is another milestone in our mission to make space accessible for everyone and we are happy to push the concept further with a strong EU partner. The Shared Satellite Service is a paradigm shift in the way we operate in orbit. It has never been so easy to get your sensors to space and operate them. We are excited about our customers, and we will continue to support their innovations at the final frontier,” said Raycho Raychev, Founder and CEO of EnduroSat.