Archives for December 2021

Euroconsult has released their “Satellites to be Built & Launched” report for 2021, the latest edition in a series that has consistently set the industry benchmark for analysis of the satellite market.

The 17,000 satellites expected to be launched in the next ten years represents a fourfold increase over past decade, reflecting structural changes in the whole space ecosystem and a limited short-term impact of the pandemic.

The race is heating up to rapidly deploy commercial mega constellations for broadband communications and new constellations for real time observation of the Earth. Historical space powers invest in new satellite applications (e.g., Space Security Awareness) and a growing number of countries invest in their first operational satellite system, either for telecommunications, imagery intelligence, or space exploration.

The new edition of Euroconsult’s satellite market forecast assessed individually about 170 constellation projects, of which 110 are from commercial companies. While OneWeb, Starlink, Gwo Wang, Kuiper and Lightspeed will represent 58% of the 17,000 satellites to be launched, they will account for only 10% of the satellite manufacturing and launch revenues of the space industry. The report identifies two reasons combining to explain this difference: economies of scale in satellite manufacturing and a strong decrease in launch prices.

Despite a multiplication of commercial constellation projects, only a few place satellite manufacturing contracts, generally with established players. Excluding a few large deals for large constellations and new communication satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO), global competition remains limited for satellite manufacturing. Satellite demand from the governments fuels the competition between local suppliers with still limited opportunities for them to expand internationally (because of national preference in every country where a space industry is established).

Despite new business models from new commercial players in space, governments still represent three-quarters of the revenues of the space industry over the decade, i.e., $240 billion. Likewise, incumbent satellite manufacturers continue to dominate the market, with four of them capturing half of the market past decade for a value of $87 billion.

“Satellites to be Built & Launched” is the go-to report for any player throughout the satellite value chain, ranging from manufacturers to launch brokers and space agencies, or for those looking for detailed insight into this exciting and fast-developing market Appreciated by over 55 major players in 2020, the new report provides critical intelligence with as-yet unrivaled levels of precision.

The Premium Edition is available for the first time in Euroconsult’s history and features line-by-line data on every satellite to be built and launched within the next 10 years, raising the bar once again for the granular and easy to use data access Euroconsult is known for.

The “Satellites to be Built & Launched” 2021 report is now available on Euroconsult’s digital platform in Standard and Premium versions, offering Euroconsult’s pioneering and unfettered data access and readability. A free extract can be downloaded via this direct link….

“The satellite sector no longer revolves around the axis of New Space entrants challenging established legacy players. Instead, it has now shifted towards speed, and the ability to rapidly provide commercial services from satellite constellations, be it for broadband and/or narrowband communications (e.g. IOT) or for global and real time observation of the Earth. New Space is no longer the driving force in the industry. It's all about Fast Space now,” said Maxime Puteaux, Principal Advisor at Euroconsult and Editor of the report.

GomSpace A/S and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a contract for the ESA SCOUT Earth Observation mission to be launched in 2024.

The contract value is 24 million euros. GomSpace revenue impact is 10 million euros, whereof direct GomSpace revenue share will be 7 million euros.

The mission will consist of 3x12U cubesats and will become the first “climate mission” of its kind. In more detail, the mission aims to understand and quantify processes in the tropical upper troposphere and stratosphere, study its variability and contribute to trends analysis in its composition and its effects on climate and vice-versa.

The mission will be executed in collaboration with Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space (UK) who will provide the scientific instruments and ENPULSION (AT) who will provide the propulsion solution for the mission.

The Scout mission ESP-MACCS focuses on understanding and quantifying atmospheric processes in the upper troposphere and in the stratosphere. In particular, it will make observations in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes to observe gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide as well as aerosols – all of which play a key role in the greenhouse effect and climate change. The mission comprises three 12-litre cubesats, each carrying thermal infrared spectrometer, as well as a visible near-infrared hyperspectral solar disk imager as a secondary instrument.

Terran Orbital Corporation (Terran Orbital) has announced the successful stationing of the EchoStar Global 3 smallsat into its final operational orbit.

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. (Tyvak), a subsidiary of Terran Orbital, designed, manufactured, and operates the satellite on behalf of EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS).

This successful orbit placement is a premiere example of the innovation and flexibility of smallsats, such as the EchoStar Global 3. The stationing trajectory included the furthest and most rapid altitude change ever accomplished by a nanosatellite and included a 1.5-degree inclination change to place the satellite at the exact altitude and inclination required for its mission.

“Nanosatellites were not previously able to maneuver like this once placed in orbit,” said Marc Bell, co-founder, and chief executive officer of Terran Orbital. “The ability to conduct both significant altitude and inclination changes enables less expensive, faster ‘last mile’ delivery of a satellite to desired orbits for our customers. Eliminating the need for a dedicated launch insertion or reliance on space tugs reduces costs and enables a broader, more customized opportunity for ridesharing into an optimal orbit.”

“The completion of this milestone for the EchoStar Global 3 satellite was accomplished successfully and enables us to move forward with planning for the next steps in the development of our global S-band capabilities,” said Anders Johnson, chief strategy officer of EchoStar.

Fleet Space Technologies has announced their future strategy, led by the development of a new constellation of 3D-printed smallsats named Alpha, with the first satellites ready for launch in 12 months. This constellation will reside alongside the existing Centauri constellation. Fleet Space will be able to expand its coverage reach and provide down to sub-second latency, providing an extremely cost-effective means to unlock unprecedented connectivity more quickly and in more locations, however remote.

The Alpha constellation represents a fundamental shift for Fleet Space. Empowered by a recent $26.4 million Series B investment, the startup has expanded the scope of its dedicated R&D arm to create the Alpha smallsat. The creation of the world’s first entirely 3D printed satellite, integrates Fleet’s advanced beamforming technology and patented antennas.

The existing Centauri constellation is among the world’s most advanced space communications systems. Like Alpha, Fleet Space’s latest Centauri 4 smallsat, developed in collaboration with Tyvak, has been integrated with Fleet Space’s breakthrough, smallsat digital beamforming technology that uses an array of multiple 3D printed, all-metal antennas, along with cutting edge Digital Signal Processing.

This beamforming technology provides a substantial increase in throughput of customer IoT data and can service a higher number of customer terminals at once. It does this by generating a high number of highly-directional, low-interfering beams in point-to-point satellite communications. This achieves a high spectral efficiency that improves quality of service through enhanced frequency re-use, faster data rates and more link robustness. Integrating this digital beamforming into a LEO smallsat, not much larger than a half a square meter, is a world first.

Fleet has a clear track record in advanced manufacturing methods, such as 3D printing. This includes a world-first in metal ,3D-printing patch antennas for smallsats. This proves the company’s approach and the robustness of the technology for much wider use. Indeed, Alpha satellites will have up to 64 of these antennas on board, versus only 4 in the Centauri 4. This represents a 16-fold increase in performance while being only four times heavier.

Fleet Space will ensure the continuity of the Centauri constellation in collaboration with Tyvak International and the launch will occur by the close of 2022. This will ensure service continuity and an increased level of service for all Fleet customers, creating a complimentary constellation that further increases its connectivity speed and reach.

The additional scope of Fleet Space Technologies will arrive at a key moment in the satellite communications industry. Built and deployed over the last 50 years, this market is expected to double in the next seven years, driven by less expensive access to orbit and a combination of new technologies. Matched with predictions by The International Data Corporation that there will be more than 14 billion connected devices by 2025, the demand for global coverage of high speed, low latency connectivity will become unprecedented.

The deployment of Fleet Space’s smallsat Alpha constellation will service this crucial sector by providing limitless connectivity and will add data driven applications. Working alongside its existing smallsat Centauri constellation, it will unlock new markets with continuous coverage, a high data rate of up to 520 kbps and tailored frequency bands servicing current and future generations of IoT devices.

The pace and depth of Fleet Space’s advancements is a clear demonstration of Australia’s position as a global center of excellence for space technology. Supported by the Australian federal government ambition’s to grow the size of the Australian space economy to $12 billion by 2030 and create an additional 20,000 jobs in the field, Australia already boasts launch facilities, commercial rocket launches and a burgeoning space-centric software industry, positioning the nation as a capable, strategic and globally-engaged leader in the field.

Alongside Fleet Space’s advanced smallsats, homegrown Australian technology is also supporting the wider space industry. Fleet Space is leading the Seven Sisters’ Australian space industry consortium in support of NASA’s Artemis program to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 and create a sustainable human presence for later crewed Martian exploration. Commencing in 2023, the Seven Sisters missions are designed to find accessible water and other resources on the Moon and Mars.

“Our continuing collaboration with Fleet Space represents a landmark technical partnership in the development of connectivity IoT. We are proud to globally empower this rapidly growing company through the co-development and continuing improvement of the established Fleet’s Constellation,” said Marco Villa, Tyvak International, a Terran Orbital Corporation company.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) has revealed new details about their next generation Neutron launch vehicle.

This advanced, 8-ton, payload class Neutron launch vehicle is designed to transform space access by delivering reliable and cost-effective launch services for satellite mega-constellations, deep space missions and human spaceflight. During a live streamed Neutron update, Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck revealed new details about Neutron’s unique design, materials, propulsion, and reusability architecture for the first time.

Neutron will be the world’s first carbon composite large launch vehicle. Rocket Lab pioneered the use of carbon composite for orbital rockets with the Electron rocket, which has been delivering frequent and reliable access to space for government and commercial smallsats since 2018. Neutron’s structure will be comprised of a new, specially formulated carbon composite material that is lightweight, strong and can withstand the immense heat and forces of launch and re-entry again and again to enable frequent re-flight of the first stage. To enable rapid manufacturability, Neutron’s carbon composite structure will be made using an automated fiber placement system which can build meters of carbon rocket shell in minutes. 

Reusability is key to enabling frequent and affordable launch, so the ability to launch, land and lift-off again has been built into every aspect of Neutron’s design from day one. It starts with Neutron’s unique shape, a tapered rocket with a wide base to provide a robust, stable base for landing, eliminating the need for complex mechanisms and landing legs. This balanced structure also removes the need for bulky launch site infrastructure, including strongbacks and launch towers. Neutron will, instead, stand securely on its own legs for lift-off. After reaching space and deploying Neutron’s second stage, the first stage will return to Earth for a propulsive landing at the launch site, eliminating the high costs associated with ocean-based landing platforms and operations.

Neutron will be powered by an entirely new rocket engine, Archimedes. Designed and manufactured in-house by Rocket Lab, Archimedes is a reusable liquid oxygen / methane gas generator cycle engine capable of 1 meganewton thrust and 320 seconds of ISP. Seven Archimedes engines will propel Neutron’s first stage, with a single vacuum optimized Archimedes engine on the second stage. Neutron’s lightweight carbon composite structure means Archimedes does not need the immense performance and complexity typically associated with larger rockets and their propulsion systems. By developing a simple engine with modest performance requirements, the timeline for development and testing can be drastically accelerated. 

What makes Neutron’s design especially unique is the captive ‘Hungry Hippo’ fairing design. This innovative design will see the fairing form part of the first stage structure and remain fixed to the stage. Rather than separating from the stage and falling away to the ocean like traditional fairings, Neutron’s Hungry Hippo fairing jaws will open wide to release the second stage and payload, before closing again ready to return to Earth with the first stage. What lands back on the launch pad is a compete first stage with fairings attached, ready for a new second stage to be integrated and launched. This advanced design can speed up launch frequency, eliminates the high cost, low reliability method of capturing fairings at sea, and enables the second stage to be lightweight and nimble.

Thanks to Neutron’s ‘Hungry Hippo’ fairing design, the entire second stage will be completely enveloped within the Neutron’s first stage structure and fairing during launch. Thanks to this, Neutron’s second stage is designed to be the lightest in history to enable high performance for complex satellite deployments. Typically, a second stage forms part of the launch vehicle’s exterior structure and needs to provide strength to the vehicle from lift-off, exposing it to the harsh environments of the lower atmosphere during launch.

By being housed inside the first stage and ‘Hungry Hippo’ fairing, the requirement for the second stage to withstand the launch environment is eliminated and the second stage can be made significantly lighter enabling higher performance in space. Designed as an expendable upper stage for now, Neutron’s second stage is a six-meter-long carbon composite structure with a single vacuum optimized Archimedes engine.

Rocket Lab is currently working through a competitive process to select launch site, rocket production facility and Archimedes engine test facility on the U.S. East Coast. Rocket Lab expects to create around 250 new jobs to support the Neutron program with many roles open for application now.

“Neutron is not a conventional rocket. It’s a new breed of launch vehicle with reliability, reusability and cost reduction is hard baked into the advanced design from day one. Neutron incorporates the best innovations of the past and marries them with cutting edge technology and materials to deliver a rocket for the future,” said Mr. Beck. “More than 80% of the satellites to be launched in the next decade are expected to be constellations, which have unique deployment needs that Neutron is the first vehicle to address specifically. Like we did with Electron, rather than starting with a traditional rocket design, we focused on our customers’ needs and worked back from there. The result is a rocket that is right-sized for market demand and can launch fast, frequently and affordably.”

Note: All imagery is courtesy of Rocket Lab.

Kymeta and OneWeb have entered a joint development agreement (JDA) to develop an innovative, flat panel, electronically steered, user terminal that is compatible with the OneWeb network to support land fixed applications and leading the way to various mobility applications such as land mobile, maritime, and other mobility needs of the future.

The Kymeta u8 flat panel antenna technology provides an innovative solution to interoperate with the OneWeb LEO satellite constellation that supports Communication on the Pause (COTP) and future Communications on the Move (COTM) for military, government, first responder, maritime, enterprise and other commercial customers. The Kymeta u8 based terminal will provide the benefits of interoperability between GEO and OneWeb LEO services to strengthen the reach of the terminal solutions.

Under the new JDA, engineering teams from both OneWeb and Kymeta will collaborate to ensure the terminal meets the technical specifications required for compatibility with the OneWeb network.

The announcement comes just months after Kymeta and OneWeb previously collaborated on a pilot program to successfully test and demonstrate a LEO-GEO capable land flat panel user terminal in Toulouse, France, which generated a great deal of interest from customers. The two companies aim to launch their new solution into the market for purchase by the third quarter of 2022.

“This JDA formalized our collaborative efforts and commitment to bring to market an innovative electronically-steered antenna that is turnkey and compatible with OneWeb’s rapidly expanding LEO network,” said Neville Meijers, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Kymeta. “We look forward to this joint endeavor for the benefit of our mutual customers.”

“Kymeta’s pioneering u8 does not require mechanical components to steer toward a satellite and when paired with our LEO network will provide governments, businesses, and communities with high-throughput and low-latency communication services at competitive prices,” said OneWeb Chief of Delivery and Operations, Michele Franci. “This partnership is a welcome addition to our overall product strategy, offering another great choice for OneWeb’s customers and contributes to strengthening our vision to provide seamless, resilient mobile connectivity where and when its needed most.”

Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT) and SatixFy have agreed to deploy the latter’s baseband modem equipment for Telesat Lightspeed gateway Earth stations throughout the world.

The SatixFy advanced Sx3099 landing station modems will be capable of processing up to 1.6 GHz of bandwidth in each direction, supporting 10 wideband carriers, uplink power control (UPC) and adaptive coding and modulation (ACM), and network data processing. Each landing station antenna will be capable of transmitting approximately 12 Gbps on the forward link and receiving approximately 6 Gbps on the return link.

This manufacturing agreement follows a previously announced early access program to validate and qualify the Sx3099 modem ASIC for use in the Telesat Lightspeed ground infrastructure. Capabilities validated during the early access program include simultaneous high throughput transmit and receive performance, and passing end-to-end traffic between the Sx3099 Ethernet ports and the RF interface using multicarrier operations over the DVB-S2X air interface.

“Packaged in a small, lightweight outdoor enclosure, SatixFy’s innovative technology and equipment delivers a powerful value proposition for our gateway earth station network,” said Aneesh Dalvi, Telesat’s Director of LEO Landing Stations and User Terminals. “With SatixFy’s solution, we have further optimized our landing station size and capacity while reducing deployment and operating costs.”

“We are honored to be awarded the first significant terrestrial equipment program for the Telesat Lightspeed LEO network,” said Yoel Gat, SatixFy’s CEO. “We are confident that the high performance of the Sx3099 modem will serve as a solid basis for the advanced global Telesat Lightspeed network.”

Crux CFO Advisors (“Crux”) served as the exclusive financial advisor to Planetary Systems Corporation (“PSC”) in its recently completed sale to Rocket Lab.

PSC was founded in 1998 to provide high-quality, affordable mechanical systems to the aerospace industry and brings to Rocket Lab unparalleled leadership in separation systems and satellite dispensers. This, combined with their flight-proven, cost-effective, and lightweight hardware, has streamlined the process of attaching satellites to rockets and releasing them in space while ensuring they’re protected during the journey to orbit.

PSC’s expertise is complementary to Rocket Lab’s vertically-integrated Space Systems division and its own in-house manufactured and operated Photon spacecraft line, Maxwell satellite dispensers, satellite components, and mission flight software by Advanced Solutions, Inc.

Both organizations have combined for more than 200 missions. Rocket Lab’s acquisition of PSC brings together two experienced space organizations that further strengthens Rocket Lab’s end-to-end space offering across the full launch and satellite spectrum.

As reported at the time of acquisition, the deal enables PSC to make use of Rocket Lab’s resources and manufacturing capability to grow their already-strong commercial hardware trade and continue serving their existing satellite customers launching spacecraft on other launch vehicles. PSC’s team of 25 people will continue to be led by the company’s President and CEO Mike Whalen in Maryland, with founder Walter Holemans also remaining in his role of Chief Engineer.

This is Crux’s second space industry sell-side M&A deal in less than a year. Crux was previously the CFO advisor to Blue Canyon Technologies, which was sold to Raytheon in December 2020 for $432 million.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing our complementary strengths together to move the industry forward,” said Whalen. “Crux was instrumental in helping us find the right partner to ensure strategic and technological growth during a time of increased industry competition. Crux’s CFO leadership and insights were invaluable in preparing our company for this transaction and leading the transaction process to a successful outcome for our shareholders.”

Sam Francis, CEO and founder of Crux CFO Advisors, said, “The Planetary Systems team has spent over 20 years building the leading separation systems technology to capitalize on the rapid growth in the space industry. It has been an incredible opportunity to partner with the team to facilitate the merger process with Rocket Lab.”

Crux CFO Advisors are space industry transaction experts. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the Crux team has deep expertise in preparing companies for sale and facilitating the sale process. For more information, visit cruxcfo.com.

On Thursday, December 2, at 6:12 p.m., EST, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 48 Starlink satellites and two BlackSky spacecraft to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This was the ninth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, and now six Starlink missions.

NASA has expanded the Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program (CSDAP) to include Airbus as the first radar data provider to NASA’s community of researchers and scientists for evaluation to determine the utility for advancing NASA’s science and application goals. Airbus will provide them with a comprehensive catalog of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation data products to help address various research challenges.

The CSDAP strives to identify, evaluate and acquire data from commercial sources that support NASA’s Earth science research and application activities. The Radar Constellation will offer unmatched geometric accuracy, with high temporal and spatial resolution to provide precise information on any point on Earth – independent of cloud cover and weather conditions.

“We are honored to provide our unique radar datasets and services to the NASA research community to support their activities”, said François Lombard, Head of Intelligence business at Airbus Defence and Space. “We are looking forward to seeing how this will support the research work of some of the top-minded scientists in the world.”

Radar data provides unique value to various applications such as: monitoring drift ice in regions without daylight, detecting surface movement information in oil and gas fields, monitoring ship traffic, and providing detection and identification of objects. 

The Radar Constellation consists of three commercially available radar sensors (the German TerraSAR-X / TanDEM-X satellite formation and the Spanish PAZ satellite, owned and managed by Hisdesat) that can provide resolution from 25cm to 40m with six imaging modes and an up to 12-hour revisit time.