Neutron Star Systems UG and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) have jointly signed an agreement for launching a demonstrator mission into LEO.

RFA will launch Neutron Star Systems demonstrator mission in Q3 2023 on the RFA ONE launch system. This mission will demonstrate a key subsystem for Neutron Star Systems disruptive electric propulsion system called SUPREME (SUperconductor-based Readiness Enhanced Magnetoplasmadynamic Electric propulsion). The mission will focus on advancing technology readiness level on one of the most important subsystems of SUPREME thruster technology.

Jörn Spurmann, Chief Commercial Officer at RFA said, "We are happy to support Neutron Star System’s in-orbit demonstration mission with our rideshare program on the RFA ONE launch systems. Their propulsion system has the potential to disrupt satellite propulsion, and we are proud to enable this endeavor."

Manuel La Rosa Betancourt, Chief Executive Officer at Neutron STar said, "Neutron Star Systems is committed to secure the development of this technology in Europe and to the strengthening of the vibrant German space ecosystem. By demonstrating this capability we do not only advance the TRL of SUPREME but also make a contribution towards Europe’s non dependence and leadership in enabling technologies objectives. "

Rocket Factory Augsburg was founded in 2018 with the mission to significantly reduce launch costs in the space industry. The company’s goal is to develop a launch vehicle prototype by the end of 2022 which can launch satellites into low Earth orbits on a weekly basis at unmatched prices. The RFA ONE launch vehicle combines three key competitive advantages: a highly cost-efficient architecture using industrial automation and lowest-possible development costs, precise in-orbit delivery by its orbital stage, and superior propulsion systems using staged-combustion.

Neutron Star Systems is a new-space start-up headquartered in Cologne, Germany, focused on the development of superconductor-based spacecraft systems. NSS core product is an Electric Propulsion system combining High-Temperature Superconductors with Applied-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thrusters, providing greater scalability, efficiency, and operational flexibility, and enabling more powerful and more capable spacecraft while cutting costs by up to billions of dollars. Alongside the German headquarters, NSS runs operations in London, UK, and Colorado Springs, USA.

Synspective recently signed a partnership agreement with Orbital EOS, who made use of StriX SAR data for the analysis of oil spill detection off the coast of Syria in September of 2021, leading to the identification of 243.5 ㎢ worth of oil spill.

In October of 2021, Synspective Inc. signed a partnership agreement with Orbital EOS that specializes in oil spill detection data analysis for collaboration in the Asia region.

On the September 9, 2021, Synspective captured SAR imagery data using their own satellite StirX in stripmap mode of the entire area off the coast of Syria and the Lebanese border. The area is where a large amount of oil spill had spread out across the Mediterranean Sea from one the largest oil refineries, Baniyas, of Syria, with the spill occurring on August 23, 2021.

Synspective SAR stripmap mode captured SAR image, extract of Baniyas oil refinery alongside the coast of Syria (September 2021)

Orbital EOS have conducted their own analysis making use of our StriX data, to assess the extent of oil spillage spread. The analysis had confirmed 243.5km2 worth of oil spill across the surrounding sea.

Below, black and white imagery (center) is SAR imagery data captured by StriX-α. The area colored in blue is where Orbital EOS have identified as the sea surface effected by the oil spill.

According to Juan Peña Ibáñez, the CEO of Orbital EOS, water quality along the coastal line of Syria has dramatically deteriorated as a result of the oil spill. This has impacted the local marine life, while fishing has also been banned until further notice. It is essential that such analysis is made readily available at the earliest phase of the disaster in order to minimize the damage against the local marine environment and ecosystems as well as the economy.

Below is a Synspective SAR stripmap mode captured SAR image, extract of the city of Tartus and the Mediterranean coast of Syria (September 2021).

Synspective will continue to collaborate with Orbital EOS in an effort to help define the oil spillage area, its extent and the outflow prediction by providing its own SAR data imagery.

Satellogic has signed a Letter Of Intent (LOI) with Agencia Espacial del Paraguay (“AEP”) to develop a Space-as-a-Service program for the country. As a result of this LOI, Satellogic and AEP will undertake various technological and scientific projects, in accordance with AEP’s Institutional Strategic Plan and the Space Policy of Paraguay.

The LOI provides a framework for the start-up and development of a dedicated satellite constellation network. Satellogic’s Dedicated Satellite Constellation Program enables municipal, state, and national governments to manage a fleet of satellites over a specific area of interest and develop a geospatial imaging program at unmatched frequency, resolution and cost.

Countries unequipped with their own satellites orbiting the Earth are limited in their ability to capture data about their policy implementation and infrastructure. Satellogic’s Dedicated Satellite Constellation Program expands access to geospatial analytics and insights that contribute to strategic national interests, with no capital outlay and no technical or operational risks.

With access to Satellogic’s Dedicated Satellite Constellation Program, governments of all sizes are now able to develop EO programs to support key decisions and manage policy impact, measure investment and socio-economic progress, and foster collaboration, data and information sharing as well as innovation.

“The Dedicated Satellite Constellation Satellogic will develop for AEP is a low-risk, cost-effective Space-As-A-Service model tailored for AEP and the Republic of Paraguay,” said Luciano Giesso, Sales Director for Satellogic. “Latin America is increasingly focused on space technologies to create new infrastructures to unlock the benefits of satellite data across many industries. This region continues to be an area of focus for us, uncovering huge opportunities for new space activities and projects.”

“This is the first agreement of this kind signed between AEP and a global space company, contributing to aerospace development for the public and private sectors of Paraguay, and establishing a sustainable system for our Space Agency purposes,” said Alejandro Román, General Director of Aerospace Development for AEP. “Satellogic is building the first scalable, high-resolution, earth-observation platform, and they could become the ideal partner to leverage outer space peacefully for the benefit of the Paraguayan population and the development of our country on new satellite technologies.”

Dr. Stefan Tweraser has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) as of October 1, 2021 — he will support RFA in driving the continued company’s growth.

Previously, Stefan Tweraser was responsible for the DACH region at Google, and worked at the music streaming service Deezer, at the startup Snapshot and at consulting firm McKinsey & Company. With a doctorate in economics, he brings a wealth of experience from various industries where he drove innovative and future-oriented developments in management positions.

Given the rapid technological advances, increased success in the market and strong growth in personnel, the Executive and Supervisory Board of RFA believe that now is the correct time to complement and broaden the Executive Board.

Dr. Stefan Tweraser said, “The commercial use of space will change fundamentally in the coming decade. New space-based business models are emerging and innovative launch vehicles – with a strong focus on cost and customer orientation – are a cornerstone of this positive dynamic. RFA has made great strides by combining cutting-edge technology with innovative manufacturing processes. The team has also already succeeded in developing a promising commercial pipeline. I am very excited to lead RFA – together with the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board – to the next stage of our exciting journey.”

Jörn Spurmann, Chief Commercial Officer, said, “RFA is one of the fastest growing start-ups in the New Space scene. Stefan’s experience in leading large organizations is very valuable for our further development. He has great ideas and approaches on how we will maintain our rapid pace as a growing company and convince more investors of our vision.”

Dr. Stefan Brieschenk, Chief Operating Officer, said, “We are very excited that Stefan has decided to take on the position as CEO of RFA. Under his leadership, we will further professionalize RFA’s processes and structures. This will help us to transform our rapid technological progress into a sustainable business model.”

Rocket Factory Augsburg was founded in 2018 with the mission to significantly reduce launch costs in the space industry. The company’s goal is to develop a launch vehicle prototype by the end of 2022 which can launch satellites into LEO on a weekly basis at unmatched prices. The RFA ONE launch vehicle combines three key competitive advantages: a highly cost-efficient architecture using industrial automation and lowest-possible development costs, precise in-orbit delivery by its orbital stage, and superior propulsion systems using staged combustion.

A sobering realistic look at the many challenges in the European small satellite industry.

ACCESS.SPACE Alliance (ASA), which represents the small satellite sector, has published a position paper on the current state of space financing in Europe. In the paper, ASA states that start-ups and SMEs often lack customers and contracts to support their business and face difficulties in finding public support and participating in large or long-term space programs at European and national levels. It also remains difficult for space business, especially for start-ups and SMEs which often do not have dedicated resources, to navigate through even the available funding opportunities.

Comparing the financing situation with other parts of the world, ASA points out that the number of space-related companies and the amounts of public and private investments are often higher than in Europe. ASA does acknowledge that very few countries have developed comprehensive directories of space-related entities, and that there is limited visibility in terms of the number of companies, employment, investments, growth and ownership and control. 

Betty Bonnardel, founder and board member of ASA, said, “It is necessary to properly finance the space ecosystem and agree on concrete actions to support space-related start-ups. This is why ACCESS.SPACE proposes a number of policy actions to tackle these issues with a sense of urgency”.

One of the recommendations that ASA makes is the adoption of an innovation strategy for New Space in Europe, encompassing access to private and public capital and continue providing all needed support for start-ups and SMEs. ASA also suggests to increase the number of funding entities (venture capital firms, private equity firms and business angels), bridge the “valley of death” and focus on the areas where Europe can lead. 

To improve access to funding, ASA also recommends the creation of an official ‘one-stop-shop’ web site granting access to all European public funding programs with digital tools to facilitate access and provide guidance.

EXOLAUNCH has expanded their business operations and sales in North America by opening offices in Denver, Colorado, and Washington, DC.

To lead its US operations (Exolaunch, Inc. doing business as Exolaunch USA), capture new market opportunities, and continue business growth in the region, Exolaunch USA has hired aerospace executive Chris Hearsey as its CEO. Having doubled sales globally, compared to last year, in 2022 Exolaunch is expecting to further increase sales and keep its high launch rate by sending +100 smallsats into space for the industry’s leading players.

In addition to further developing the business and establishing the US headquarters office in Denver, Hearsey will lead policy, industry outreach and government affairs in Washington, DC. He will also complement and strengthen the work produced by Exolaunch’s Berlin headquarters in Germany. Through the Denver office, Exolaunch expects to better provide tailored and reliable launch solutions to all of the firm’s customers in North America. The company, which has successfully launched satellites for multiple North American customers that include Loft Orbital, Spire Global and Kepler Communications, among others, provides its own separation systems and is developing a line of orbital transfer vehicles for precise satellite injection into custom orbits and the removal of space debris.

Hearsey has worked in the space industry at various levels in commercial, civil, and non-profit roles with a strong background in building and advising start-up organizations. Prior to joining Exolaunch, Hearsey served as director of DC operations and government affairs for Bigelow Aerospace. He was also the founder and CEO of OSA Consulting, managing a portfolio of start-up space companies in the US and in Europe. Hearsey will be supported by Kier Fortier, director of launch for Exolaunch USA, who has been leading the development of sales and partnerships to increase the visibility of Exolaunch in North America.

“Exolaunch is a fast-growing commercial space company with a distinguished NewSpace heritage, and I am excited to lead its efforts in North America. Exolaunch’s expansion into US markets will make access to space easier, regular, and more affordable for our customers,” said Chris Hearsey. “We have put together an experienced and talented team to lead Exolaunch USA’s business development from our headquarters in Denver, Colorado. This is a major step for Exolaunch, and we are in a great position to bring our one-stop-shop solutions to broader markets.”

Fortier said, “It is an excellent time to be in the launch services industry as commercial and government organizations alike are expanding into more interesting and sophisticated mission architectures. Our new office in the aerospace hub of Colorado will allow us to fully expand into the US and North American markets and focus on providing tailored launch solutions for our customers and their missions.”

Jeanne Medvedeva, VP of launch services at Exolaunch, said, “I welcome Chris to the Exolaunch team. His decade of experience in the commercial space industry will strengthen Exolaunch’s presence in the USA and its position in the North American markets as a reliable and innovative provider of rideshare launch services. With his broad skills and competence, he will help foster great relationships with our customers as well as with new and our existing launch providers.”

Exolaunch GmbH was founded by scientists and engineers from the Department of Space Technology at the Technical University of Berlin in 2010. It started as one of the global pioneers of the NewSpace era. After delivering its first rideshare cluster to orbit in 2013, Exolaunch was recognized and honored by TU Berlin as a ‘Startup of Excellence’. Since then, the company has expanded to become a global leader in providing both launch services and small satellite deployment technologies having launched satellites for over 30 customers to date. In 2021, Exolaunch completed one of the largest and most diverse rideshare missions with SpaceX Transporter-1 and its largest mission of one ton of smallsats onboard Transporter-2. Exolaunch deployment technologies are fully qualified for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches, with total flight heritage of 170 satellites deployed into orbit, and 59 small satellites launched via Falcon 9 in 2021. The company has partnerships with the most trusted and reliable launch vehicle providers, being recognized as an authorized integrator for smallsat clusters. Exolaunch also has a strong history of quality and reliability in its products and services, and relentlessly pursues innovation, seeking solutions to some of the most challenging problems of rendering space accessible for the benefit of humanity.

D-Orbit has successfully completed the orbital testing of Nebula, a cloud platform designed to provide distributed, high-performance, data analytics computing and storage capabilities in space.

Nebula is a hardware-software environment that enables end-users to uplink and run software and AI/ML apps in a way similar to conventional, terrestrial cloud environments. This first iteration of the system has been built in collaboration with Swedish-based AI company Unibap on top of their radiation-tolerant iX5-100 SpaceCloud® platform, which features a combination of central processing unit (CPU), graphical process unit (GPU), and vision processing unit (VPU) chips, solid-state storage, and an optimized Linux-based operating system running SpaceCloud framework API.

The system was integrated into an ION Satellite Carrier using D-Orbit’s propriety plug-and-play interfaces. ION is a space tug designed, manufactured and operated by D-Orbit to transport satellites into orbit and release them individually into distinct and precise orbital slots. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads such as innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit.

The testing on Nebula was performed in space as part of the WILD RIDE mission, which is still ongoing. A major bottleneck for satellite applications is the limited bandwidth of the downlink channel. A typical imaging application requires several hours to produce usable information. The real-time ML processing of imaging data in orbit, on the other hand, produces immediate results, while reducing at the same time the volume of information that needs to be downlinked by several orders of magnitude, enabling a much faster presentation of the final result to the user.

The test campaign successfully executed 23 separate SpaceCloud compatible applications from a variety of partners, including WorldFloods, an ML payload developed by the Frontier Development Lab (FDL), a partnership led by UK-based Trillium Technologies with the University of Oxford and ESA’s Phi-lab. For this test, the applications used a combination of preloaded data from a variety of satellites, such as Copernicus Sentinel-2, and raw data collected by ION Satellite Carrier’s multi-instrument sensor D-Sense.

All mission objectives have been accomplished, validating the approach of an advanced in-orbit computing platform capable of performing advanced computations on raw data directly in space, turning them into actionable information optimized for downlink.

The next iteration of Nebula, which is scheduled to fly onboard ION’s next mission in January of 2022, will feature an advanced electro-optical instrument and will enable third parties to upload and execute applications.

“This is an important step toward D-Orbit’s vision of a comprehensive space infrastructure that will provide all kind of services to vehicles in Earth’s orbit,” said Simon Reid, COO of the UK branch of D-Orbit. “While this batch of tests used mainly pre-loaded images, our follow-on mission, which will be ready for commercial use, will provide real-time access to instrument data. Everyone with programming knowledge can easily write apps to process all kind of data directly in space.We completed this project in less than a year, demonstrating the incredible versatility of the ION platform and the opportunity it provides to develop space technology in a new, agile way. While significant, this orbital test only scratches the surface of what is possible with a platform that is scalable by adding nodes, integrating sensor types, and organizing data transfer via inter-satellite links.” 

According to Dr. Fredrik Bruhn, Chief Evangelist in digital transformation and board director at Unibap, “We are currently seeing a fast global change in the space service market and the Nebula – SpaceCloud solution orbital success demonstrates a leap in the way business models around data can be implemented going forward. We are thrilled that extremely low-latency information products can be created in orbit. Going further, it is now possible to create flexible data management and user-on-demand on-orbit application services. It is great to see how our combined efforts and partnership with ESA has come together in the Nebula service and given important feedback to Unibap’s next generational SpaceCloud products and solutions.”