Archives for January 2022

Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDU) is constructing a new, state of the art cleanroom to support the production, testing and integration of the LizzieSat satellite constellation.

LizzieSats (LS) are 3D manufactured, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) smallsats that are focused on the rapid, cost-effective development and testing of upcoming innovative spacecraft technologies for multiple customers. LS is a 100 kg. (220 pound) satellite with space to efficiently integrate customer sensors and technologies.

In addition to preparing for production on LizzieSat, Sidus Space is ramping up for work on recently awarded contracts that includes a multi-million dollar agreement supporting one of America’s largest, private companies. Other facility enhancements include improved network connectivity with fiber optic internet, an industrial grade epoxy shop floor, new LED light fixtures throughout the facility, additional workstations and office spaces for the growing employee team and a state-of-the-art cleanroom. Sidus anticipates that the new workspace will be completed in the next month.

The Sidus Space ISO 100,000 cleanroom, with more than 800 square feet of continuous space, was designed with high-end, precision engineering. The self-contained space will allow for the simultaneous cleanroom processing of as many as six LizzieSats as they progress through the integration, assembly and test phases of development.

The HEPA Fan Filter Units (FFUs) to be installed in the cleanroom will provide up to 808 CFM (at high speed) and will remove 99.99% of particles >/= 0.3 microns in diameter. The modular system allows for expansion and reconfiguration as needed to accommodate custom applications.

The manufacturer of the cleanroom, Terra Universal, is the leading manufacturer of critical environment applications, with over 40 years of design and fabrication experience in cleanroom- and laboratory-based industries.

"Cleanrooms safely protect satellites or spacecraft components from particles, residues, or bio-films that corrode electrical systems, hinder performance, or reduce satellite lifetime. Our top priority is to ensure each satellite and all of their related components meet the highest level of quality required to launch into space before they reach orbit so that they will perform successfully in the space environment. I am very proud of our team and their tremendous skillset as they continually support our customers," said Carol Craig, CEO of Sidus Space.

Sidus Space (NASDAQ:SIDU) located in Cape Canaveral, Florida, operates from a 35,000-square-foot manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing facility. Sidus Space focuses on commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection, with a mission of Bringing Space Down to Earth and a vision of enabling space flight heritage status for new technologies while delivering data and predictive analytics to domestic and global customers. Sidus Space makes it easy for any corporation, industry, or vertical to start their journey off-planet with our rapidly scalable, low-cost satellite services, space-based solutions, and testing alternatives. More than just a “Satellite-as-a-Service” provider, we become your trusted Mission Partner from concept to Low Earth Orbit and beyond.

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Kleos Space S.A. (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1) has confirmed their Patrol Mission (KSF2) satellites are on track to launch onboard the SpaceX Transporter-3 mission that is targeted for January 13th and have successfully passed the final technical milestone with satellite builder Innovative Solutions In Space (ISISPACE).

The Patrol Mission satellites traveled from the Netherlands to the launch integration facility at Cape Canaveral and integrated into the launch vehicle by Spaceflight Inc. Prior to transport, the satellites successfully completed System Assembly Integration Testing (SAIT) with ISISPACE over a six-week period, including a system checkout and mechanical inspection, battery charging and fueling.

The transport of the Patrol Mission satellites confirms the satellites are mission ready. The launch will increase Kleos’ reconnaissance capability to three clusters of four satellites each, making a total of 12 satellites patrolling against illegal activities, such as piracy, drug smuggling and border security challenges.

Launching into a 500-600 km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), the four Patrol Mission satellites expand Kleos’ data collection capability by up to an additional 119 million km² per day. They also enable Kleos to increase its average daily revisit rate over a 15-degree latitude area of interest to around five times a day.

Kleos successfully launched its Scouting Mission satellites into a 37-degree inclination in November of 2020 and their Vigilance Mission cluster into a 525 km SSO in June 2021. The firm’s fourth cluster, the Observer Mission, is scheduled to launch in mid-2022. Flown in a formation of four, Kleos’ smallsats detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to within 300 meters, enhancing the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for governments and commercial entities.

Kleos Space CEO, Andy Bowyer, said, “We are rapidly building our constellation to raise the volume of data available to our customers. Each new mission features enhanced hardware and software capability, leveraging the learnings of earlier launches. The improved collection capability of the Patrol Mission is key for our government and commercial data subscribers. The value of our independent geolocation data grows in line with revisit rates, as it enables subscribers to use the data to establish pattern of life behavior or tip and cue with existing datasets to improve the identification of illegal maritime and land-based activity.”

On Monday, December 27, at precisely 06:10 p.m. local time at Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome (01:10 p.m. UTC), Soyuz flight ST37 lifted-off with 36 OneWeb satellites. This flight was the 63^rd Soyuz mission carried out by Arianespace, the 37^th with the Starsem affiliate and the 12^th mission for OneWeb.

The mission lasted three hours and 45 minutes. The 36 satellites were deployed during nine separation sequences, at an altitude of 450 km. This was also the 15th successful launch operated by Arianespace’s teams during 2021, bringing to 1,101 the total number of spacecraft orbited since the start of the company’s operations.

This launch also was the first time Soyuz delivered 36 satellites — instead of the usual 34 – from the Baikonour Cosmodrome.

The OneWeb constellation will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity to a wide range of customer sectors, including aviation, maritime, enterprise and government. Central to its purpose, OneWeb seeks to bring connectivity to the hardest to reach places, where fiber cannot reach, and thereby bridge the digital divide.

The satellite prime contractor is OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture of OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space. The satellites were produced in Florida, USA, in the company’s leading-edge satellite manufacturing facilities that can build up to two satellites per day on a series production line dedicated to spacecraft assembly, integration, and testing.

The launch of the satellites was operated by Arianespace and its Euro-Russian affiliate Starsem under contract with Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Arianespace is responsible for the overall mission and flight-worthiness, with the support of Starsem for launch campaign activities including management of its own launch facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. RKTs-Progress (the Samara Space Center) is responsible for the design, development, manufacture and integration of the Soyuz launch vehicle as well as for the 3-stage Soyuz flight. NPO Lavotchkin is responsible for the launch preparation operations and flight of the Fregat orbital vehicle.

“It is a very special time of the year, right between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I would like to warmly thank all the Arianespace and Starsem teams involved in this mission and the incredible work they did alongside our Russian partners in order to allow us to launch, from Baikonour Cosmodrome, our 15th and last launch of 2021. This year has been marked by key milestones, the latest one being that, with today’s flight, we will officially have deployed more than 60% of OneWeb’s constellation,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “2021 has been a really busy year for us with 15 launches operated from three different spaceports, which represents a 50% increase in launches over 2020. With 2022 headed in the same direction, we are sure to demonstrate that our services and solutions answer our clients’ needs: any time, any mass, any orbit.”