Archives for June 2022

Space Systems Command is preparing to air-launch the STP-S28A mission on June 29th to deliver seven payloads for the DoD Space Test Program off the Southern California coast to an orbit of 500 kilometers at a 45 degree inclination.

These experimental payloads enable the development of a wide range of technologies supporting the future warfighter. On-orbit demonstrations include a modular platform for supporting system development, Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) and Proximity Operations of SmallSats, next-generation Radio Frequency (RF) communications and data routing, and research in Earth sciences.

Virgin Orbit National Systems is set to deploy the payloads into orbit on its LauncherOne rocket, designed and manufactured in Long Beach, California.

They will be air-launched from Virgin Orbit’s 747-400 carrier aircraft, dubbed “Cosmic Girl,” after taking off from Mojave Air and Space Port and flying a prescribed aerial “racetrack” course over the Pacific Ocean.

STP-S28A is managed by the DoD Space Test Program that delivers experimental demonstrations of new capabilities and expedient space access solutions for research and development experiments. SSC’s Space Domain Awareness & Combat Power, Innovation and Prototyping Delta at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, administers the DoD STP.

Space Systems Command procured this launch through the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP).

“We are excited to partner with Virgin Orbit National Systems for the launch of the STP-S28A mission for the DoD Space Test Program,” said Lt. Col. Justin Beltz, chief of Space Systems Command’s Small Launch and Targets division. “RSLP and STP have a long history of working together to support Department of Defense science & technology efforts. The entire team has worked tirelessly to prepare for this upcoming launch, and we look forward to getting the Space Test Program’s payloads where they need to be on-orbit.”

Space Systems Command, headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California, is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for rapidly developing, acquiring, equipping, fielding and sustaining lethal and resilient space capabilities. SSC mission capability areas include launch acquisition and operations, communications and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), space sensing, battle management command, control and communications (BMC3), and space domain awareness & combat power.

Airbus has been awarded a 160 million euros contract for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) FORUM satellite to measure heat emitted from the Earth into space.

FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) will be the first satellite to observe Earth in the far-infrared part of the spectrum, providing unique measurements of the Earth’s outgoing energy to help improve understanding of the climate system.

Measurements from FORUM’s spectrometer will enable scientists to compile a high resolution view of the Earth’s greenhouse effect and the properties of ice clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere. Airbus is mission prime with OHB providing the instrument.

Airbus in Stevenage will lead the development of the satellite, with Airbus in Germany responsible for the Instrument signal detection chain, and Airbus in France providing platform product support.

Using on-orbit proven technology will considerably reduce risk and costs on the program. Avionics for the mission have been developed, validated and flown together on previous missions, which will enable savings in verification activities, software development and operating procedures.

The main instrument on FORUM will be a Fourier Transform Spectrometer operating in the far-infrared. The Sun’s incoming shortwave radiation is absorbed at the Earth’s surface and re-emitted into space, through the atmosphere, at longer infrared wavelengths. FORUM will measure the signature of this outgoing radiation, from which a crucial understanding of water vapor, ice clouds, surface snow and ice, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas characteristics can be derived. The satellite will also be equipped with a thermal imager for ground sample validation.

The FORUM satellite will fly in a loose formation ahead of the MetOp-SG A1 satellite for synergistic observations using MetOp-SG A1’s infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer. Using MetOp’s data at shorter infrared wavelengths will complement and further improve FORUM’s own science.

Procurement from small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) will be a key element of the FORUM mission to further enhance the space supply chain across ESA member states. The 883 kg. FORUM satellite will be in a polar orbit at an altitude of 830 km. and is scheduled to launch on a Vega-C launcher from Kourou, French Guiana, in 2027. FORUM will be the 9th Earth Explorer mission of ESA’s Future EO Program.

Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Airbus Space Systems, said, “This critical Earth observation mission to measure infrared radiation from the Earth for the first time, will give scientists and climatologists the data they need to improve their global warming forecasts. It builds on Airbus’ heritage in designing and manufacturing cost efficient small Earth observation missions including Sentinel-5P and is the sixth Airbus primed Earth Explorer mission for the European Space Agency.”

Science Minister George Freeman said, “This important new mission to further improve the accuracy of climate forecasts and view our planet through new eyes is another illustration of UK space tech expertise. Scientists at Imperial College London provided key support to ESA in defining FORUM’s science objectives and the satellite is set to be built by Airbus in Stevenage. This is a significant industrial contract which demonstrates the UK’s strengths in Earth observation technology and satellite manufacturing, as well as our global leadership in tackling climate change.”

Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programm, said, “We are thrilled to award the industrial contract to Airbus in the UK as Prime Contractor for FORUM, with OHB in Germany responsible for the instrument. FORUM adds to our highly successful family of Earth Explorer missions and, by acquiring novel information, will bring great benefits to climate science.”

ICEYE has established a new line of business that is focused solely on delivering fully operational satellite missions to customers looking for their own orbital SAR capabilities.

Governments and large multinational corporations are able to purchase their own radar imaging satellites from ICEYE and operate them independently, or arrange ICEYE to manage the spacecraft exclusively on their behalf.

ICEYE has already secured complete satellite missions with several international customers that include two of the satellites launched in May of 2022 which were provided to the Brazilian Air Force (BAF). The BAF will own and operate the satellites in support of environmental and national security objectives. Due to South America’s almost constant cloud-cover in certain areas, radar imaging satellites are the only truly viable solution to reliably capture the data required.

In December of 2021, ICEYE also entered a partnership with Canada’s MDA Ltd. to supply a SAR spacecraft for its next generation, commercial, Earth Observation (EO) system known as CHORUS. The ICEYE satellite will work in conjunction with MDA’s broad area, C-band, SAR satellite following the same ground track to enable cross-cue operations between the two satellites.

Unlike traditional EO satellites, ICEYE’s radar imaging satellites, each weighing around 100 kg., can form high-resolution images of areas of the Earth in all lighting and weather conditions multiple times a day. Imagery can be collected over very wide areas, up to thousands of square kilometers, or over small and precise points of interest. In the high-resolution collection mode, the images are detailed enough to see changes on the ground as small as footprints across a field or vehicle tracks in the sand.

The new Missions line of business will be led by Steve Young, a seasoned space and aerospace professional, formerly acting as ICEYE’s Vice President of Business Development and Sales. Prior to joining ICEYE, Young worked in executive positions at BAE Systems. In 2015, he helped co-found the New Space company Earth-i, a high-resolution satellite imaging provider, after a previous role as the Head of Business Development and Sales for Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL). In 2011, he was made a fellow at the Royal Aeronautical Society.

“We have pioneered advances in electronics, spacecraft engineering and on-orbit computation so that we can manufacture high performance, smaller and less expensive SAR satellites to meet the imaging requirements for international customers,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE. “We have been listening carefully to the market and we are responding to the strong need for this unique offering.”

“For the longest time, the potential to see anywhere on the planet has been there, but it’s never been fully realized,” said Steve Young, President, Satellite Missions, ICEYE. “Part of that has been due to the limitations of the current systems which can’t image at night or through clouds. ICEYE’s SAR satellites can see day or night and during bad weather. This is truth data that you simply can’t hide from. As the only organization in the world to rapidly deliver proven high-precision SAR satellites, we are excited to offer our ICEYE SAR satellites for customer missions and enable organizations to have independent control of this reliable and repeatable information source.”

Rocket Lab launched the CAPSTONE cubesat from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Pad B, located on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula on June 28th via an Electron rocket.

The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) cubesat will be the first spacecraft to test the Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the Moon.

Researchers expect this orbit to be a gravitational sweet spot in space – where the pull of gravity from Earth and the Moon interact to allow for a nearly-stable orbit – allowing physics to do most of the work of keeping a spacecraft in orbit around the Moon. NASA has big plans for this unique type of orbit.

This historic pathfinding mission is in support of NASA’s Artemis program which will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Using the company’s Electron rocket and new Lunar Photon upper stage, Rocket Lab will inject CAPSTONE to a highly efficient, transfer orbit en route to the Moon.

CAPSTONE is owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, for NASA.

CAPSTONE’s primary objective is to test and verify the calculated orbital stability of a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon, the same orbit planned for Gateway.

NASA’s Gateway is a small space station that will orbit around the Moon to provide astronauts with access to the lunar surface and will feature living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research and ports for visiting spacecraft.

CAPSTONE will also test a navigation system developed by Advanced Space that will measure its absolute position in cislunar space using interaction with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter without relying on ground stations for navigation support.

CAPSTONE is one of the first steps to learn how to operate more robust missions in this unique orbit, thus laying the groundwork for future exploration of our solar system.

That’s not what happens when a satellite is purchased but this small NanoAvionics cubesat is their first satellite sold already operating in Low Earth Orbit, which provides data on climate change, hidden resources, agricultural improvement and other valuable processes on Earth.

Mission integrator and bus manufacturer NanoAvionics has sold, for the first time, one of its operational satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) including ongoing mission operations.

Launched last year, NanoAvionics’s shared 6U satellite mission “D2 / Atlacom-1” includes one of the world’s first 1U-sized hyperspectral imager for remote sensing, which will be used by a yet unnamed Earth observation company to provide orbital imagery services. Prior to selling the satellite, all indented missions, none of which included the buyer, had been accomplished and fulfilled.

F. Brent Abbott, CEO of NanoAvionics US, said, “Selling an already launched and operational satellite, is a whole new development for us and demonstrates the continued agility of our business. Back in 2021, “D2 / Atlacom-1” only took us eight months to build, test and launch despite hosting many different instruments onboard the shared satellite, requiring extensive configurations. The already built-in hyperspectral imager allowed our customer to almost instantaneously double their capabilities and to rapidly continue assembling what could become one of the world’s most advanced hyperspectral constellations.”

Orbital imagery is one of the most sought-after markets of the new space industry. Everything in the universe has a different spectral signature and a hyperspectral sensor can, for example, ‘see’ the spectral signature of an invasive disease threatening an entire harvest. Receiving such information before it causes major damage would allow farmers to take preventive steps. Doing the imagery from space makes it possible to monitor and analyze the spectral signatures of an entire region in a single picture.

“Each year, natural and human-caused catastrophes take away shelter, food, employment, education, and human life from populations worldwide. Space technology like this hyperspectral imager will be a potent weapon to fight against such disasters,” Abbott said.

The hyperspectral camera aboard “D2 / Atlacom-1” was developed by Dragonfly Aerospace, based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The camera captures images in 148 spectral bands from 470-900nm wavelength with a 16-meter ground sampling distance (GSD).

As part of NanoAvionics continued shared satellite program, the “D2 / Atlacom-1” includes multiple instruments which were successfully demonstrated in orbit: Accion Systems’ 1U Tiled Ionic Liquid Electrospray (TILE) propulsion experiment, 1U hyperspectral camera developed by Dragonfly Aerospace, and a new high-gain X-band antenna and an upgraded X-Band downlink transmitter both developed by South African company CubeCom.

Rocket Lab will launch the CAPSTONE cubesat to the Moon, with the event window now set for June 28th at 09:55, UTC.

This historic pathfinding mission supports NASA’s Artemis program which will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Using the company’s Electron rocket and new Lunar Photon upper stage, Rocket Lab will inject the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) cubesat to a highly efficient transfer orbit to the Moon.

CAPSTONE is owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, for NASA.

CAPSTONE’s primary objective is to test and verify the calculated orbital stability of a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon, the same orbit planned for Gateway. NASA’s Gateway is a small space station that will orbit around the Moon to provide astronauts with access to the lunar surface and will feature living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research and ports for visiting spacecraft.

CAPSTONE will also test a navigation system developed by Advanced Space that will measure its absolute position in cislunar space using interaction with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter without relying on ground stations for navigation support.

CAPSTONE is one of the first steps to learn how to operate more robust missions in this unique orbit, thus laying the groundwork for future exploration of our solar system.

Original posting…

Rocket Lab is targeting no earlier than 09:50 UTC on June 27th for the launch of CAPSTONE, a dedicated mission to lunar orbit. The launch will occur from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Pad B, on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) cubesat will be the first spacecraft to test the Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. Researchers expect this orbit to be a gravitational sweet spot in space – where the pull of gravity from Earth and the Moon interact to allow for a nearly-stable orbit – allowing physics to do most of the work of keeping a spacecraft in orbit around the Moon. NASA has big plans for this unique type of orbit.

The agency hopes to park bigger spacecraft – including the lunar-orbiting space station Gateway – in an NRHO around the Moon, providing astronauts with a base from which to descend to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program.

CAPSTONE will be launched to an initial LEO by Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle and then placed on a ballistic lunar transfer by Rocket Lab’s Lunar Photon spacecraft bus.

Unlike the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and 70s, which took a free return trajectory to the Moon, this fuel efficient, ballistic, lunar transfer makes it possible to deploy CAPSTONE to such a distant orbit using a small launch vehicle. Standing at just 59 feet tall, Electron is the smallest rocket to attempt a launch to the Moon.

This launch is not a recovery mission.

Watch Live: Rocket Lab will be hosting a launch webcast in collaboration with NASA. The webcast will be available approximately 45 minutes prior to the target T-0 time at this direct link and on NASA TV.

OneWeb, the global space-based communications company, and commercial aviation terminal partner Stellar Blu Solutions (Formerly GDC Advanced Technology. OneWeb and GDC Advanced Technology signed a Joint Development Agreement in November 2021 during the APEX Show) achieved a significant milestone on May 28, when high-speed, low-latency, inflight LEO satellite connectivity to a commercial airliner was successfully delivered. Stellar Blu partnered with antenna technology provider Ball Aerospace to incorporate that company’s electronically steered arrays (ESA) into the terminal solution.

This collaboration realized breakthrough performance on OneWeb’s LEO network. The new Stellar Blu platform, known as Sidewinder, will continue flight testing through the remainder of 2022, with a target for certification and availability in mid-2023.

This first test flight was conducted aboard a Boeing B777-200LR and took off from Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW), in Texas on May 27th at 15:20 UTC and flew for just over one hour delivering the game-changing connectivity experience.

Based on the electronically steered antenna technology developed by Ball Aerospace, the Sidewinder terminal offers a lower profile and is lighter and smaller than existing aviation antennas. It will enable airlines to connect their aircraft, passengers, and crew over OneWeb’s LEO SATCOM network. OneWeb expects this to be a key differentiator as airlines initially embrace and become confident in the benefits and performance of its new LEO technologies.

This test flight validated the installation and integration of the aircraft terminal as well as underscored the performance of the antenna technology. Also verified was the reliability of the connectivity during taxi, take-off, landing and typical aircraft flight maneuvers. As with any test flight, the assessment of performance reviewed expected parameters against vendor specifications, while also instrumenting and verifying on-aircraft impact and operating characteristics.

The Test Flight Crew simultaneously demonstrated the ability to connect Teams calls, 4K YouTube streaming, Netflix, online VR gaming and Nintendo Switch gaming, among other structured performance tests. Maximum speeds of 260 Mbps download / 80 upload (Experimental max throughput, not representative of commercial speeds to packages) and file transfer scenarios of 5 GB were successfully demonstrated in approximately 20 seconds, all while operating at well under 100 ms of network latency.

This maiden flight represented the culmination of several months’ collaboration between Stellar Blu, OneWeb and Ball Aerospace including ground trials and flight tests. Their goal is to achieve certification in mid- 2023.

Ben Griffin, Vice President Mobility, said, “This test flight represents a fantastic milestone for OneWeb. Broadband in-flight connectivity, delivered to a commercial aircraft via low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and an electrically steered antenna (ESA) is now – finally – a reality. Together with our partners Stellar Blu and technology from Ball Aerospace, we are now well and truly on our way to delivering consistently reliable, game-changing, affordable inflight connectivity to commercial aviation users everywhere. This successful flight test demonstrates the power, not only of the OneWeb network, but our industry focused and partnership-led approach to the design, development, and deployment of ground-breaking technologies to connect commercial aviation. A solution designed for the aviation industry, by the aviation industry.”

Tracy Trent, Stellar Blu CEO, highlighting the achievement, said, “This initial testing is more about the integration of the components and accomplishing a safe installation on the aircraft, versus proving the connectivity functionality. That said, we are delighted by the performance of the terminal during the test flight. OneWeb is changing the reality of inflight connectivity now and for the future. Our antenna will harness the power of OneWeb’s low Earth orbit constellation to deliver high-speed, low latency, globally consistent and reliable connectivity for every passenger, without conflict or compromise. We are very confident the Sidewinder terminal will present operators with a purpose-built aviation solution, delivering new breakthroughs for passenger experience, and redefining aircraft operating expectations for reliability and maintainability.”

Isar Aerospace has entered into a firm, launch services agreement with space infrastructure company, D-Orbit.

The company’s launch vehicle, Spectrum, which is developed for small and medium satellites and satellite constellations, will launch D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier as a primary customer to SSO from its launch site in Andøya, Norway, with a launch term starting in 2023.

Isar Aerospace and D-Orbit share the mission to contribute to humanity’s progress and Earth’s sustainable, technological, and economic development by reducing the barriers to access space. The companies are offering start-ups, companies and public institutions opportunities to launch and place satellites in orbit in a flexible and cost-efficient way.

Based in Italy, D-Orbit ION Satellite Carrier can gear satellites to distinct spots in orbit, hosting several payloads during each mission. The company’s solution is to reduce the time from launch to operations by as much as 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. Earlier this year, D-Orbit announced plans to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Currently, most satellite constellations are launched to SSO and the demand for individual solutions is rising as many satellite constellations require specific orbit deployments to exercise their full efficiency. D-Orbit was the first in-space transportation company to prove it could move satellites in orbit to their desired orbital destinations from the point where a launch vehicle drops them off. This matches Isar Aerospace’s flexibility to target various orbits and will be further specified by D-Orbit’s capabilities to release satellites to distinct orbital slots.

“We are pleased to welcome D-Orbit on board Spectrum’s flight and thank the D-Orbit team for the trust they place in us. We are looking forward to working towards our common goal of reducing the barriers to flexible space access”, said Stella Guillen, Chief Commercial Officer of Isar Aerospace.

Renato Panesi, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of D-Orbit, said, “We are glad to partner with Isar Aerospace and have great confidence in the technological development of the Spectrum launch vehicle. Together we will leverage the potential of in-orbit transportation.”

D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry with a track record of space-proven technologies and successful missions. D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. ION Satellite Carrier, for example, is a space vehicle that can transport satellites in orbit and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, reducing the time from launch to operations by up to 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads like innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities, and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit. D-Orbit has offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led to D-Orbit S.p.A. becoming the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.

Isar Aerospace, based in Ottobrunn/Munich, develops and builds launch vehicles for transporting small and medium-sized satellites as well as satellite constellations into Earth’s orbit. The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Technical University Munich. Since then, it has grown to more than 250 employees from more than 40 nations with many years of hands-on rocket know-how as well as experience within other high-tech industries. The company is privately financed by former SpaceX VP Bulent Altan as well as world-leading investors including Airbus Ventures, Apeiron, Earlybird, HV Capital, Lakestar, Lombard Odier, Porsche SE, UVC Partners, and Vsquared Ventures.

The two companies announced that the first selfie camera launched can take high-quality pictures in Low Earth Orbit

The German-based company of Dcubed‘s (Deployables Cubed GmbH), announces that TRL9 is successfully reached. Together with their partner SatRev, satellite designer and manufacturer, their nano release nut nD3RN is now on flight heritage. The company is proud of its milestone of having TRL9 achieve its goal as planned and without any issues.

DcubeD Space Selfie Stick is the first-ever selfie stick launched to Low Earth Orbit. This payload is flying onboard SatRev’s SWIFT satellite launched on January 13th, 2022 from Cape Canaveral on the ‘Dashing Through The Stars’ mission. This innovation consists of a compact 80cm self-unfurling boom, like an extendable arm, with a camera on its extremity. The entire system fits within a convenient 90x90x40mm3 volume, a third of a single CubeSat unit. Moreover, it can be unfurled upon command using the DcubeD nD3PP nano pin-puller actuator to take a selfie-style picture once the satellite is in orbit.

The innovative product allows companies to capture unique promotional images of their satellites in space — proving that they safely reached LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Additionally, it also enables companies to monitor their satellites’ health and troubleshoot an eventual problem without relying solely on onboard sensors. Furthermore, DcubeD also flies a DcubeD nD3RN nano release nut on this mission.

• Most air space companies are afraid of deployable. Having something that moves around orbit requires companies to learn how to flow with it. It is a challenge, and DcubeD is taking it to another level of professionalism in the space industry. We are extremely proud to be part of this project with them and what we already have achieved. It feels exciting for the things to come as there is so much we can do together. We will keep the hard work to develop it even further – says Grzegorz Zwoliński, founder and CEO and founder of SatRev.
• In this industry, it is essential to demonstrate technologies in space. A successful in-orbit demonstration will catapult the TRL of our nano pin puller, nano release nut, as well as our space selfie stick to 9, paving the way for their usage in many more missions and applications in space that require TRL. We are extremely happy about the collaboration with SatRev in getting our products integrated with their satellite, and we can not wait for launch day – says Thomas Sinn, CEO of DcubeD.

Isar Aerospace has entered into a firm, launch services agreement with space infrastructure company, D-Orbit.

The company’s launch vehicle, Spectrum, which is developed for small and medium satellites and satellite constellations, will launch D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier as a primary customer to SSO from its launch site in Andøya, Norway, with a launch term starting in 2023.

Isar Aerospace and D-Orbit share the mission to contribute to humanity’s progress and Earth’s sustainable, technological, and economic development by reducing the barriers to access space. The companies are offering start-ups, companies and public institutions opportunities to launch and place satellites in orbit in a flexible and cost-efficient way.

Based in Italy, D-Orbit ION Satellite Carrier can gear satellites to distinct spots in orbit, hosting several payloads during each mission. The company’s solution is to reduce the time from launch to operations by as much as 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. Earlier this year, D-Orbit announced plans to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Currently, most satellite constellations are launched to SSO and the demand for individual solutions is rising as many satellite constellations require specific orbit deployments to exercise their full efficiency. D-Orbit was the first in-space transportation company to prove it could move satellites in orbit to their desired orbital destinations from the point where a launch vehicle drops them off. This matches Isar Aerospace’s flexibility to target various orbits and will be further specified by D-Orbit’s capabilities to release satellites to distinct orbital slots.

“We are pleased to welcome D-Orbit on board Spectrum’s flight and thank the D-Orbit team for the trust they place in us. We are looking forward to working towards our common goal of reducing the barriers to flexible space access”, said Stella Guillen, Chief Commercial Officer of Isar Aerospace.

Renato Panesi, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of D-Orbit, said, “We are glad to partner with Isar Aerospace and have great confidence in the technological development of the Spectrum launch vehicle. Together we will leverage the potential of in-orbit transportation.”

D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry with a track record of space-proven technologies and successful missions. D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. ION Satellite Carrier, for example, is a space vehicle that can transport satellites in orbit and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, reducing the time from launch to operations by up to 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads like innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities, and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit. D-Orbit has offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led to D-Orbit S.p.A. becoming the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.

Isar Aerospace, based in Ottobrunn/Munich, develops and builds launch vehicles for transporting small and medium-sized satellites as well as satellite constellations into Earth’s orbit. The company was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Technical University Munich. Since then, it has grown to more than 250 employees from more than 40 nations with many years of hands-on rocket know-how as well as experience within other high-tech industries. The company is privately financed by former SpaceX VP Bulent Altan as well as world-leading investors including Airbus Ventures, Apeiron, Earlybird, HV Capital, Lakestar, Lombard Odier, Porsche SE, UVC Partners, and Vsquared Ventures.