Archives for June 2022

Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) has concluded the bus commissioning for the CENTAURI-5 satellite with nominal health and status checkouts.

Tyvak International SRL, Terran Orbital’s wholly-owned international subsidiary, designed and built this LEO satellite for Fleet Space Technologies.

CENTAURI-5 adds capacity, reduces signal delay, and provides additional network redundancy. The 3D printed metal patch antenna satellite is traveling to an expected altitude of 330 miles where it will orbit in the existing Centauri constellation operated by Fleet Space and Terran Orbital.

Upgrades from the CENTAURI-4 payload include enhancements that mitigate the effects of radiation in LEO as well as direct communication links to ground stations and an extended S-band range, allowing uplink at standard ground station frequencies.

The Centauri constellation is set to become one of the world’s most advanced, low-power, satellite networks, securing global coverage for internet of things (IoT) devices by using its in-house smallsat technology. Satellites within the constellation will each perform a specific function. CENTAURI-5 will focus on improving data transfer and communication in the energy, utilities and resource industries.

“Terran Orbital is thrilled yet another of our Transporter-5 satellites has achieved bus commissioning shortly after launch,” said Terran Orbital Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Marc Bell. “The data and insight gained from CENTAURI-5 will improve IoT operations in ways we can only begin to imagine. The quality-of-life implications here on Earth are endless. Terran Orbital will continue to design, build, integrate, and operate cutting-edge satellite solutions for clients like Fleet Space as we usher in the New Space Industry.”

“Fleet’s mission is to unlock the extraordinary power of global connectivity by launching constellations of LEO satellites,” said Fleet Space Technologies Founder, Flavia Tata Nardini. “The applications, from aiding more sustainable approaches to finding rare earth minerals to exploring worlds beyond ours, have true benefit for the whole of our planet. This work requires the very best technical minds and partners. Terran Orbital is a leader in their field collaborating with a global team of space technology pioneers to deliver one of the most advanced networks of low-power satellite networks ever launched.”

Terran Orbital is a leading manufacturer of small satellites primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries. Terran Orbital provides end-to-end satellite solutions by combining satellite design, production, launch planning, mission operations, and in-orbit support to meet the needs of the most demanding military, civil, and commercial customers.

With grain exports from the Ukraine under reported dire and continued threat from Russian attacks on the country, pictured here are a pair of SkySat images that were captured by Planet on May 31st and June 7th.

The first image shows the Nika-Tera grain storage terminal in the port of Mykolayiv, Ukraine, before Russia reportedly shelled the facility, with the aftermath of such an attack shown in second image. Imagery is ©Planet 2022.

“The CIRCE spacecraft are the size of a shoebox and we’ve managed to sandwich five sensors in each of them…”

 A joint U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)/ U.K. Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) experiment is preparing to measure Earth’s ionosphere and particle radiation environment as part of the Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment (CIRCE) mission.

Space Systems Command is partnering with Virgin Orbit National Systems, a U.S.-incorporated, wholly-owned subsidiary to Virgin Orbit, to launch CIRCE. The satellites, which contain twin 6U CubeSats, will fly in a circular orbit at 555 km (344 miles) altitude in a lead/trail formation 300-500 km (186-310 miles) apart in the same orbit plane to measure Earth’s ionosphere and particle radiation environment.

“The NRL CIRCE Team is thrilled to be a part of this joint U.S/U.K. mission,” Andrew Nicholas, CIRCE’s Principal Investigator said. “We are looking forward to a successful launch out of Spaceport Cornwall, and are excited to continue work with our U.K. partners once the CIRCE science data starts flowing.”

CIRCE pushes the boundaries of the CubeSat platform technology, challenging the size, weight and power constraints of the platform as well as integration and complex concepts of operations.

“The CIRCE spacecraft are the size of a shoebox and we’ve managed to sandwich five sensors in each of them,” Nicholas said. “So they are very compact and pretty laden with technology and it is all really tightly integrated in there.” NRL developed the Triple Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-TIP) to measure nighttime O⁺ 135.6nm airglow emissions in the atmosphere. Each CIRCE CubeSat will have two Tri-TIPs onboard, configured to look along coordinated lines of sight to perform ionospheric tomography in the orbital plane.

The U.K. contribution to CIRCE is the In situ and Remote Ionospheric Sensing (IRIS) suite, complementary to NRL sensors, and comprising three highly miniaturized payloads. One IRIS suite will be flown on each satellite, and incorporates an ion/neutral mass spectrometer, a tri-band global positioning system receiver for ionospheric remote sensing, and a radiation environment monitor.

NRL Sensor Development & Applications section of the Space Science Division contracted with Blue Canyon Technologies out of Boulder, Colorado to build and integrate the two CIRCE spacecraft.

“With most of the program being completed during the global pandemic we are now at the point where we have all the payloads integrated,” Nicholas said. “The spacecraft has been through testing and we are now in a storage period awaiting the launch call up.”

During the life of its mission, CIRCE will help researchers better understand how the ionosphere is changing day-to-day, hour-to-hour and even minute-to-minute, which is important to the Navy, especially for over the horizon communications and radar.

“In addition, if you really want to understand the ionosphere tomorrow, you have to understand the thermosphere today, so it is great that we have the INMS from the U.K. to measure the neutral composition as well.” Nicholas said.

The U.K. instrument suite showcases academic collaboration, with payloads provided by University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University of Bath, and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), drawing on expertise from University of Surrey.

“We are delighted to be working with NRL on the CIRCE mission, and proud of the valuable contribution made by our UK payload providers,” Gemma Attrill, Ph.D., Dstl’s CIRCE lead, said. “The data returned by CIRCE will provide unparalleled temporal and spatial detail regarding the dynamic behavior of the ionosphere, allowing us to develop our understanding of system impacts relevant to both defense and the civil sector.”

CIRCE is scheduled to launch during the United Kingdom’s first commercial space mission from Spaceport Cornwall located at Newquay Airport in Cornwall, England this summer.

The use of solid fuels and liquid oxygen simplifies the structure and has the advantage of enabling thrust control...

INNOSPACE, a South Korean space startup for small launch vehicles, unveiled the nation’s first civilian test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV. The company manufactures small satellite launchers to provide low-latency, low-cost, and reliable launch services and aerospace engineering expertise.

Previously, INNOSPACE installed a new portable Coalesced Launch System (CLS) at its Cheongju plant in South Korea where it performed to verify interface integrity and systems compatibility with its CLS and HANBIT-TLV on May 27.

The HANBIT-TLV’s launch, in December 2022 from the Alcântara Launch Center in Brazil, is to verify the flight performance of the 15-ton thrust single stage hybrid engine developed by INNOSPACE with its own technology. The launch will be followed by a suborbital test flight up to an altitude of 100 km, and will fall into open seas. HANBIT-TLV is a 15-ton thrust single stage hybrid rocket with a height of 16.3m, 1-meter-diameter, and weight of 9.2-ton.

The first civilian small satellite launcher, HANBIT, uses hybrid rocket engine technology that combines the features of liquid and solid rockets. The use of solid fuels and liquid oxygen simplifies the structure and has the advantage of enabling thrust control. In particular, HANBIT is applied with high-performance and non-explosive paraffin based propellants and the patented electric motor-driven oxidizer pump.

“We have approximately six months left before the first test launch scheduled for December this year. There are works to be done before the final launch and we will make all-out preparations to increase the success rate of the test launch for the rest of the time,” said Soo Jong Kim, CEO of INNOSPACE. 

He added, “INNOSPACE’s ultimate goal is that the small satellite launcher carries the satellites so that they can access the Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) in low cost. Starting with the test launch this year, we will continue to develop technologies to enter the global satellite launch service market as soon as possible, and keep strengthening strategic cooperation with the space industry and global commercialization capabilities.”

INNOSPACE has signed an agreement on May 3^rd with the Brazilian Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (“DCTA”) to launch SISNAV, an inertial navigation system, being carried onboard as a payload of HANBIT-TLV.

SatRev will manufacture numerous nanosatellites in a new factory that will be built in Legnica, Poland, close to the company’s headquarters — this is the result of an agreement signed with the Legnica Special Economic Zone (LSEZ). The factory is the first of its kind and will increase the capabilities of the European satellite market.

By the close of 2025, SatRev expects to be producing hundreds of smallsats each year.

SatRev intends to be the world’s first satellite manufacturer that uses 100% of the required energy for their production process from renewable sources. Once the requirements have been met, SatRev will receive public aid for their undertaking. The Legnica Special Economic Zone is not only for large, international matters, but also for domestic companies working on development projects.

From the beginning, LSEZ can offer tax exemptions of as much as 45% on investment outlays, decide case by case. Access to relief for those investing in state-of-the-art technologies is easier thanks to a reduction of 95% of the required expenditure. This is 20x less than the requirement for large investors.

At present, the preparation of the functional-utility program for the factory project is nearing completion. The next stage will involve acquiring land, financing, and selecting a contractor. Details will soon be presented by the Legnica Special Economic Zone. The factory plant has more than 1,100 m2, including 280m2 of cleanrooms and clean boxes following ISO7 and ISO5, and is expected to be delivered in 2023

“By 2026 we plan to create a constellation of 1,000 EO satellites. To achieve this goal, we needed a place to increase our production, and we found the needed support in the Legnica Special Economic Zone. The cooperation agreement is the next step in the development of both the company and the Polish space sector,” said Grzegorz Zwolinski, CEO and Co-founder of SatRev.

“We are now opening up to new technologies and even a space venture. We support Polish innovative technological thought leaders. Preferential tax allowances offered by us are ‘tailor-made’ and this attracts businesses — start-ups included,”” said Przemysław Bożek, President of the Board of the Legnica Special Economic Zone.

“The most common barrier to the growth of new technology businesses is simply a lack of space for development. Another obstacle is the lack of funds to build your own production hall, and even earlier to purchase expensive land. Therefore, we are preparing a special project to build production, storage, and logistics halls, which we will also want to make available in a subscription model, like the Spotify service. If everything goes according to plan, the first halls will still be made available in 2023. We want SatRev to be the first tenant,” said Ryszard Wawryniewicz, Vice President of the Legnica Special Economic Zone.

SatRev was founded in Poland in 2016 to focus on the emerging space market. With vertically integrated operations, the company specializes in the design, manufacture, and mission operation of optic satellites and space programs for Earth Observation. It is building a constellation of satellites expected to reach more than 1,000 satellites by 2026. Moreover, in October 2019, the company formed a consortium with Virgin Orbit and nearly a dozen Polish universities to design and conduct the world’s first dedicated commercial satellite mission to Mars. Current investors include Polish VC funds such as JR HOLDING, Infini, Newberg, Tech Invest Group, and Varko (part of NCBiR’s science start-up funding program).

The Legnica Special Economic Zone is located in South-Western Poland, within the Dolnośląskie voivodeship, one of the most dynamically developing areas in Poland. In 2022 it will celebrate its 25th anniversary. To date, the LSEZ has 77 investors from many corners of the world and nearly 1.4 thousand hectares of investment land. Furthermore, LSEZ has PLN 11 billion in investments and – above all – nearly 17 thousand jobs — twice as many as the investors planned. In over a quarter of a century, the area of the Legnica Special Economic Zone has almost quadrupled. Companies from many sectors invest here, e.g. automotive, food, chemical, and heating industries, and among them are well-known corporations such as Volkswagen Motor Polska, Brose Sitech, Winkelmann and BASF. Currently, construction work is also underway on a billion-dollar investment in Sroda Slaska – a plant for the global giant PepsiCo.

Speedcast has significantly expanded its Unified Global Platform (UGP), adding 13 Gbps of capacity to the network over the last month. Speedcast operates one of the largest technology agnostic networks in the world.

Following this latest expansion, the platform now includes 30 Gbps of total bandwidth, which the company leverages in the design and deployment of complete managed connectivity solutions for customers across energy, passenger and commercial maritime, and enterprise markets. Speedcast’s network size now significantly surpasses the company’s 2020 pre-pandemic levels. This record-setting growth was driven in part by the cruise industry, which is slated to add 51 ships back into service during the month of May alone. Many cruise line restart plans include vessels returning to 100% capacity, and with the May additions, just under 350 ships and over 550,000 berths will be in service globally.

Demand for high availability connectivity continues to grow on the energy front, as well, with global offshore rig reports published this month noting a strong rise in day rates for jack-ups and floaters alike, and overall rig utilization at its highest level in seven years. The rapid network expansion has been made possible in part by the company’s TrueBeam automated network management technology, which operates on the back of Speedcast’s UGP. TrueBeam enables truly proactive monitoring, automatically selecting the optimal network path for a remote site without human intervention by employing a quick and consistent process for fast and error-free switches.

Algorithmic technologies are critical to delivering the Speedcast network’s massive multi-path and multi-orbit capacity with high quality of service. The intelligent system understands, predicts, and mitigates network challenges based on changes in operating environment, giving remote sites the ability to switch among satellites and between routes to seamlessly maintain communications, even while moving in and out of a satellite beam’s coverage area. The company completed patent filings on the smart network management solution earlier this year.

Speedcast completed the extensive upgrade over a five-week period in April and May and expanded its ground network to include the addition of a new teleport to support the added capacity, enabling access to a broader range of satellite infrastructure. Speedcast’s UGP includes multi-orbit options for high-demand applications. The company’s future-ready SD-WAN service, delivered through its SIGMA platform, seamlessly blends multiple transmission paths into a single, optimized, secure service to substantially improve performance and evolve customer operations to maximize what remote sites can achieve.

The SIGMA cloud-based platform recently received technical validation by Amazon Web Services (AWS), designating Speedcast as an AWS Software Path partner. Speedcast also recently announced that it will integrate LEO connectivity into its UGP as an official Distribution Partner to OneWeb, ensuring that customers in the maritime, energy and enterprise industries benefit from a multi-path, multi-orbit future. Customer demonstrations and trials of the low latency solution are due to begin next month.

“The fast ramp-up of capacity Speedcast achieved really shows the power of software-defined networks,” said Joe Spytek, Chief Executive Officer at Speedcast. “We’re able to deliver on the concept of ubiquitous connectivity to a remote site for the best user experience. We’re incorporating all available technologies and network options – multi-path and multi-orbit – to offer the most cost-effective connectivity solutions with the highest levels of availability and flexibility. Being technology-agnostic, we can also shield the customer from the risks of technology obsolescence and loss of service that come with dependence on a specific network.”

Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) has entered flight preparation mode for the company’s forthcoming launch, Straight Up, that will support the United States Space Force’s STP-28A mission. After departing Virgin Orbit’s Long Beach rocket factory on Thursday, April 28, 2022, the rocket arrived at the Mojave Air and Space Port. It will support the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP) and will carry payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program (STP).

Integration testing with airplane and ground equipment will take place followed by a full launch rehearsal and final mating to the customized 747 that serves as Virgin Orbit’s flying and fully re-usable launch pad and mobile mission control room. Launch is expected no earlier than June 29. The launch window is projected to open at 8 pm local time, representing the first night mission for the responsive launch company. The target orbit is approximately 500km above the Earth’s surface at 45 degrees inclination – an orbit that no other system has reached from the West Coast.

Playing a key role in the Straight Up launch will be the Virgin Orbit National Systems team, which has developed and provided services to the national security community, focused on defense and the protection of the United States and its allies through Virgin Orbit’s responsive space capabilities. To date, Virgin Orbit has launched three successful back-to-back launches, including eight DoD Science and Technology demonstrations across two flights.

“Virgin Orbit has been rising ‘straight up’ since we began commercial launch operations 18 months ago,” said Virgin Orbit CEO, Dan Hart. “More and more, we are seeing the importance of space to the security of the U.S. and allied countries. We are honored and committed to supporting the Space Force at this critical time.”

Mark Baird, President of the newly renamed Virgin Orbit National Systems (formerly VOX Space) added, “We believe this launch will demonstrate the significant maturation and operationalization of a unique capability. I’m excited to see Straight Up, wheels up.”

The U.S. Space Force procured this launch for the Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP), with payloads provided by the DoD Space Test Program (STP). The launch will carry seven satellites from multiple government agencies that are experiments intended to demonstrate novel modular satellite bus, space domain awareness, and adaptive radio frequency technologies. The Straight Up launch will support the United States Space Force’s STP-28A mission. The contract to launch STP-28A was awarded to Virgin Orbit National Systems on April 2020 by the United States Space Force.

The company’s fully mobile LauncherOne system will conduct the flight from what is currently a bare concrete pad at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The target orbit is approximately 500 km. above the Earth’s surface at 45 degrees inclination

Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDU), a Space-as-a-Service satellite company that is focused on commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection, has selected L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) InControl and OnTime software for command and control (C&C) and mission planning for the company’s LizzieSat (LS) constellation.

InControl will provide satellite command and control software for on-orbit, factory test and ground system monitor and control. InControl supports the full range of command and control system requirements, including telemetry processing, data display and analysis, constellation monitoring and control, onboard system management and ground equipment monitoring and control. It is designed to support a fleet of satellites, treating each satellite and ground station as its own mission.

OnTime is modular space mission planning software framework designed to plan, simulate and track mission success from inception to execution with user-specified levels of detail and plug and play capability with external tools. It is designed to aid mission planners by coordinating daily activities through a single user interface.

L3Harris will work with the Sidus team on full implementation of the two products at Sidus Space’s Cape Canaveral facility in the coming weeks in preparation for the LizzieSAT-1 International Space Station (ISS) Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS) deployed mission planned for Q4 2022.

LS are partially 3D manufactured LEO, multi-mission smallsats that are focused on 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 rapidly integrate customer sensors and technologies.

“During our selection process we evaluated and received demonstrations of several existing and in development platforms,” John Curry, Chief Mission Operations Officer said. “The team determined that InControl provides the best solution for our Ground Operations, Training, Assembly, Integration & Test currently, while OnTime provides robust support for our mission planning, and both will scale easily as we deploy and manage our 100+ satellite constellation,” he said. “With our Space as a Service business model we must offer our diverse customer portfolio cost-effective, individualized operation of each satellite. With InControl’s ability to support each satellite and ground station as its own mission, we will be able to deliver on that commitment,” Curry noted. “The flexibility and scalability paired with the robust capabilities allow greater autonomy and allow for us to customize operations, expanding, when necessary, with less hardware and less complexity than other solutions which significantly reduces our overall operational cost.”

Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU), located in Cape Canaveral, Florida, operates from a 35,000-square-foot manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing facility focused on commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection. The company’s rich heritage includes the design and manufacture of many flight and ground component parts and systems for various space-related customers and programs. Sidus Space has a broad range of Space-As-a-Service offerings including space-rated hardware manufacturing, design engineering, satellite manufacturing and platform development, launch and support services, data analytics services and satellite constellation management. Sidus Space has 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. Any corporation, industry, or vertical can start their journey off-planet with Sidus Space’s rapidly scalable, low-cost satellite services, space-based solutions, and testing alternatives. More than just a “Satellite-as-a-Service” provider, Sidus Space is a trusted Mission Partner–from concept to Low Earth Orbit and beyond. Sidus is ISO 9001:2015, AS9100 Rev. D certified, and ITAR registered.