Archives for December 2022

JINJUSat-1 is spearheaded by three entities: Jinju City, Korea Testing Laboratory and Gyeongsang National University. The satellite is targeted to launch aboard the SpaceX Transporter-9 mission no earlier than October of 2023. Once on-orbit, cameras mounted on the satellite will carry out a mission to capture imagery the Earth.

Recently, CONTEC raised approximately $63 million in Series C funding and the company plans to use the newly raised capital to expand their Ground Network that includes OGS (Optical Ground Station) and Telescope network for SSA (Space Situational Awareness) service.

“The Momentus team is looking forward to working with CONTEC Co. and supporting the growth of the South Korean space industry,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer, John Rood. “We have all witnessed the impressive growth of the South Korean economy, including in high-tech fields like electronics, aviation, and the automotive industry. The South Korean government aims to inspire, and foster participation in the space economy, and Momentus is eager to support this vision. Space transportation is a foundational building block to advancing the use of space, and we’re ready to provide the infrastructure services to enable CONTEC’s ambitions for the future.”

“CONTEC is excited to work with Momentus for the national space project. JINJUSat-1 is expected to foster the local space business and train experts in the space field. We are proud to take part in this project and to put their satellite into orbit,” said CONTEC Chief Executive Officer, Sunghee Lee. “With its global network of ground stations, CONTEC is also discussing with the government to use the ground station capability to serve more national projects and contribute to the growth of the domestic space industry.”

The payloads have been selected from the Microlauncher competition, which included an Announcement of Opportunity for European payloads to come on board Spectrum’s second flight at no cost. The smallsats, with a total mass of approx. 150kg, including the deployers, will be transported to LEO from Andøya in Norway. These payloads from European research institutes, student research groups and SMEs will mainly used to demonstrate technologies

Selected to fly on Spectrum’s second flight are…

Research institutes and student research groups:

• Austria, Vienna | TU Vienna Space Team
• Finland, Vaasa | University of Vaasa
• Germany, Berlin | Technical University Berlin
• Germany, Bremen | German Aerospace Center – Institute of Space Systems
• Norway, Trondheim | Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
• Spain, Madrid | Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM)

Small and medium sized companies:

• Bulgaria, Sofia | EnduroSat
• Finland, Helsinki | ReOrbit Oy
• Spain, Elche | EMXYS
• Spain, Nigrán | UARX Space

The selected payloads are on-orbit demo and technology validation spacecraft ranging from Internet of Things (IoT) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) applications for communications, EO and environmental measurements.

With the Microlauncher competition, the German government entrusts a privately financed, European space company under the ESA C-STS program to transport institutional payloads into orbit. DLR and ESA established the Microlauncher competition as a program to drive the commercialization of European spaceflight, especially in the field of smaller payloads. Isar Aerospace achieved the top place in the German Microlauncher competition in April of 2021, for which it received 11 million euros toward the launch of institutional payloads on its first two flights.

“Congratulations to the winners of this round! We are pleased to welcome the payloads onboard of Spectrum’s second flight and very happy to provide such great projects with access to space. Pushing the development of research and technology in space will help grow the overall private space ecosystem in Europe,” said Daniel Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace.

“Technological excellence and cost-efficient value creation processes are the basis for positioning oneself successfully in the dynamic and growing small satellite market. Start-ups and SMEs play an essential role here due to their agility,” said Walther Pelzer, Member of the DLR Executive Board and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR. “The reliable prospect of public contracts helps young companies in particular to secure funding. Our microlauncher and payload competitions are key elements here.”

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 300 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 German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is the Federal Republic of Germany’s research centre for aeronautics and space. The organization also conducts research and development activities in the fields of aeronautics, space, energy, transport, security and digitization. Within DLR the German Space Agency implements the Federal Government’s space strategy. More than 330 employees based in Bonn coordinate all of the German space activities at national and European levels and represents German space interests worldwide on behalf of the Federal Government. The tasks of German Space Agency at DLR include the planning and implementation of the national space program and the management of Germany’s contributions to the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

With support from EnduroSat’s Space Service, the thrusters are expected to perform an extensive testing campaign with several satellite maneuvers under a wide variety of operational modes and conditions in the coming months.

Hypernova’s technology aims to challenge the status quo of traditional electric propulsion systems with simpler, safer and flexible operations for the satellite manufacturer and operator and unlock new capabilities in remote sensing and other key space applications.

Hypernova’s aim is to broaden the world’s access to the value that can be derived from satellites, for which the company believes VLEOs (Very Low Earth Orbits) are a critical feature of affordable services and supporting assets. Long-term drag compensation via propulsion is one of the critical elements required to make this possible.

Although vacuum arc propulsion is not new, Hypernova has developed and implemented extensive IP to mature the technology for practical use. Platform-2 will demonstrate the most powerful & capable vacuum arc-based thruster system ever flown in orbit to date. Hypernova’s 0.5U-sized test unit will also operate two different types of solid fuels on the mission.

The upcoming Shared Sat mission by EnduroSat is fully booked and hosts multiple payloads simultaneously, resulting in unique sustainable, and streamlined space operations.

“On-orbit validation with a fast-growing and popular space player like EnduroSat is vital to prove that our technology works as intended and that we’ve solved many of the inherent challenges associated with electric propulsion. Our team worked super hard to push the state-of-the-art and I’m proud of the results so far. We can’t wait for this mission,” said Dr. Jonathan Lun, Founder and CTO of Hypernova

“Space missions require ever more advanced capabilities. Propulsion is vital for all future commercial missions, and it will foster sustainable and much safer operations in orbit. Hypernova has done an amazing job with its technology, and we cannot wait to see it performing in flight. We are proud to support innovators and their visionary programs,” said Raycho Raychev, Founder and CEO of EnduroSat

Hypernova designs and builds cutting-edge technologies for space applications, with a long-term focus on unlocking VLEO, the “prime real estate” of future satellite constellations. Hypernova has offices in Luxembourg and Cape Town.

With support from EnduroSat’s Space Service, the thrusters are expected to perform an extensive testing campaign with several satellite maneuvers under a wide variety of operational modes and conditions in the coming months.

Hypernova’s technology aims to challenge the status quo of traditional electric propulsion systems with simpler, safer and flexible operations for the satellite manufacturer and operator and unlock new capabilities in remote sensing and other key space applications.

Hypernova’s aim is to broaden the world’s access to the value that can be derived from satellites, for which the company believes VLEOs (Very Low Earth Orbits) are a critical feature of affordable services and supporting assets. Long-term drag compensation via propulsion is one of the critical elements required to make this possible.

Although vacuum arc propulsion is not new, Hypernova has developed and implemented extensive IP to mature the technology for practical use. Platform-2 will demonstrate the most powerful & capable vacuum arc-based thruster system ever flown in orbit to date. Hypernova’s 0.5U-sized test unit will also operate two different types of solid fuels on the mission.

The upcoming Shared Sat mission by EnduroSat is fully booked and hosts multiple payloads simultaneously, resulting in unique sustainable, and streamlined space operations.

“On-orbit validation with a fast-growing and popular space player like EnduroSat is vital to prove that our technology works as intended and that we’ve solved many of the inherent challenges associated with electric propulsion. Our team worked super hard to push the state-of-the-art and I’m proud of the results so far. We can’t wait for this mission,” said Dr. Jonathan Lun, Founder and CTO of Hypernova

“Space missions require ever more advanced capabilities. Propulsion is vital for all future commercial missions, and it will foster sustainable and much safer operations in orbit. Hypernova has done an amazing job with its technology, and we cannot wait to see it performing in flight. We are proud to support innovators and their visionary programs,” said Raycho Raychev, Founder and CEO of EnduroSat

Hypernova designs and builds cutting-edge technologies for space applications, with a long-term focus on unlocking VLEO, the “prime real estate” of future satellite constellations. Hypernova has offices in Luxembourg and Cape Town.

Precious Payload has partnered with Maritime Launch Services Inc. (NEO: MAXQ, OTCQB: MAXQF), the owner and operator of Canada’s first orbital launch complex, to market satellite delivery services to payload developers through its Launch.ctrl online marketplace.

Maritime Launch is developing Spaceport Nova Scotia and will serve smallsat market clients including broadband, EO and remote sensing constellations. Spaceport Nova Scotia will be the first commercial orbital launch complex in Canada offering white-label launches and related services.

Commercial spaceports are actively entering the space launch market as individual contributors, with examples emerging in Australia, the U.K., Norway, and Brazil. This trend is being driven by the need for greater frequency and reliability of launches, as well as by the development of new spaceports offering lower costs and flexibility.

Earlier this year, Maritime Launch announced a partnership with Canadian rocket manufacturer Reaction Dynamics to perform its inaugural suborbital flight in 2023 and to also launch their first orbital launch vehicle, the Aurora, in 2024 as a white-label offering from Spaceport Nova Scotia.

Maritime Launch has also signed a white-label agreement with Scotland’s Skyrora to launch satellites for both Maritime Launch and Skyrora clients, using the Skyrora XL vehicle. Maritime Launch remains on track to bring the medium class launcher, the Cyclone-4M (C4M), developed by Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash, with a first launch scheduled for 2025. In November 2021, Maritime Launch announced Nanoracks as the first launch client for the inaugural launch of the C4M from Nova Scotia.

The Launch.ctrl platform by Precious Payload is designed to minimize costs and development timelines while maximizing launch schedule reliability and mission assurance. Beyond simply functioning as a marketplace for satellite launches, its templates for mission description and the workplace for team collaboration bridge the gap between payload engineers and a launch provider’s business development, sales, marketing, and launch-management teams.

Earlier this year, Precious Payload successfully introduced a new version of its commercial launch schedule and released individual pages for launch and hosted payload providers, their vehicles, and upcoming missions (with all available launch service operators including brokers, commercial spaceports, and OTVs). Using Precious Payload’s Launch.ctrl platform, any payload developer can find the best commercial launch or hosted payload solution for their instrument or experiment.

CEO and founder of Precious Payload, Andrew Maximov, said, “There is exponential growth in the commercial space transportation industry. Commercial spaceports are in full swing, exploring how to become a multi-tenant facility which provides services for licensing, operations, range – sometimes also pre-launch, testing, and integration – and of course, launch operations. We’ve chosen Maritime Launch as a pioneer of this model, and we’re eager to help prove their business case and set a precedent for the rest of the industry.”

“We’re very excited to market Spaceport Nova Scotia’s launch opportunities with Precious Payload,” said Robert Feierbach, Maritime Launch USA’s President. “Distributed on Launch.ctrl, the first online marketplace for satellite launches, we’re looking forward to showcasing Spaceport Nova Scotia’s competitive launch inclinations from 45 to 98 degrees to our global space industry’s smallsat operators and companies planning constellation deployments.””

Precious Payload is a US/UAE/German space tech company that developed Launch.ctrl, a marketplace for satellite operators looking to book a launch and the related services needed to get their payloads into space.

Maritime Launch is a public, Canadian-owned commercial space company. Maritime Launch has developed Spaceport Nova Scotia—the first commercial orbital launch complex in Canada—to directly serve constellation market clients delivering global broadband, near-Earth imaging, and other science-related activities.

Meeting in Darmstadt, Germany, the EUMETSAT Council authorized the organization to proceed with a €26.8 million investment over the next three years in the preparatory phase of new satellite systems designed to significantly improve weather forecasting accuracy.

The funding will allow engineering activities to continue on the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) – Aeolus and EPS-Sterna missions, which would measure winds and atmospheric temperature and humidity respectively. The work will pave the way for the council’s decision, by mid-2025, whether to proceed with the two programs.

The EPS-Sterna mission would enable the provision of atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles. The mission would significantly benefit medium and short-range weather forecasting globally, as well as enhancing very-short-range forecasting regionally at high latitudes. This mission would be a constellation of smallsats, based on the Arctic Weather Satellite that was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and is planned for a 2024 launch.

The EPS-Aeolus mission would be the successor to ESA’s Aeolus Earth Explorer mission that is currently in orbit. EUMETSAT would operate the Aeolus-2 instrument and satellite, whose development was approved by ESA’s ministerial council last month, and plans to procure a recurrent satellite to cover more than 10 years of observations.

Aeolus would allow wind vectors from the ground to 30km altitude to be determined by measuring the Doppler shift of signal backscattered by the pulses from an ultraviolet laser.

This novel observation has proven to have a significant impact on the quality of weather forecasts.

“Our goal is to provide meteorological services in our member states with the data they need to provide timely, accurate weather forecasts to keep their communities safe and enhance their economies,” EUMETSAT Director-General, Phil Evans, said. “The council’s decision is an important commitment to these two innovative satellite systems.”