AE Industrial Partners, LP has agreed to acquire a majority stake in York Space Systems. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners also agreed to invest alongside AE Industrial in the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

York manufactures and architects LEO, GEO and cislunar spacecraft solutions for the proliferated satellite market. The Company’s products are purposefully designed to balance scalability, manufacturability, and efficiency to meet the schedule-driven, high-volume demand for customers’ small satellite constellations.

York’s spacecraft solutions are designed for all mission types, including communications, EO/IR, RF, hyperspectral, weather, remote proximity ops, and more. The Company currently serves a variety of leading government and commercial customers, including the Space Development Agency (SDA), for whom York is providing spacecraft solutions as part of both Tranche 0 and Tranche 1 of the agency’s Transport Layer.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, York has approximately 165,000 square feet of satellite manufacturing space across the Denver area. With the recent opening of its newest facility in the Denver Tech Center, York states the firm has the capacity to produce 750+ satellites per year.

Building on its marquee wins on the U.S Department of Defense’s new proliferated LEO constellation, York now has the significant institutional investor backing and capital to continue to make great inroads in both the government and commercial small satellite market. CEO Dirk Wallinger, who founded York in 2012, will continue to lead the Company, and Chairman Charles “Chuck” Beames will continue to serve on the Board of Directors. Both will maintain significant ownership positions in York.

“With its innovative spacecraft designs and manufacturing processes, York has revolutionized the small satellite market, which is poised for significant growth in both the government and commercial markets over the next 20 years,” said Kirk Konert, Partner at AEI. “Backing the largest independent small satellite manufacturer represents a unique opportunity to serve the fast-growing LEO commercialization and national security markets, and we look forward to partnering with Dirk, Chuck and the entire York team during this exciting time in the space industry and at the Company. AEI has distinguished itself as a leading investor across the space ecosystem and is the ideal partner for York as we look to rapidly scale the business. The firm’s deep sector knowledge as well as AEI’s experience in aerospace production will be critical as we continue to grow York and deliver for our customers.”

“We’re proud to have pioneered a unique, game-changing, standardized approach to spacecraft manufacturing. With access to new relationships and capital, this exciting new partnership with AEI ensures York’s continued ability to lead in delivering world-class solutions for government and commercial customers,” said Mr. Beames. “We’ve been very impressed with the AEI team and are eager to move into this next stage of growth.”

“We are thrilled to partner with York at such a critical inflection point for the satellite industry and see impactful tailwinds that will further advance the Company’s entrenchment across commercial and defense LEO satellite constellations,” said Tyler Letarte, Vice President at AEI. “Having been awarded several high-profile, mission-critical satellite constellation contracts that validate York’s technology and capabilities, the Company is well-positioned to achieve significant near-term growth. We are excited to bring our space sector expertise and portfolio, as well as our production know-how, to accelerate York’s mission.”

Concert Technologies and C6 Launch have a signed a non-exclusive launch services agreement with that company to provide launch services for several of Concert’s satellites to LEO from the Alcântara Space Center — the launches are to occur in 2025 and 2026 with subsequent missions to maintain and expand Concert’s constellation of high-resolution imaging systems.

C6 Systems, C6 Launch’s Brazilian subsidiary, will act as the primary operator for the mission.

Richard McCammon, the CEO of C6 Launch, said, “Concert uses small satellites to provide valuable solutions to their customers and represents the next wave of satellite technology. C6 Launch is proud to provide the launch services required to establish their constellation.”

“There is a huge domestic and international market for information driven operations based in Smart Satellite images and IoT services. Partnering with C6 Launch as a launching provider is strategic because departing from Alcântara is vital to reach the orbital planes we are targeting,” said Angelo Menhem, CEO of Concert Technologies.

On October 1, 2022, Libre Space Foundation‘s QUBIK mission reached orbit. The mission was onboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha Flight 2, which was launched successfully from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Alpha FLTA002 was Firefly Aerospace ’s second technology demonstration flight, attempting to launch multiple satellites to LEO. The flight experienced a nominal countdown and lift-off at 12:01 AM PDT-07:01 UTC and proceeded with flawless progress throughout each stage of the mission.

It hosted a number of academic, educational and scientific payloads, providing an excellent opportunity for non-profits, startups and space-related organizations to gain access to space. Libre Space Foundation was among these organizations and thanks Firefly Aerospace for this opportunity.

The QUBIK Mission Libre Space Foundation’s QUBIK mission is comprised of a set of PocketQubes plus a PocketQube deployer. The entire mission was built using open-source hardware and software.

The two PocketQubes, QUBIK-3 and QUBIK-4 were tasked to perform a series of radio amateur experiments on Identifying and Tracking satellites early on, upon deployment. The deployer, PICOBUS, was the first-ever, open-source, PocketQube deployer.

The mission reached orbit successfully and data was received from it using SatNOGS, the largest, open-source network of satellite ground stations.

For Libre Space Foundation, this was their second mission to reach space. Their first successful attempt was in 2017 with UPSat, the first-ever, open-source satellite. Ever since it was founded in 2015, Libre Space Foundation has remained true to its vision “for an Open and Accessible Outer Space for all”. This not-for-profit organization designs and develops open-source, space-related technologies, with all its projects being open-source and available to everyone. Libre Space Foundation maintains great collaborations with Space agencies, University Institutions, Space Organizations, Libraries, and Companies that help make space open to all humanity.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded a Commercial RF Capabilities Contract to Kleos Space Inc. as part of the Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement (SCE BAA) Framework.

Kleos Space S.A has revealed that their 4th cluster of four satellites, the Observer Mission (KSF3), is ready to be shipped to the launch site after successfully completing environmental test phases. The Observer Mission satellites have successfully completed all System Assembly and Integration and Test (SAIT) activities, followed by system level electrical and mechanical functionality verification, including environmental testing of the satellites. Each system has been subjected to vibration, thermal, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) tests, ensuring functionality of the cluster after launch for the duration of the mission.

The Observer Mission satellites will be deployed into SSO from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the SpaceX Transporter-6 mission that is currently scheduled for Q4 2022 launch. This smallsat placement will expand Kleos’ data collection capacity by as much as an additional 119 million km² per day.

The NRO is responsible for maintaining global vigilance in times of peace and war. It develops, acquires, launches, and operates innovative space-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems that collect and deliver intelligence to enhance U.S. national security. After a multiple-phase proposal process, Kleos was awarded the first stage contract under the NRO’s SCE BAA Framework, focused on the analysis, modelling, and simulation of Kleos’ capabilities to support the U.S. Government’s current and future commercial radio frequency (RF) reconnaissance needs. The NRO’s SCE framework continuously evaluates new and emerging capabilities and providers.

While the monetary value of the first stage of the contract is not material, the contract award has a significant impact on Kleos’ future potential to deliver into the U.S. Government market. Under the project, Kleos will provide insights into how to optimize evolving, commercial, RF geolocation capability to enhance and augment existing capabilities in a persistent, resilient, cost-effective manner that is also easily shareable across the U.S. Government, and with international partners and allies.

Follow-on stages will emphasize tasking, data collection and direct delivery of data to end-users. This contract will allow Kleos to support the U.S. Government Defense, Intelligence, and Law enforcement missions, thanks to the integration of its data within the NRO’s capabilities.

Kleos’ CTO, Vincent Furia, said, “Our four Observer satellites have now completed the final testing phase and will soon be sent to the launch site for integration with the launch vehicle. The next crucial step before launch is integration with the deployers, which is planned for this month. The Observer Mission, featuring VHF and X-Band collection payloads, will expand our data collection capability and provide additional value to our customers.”

Kleos’ Chief Revenue Officer, Eric von Eckartsberg, said, “We are very proud to receive this contract with the NRO, and to start our projected journey to growth with RF Earth Observation data, which imagery companies have been enjoying for many years. This study project represents a significant opportunity for Kleos to help the NRO assess the operational and decision-making usefulness of commercial RF GEOINT and understanding how our unique data set can be leveraged and fused with NRO’s operational capabilities through a combination of modelling and simulation, and analysis of collected data from our growing constellation of satellite clusters. Our four satellites per cluster constellation has significant operational benefits, including increased resilience and risk reduction compared to systems with fewer satellites. It enables us to collect additional radio frequencies within each band and accurately detect transmissions even when the tracking or positional system has been disabled or turned off. Our independent intelligence data can be used to validate or tip and cue other commercial datasets to enhance situational awareness.”

The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded a firm-fixed price, Other Transaction prototype agreement, with a total potential value of approximately $200 million, to York Space Systems of Denver, Colorado, for the establishment of the Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System (T1DES) Program.

With the agreement finalized September 30, 2022, York will provide 12 satellites and supporting capabilities to augment the Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL) constellation with demonstration and experimentation of tactical satellite communication (TACSATCOM) and Integrated Broadcast Service (IBS) capabilities from LEO.

The agreement includes development, manufacture, test, launch integration, and deployment of the T1DES space vehicles and mission-enabling ground systems. SDA plans to launch the T1DES space vehicles with the Tranche 1 Tracking space vehicles on four launches procured through the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract. The launches are expected to occur in fiscal year 2025.

With T1DES in place, all hardware and integration for Tranche 1 of the NDSA has been awarded and those efforts are now in the execution phase.

“T1DES was a full and open competition and we determined that York provided the best value to government to deliver on-schedule, at an affordable cost, and meet our demonstration requirements,” said Derek Tournear, SDA director. “York was selected among many other competitive offers reaffirming there is a healthy stable of solution providers. We remain committed to provide regular opportunities through our spiral development model to promote a marketplace of industry partners that match our value system.”

“We are very appreciative to have the continued trust of SDA in helping to fulfill their vision of the future,” said Dirk Wallinger, York Space Systems CEO and president. “We look forward to leveraging our strong and established supply chain, mission expertise, and existing mass production capability to help ensure a T1 T1DES success. Our team understands the mission importance to the SDA, and our country, and is excited to be able to execute such an important mission.”

Orbital Sidekick (OSK has been selected again by the intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program (iPIPE) to serve as the company’s technology partner.

OSK will have an opportunity to advance its Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellite constellation — known as GHOSt — which is set to launch in 2023. The hyperspectral imaging (HSI) constellation consists of six, 100 k.g., ESPA class satellites for launches on the SpaceX Transporter program.

iPIPE is a consortium dedicated to the advancement of emerging technologies for the prevention and detection of pipeline leaks. The program is housed at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC).

iPIPE has grown since inception and presently consists of seven member companies. Its members are enthusiastic about continuing to explore and develop new technologies that enhance pipeline integrity and safety through iPIPE. Industry members in iPIPE include DCP Midstream, Enbridge, Energy Transfer, Hess, Marathon Petroleum, ONEOK, and TC Energy. Members share experience and knowledge for new approaches to leak detection and prevention and a collective voice on pipeline safety.

“We are excited to be partnered with OSK to have next-level technology in space that provides continuous monitoring of pipeline assets,” said Darren Schmidt, EERC Assistant Director for Energy, Oil, and Gas. “This technology has the potential to give new capability for operators to prevent incidents and respond quickly to potential issues.”

“Continuing this partnership with iPIPE is an important step for OSK as it enters its next phase of technological advancements for the oil and gas industry,” said Daniel Katz, CEO and Co-Founder of OSK. “iPIPE has shown that it continues to believe in the important work OSK is doing. With the introduction of GHOSt, OSK will be able to produce the highest resolution commercial hyperspectral imagery launched to date. This addresses a crucial and timely need in the industry that covers community safety, environmental performance, and overall operating efficiency.”

Orbital Sidekick seeks to advance sustainable energy production and delivery by building the most robust remote sensing and analytics capability in existence. OSK’s proprietary analytics platform and hyperspectral payload architecture provide persistent space-based monitoring solutions powered by Spectral Intelligence. This unique radiometric speciation and change detection capability enables unparalleled target monitoring services for both commercial and defense users on a global scale. Orbital Sidekick is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information on Orbital Sidekick’s global persistent monitoring services, please visit orbitalsidekick.com.

Sky and Space Company Limited, (Sky and Space) a nanosatellite service provider, announced industry veteran Mark Gilroy as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In addition, the Company appointed Sky and Space co-founder, Meir Moalem, as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Mr. Gilroy immediately assumes executive leadership of the company and is appointed to Sky and Space’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Gilroy’s appointment comes at a critical junction for Sky and Space as it will launch its next generation of IoT focused nanosatellites in 2023. In addition to overseeing the international operations of Sky and Space, he will work with the Board of Directors to implement a North American market growth strategy. The Company looks forward to announcing more hires soon as it builds out a U.S. based executive team.

Mark has almost 30 years of experience in satellites, telecommunications, media, software, and technology sectors. Mr. Gilroy was most recently CEO at Fornetix, a cybersecurity company specializing in high performance key encryption automation, access controls, and authentication services. His time in the satellite and telecommunications sector includes executive positions with ProtoStar, Mabuhay Satellite Systems, Loral Space & Communications, and as a founding member at Orion Satellite Systems. Mr. Gilroy was also President at First Pacific Company Limited where he focused on financing satellite, technologies, and telecommunication companies.

“During this time of accelerated digital transformation at companies large and small, there is no better person to lead Sky and Space than Mark Gilroy,” said Xavier Kris, Chairman of the Board of Sky and Space. “Mark is a 30-year veteran of the satellite space, with deep industry knowledge, and as a former investment banker has strong ties to the financial community. Mark was the Board’s stand-out candidate to lead the business and capture the massive market opportunity that lies ahead.”

Richard Davis, a Sky and Space Board Member and the Managing Member of ArgoSat Consulting, a boutique advisory firm specializing in the space industry added, “I have been fortunate to know Mark for the last fifteen years. When the Company’s Board of Directors started looking for the right person to take this exciting business to the next level, I immediately thought of Mark. His industry knowledge and relationships in the satellite, IoT and cybersecurity industries are the perfect fit for Sky and Space.”

Mr. Moalem steps into the pivotal role of COO. A former pilot and Lt. Colonel in the Israeli Air Force, where he was awarded Israel’s National Security award, Meir co-founded Sky and Space in 2015. Before founding Sky and Space, Meir was a special project manager at UAS, Space and intelligence division, IDF, where he led the MEIDEX experiment on Space Shuttle Columbia as the project manager for Israel’s first astronaut flight.

“I want to thank the Board of Directors for trusting me with this opportunity,” said Mark Gilroy. “I am proud and excited to work with Meir and Chief Engineer Meidad Pariente to take the company they founded, and its advanced technology, to the next level. The company has invested significant time and passion into developing one of the most ground and space-breaking platforms in the industry today. I can’t wait to be part of this extraordinary team and I look forward to helping drive and support its success.”

“I am very excited to have Mark on-board,” said Meir Moalem. “We are fortunate to have him on the team and I look forward to helping him establish Sky and Space as the leading provider of nanosatellite IoT services.”

Exobotics and Simera Sense are collaborating to engineer and integrate a hyperspectral imager into one of their smallsat platforms that is scheduled to be launched into LEO later this year.

The hyperspectral imager will perform high resolution imaging, at less than 5 meters per pixel in the 450 to 900 nm. range, allowing for the collection of a variety of space related data which can be used across sectors both within and beyond the space industry. Potential use cases for the hyperspectral imaging technology include monitoring and forecasting crop health, measuring the emissions of pollutants, object detection, and more.

Exobotics has developed a bespoke payload support system to enable the image to work with a wide range high-speed radios in S-, X- and Ka-bands to improve performance and flexibility in space. The manufacturing of the hyperspectral image is part of a wider collaboration which will later focus on turn-key integrated satellite platforms in order to improve accessibility to space for customers.

Nadeem Gabbani, Founder of Exobotics, said, “We are delighted to be working with Simera to produce and integrate the hyperspectral imaging payload which will provide high-resolution imagery for a variety of use cases for our customers. Reducing the barriers to entry for space is vital for the growth of the wider economy, and many sectors, such as FinTech, mining and agriculture, need to be made aware of the benefits space can bring at an affordable cost. Access to space needs to be cost effective, easy and fast, which is why we oversee the end-to-end design, manufacturing and testing phases for payloads and nano-satellite platforms, which can be achieved in 9 to 12 months through our fast track program.”

Ana-Mia Louw, General Manager at Simera Sense, said, “Simera and Exobotics have great synergy, and by working collaboratively, exciting solutions are in the pipeline. We look forward to a successful hyperspectral mission launching later this year, and future collaboration with Exobotics, continuously making leading earth observations missions effortless for our clients.”

Thales expands its footprint in satellite communications providing a reliable Push-to-Talk service that operates anywhere in the world as a result of the success of the ThalesLINK on Iridium Certus L-band product series,

In partnership with ESChat, Thales is now offering Push-to-Talk (PTT) over satellite for customers worldwide. Users that have purchased ThalesLINK solutions, such as Thales MissionLINK or Thales VesseLINK 200 and 700 systems, can now access a reliable low-latency PTT solution.

The launch comes after months of rigorous beta testing and vetting by Thales’ certified official resellers, who will offer the service to customers in a variety of markets across the globe such as public safety, search and rescue, defense, utilities, mining, shipping and many more.

ThalesLINK solutions operate on the Iridium Certus network of 66 Low Earth Orbit satellites that cover 100% of the globe, providing coverage anywhere in the world regardless of weather or terrain. Combining this technology with the ESChat application, Thales now provides an always-on robust Push-to-Talk service for users anytime, anywhere.

“Our partnership with ESChat was strategic to deliver a truly reliable Push-to-Talk solution. We heard market feedback about having access to a low-latency PTT service over Iridium Certus and we are excited to deliver exactly that.” said Brian Aziz, Vice President of Satcom Solutions, Thales Defense & Security Inc.

Terran Orbital Corporation’s Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Marc Bell will provide a presentation at the 2022 MilSat Symposium during The Silicon Valley Space Week symposium, October 13-14 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Silicon Valley Space Week (SVSW) is the amalgamation of Satellite Innovation, the MilSat Symposium and several important industry networking events. 

Terran Orbital’s expertise is in satellite solutions, primarily serving the United States and Allied aerospace and defense industries. The company provides end-to-end satellite solutions by combining satellite design, production, launch planning, mission operations, and on-orbit support to serve the needs and challenges of military, civil, and commercial customers.

Bell’s presentation and the panel will address
Crafting Launch Services for DoD Requirements
October 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Other panelists include:

• Steve Kaufman, Partner, Hogan Lovells
• Clint Hunt, Col., USAF (Ret.), Director, Intelligence and Defense Programs, United Launch Alliance
• Chris Kemp, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Astra
• Jason B. Mello, President, Firefly Space Transport Services
• Brian Rogers, Government Launch Services Director, Rocket Lab