Archives for January 2023

HawkEye 360 Inc. has successfully deployed to orbit the company’s Cluster 6, next-generation satellites aboard the inaugural Rocket Lab Electron flight from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

Communication with the satellites has been established by the company’s operations team. This is the first of three dedicated Rocket Lab USA Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) flights contracted by HawkEye 360.

The Cluster 6 trio of satellites will be the first in the HawkEye constellation to enter an inclined orbit, boosting revisit rates over the mid-latitude regions of the globe. Once Cluster 6 achieves initial operating capability, HawkEye 360 will be able to collect RF data as frequently as once per hour from anywhere on Earth, enabling the company to offer the most timely and actionable RF data and data analytics available on the market.

This successful launch expands HawkEye 360’s constellation to 18 satellites with expanded and improved data collection in the 15 -18 GHz range, exposing new and meaningful insights for customers. These second-generation Cluster 6 satellites hold two payloads for system redundancy and are each equipped to collect VHF, UHF, X-, L-, S-, X-Band, and GPS Interference signals.

“We are happy to report that our Cluster 6 next-generation satellites have reached orbit and we look forward to ramping up operations in the weeks ahead and fully integrating them into our constellation,” said HawkEye 360 CEO, John Serafini. “We are grateful for our valued mission partners, Rocket Lab and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, who worked alongside our fantastic HawkEye 360 team to make this inaugural Virginia launch a success.”

“We’re immensely proud to have delivered mission success for HawkEye 360,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “With Launch Complex 2, we set out to create a new path to orbit from U.S. soil after more than 30 Electron launches from New Zealand, and what could be more fitting for the first Virginia mission than launching a Virginia-built satellite? We couldn’t ask for better mission partners in HawkEye 360 and Virginia Space, and we look forward to many more missions together.”

Intellian and OneWeb have announced the success of their joint, over-the-air demo using Intellian’s flat panel technology.

At Intellian’s Advanced Development Center (ADC) in Maryland, the demonstration showcased an integrated, small form-factor, Electronically Scanned Array (ESA) user terminal, operating in a live commercial network environment facilitated by OneWeb. The Intellian ESA user terminal achieved the maximum download and upload speeds supported by the OneWeb system in full duplex mode operation, with seamless beam hand-overs and satellite hand-overs.

This milestone validates Intellian’s innovative core technologies ahead of production in Q4 2023. Intellian’s ESA user terminal production will take place at their state-of-the-art factory, providing a streamlined process with exceptional product value, quality, diversity, and scalability.

The highly specialized and experienced team at Intellian helped to deliver and deploy the very first OneWeb commercial service user terminals at rapid speed. With a unique and innovative technology and strategy, Intellian brings to market a diverse portfolio of ESA user terminals designed to address user requirements across enterprise, land mobility, military, government and maritime at unparalleled speed.

Eric Sung, President and CEO Intellian Technologies Inc, said, “Our strategic partnership with OneWeb has been further strengthened as we once again achieve another fantastic milestone together. This over-the-air demonstration validates the strength of our ESA technology and brings us one step closer to launching truly integrated products that all of OneWeb’s commercial customers can benefit from. With our new manufacturing campus also launched in Korea during 2022, we can deliver incredible scale and quality assurance to our partners.”

Massi Ladovaz, Chief Technology Officer at OneWeb, said, “Our partnership and collaboration with Intellian continues to grow and we are excited about the future potential of today’s demonstration. OneWeb’s network is ideal for flat panel user terminals and this has the potential to provide customers with unique benefits that match their connectivity needs. The technology is well suited for residential, government and commercial markets, land-based industries, helping to achieve OneWeb’s ambition to bring low-latency, high-speed connectivity to our customers globally.”

Drawing on decades of experience, Intellian supports partners and their customers by providing world-class support, global distribution, and supply chain capabilities. Intellian’s value proposition is founded on a collaborative approach, working with distribution partners to serve customers globally. By working together, Intellian delivers end-to-end solutions that address the unique needs of regional and vertical market segments, ensuring continued mutual success with their distribution partners.

OneWeb continues to make rapid progress in launching its global coverage network. The company has launched more than 80% of its first-generation constellation, which will offer high-speed, low-latency connectivity solutions. OneWeb has connectivity solutions active today with its distribution partners in Alaska, Canada, the UK, Greenland and wider Arctic area, with expanded services coming online soon across the US, southern Europe, Australia, Middle East and more.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) is proceeding with a launch attempt on January 24th of their first Electron mission from U.S. soil.

The ‘Virginia Is For Launch Lovers’ mission is scheduled to launch Tuesday, January 24th, from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility – a U.S. launch pad for Electron missions that serves government and commercial satellite customers. The launch window for the mission extends from 18:00-20:00 EST / 23:00-01:00 UTC.

The mission is Rocket Lab’s 33rd Electron launch and will deploy three satellites for HawkEye 360, a radio frequency geospatial analytics provider. This upcoming launch is the first of three missions for HawkEye 360 scheduled to be carried out by Rocket Lab in 2023 and 2024. The multi-launch contract to deliver 15 satellites to LEO will grow HawkEye 360’s constellation of radio frequency monitoring satellites to better provide geolocation of radio emissions anywhere in the world.

As the world’s most frequently launched small orbital rocket, Electron has already delivered 152 satellites to space across 32 missions launched from the company’s private launch site, Launch Complex 1, in New Zealand. Previous Electron missions have deployed satellites for NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office, DARPA, the U.S. Space Force and a range of commercial constellation operators.

‘Virginia Is For Launch Lovers’ mission details:

• Launch scheduled for | Tuesday January 24, 2023 (back-up opportunities through early Feb.)
• Launch window | 18:00-20:00 EST
• Launch site | Launch Complex 2, Wallops Island, Virginia
• Customer | HawkEye 360
• Payloads | Three satellites
• Orbit | 550 km LEO

A live webcast of the launch will stream live from T-40 minutes at this direct link…

Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, the Photon satellite platform and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 152 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a second launch site in Virginia.

The Space Development Agency’s (SDA) resilient layered network of military satellites and supporting elements is now the “Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture” or PWSA.

The architecture, formerly known as the “National Defense Space Architecture,” was renamed to more specifically reflect the agency’s mission to deliver needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of a proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO) constellation of satellites.

The spiral development and fielding of SDA’s mesh network has matured successfully, but the constellations’ original name did not accurately convey its current scope and purpose. The new constellation name became effective on January 23, 2023.

Now integrated within the U.S. Space Force, SDA continues the integration of its space acquisition and operations into the overall national defense hybrid space enterprise, including pLEO advancements to support no-fail missions such as end-to-end missile warning, missile tracking, and missile defense. Maintaining technological and military advantages in space for the warfighter requires developing a resilient hybrid architecture through an integrated diversification of orbits and proliferation of satellites.

The constellation name change will have no impact to the SDA mission. Leveraging speed, delivery, and agility, SDA will continue to quickly deliver needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the PWSA.

The Mechanical Assembly for Reflectarray Antennas of SmallSats (MARAS) project funded through ESA ARTES 4.0 will enable small telecommunications satellites to take their antenna capabilities to the next level with a multi-panel, Ka-band reflect array antenna developed by DCUBED (Deployables Cubed GmbH), Celestial Space Technologies GmbH, German Orbital Systems GmbH and Blackwave GmbH.

The satellite communications market is growing rapidly and represents an essential part of the global satellite industry. Through the ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) Program, ESA supports the development of new satellite telecommunication technologies to keep the European industry at the leading edge of the market.

One of the critical parts of this support is to ensure the development of satellite telecommunications products compatible with the trends in satellites. With the ARTES activity Deployable Mechanisms for Multi Flat-Panel Reflectarray Antennas for Small Satellites, ESA has the goal of enabling small telecommunications satellite to carry deployable reflect arrays with large surface areas and so, increasing their antenna gain.

ESA selected DCUBED to carry out this activity with their project MARAS. Within the scope of MARAS, DCUBED is leading the design, manufacturing and testing of the mechanisms to support a multi-panel Ka-band reflect array antenna for a 12U CubeSat. The mechanical assembly consists of panels with high-precision hinges that form a planar structure when deployed, the Hold Down and Release Mechanism (HDRM) that supports the stowed reflectarray during launch, as well as any mechanisms required for its packaging and deployment.

The project covers the initial concept definition, analyses, and breadboarding activities, up to the design and fabrication of a mechanical engineering model that will undergo environmental testing and functional testing in representative conditions. These activities will bring the subsystem from TRL 3 to TRL 6.

The consortium of four companies is combining the expertise of different disciplines necessary to deliver MARAS. Celestial Space Technologies GmbH provides the telecommunications know-how, while Blackwave GmbH is supporting the team with their competence in structures and German Orbital Systems GmbH with their expertise on satellite missions. DcubeD is leading the consortium and bringing in the experience in deployable structures and mechanisms.

“We are very excited that the European Space Agency (ESA) rated our proposal on the Mechanical Assembly for Reflectarray Antennas of SmallSats project (in short MARAS) as the best in Europe. This development of flat panels joined by high precission hinges all folded in a tight volume fits in perfectly in our roadmap of becoming the go-to partner for all kinds of SmallSat mechanisms (release mechanisms and deployables),” said Thomas Sinn, CEO of DCUBED.

DCUBED located in Germering (Bavaria, Germany) will help you think outside the box with COTS release actuators and COTS deployables that are specifically designed for SmallSat applications. DCUBED’s pin puller and release nut actuators are space-proven, readily available, easy to use, and small in size. The DCUBED SmallSat deployables (Space Selfie Stick, 100W 1U solar array and deployable radiator) tackle the needs of new space customers by maximizing performance in space while remaining efficiently packed in a standardized volume for launch.

SWISSto12, Switzerland’s rapidly-growing aerospace company and a manufacturer of satellite payloads and systems, announces the HummingSat Partnership Project with the European Space Agency (ESA) is proceeding in the roll-out of the HummingSat satellite product. The roll-out is a result of new subscriptions in excess of €30 million received at the November ESA Ministerial Conference Meeting. Participating States are Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Austria, and the Netherlands, with further subscriptions expected to be received soon. SWISSto12 is playing an important role in Europe’s new space ecosystem and collaborates closely with ESA to foster innovation in the European space industry and develop new satellite products.

The funding will allow SWISSto12’s HummingSat product line that is being developed in partnership with ESA to fully roll-out. Recently, SWISSto12 announced that it will produce the first satellite of this product line, the IS-45, for Intelsat, making SWISSto12 the first scale-up specialist in the history of the industry to sign a contract of this nature with an established telecommunications operator. Named after the tiny, agile hummingbird, SWISSto12’s HummingSat product line is a showcase for the disruptive technologies emerging in Europe’s space landscape. Lightweight and small, the tiny satellite is more cost-effective and sustainable than conventional satellites, paving the way for better connectivity across the globe.

Dr. Emile de Rijk, SWISSto12 founder and CEO, said, “At SWISSto12, we are proud to be at the core of Europe’s new space ecosystem. With our HummingSat product line, we are building a next-generation telecommunications infrastructure with the goal of reliably connecting communities and businesses. ESA has been an invaluable partner in funding and expertise along this journey. The new funding will help us to make the disruptive technology of HummingSat a global success.”

Andreas Mauroschat, ESA Partnership and Opportunity Satellites Program Manager, added, “HummingSat is a showcase for a successful ESA Partnership Project and we are delighted to support European and Canadian industry in this exciting new-space venture. The project has been set up in record time and within only a few months SWISSto12 has sold the first commercial HummingSat to global satellite operator Intelsat. ESA Partnership Projects federate the European and Canadian space industry around large-scale programs, achieving competitive leaps forward and economic impact. They support end-to-end space systems from start-up to in-orbit validation, after which commercial partners operate the system.”

The Ministerial Conference of the ESA in Paris took place from November 22nd through 23rd. ESA members had agreed to contribute €16.923 billion over the next three years, a 16.6% increase from the previous ministerial in 2019 with Switzerland contributing 3.7%. The Swiss Space Office also subscribed a higher amount compared to the previous years, showing its strong commitment to support space innovations in Switzerland.

The demand for next-generation satellites, advanced communications, and more sustainable access to space is quickly rising in Europe and globally. SWISSto12 is committed to contributing to the European space ecosystem with the goal to ensure its competitiveness on the worldwide market.

Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDU), has signed an agreement with SkyWatch for use of its TerraStream data-management platform. Sidus Space is a Space-as-a-Service company providing mission critical hardware manufacturing and commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection.

This agreement is expected to accelerate the expansion of Sidus’ commercial data distribution strategy that includes white labeling data for the company’s existing customers and driving growth of new data customers. Serving as a key contributor to the Space data marketplace, the agreement is expected to generate additional revenue for the Company and engage customers that otherwise may not have connected with Sidus.

The TerraStream platform provides end-to-end data management and distribution capabilities to satellite operators, and provides an accelerated path to grow revenue and new markets through EarthCache, SkyWatch’s remote sensing platform. Using TerraStream eliminates the need for IT infrastructure, enabling Sidus to provide cost-effective access to Space-based data and deliver on its mission of “Bringing Space Down To Earth”. Sidus forecasts that its revenue mix will include a variety of users and industries and an increase in remote sensing data customers and analytics subscriptions.

“A key part of our business plan has always included monetizing high-impact data for insights on virtually every commercial sector, and, as we prepare to launch LizzieSat this year, this agreement represents an important milestone on that journey,” said Carol Craig, Sidus Space Founder and CEO. “As new customers and industries begin to understand how Space-based data can impact business strategy, we believe that Sidus is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand.”

LizzieSat-1, the maiden flight of Sidus’ multi-mission satellite constellation, is expected to launch in 2023 into a mid-inclination Low Earth Orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida. LizzieSat-1 will supply mission-based data to clients and consumers focused on climate change, maritime shipping industry activities, and other commercially relevant interests.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Sidus Space on their mission to ‘Bring Space Down to Earth’,” said Joel Cumming, Chief Technology Officer at SkyWatch. “We share a mission to make Earth observation and remote sensing data more accessible to solve critical issues, and we look forward to working with the team at Sidus as they continue this important work.”

The West Coast Solutions HBS (Hybrid Battery Supercapacitor) enables a new generation of high-power payloads on smallsats by providing >700W sustained power from a 1U (1000 cc) hybrid battery. Targeted applications include advanced propulsion technologies, lasercom, high data rate downlink transmitters, large array infrared sensors, and directed energy. TRL 5+ was achieved in the recently-completed Missile Defense Agency SBIR Phase II in which Applied Vibration, Applied Shock, Thermal Vacuum and EMI testing of a near-flight prototype was successfully completed. West Coast Solutions was recently awarded a Phase II SBIR Enhancement Program to extend on the prior Phase II SBIR to complete the design, build, test, and qualification of a prototype 1U (1000 cc) Hybrid Battery Supercapacitor (HBS).

• High-power-density battery for smallsats
• High reliability, radiation tolerant space design
• 150 Wh energy and >700W power in 1U form factor
• Cycle life > 30,000
• Scalable for higher energy and higher power

The company is also developing a Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) suite for JPL which consists of three separate modules: the analog Focal Plane Interface Electronics (FPIE), the FPIE Power Supply Unit (PSU), and the digital Interface Instrument Electronics (IIE). WCS has been tapped to produce and deliver four (4) complete suites of Engineering Models for Flat Sat testing and four (4) complete Flight Model suites, with all deliveries complete by early 2023.

• Analog focal plane electronics
• Precision, low noise focal plane electronics power supplies
• FPGA (RTG4)-enabled high speed data pipe
• Closed-loop payload heater control
• Payload power distribution

West Coast Solutions was hired by Aerospace Corporation to develop the control electronics for a novel, high-precision pointing mechanism for future USAF Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) missions. During the initial phase, WCS developed a “path-to-flight” brassboard with dual high-speed ADC channels, FPGA and firmware, and dual motor drive circuits. The fully-packaged radiation hard flight electronics will be developed in the future.

• OPIR pointing mirror control electronics
• Dual high-speed ADC, FPGA, and motor drives
• Design and prototype, including firmware

The firm’s partners at Creare have been developing cryocooler electronics since 2008. The Creare-WCS cryocooler collaboration began in 2015 and has now progressed through a series of successful NASA and DoD SBIR programs into multiple, active, flight programs, including the Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI) scheduled to launch in late 2022. WCS brings many decades of hands-on, space flight CCE experience to the strong Creare team, resulting in a combination that cannot be matched in terms of knowledge, experience, capability, and track record.

• Multi-year, Multi-program Creare-WCS collaboration
• High-performance, yet affordable CCE designs
• MCCE-TS (Tactical Space) for cost-sensitive, moderate duration space missions
• MCCE-RH (Radiation Hardened) for long-life strategic missions
• Tailorable options: active vibration control, input ripple filtering, and launch lock

Sateliot and Sensefinity will launch global, 5G-IoT satellite connectivity to facilitate the first technology of data transmission from 1,000 smart containers, thereby saving medium-size shipping companies as much as $1.4 million per year on container maintenance and repairs.

Actual satellite coverage is not 100% global, as GEO satellites only cover fixed areas of the planet. Moreover, their far placement makes them far less efficient than LEO satellites according to the company, which come into play to fix this problem.

Without NB-IoT coverage at high sea, trackers and sensors can only record the information, uploading it once the vessels are near shore, when it is already too late to do anything with damaged cargo. Furthermore, legacy satellite transmission costs for every container are a high addition to a vessel’s already expensive bills, particularly when considering tariffs and port and channel fees.

With Sateliot’s full, 5G NB-IoT satellite constellation, Sensefinity will be able to report location, temperature, humidity, vibration and container breach in real-time, unlocking a set of high-impact use cases such as notifications when a container falls into the ocean, alerting for fires inside containers, warning for cold-chain breaks for sensitive cargo like food and medicines and reporting impacts and damages in containers.

Another advantage of this partnership between Sateliot’s global satellite coverage and Sensefinity IoT solutions in smart containers is the reduction of food waste and carbon emissions. Maritime shipping businesses will grow in a sustainable way, allowing an increase in revenue while caring for the planet.

Shipping companies are heavily investing in smart containers to control cargo, with predictions that, by 2025, 25% of the box fleet will be able to gather data from inside the containers. However, transmitting gathered data in uncovered spots from the middle of the ocean is still an issue.

Sateliot’s transmission costs start from less than $1 per device per month. This allows Sensefinity to facilitate its expansive growth, granting the shipping and vessel companies the ability to transmit data from smart containers in the middle of the ocean with a very reduced cost.

Jaume Sanpera, Sateliot CEO, said, “Investing in smart containers and global continuous connectivity transmission through our network of 5G-NB IoT satellites will provide vessels and shipping companies better control of transported goods, avoiding damage claims and lawsuits costing companies billions of dollars per year.”

Sensefinity CEO, Orlando Remédios, said, “Our technology will help the international shipping industry to overcome cargo damage, which costs a yearly estimate of $6 billion, reducing complaints and lawsuits, and also food waste and carbon emissions. Maritime shipping businesses will grow in a sustainable way, allowing an increase in revenue while caring for the planet.“

Due to the scale of the project and the need for collaborative projects between multiple ecosystem players, the virtual core of Sateliot service is built by AWS, a leading cloud service provider.