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Archives for April 2023

Fly Your Satellite! design booster teams starts baseline design reviews

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Fly Your Satellite! Design Booster is an educational program for university student teams that have a preliminary CubeSat design — ESA offers the students support and expert advice, guiding them through the stages necessary to develop an initial idea into a robust final plan.

Photo of the selected ESA CubeSat teams

A key milestone within this process is a Baseline Design Review, which helps flag issues and ultimately empowers students to make effective design choices.

The Baseline Design Review is tailored from the ESA standard review process to fit the scope of university student projects. Six teams incorporating more than 200 students have now reached this stage with meetings between students and ESA experts taking place between April 3 and 21, 2023:

Ever since the official program kick-off last November, each participating team has been working hard on a key document called a CubeSat Project File. This contains a detailed description of the satellite, project management, and assembly, integration and verification (AIV) plans.

These CubeSat Project Files were sent to ESA experts and the Fly Your Satellite! team in advance, who studied them carefully to identify potential issues. Every point flagged is known as a Review Item Discrepancy (RID), and these form the foundation of the Baseline Design Review. During a series of online meetings, dubbed “colocations meetings,” ESA and Fly Your Satellite! experts are currently discussing RIDs with the teams, enhancing students‘ knowledge of the topics, and allowing them to interpret and implement solutions to their CubeSat design.

Upon completion of the Baseline Design Review, the students will be tasked with completing the actions identified in these RIDs. It is normal for there to be a long list and teams will have about one year to make enhancements, consolidate their detailed designs, and test prototypes.

The Final Design Review will then take place, which will conclude with the teams presenting their fully refined CubeSat mission design.

Fly Your Satellite winning team logos

Rocket Lab to launch NASA’s Cyclone-Tracking Satellite Constellation from New Zealand

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Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) will launch NASA’s TROPICS constellation across two dedicated Electron missions lifting off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, scheduled for May of 2023.

The TROPICS constellation (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Small Sats) will monitor the formation and evolution of tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, and will provide rapidly updating observations of storm intensity. This data will help scientists better understand the processes that effect these high-impact storms, ultimately leading to improved modelling and prediction.

The two missions are expected to launch within approximately two weeks of each other in May 2023. The first launch, named ‘Rocket Like a Hurricane,’ is expected to launch as soon as May 1 NZST (30 April EDT) and the second mission, named ‘Coming to a Storm Near You,’ is expected to follow around May 16 NZST (May 15 EDT).

The constellation, which is part of NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program, consists of four CubeSats that require launch to a specific orbit at an altitude of 550 kilometers and inclination of about 30 degrees. All four satellites need to be deployed into their operational orbit within a 60-day period, making Electron the ideal launch vehicle as it enables dedicated launch to unique orbits on highly responsive timelines.

The two missions were initially scheduled to lift-off from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia but will now take place at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand to support a Q2 launch window that will see the satellites reach orbit in time for the North American 2023 hurricane season.

Rocket Lab was selected to launch the TROPICS missions as part of NASA’s Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract.

“The need for improved climate and weather data from space is acute and growing. Hurricanes and tropical storms have a devastating effect on lives and livelihoods, so we’re immensely proud to be entrusted by NASA to launch the TROPICS missions which will enable scientists and researchers to accurately predict storm strength and give people time to evacuate and make plans. With the 2023 hurricane season fast approaching, time is of the essence for these missions. Because we operate three launch pads across two countries, we can constantly assess the launch manifest and adapt launch schedules and locations based on customer and mission requirements.” — Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck

“The ability to advance our understanding of tropical cyclones from space has been limited by the ability to take frequent measurements, particularly from microwave instruments that see into the storms. Historically, satellites have been too large and expensive to provide observations at a time-frequency that is consistent with the timescales at which tropical cyclones can evolve. The CubeSat era has allowed for smaller, less expensive satellites. With modern small satellite design, we designed a constellation that optimizes the scientific utility of the mission in a way that we can launch in a cost-effective manner. These factors enable TROPICS to provide a new understanding of tropical cyclones by decreasing the time by which a given storm is revisited by the satellites.” — Will McCarty, Program Scientist for the TROPICS Mission

Techno Planet providing power to the Momentus Vigoride-5 OSV

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Techno Planet Inc. (TPI) has has worked with partner Momentus Inc. to design and build Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADA’s) for the Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV).

Artistic rendition of the Momentus Vigoride-5 OSV on-orbit, courtesy of the company

The Vigoride-5 OSV launched in January of 2023 and Momentus has confirmed the successful deployment and full operation of the OSV’s solar arrays and has also recently announced the successful in-space testing of the TPI pioneering propulsion system that uses water as a propellant.

TPI SADA’s have been developed for small spacecraft that require solar array pointing and power transfer. In addition to the scalable SADA designs, Techno Planet Inc. has the experience and capabilities required to design and build a range of space mechanisms including thruster gimbals, antenna positioners, sample acquisition and handling devices, and release mechanisms, along with almost any custom mechanism.

Techno Planet’s SADA

“To know our company’s hardware operate in space demonstrates the successful evolution of Techno Planet. I’m proud of our team’s achievements, and I’m energized that this is the start of a sustained flow of space-bound TPI hardware. Congratulations to our partner Momentus and I thank them for the confidence they’ve shown in us to get here. This successful launch also marks an exciting time in aerospace for small businesses like ours to provide proven engineering expertise in support of new space ventures. Plenty of our designs have flown over the years, but these are the first with our name on them.” — Scott Stanley, TPI Chief Technology Officer.

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) is ready to launch their 2nd smallsat

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Artistic rendition of DEWA’s SAT-1 on-orbit, courtesy of AETOSWire

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed preparations to launch the utility’s second smallsat for remote sensing applications this April.

The 6U nanosatellite is part of DEWA’s Space-D program. DEWA Sat-2 will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA. The smallsat was designed and developed at DEWA’s Research and Development Centre, in cooperation with NanoAvionics in Lithuania.

The new satellite features a high-resolution camera (4.7 meters) that will be used for Earth Observation (EO) missions and provides continuous line-scan imaging in 7 spectral bands from an approximately 500 km orbit. The new satellite is also equipped with Infrared equipment to measure greenhouse gases.

The combined use of DEWA SAT-2 images and Internet of Things (IoT) measurements from DEWA SAT-1 will enable DEWA to improve the operational performance of power generation and water desalination plants by providing accurate estimates of seawater temperature, seawater salinity, detection of red-tide, as well as fog monitoring and forecasting.

DEWA launched DEWA-SAT1 in January of 2022. It uses LoRa IoT communication technology, a new wireless protocol designed for long-range and low-power communications, to expand the coverage of the existing terrestrial communications network. DEWA is the first utility in the world to launch nanosatellites to improve its planning, operation and maintenance activities.

Using satellite network communication, IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) contributes to improving the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

Photo of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, courtesy of same

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) is ready to launch their 2nd smallsat

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Artistic rendition of DEWA’s SAT-1 on-orbit, courtesy of AETOSWire

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed preparations to launch the utility’s second smallsat for remote sensing applications this April.

The 6U nanosatellite is part of DEWA’s Space-D program. DEWA Sat-2 will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA. The smallsat was designed and developed at DEWA’s Research and Development Centre, in cooperation with NanoAvionics in Lithuania.

The new satellite features a high-resolution camera (4.7 meters) that will be used for Earth Observation (EO) missions and provides continuous line-scan imaging in 7 spectral bands from an approximately 500 km orbit. The new satellite is also equipped with Infrared equipment to measure greenhouse gases.

The combined use of DEWA SAT-2 images and Internet of Things (IoT) measurements from DEWA SAT-1 will enable DEWA to improve the operational performance of power generation and water desalination plants by providing accurate estimates of seawater temperature, seawater salinity, detection of red-tide, as well as fog monitoring and forecasting.

DEWA launched DEWA-SAT1 in January of 2022. It uses LoRa IoT communication technology, a new wireless protocol designed for long-range and low-power communications, to expand the coverage of the existing terrestrial communications network. DEWA is the first utility in the world to launch nanosatellites to improve its planning, operation and maintenance activities.

Using satellite network communication, IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) contributes to improving the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

Photo of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, courtesy of same

A new adventure for the AcubeSAT team

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Five students from the AcubeSAT team, participating in the 3rd edition of ESA’s Fly Your Satellite! program, have travelled from their home base in Thessaloniki, Greece, to the CubeSat Support Facility (CSF), in ESA ESEC, Belgium, to conduct environmental testing on their On-Board Computer/Attitude Determination & Control System (OBC-ADCS) board.

AcubeSAT is a project by SpaceDot, with a multidisciplinary team of students primarily from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with members from various Greek and European universities.

AcubeSAT is a three units CubeSat that is under development to investigate eukaryotic cells’ molecular behavior under the microgravity and radiation conditions of LEO.

The smallsat will contain many components that have been designed by the students themselves, including the OBC-ADCS. This gives students a wealth of experience but comes with the additional challenges of using in-house solutions. Hence, a series of rigorous tests need to be performed to ensure the success of the AcubeSAT mission and spot possible issues before being launched in orbit.

The tested item is the OBC-ADCS board which is responsible for controlling all basic spacecraft functions and handling the communication with all the other subsystems. The ADCS subsystem hosted on this board is responsible for stabilizing the spacecraft and controlling its orientation.

The Environmental Test Campaign is composed of a Vibration Test and a Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVAC) Test. The key concept of the campaign can be represented by CSF testing mantra: ‘Test as you fly, fly as you test!’. Therefore, the OBC-ADCS board was subject to vibration testing, as it recreates the launch conditions, before going to the TVAC testing, simulating the on-orbit environment.

The item was first unpacked, carefully visually inspected, and functionally tested. After test sensors were installed and the board was placed into the test adapter, it was subjected to different types of vibration tests to simulate the environment of the rocket and to verify that the OBC-ADCS board can withstand such loads. Testing was performed in all three axes of the spacecraft to ensure the structural integrity of the sub-system.

With no issues spotted, the vibration testing was deemed successful granting the ticket to the next phase, the Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVAC) test campaign.

On the third day, the preparation for TVAC testing started with a cleaning process and the installation of thermocouples on both OBC and ADCS side. Due to some anomalies, and despite the best effort of the teams, only a limited test could be performed. The students were able to adjust admirably to performing lab work and responded excellently under pressure, without losing heart in the face of unexpected events, but instead being always proactive in seeking a solution.

Following the travel back to Thessaloniki, the team will investigate and correct the issues in view of a future re-qualification at the CSF in the near future.

ClearSpace and LeoLabs’ MOU to advance a safer, more sustainable space environment

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ClearSpace, the in-orbit satellite servicing company announced today a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LeoLabs, a commercial provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Traffic Management (STM) services. The MOU recognizes the two companies’ shared vision of a safe and sustainable space ecosystem and their mutual efforts in making this vision a reality.

ClearSpace secures a major UK contract to help clean up space

This strategic partnership comes at a time when both companies are finding commercial success within government and industrial markets. As examples, in 2022 ClearSpace received a Phase B demo contract from the UK Space Agency to demonstrate its active debris removal technology and LeoLabs received a contract to help support the development of a U.S., civil-led STM prototype from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The partnership announced today signals a desire to build on this mutual success and previous collaborative efforts, such as the joint LEO Kinetic Space Safety Workshop — hosted in May 2022 at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale, Lausanne). The MOU also serves as a formal declaration of ClearSpace and LeoLabs’ intent to work together on several new initiatives. These initiatives include thought leadership opportunities that promote space safety and responsible stewardship of the space environment, as well as business opportunities that promote their services and programs. In addition, they have agreed to exchange advisory board appointments, with Dr. Timothy Maclay from ClearSpace becoming a member of LeoLabs’ Commercial Strategic Advisory Board and LeoLabs’ Dr. Darren McKnight joining ClearSpace’s Advisory Board.

“With the acceleration of commercial space activity, the industry is developing approaches to create a more circular space ecosystem,”  said ClearSpace CEO and Co-founder Luc Piguet. “LeoLabs is providing data and services that are critical to operational safety, and we are excited to be working with them to address comprehensively the complex challenges of space safety and sustainability.”

“As the traffic in low Earth orbit grows, innovative, scalable solutions are needed, including active debris removal technologies and in-orbit servicing,”  said LeoLabs CEO Dan Ceperley. “ClearSpace is an industry leader in both, and we’re proud to kick off a partnership with them to build a safer, more sustainable future in space.”

This strategic partnership between ClearSpace and LeoLabs will catalyze the development of effective, multi-faceted strategies to address the growing debris problem in space and mitigate the risks posed to operational spacecraft.

Spire Global receives NRO contract for RF data

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Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) has been awarded a contract by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for commercial radio frequency (RF) remote sensing.

Spire won a contract as part of the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) program in September of 2022. The company also exercised two options that extend the performance period through March 1, 2025.

The agency will continue to use Spire’s data to evaluate how commercial radio frequency (RF) will be integrated into its overhead architecture. The contract demonstrates the agency’s commitment to expand the acquisition and integration of commercial space-based data for situational awareness and to address new intelligence challenges.

Spire’s fully deployed constellation of more than 100 satellites monitors RF signals to provide data and analytics on global weather intelligence, ship and plane movements, and spoofing and jamming detection to better predict how their patterns impact global security, economies, and human potential. The Company operates over 40 satellites that help detect and geolocate signal interference, jamming, and spoofing. These satellites can identify the power, location, and directionality of such events.

“The NRO has continued to show its commitment to innovation by recognizing the value of RF data in providing situational awareness and strengthening global security. In a rapidly changing world, we at Spire aim to provide government organizations the competitive advantage they need to solve some of the world’s toughest problems with insights from space.” — Chuck Cash, Vice President of Federal Sales, Spire

AAC Clyde Space receives avionic orders

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AAC Clyde Space has received orders for the company’s Starbuck power system and Sirius computers from several customers amounting to a total of approximately SEK 20.1 million. The orders are scheduled for delivery from Q4 2023 until mid-2024.

AAC Clyde Space’s SmallSat PCDU (Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit) solutions and Sirius computers have demonstrated impressive capabilities in space, gaining a market reputation for reliability, resiliency and performance. With their modular design, the solutions can be used and adapted for an array of different applications stretching from lunar exploratory and deep space scientific missions to military and commercial constellation applications.

“We are proud to continue to win orders for our Starbuck power systems and Sirius computers. Their proven reliability, modular design, and flexibility are key characteristics for their popularity among our customers. We have had a great start first quarter of 2023 with press released orders amounting to SEK 80.5 million. ” — AAC Clyde Space CEO, Luis Gomes

Fleet Space ExoSphere to be used by Atlantic Lithium for a West African geophysical survey

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Fleet Space Technologies is engaging with Atlantic Lithium to provide its technology to enable accurate sourcing of lithium pegmatites at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana, West Africa — the survey will use Fleet Space’s ExoSphere solution to search for potential, concealed pegmatites within the Ewoyaa footprint.

Atlantic Lithium has already commenced auger drilling as part of its 2023 exploration and resource drilling program in Ghana, and is targeting to start the survey during Q2 2023. The company has also initiated a 100 x 100m grid soil geochemistry survey over the Cape Coast license ahead of target definition. The survey is expected to provide additional insights into the potential of the project area and the broader 560km-square Cape Coast Lithium portfolio.

Fleet Space’s ExoSphere solution has been successfully deployed on lithium pegmatite targeting with Core Lithium, based at their Finnis Project in the Northern Territory, Australia. The company’s ExoSphere solution is expected to provide valuable data for Atlantic Lithium’s exploration efforts in Ghana.

“We are thrilled to be working with Atlantic Lithium to provide our cutting-edge ExoSphere solution for their Ewoyaa Lithium Project. Our technology has a proven track record in successful lithium pegmatite targeting, and we are confident that it will deliver valuable insights to Atlantic Lithium’s exploration efforts in Ghana. As we strive to reach net-zero goals, the sourcing of critical minerals like lithium becomes increasingly important, and we are proud to be part of the solution by providing advanced technologies that help unlock these valuable resources.” — Flavia Tata Nardini, CEO & Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies

“The objectives of these significant 2023 exploration and resource drilling programs are to test for concealed pegmatites within the immediate Resource footprint, improve Resource confidence, add potential tonnes to the current MRE and expand the regional exploration pipeline of targets. We are excited to have engaged Fleet Space Technologies to complete a passive seismic geophysical survey, using the ExoSphere solution, over the Ewoyaa footprint looking for potential concealed pegmatites.” — Atlantic Lithium Interim CEO, Lennard Kolff