Archives for December 2023

Ubotica Technologies is part of a consortium of organizations to have recently received substantial grant funding from the Irish Government’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).

Ubotica is a SPACE:AI specialist and is part of the NSSPI project consortium that was awarded a total grant of over 7.9 million euros. The grant will be invested in the consortium’s work to develop economically sustainable space technology that encompasses optical communications in space, autonomous satellites and spacecraft and payload modelling, simulation and test research support.

SPACE:AI powers autonomous satellites and spacecraft. Conventional EO offers snapshots – a singular moment – often needing terrestrial post-processing to yield any insights. While valuable, it doesn’t support immediate decisions in pressing situations like environmental shifts, natural calamities, or security issues. SPACE:AI revolutionizes today’s EO by transforming it into actionable, live Earth intelligence. Instead of static snapshots, SPACE:AI provides a continuous live stream of actionable insights generated onboard through a full stack of Edge AI technology that can perform inference on diverse inputs such as optical, hyperspectral, and radar data.

With SPACE:AI, developers can deploy a wide range of innovative applications and models on satellites powered by Ubotica’s SPACE:AI technology, laying the technology foundations for Ubotica to develop a Space App Store. With a single-click interface, developers can securely upload their AI models to satellites operating on the SPACEI:AI platform. These orbital AI applications will generate real-time autonomous decisions and insights in space, removing the need to downlink and process copious amounts of data on Earth thus delivering significant capital and operational expenditure savings.

The DTIF was established by the Irish Government as part of its wider Project 2040 program. The fund is managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and administered by Enterprise Ireland. It was set up to invest in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies on a commercial basis and drive collaboration and co-operation across the sector. As of late November 2023, 364 million euros has been awarded to 103 projects and consortiums across Ireland.

“We are thrilled to be part of the successful NSSPI consortium and grateful to benefit from generous funding from the DTIF for our Live Earth Intelligence technology. Advances in space technology are progressing at an astonishing speed and we are excited to be at the forefront at this important time for space innovation.” — Fintan Buckley, Co-Founder and CEO of Ubotica Technologies

More details about the DTIF are available at this direct link…

Ubotica Technologies is part of a consortium of organizations to have recently received substantial grant funding from the Irish Government’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).

Ubotica is a SPACE:AI specialist and is part of the NSSPI project consortium that was awarded a total grant of over 7.9 million euros. The grant will be invested in the consortium’s work to develop economically sustainable space technology that encompasses optical communications in space, autonomous satellites and spacecraft and payload modelling, simulation and test research support.

SPACE:AI powers autonomous satellites and spacecraft. Conventional EO offers snapshots – a singular moment – often needing terrestrial post-processing to yield any insights. While valuable, it doesn’t support immediate decisions in pressing situations like environmental shifts, natural calamities, or security issues. SPACE:AI revolutionizes today’s EO by transforming it into actionable, live Earth intelligence. Instead of static snapshots, SPACE:AI provides a continuous live stream of actionable insights generated onboard through a full stack of Edge AI technology that can perform inference on diverse inputs such as optical, hyperspectral, and radar data.

With SPACE:AI, developers can deploy a wide range of innovative applications and models on satellites powered by Ubotica’s SPACE:AI technology, laying the technology foundations for Ubotica to develop a Space App Store. With a single-click interface, developers can securely upload their AI models to satellites operating on the SPACEI:AI platform. These orbital AI applications will generate real-time autonomous decisions and insights in space, removing the need to downlink and process copious amounts of data on Earth thus delivering significant capital and operational expenditure savings.

The DTIF was established by the Irish Government as part of its wider Project 2040 program. The fund is managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and administered by Enterprise Ireland. It was set up to invest in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies on a commercial basis and drive collaboration and co-operation across the sector. As of late November 2023, 364 million euros has been awarded to 103 projects and consortiums across Ireland.

“We are thrilled to be part of the successful NSSPI consortium and grateful to benefit from generous funding from the DTIF for our Live Earth Intelligence technology. Advances in space technology are progressing at an astonishing speed and we are excited to be at the forefront at this important time for space innovation.” — Fintan Buckley, Co-Founder and CEO of Ubotica Technologies

More details about the DTIF are available at this direct link…

Lunasonde recently announced the launch timeline for the company’s third satellite to LEO — the San Xavier satellite — will fly on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-11 via launch provider Exolaunch.

This is the company’s first, on-orbit test of its proprietary, very low frequency, radar technological stack that is capable of detecting subsurface mineral deposits up to two kilometers underground. Lunasonde’s most recent launch of their Picacho test satellite and their subsequent engagement with Rogue Space Systems could provide a roadmap for others in the space community when deployment after launch is uncertain. In this case, Picacho, Lunasonde’s 1U CubeSat, was launched and presumed deployed November 11, 2023, from a Momentus canister being managed by a third-party deployer aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-9 flight.

Lunasonde received telemetry with modulation characteristics that matched Picacho. Two days after presumed deployment, several external sources identified 39 signals as telemetry coming from the satellite. Although the telemetry was relatively weak, given its characteristics and without having the benefit of knowing there was an anomaly in the deployment, Lunasonde determined the signals were from Picacho. Lunasonde surmises that the only way these signals would be sent would be through the deployment of the antenna.

To this point, Lunasonde is working with Rogue to try to communicate with and locate the satellite. Lunasonde believes that how the companies involved handle this situation will be important for the space community if there are similar situations in the future.

“We are excited about this next step in our evolution and what this could mean for global environmental factors as well as decreasing mining costs. These technological advancements will allow us to look 15,000 times deeper than current technologies and do so without disturbing precious earth ecosystems. While every launch of test equipment helps move our vision forward, it’s important to note the Picacho mission was minor in comparison to the upcoming San Xavier mission fielding our technology. To our knowledge, a situation such as this—where there are no clear indications of exactly what transpired—is unprecedented. Therefore, we feel the right thing to do is to assume the satellite is in orbit and it is incumbent upon us to try to locate it,” — Jeremiah Pate, Lunasonde CEO

Open Cosmos and Connected have engaged in a strategic partnership — Open Cosmos aims to enable organizations to address global challenges using satellite data and insights, and Connected, a recently incorporated startup dedicated to achieving universal, standardized, and affordable, Narrow-Band Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT) connectivity from space using a unique hosted payload model, is poised to enhance user connectivity.

This collaboration of shared goals aims to bring actionable solutions to a wide range of users in the maritime, environmental and energy industries by combining Connected’s IoT capabilities and Open Cosmos satellites. Open Cosmos and Connected will launch end-to-end, smallsat missions to LEO, focusing on joint EO and In-Situ measurements enabled by Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.

Both companies are experiencing strong growth in Portugal and this partnership will also support Connected internationally. The primary goal is to integrate complementary payloads into orbit, sustainably maximizing the collection of data from Earth, while preserving the delicate balance of the space ecosystem.

In addition to these key strategic goals, the partnership agreement allows Connected to accelerate developments toward a successful on-orbit demonstration next year, with Open Cosmos playing a pivotal role in supporting Connected to advance the development of that firm’s mission-critical hardware.

“This partnership exemplifies our commitment to revolutionise affordable connectivity from space. By joining forces with Open Cosmos, we are not only advancing our mission to become the world’s first connectivity service to be fully hosted on-board third-party satellites, but also contributing to the broader goal of fostering sustainable solutions for in-situ data collection on Earth.” — Tiago Rebelo, CEO of Connected

“At Open Cosmos, we believe in the power of collaboration to address global challenges. Teaming up with Connected aligns with our mission to democratise access to space and amplify the impact of satellite data. With this partnership we reinforce our strategic investment in Portugal, strengthening our position as an accelerator of the existing space ecosystem.” — Rafel Jorda Siquier, CEO of Open Cosmos

Rocket Lab will launch the TSUKUYOMI-I synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite for Japan-based Earth imaging company the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS). The company is targeting no earlier than December 15, 2023, UTC, with a two hour, daily window.

The Moon God Awakens’ is scheduled to launch from Pad B at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand and will carry a single satellite for iQPS. Named after the Japanese God of the Moon, the QPSSAR- 5 satellite “TSUKUYOMI-I” is a synthetic-aperture radar satellite that will collect high-resolution images of Earth.

The satellite will join another iQPS satellite on-orbit that will ultimately be a 36-satellite constellation capable of monitoring Earth at specified points every 10 minutes.

This mission will be Rocket Lab’s 10th launch of 2023, exceeding the firm’s previous annual launch record of nine. ‘The Moon God Awakens’ will be Rocket Lab’s 42nd Electron launch, overall.

An FAA-licensed spaceport, Launch Complex 1 can provide up to 120 launch opportunities every year. From the site, it is possible to reach orbital inclinations from SSO through to 30 degrees, enabling a wide spectrum of inclinations to service the majority of the satellite industry’s missions to low Earth orbit.

Located within Launch Complex 1 are Rocket Lab’s private range control facilities, two 100K satellite cleanrooms, a launch vehicle assembly facility which can process multiple Electrons at once, and administrative offices. Operating a private orbital launch site alongside its own range and mission control centers allows Rocket Lab to reduce the overhead costs per mission, resulting in a cost effective launch service for satellite operators.

In addition to Launch Complex 1, Rocket Lab operates an additional launch site, Launch Complex 2, at the Mid- Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Launch Complex 2 can support up to 12 missions per year. By operating two launch complexes in two hemispheres, Rocket Lab provides customers with flexible, responsive launch opportunities.

The live stream of the launch will be viewable at this direct link…

Orbital Micro Systems (OMS) has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Other Transaction Authority agreement by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA).

The agreement was awarded to OMS for prototype design, production, and testing of the Global Environmental Monitoring System – Passive and Exchangeable Advanced Radiometers for Low-Earth orbit (GEMS-PEARL) microwave imager and sounder payloads.

Under the agreement, OMS will build engineering prototypes of the GEMS-PEARL radiometers and perform extensive laboratory testing and characterization of key subsystems as well as validating the expected performance of retrieved environmental data products. 

GEMS-PEARL is expected to produce key Environmental Data Records (EDRs), such as Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW), Tropical Cyclone Intensity (TCI), and atmospheric temperature, water vapor, and precipitation. The data derived from the instruments are all critical for monitoring and predicting environmental conditions.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to further the development of our novel instrument concepts that can support the U.S. Warfighter with critical environmental data at a reduced cost per payload compared with legacy systems. It has been made clear that innovations in space-based environmental monitoring are significant priorities for the DoD, and we are eager to continue the development of reliable and cost-effective radiometric instrumentation that will address these needs.” — Michael Hurowitz, chief executive officer of Weather Stream

Rogue Space Systems Corporation has received the firm’s first on-orbit service contract — the details of the contract and the identity of the commercial constellation owner/operator involved remain confidential.

Under this contract, Rogue will undertake the task of locating a satellite after its deployment from SpaceX’s Transporter 9 mission. The contract calls for establishing communication and undertaking operations for the customer’s satellite. Rogue’s Mission Operations team will coordinate with the customer’s ground station partner and their satellite bus provider to support this effort. Additionally, they may leverage imaging capabilities from the currently flying Barry-1 mission, also deployed on Transporter 9.

“Our small size is one of our greatest advantages, allowing us to quickly adapt and excel in the new space ecosystem. We’re building partnerships, helping, and supporting our fellow space trailblazers. This is what we are here to do.” — Jeromy Grimmett, CEO of Rogue Space Systems