Archives for January 2024

Kinéis has announced the launch window for the first of five launches of the company’s smallsats that are dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT). Scheduled to occur between June 10 and July 9, 2024, this event marks a crucial milestone in the development of the Kinéis system.

Kinéis is marking a new era in the French space sector with the deployment of this constellation of 25 nanosatellites, the first of its kind in Europe dedicated to IoT.

With almost 90% of the Earth’s surface not covered by terrestrial networks, Kinéis provides a direct response to connectivity needs. The mission of Kinéis’ Space IoT is to connect and locate any object, anywhere on the Earth’s surface, guaranteeing data transmission in near-real time, at low bit rates, with minimal energy consumption.

Kinéis operates on a global scale, responding to major challenges such as agriculture, water resource management, early detection of forest fires, logistics, maritime activities, and so on. The aim is to “keep in touch with what matters” by providing concrete solutions to improve everyday life.

The space IoT revolution is being driven by Kinéis, with its 25 “made in France” nanosatellites. The Toulouse-based French space ecosystem, including renowned players such as Hemeria, Thales Alenia Space, Syrlinks, Comat, and CNES, actively supporting Kinéis in this technological revolution. Major financial partners, such as Bpifrance, CLS, BNP Paribas Développement, CELAD, Maison Julien et Kelly Dassault, and Ethics Group, are also contributing to the project’s success. Mission patch,symbol of Kinéis’ vision

As a symbolic signature of this historic mission, Kinéis unveils its patch representing the essential pillars of the project: global connectivity, a network of ground stations, various applications, and the end user.

Alexandre Tisserant, CEO of Kinéis, said, “I’m delighted to announce the launch window for the Kinéis constellation, the first European constellation dedicated to the Internet of Things. With 5 launches scheduled in the upcoming months, Kinéis is in the final stage of bringing this unique project to a reality, four years after its historic fund-raising. All our teams are mobilized to make this event a technical, operational and commercial success.”

French nationwide drawing competition raises awareness of satellites

Additionally, Kinéis and the Cité de l’espace (City of space) launched a nationwide drawing competition for 6–17-year-olds to raise their awareness of the theme “Satellites to better understand and protect the Earth.”

A panel of judges selected 15 drawings, and the young artists are invited to Hemeria, the Toulouse-based manufacturer of the 25 Kinéis satellites, on Wednesday, January 31st.. They will discover their engraved creations, which will be placed on 15 of the smallsats in the constellation, launched into orbit this year from New Zealand.

A first-of-its-kind operation to celebrate the 2024 French space event Next June, Kinéis will carry out the 1st of 5 launches to place its constellation into orbit, the first European constellation dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), a first in the new space sector.

Heir to the Argos technology, Kinéis wishes to make space accessible to all and to develop applications to protect the environment or in areas that are major challenges today: early detection of forest fires, water resource management, agriculture, traceability of wild and farm animals, etc.

The “Your drawing in space” competition illustrates the commitment of Kinéis and its desire to pass on French know-how and expertise in the fields of space and new technologies to the younger generation, boys and girls alike. Kinéis shares with its partner, the Cité de l’espace, this educational drive to raise awareness among the general public of space, its applications and in particular those for protecting the environment.

Participants in the drawing competition were asked to consider the role played by satellites in the fight against global warming. The privilege of discovering the first Kinéis nanosatellites at Hemeria Invited by Kinéis and the Cité de l’espace, the young prize-winners from Occitanie and all over France have the privilege of visiting Hemeria, accompanied by their parents, to admire the smallsats in production that will orbit the Earth, with their drawings on board.

In the Kinéis project, Hemeria is responsible for the platform and payload of the nanosatellites. The company is also producing the 25 satellites in the constellation, for which a special clean room has been established. Sérilec, a Toulouse-based company, has engraved the designs onto 5 x 7 cm metal plates (ballasts) that will be fitted into the satellites before they leave for New Zealand, where they will take off on the five planned launches, starting in June 2024.

PLD Space has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (EC) as one of the five companies that will launch institutional missions into space in the framework of the Flight Ticket Initiative — this program aims to create a pool of private launch providers to meet the space access needs of European institutions.

PLD Space is the only Spanish company chosen to access these contracts, together with Arianespace (France), Isar Aerospace (Germany), Orbex Space (United Kingdom) and Rocket Factory Augsburg (Germany).

The announcement was made official this Tuesday, January 23rd, during the European Space Conference, taking place in Brussels. The selection of PLD Space as part of the Flight Ticket Initiative allows the Spanish company to access a future ESA or EC launch contract and means the recognition by the European institutions that with MIURA 5 the company will offer a launch service suitable for the market from the end of 2025.

The missions included in the Flight Ticket Initiative are those in the In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) category, for the demonstration and validation of new technologies in space. The five operators that have just been selected by ESA and the EC will compete for the specific launch contract for each of these missions.

“This milestone positions PLD Space as the only Spanish company in the global commercial launch industry,” said PLD Space Co-founder and CBDO, Raúl Verdú. “We are delighted that, for the first time, private companies such as PLD Space, Isar, Orbex or RFA, have access to institutional launch contracts both by ESA and the European Commission. This is a very important step for the launch industry, although there is still a long way to go.”

“This kind of initiative should be given to goal-oriented and higher-efficiency companies,” said PLD Space Executive President, Ezequiel Sánchez. “Up until now, supply has been favored over demand orientation; it is always important to move in the direction of the market needs.”

Chinese news agency Xinhua is reporting that the nation launched the Lijian-1 Y3 carrier rocket with five satellites onboard on January 23, 2024.

The rocket blasted off at 12:03 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, and sent a group of satellites into the planned orbits.

This launch marks the third flight mission of the Lijian-1 carrier rocket series. ■

Latitude, the company that designed the French light space launcher Zephyr scheduled for maiden launch in 2025, continues its rapid growth.

This $30 million fundraising round is supported by Latitude’s existing investors (Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Expansion, DeepTech 2030 a France 2030 fund managed by Bpifrance, and UI Investissement), as well as Blast.club, which has entered Latitude’s capital. Kima Ventures and Mr. Vincent Luciani, Artefact’s CEO and investor, joined them.

This Series B ended a ground-breaking 2023 year for the French company. Within a year, the company has:

• Conducted two distinct tests for its 3D-printed rocket engine
• Developed the second iteration of the rocket engine, paving the path for significant performance advancements
• Opened its private 3 hectares Test Center in Vatry, France, the second liquid propulsion engine-compliant test area in France
• Doubled the surface area of its factory (3000m²)
• Exceeded the 100 employees mark
• Secured funding from France 2030 (AAP Micro Launchers)
• Attracted strong commercial interest

With this financing, the next Zephyr evolution will continue to be designed and the operational and industrial groundwork for the first launch, which is anticipated in 2025, is secured. Indeed, the light launcher will be able to carry 200 kg of payload by 2028. Specifically, this new private investment will result in:

• The first launcher’s manufacturing
• The assembly line’s establishment
• The electrical, propulsion and fluidic systems and structural tests
• The Test Center’s operational status
• New talent recruitment

“Our investors’ continued support is a recognition of our eighteen months of hard work, significant accomplishments, and expansion to become a market leader by the end of the decade. 2024 is a pivotal year for Zephyr’s first flight in 2025, and for serving our first customers,” said Stanislas Maximin, Latitude’s CEO and co-founder.

“A key component of Crédit Mutuel Innovation’s strategy is supporting projects at the forefront of French technology and industrial know-how. Renewing our trust in Latitude was therefore a logical decision. The company possesses all the key success factors required to advanceits R&D while accelerating its industrial momentum. Stanislas and his team have the expertise needed to lead the micro-launcher industry in the future,” said Maxence Valero, Crédit Mutuel Innovation’s Investment Director.

“We are very proud to increase Expansion’s stake in Latitude. Europe needs to regain full sovereignty over space launchers. The development of healthy competition will result in the emergence of a diverse range of competitive players, potentially world champions. Latitude is leading the way in low-earth orbit payloads for future mega constellations (up to 200kg) in France, thanks to its technological choices and speed of execution,” said Charles Beigbeder, Expansion’s co-founder.

“The French government has made supporting growing players in the space sector one of its primary objectives under France 2030. The French government’s Deep Tech 2030 fund provides tangible support for this purpose. Bpifrance is proud to be part of this new chapter for Latitude.This new investment gives the company all the resources it requires to be successful as it enters an industrial phase. We are thrilled to go further in our relationships with Latitude’s teams and support them along on their journey as they strive toward Zephyr’s launch and industrialization.”, said Adrien Muller, Bpifrance’s Investment Director.

“Stanislas’ vision and desire in such a strategic and strategic sector,as well as his ability to surround himself with experts, impressed the entire Blast team. We are convinced of Latitude’s potential, and are proud to support him on this adventure,” said Anthony Bourbon, Blast’s founder.

“UI Investissement is thrilled to contribute to the growth of Latitude, which precisely embodies our investment philosophy of supporting the emergence and development of regional gems that will be the thriving tomorrow’s actors of the territory. Since our initial round in 2020, the company has made significant progress in attracting talent to Reims, and with this new round of financing, it will be equipped to pursue its ambitious vision. “We can’t wait to see what happens next, “ said Elisa Le Tallec, UI Investissement’s Business Manager.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. has been selected by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to serve as a launch provider with the firm’s Firefly’s Alpha rocket.

As part of the NRO’s Streamlined Launch Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract (SLIC), the agreement has a 10-year ordering period with a ceiling value of $700 million across all firm fixed-price task orders.

The SLIC program was established by the NRO’s Office of Space Launch to leverage commercial best practices for responsive space missions and encourage competition among emerging launch providers. SLIC is open to U.S. launch vehicles with a proven orbital record and allows providers to bid dedicated, rideshare, or multi-manifest launch services.

As a SLIC provider, Firefly is able to compete for NRO launches with its Alpha rocket, capable of lifting more than 1,000 kg to LEO from the Vandenberg Space Force Base and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Firefly minimizes launch costs and increases reliability and responsiveness by utilizing robust in-house manufacturing capabilities, sharing components across its vehicles, and leveraging innovative technologies, such as carbon composite sandwich structures and patented tap-off cycle propulsion systems.

Firefly’s next Alpha launch for NASA is on track for early 2024. The company will also support a responsive on-orbit mission for the NRO onboard Firefly’s Elytra vehicle in 2024.

“Firefly is ready to support the NRO’s responsive space needs as we continue to advance our rapid launch operations capability,” said Bill Weber, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “In order to support the increased demand for Alpha launches, we’ve doubled the size of our facilities, implemented automated carbon composite technologies, and fine-tuned our operations to rapidly produce, test, and launch in response to our customers’ urgent mission needs.”

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been awarded a contract from the Space Development Agency (SDA) to demonstrate the capabilities of the company’s Optical Communication Terminals (OCTs) hosted on GA-EMS’ GA-75 (75 kilogram class) spacecraft while in LEO.

“We’re excited to continue working with SDA and look forward to demonstrating our OCT capability developed, built, and tested by GA-EMS, and integrated on GA-EMS-designed and built spacecraft,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “This contract supports the deployment of next generation optical communication technologies that will provide faster, more secure, higher fidelity transmissions, and greater resiliency to ensure 24/7 connectivity from the Earth to space.”

GA-EMS is designing and building two OCTs to provide robust space-to-space communication in a degraded environment and establish and maintain links to meet SDA standards and requirements. The OCTs can support a vast network of satellites, data and information sharing, and collective on-orbit computing resources to support customer and mission requirements. 

The OCTs will be integrated on two, GA-EMS GA-75 spacecraft.  The GA-75 is a resilient, modular, and configurable half-ESPA bus design with capabilities to support a variety of communications and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) payloads and missions.  The GA-75 is a commercially available platform that utilizes standard payload interfaces to enable seamless integration and mission-ready delivery times. It is also compatible with multiple launch vehicles and can package two spacecraft per ESPA port or fill a single ESPA port depending on mission payload size.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) Group is a global leader in the research, design, and manufacture of first-of-a-kind electromagnetic and power generation systems. GA-EMS’ history of research, development, and technology innovation has led to an expanding portfolio of specialized products and integrated system solutions supporting aviation, space systems and satellites, missile defense, power and energy, and processing and monitoring applications for defense, industrial, and commercial customers worldwide. For further information, visit www.ga.com/ems

Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) has revealed completed designs for the company’s Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) buildings —state-of-the-art assembly, integration and testing facilities for each of up to seven rocket launch companies to be based at the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC).

The purpose-built buildings offer a 40m (L) x 26m (W) x 12m (H) in standard configuration and incorporates advanced space mission specific features to provide launch vehicle companies and satellite payload manufacturers with cutting edge facilities to ensure their mission success.

This announcement comes on the back of the release of ELA’s ‘game changer’ ASCALP launch pad designs in December of 2023. The delivery of the HIF designs completes the company’s designs for its ‘Space Launch Complex’ (SLC) — a designated area of the spaceport at which each resident launcher will locate for all preparatory work prior to and including lift off — and is comprised of up to two launch pads and one HIF building for each launch company.

“The public release of our completed HIF designs at the Arnhem Space Centre is another major milestone for ELA and we are incredibly excited to be able to share these designs with our current and future customers and with the wider space industry,” said Michael Jones, Executive Chairman and Group CEO, Equatorial Launch Australia. “We are confident that our facilities and services are, and will be, truly world leading, and we are very much looking forward to offering our customers a best-in-class experience from the moment they sign with ELA.”

“Our approach from day one was to stand in the shoes of our clients and look at everything they need to have a successful launch campaign from the ASC. The SLC concept and the HIF design is far more detailed and complex than first meets the eye and will set the standard for launch operations. The innovative designs were born from extensive and comprehensive international research on current and past spaceport service offerings and deep discussions with customers on their current and future launch needs, while also considering the needs of regulators, commercial partners and us as the spaceport operator,” said Mr. Jones. “An example of this is our high clearance ISO 8 cleanroom which has 8m high ceiling and 8m high sliding doors for vertical payload integration. We wanted to guarantee we were building a Spaceport of the Future for our customers and so we invested a significant amount of time and resources analyzing and planning to ensure we could be as adaptable and as supportive as our customers required, while also aiming to set the bar for best practice in spaceport service and design.”

Designed for modularity and flexibility, the high-specification standard HIF is designed to meet and exceed the requirements of most launch vehicle providers to give them with the extra-mile service they require.

Key features of each HIF include:

• A large 20mx 40m rocket assembly area with static discharge points, in floor pneumatic, and electrical power for assembly, integration and testing of the launch vehicles.
• A high clearance ISO 8 cleanroom with 8m high ceiling and sliding door/ceiling for vertical payload integration. The cleanroom doubles as payload workshop and is fully fitted for multiple payload preparation and integration.
• A 20,000 kg full-space overhead gantry crane with a height clearance under the hook of 9m and a second 2 tonne capacity hook for payload movement.
• An indoor and enclosed workshop space to undertake minor repair/prototyping and fabrication work.
• A multi-port wall membrane for direct access to and use of launch pad equipment like container mounted power, umbilical and other support systems.
• An administrative and personnel area that offers office space, amenities and utility/storerooms.
• Large 6m (W) x 8m (H) clearance roller doors at each end of the building accommodating rockets mounted on the ASC Rocket Trolley with strongback/rail attached. The buildings also have “air lock” dust prevention entrances at each end.
• The buildings incorporate substantive insulation and HVAC climate control for the harsh NT environment. Similarly, the building is fully cyclone rated and environmentally friendly.
• Each SLC and HIF will have advanced security measures including day/night camera, movement sensors and digital access control/recording.

“ELA went to extreme lengths to understand each of our clients’ individual needs and those learnings have been incorporated into this project. ELA management also visited a wide range of key spaceports globally to view and discuss facility needs. This was all aimed at ensuring ELA provides each customer with the most appropriate and capable ‘home away from home’ for their launch operations. “It’s our aim to be the spaceport partner of choice where we can work with our customers to give them the absolute best chance of repeated successful missions,” said Mr. Jones. “While functionality and cost effectiveness are critical in these designs, ELA wanted to make a statement in terms of finishes, aesthetics and functionality. “We wanted more than a ‘Colorbond box’ or a just hangar, so we ensured our architects went a little ‘edgy’ and used plenty of angles and a mix of finishes and materials. Each of the seven buildings will also be a different colour and be sympathetic to the land in orientation. We are putting a lot of effort into the landscaping and vegetation to harmonize with the NT environment.”

Above two images: CAD renders of the HIF internal view showing overhead gantry and office spaces.