Advanced Television is reporting that a formal notice from AST SpaceMobile stated the company is still targeting an August launch of a batch of their massive ‘Block 1’ BlueBird 5G satellites.

News also emerged that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has requested the ITU in Geneva, which regulates satellite frequencies globally, to recognize AST’s satellites (under its USASAT-NGSO-20 filing). The news helped propel the company’s share price up by almost 4 per cent.

July 21st saw reports from Japan where AST’s local telco Rakuten confirm that test signals from AST’s sole satellite currently in orbit were “very strong” as the craft passed over Japan.

AST is launching the five BlueBird satellites to connect the non-covered ‘not-spots’ of terrestrial cellular operators, such as AT&T and Verizon. The five craft are reported to have arrived at Cape Canaveral ready for launch, although this has not been officially confirmed.

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HawkEye 360 has been selected by AFWERX for an SBIR Phase II contract, focused on the delivery of RFGeo® and RFIQ data to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018, which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded.

As of June 25, 2024, HawkEye 360 will continue its efforts to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

“Receiving the SBIR Phase II contract from AFWERX is a significant milestone for HawkEye 360,” said Alex Fox, Chief Growth Officer at HawkEye 360. “This opportunity allows us to leverage our cutting-edge RFGeo and RFIQ data solutions to support the Department of the Air Force in addressing critical mission challenges and ultimately strengthening the United States’ national defense. We are excited to collaborate with AFWERX and contribute to the innovative advancements that will enhance our nation’s security.”

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has set the launch window for the company’s 51^st Electron launch, a dedicated mission for American space tech company Capella Space (“Capella”).

The ‘A Sky Full Of SARs’ mission is scheduled to launch during a 14-day window that opens on July 21 NZST / July 20 UTC from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The mission will deploy Capella’s Acadia-3 SAR satellite, a synthetic aperture radar satellite for Earth imagery and observation, to a mid-inclination 615km circular orbit to add to Capella’s existing SAR satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. 

The mission will be Rocket Lab’s fifth launch for Capella to build out the company’s Earth-imaging constellation. In addition to the launch service, Rocket Lab is providing Capella Space with a custom extended fairing for the Acadia-3 satellite on Electron and a separation system produced by Rocket Lab.

Providing a tailored launch option along with the component for the safe and reliable deployment of Capella’s satellites on orbit, Rocket Lab’s dedicated launch service helps to streamline operations for Capella Space and enable them to focus more closely on their satellite’s capabilities and building out their constellation.

Capella is an American space tech company with data and satellite solutions for government and commercial applications. Capella’s high-quality, high-resolution SAR imagery penetrates all weather conditions and captures clear imagery 24/7, day and night, anywhere on Earth, delivered through a fully-automated ordering and delivery platform.

Capella’s existing SAR capabilities includes long-dwell imaging and extended duty-cycle – which results in more images collected per orbit than any other SAR systems. Acadia will augment Capella’s existing constellation with increased bandwidth and power, faster downlink speeds, and reduced latency.

This upcoming mission for Capella will be Rocket Lab’s ninth mission for 2024 and 51^st Electron launch overall.

“It’s great to be heading back to the pad for Capella once again,” said Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “The team is focused on and dedicated to delivering this latest SAR satellite to orbit to build out Capella’s constellation, and we’re honored by their continued trust in Rocket Lab and Electron to help support their overarching mission.”

 “We’re looking forward to working with Rocket Lab again in order to continue expanding Capella’s constellation with our industry-leading, next-generation satellite technology,” said Capella Space CEO Frank Backes. “It’s with partners like Rocket Lab that we’re able to serve the mission requirements of our customers today with high-resolution, high-quality SAR imagery, building a fully-automated and reliable constellation to meet the needs of customers for tomorrow.”

Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) recently signed a $1 billion contract with a foreign customer, purportedly Morocco — no in-depth details have been released about this substantial contract for the delivery of advanced, intelligence satellites to that nation.

Two intelligence gathering satellites will, allegedly, be built, using the IAI’s OPTSAT 3000 series and these spacecraft will supposedly replace two, older, lower resolutions satellites in operation by Morocco.

Previously, Morocco has also purchased the IAI’s Barak 8 air defence system for $500 million. The space camera used in the satellites is a product of Elbit Systems while the propulsion system is from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

The OPTSAT 3000 is an advanced, electro optical satellite that offers a 70 cm aperture telescope and a highly sensitive sensor and is able to acquire several targets in a short period of time, thanks to the satellite’s agile capabilities. Orbiting at SSO LEO, the spacecraft offer location accuracy and high quality imagery. The satellite is adept at capturing optical data for military and civil applications and, in combo with the company’s ground segment capabilities and advanced data processing, can delivery accurate, multi-level data with impressive speed.

The satellite is fully compatible with most commercial launch service providers and, as it can be launched via a ridesharing program, is also a cost-effective solution. The OPTSAT 300 is space proven and provides high quality as well as precise imagery of strategic locations around the world.

Based on more than four decades of space excellence and dozens of successful space missions, OPTSAT 3000 is IAI’s state of the art Electro Optical (EO) satellite system. OPTSAT 3000 is space proven and appreciated as a very reliable stem, greatly exceeding its planned mission life. Designed according to strict requirements and built to the highest standards, OPTSAT 3000 satellites are in constant use by IAI’s customers worldwide, supplying continuous, precise, high-quality imagery of battlefields and strategic locations across the globe.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been awarded a contract modification by the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command to help alleviate on-orbit risks for the Government through the delivery of a second weather satellite— the contract also calls for three years of operations service for each of the two satellites to support the Electro-Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS).

This award modifies the current GA-EMS contract to design and deliver an operational EWS spacecraft with integrated EO/IR payloads to support the transition of the USSF’s aging Defense Meteorological Support Program (DMSP) on-orbit systems to a new generation of affordable, high performance, small weather satellites.

As the prime contractor, GA-EMS is responsible for the spacecraft bus and EO/IR payload design development, build, Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT), and has assembled a highly experienced, best-in-class team to deliver the EWS satellites. The team includes Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) Inc. for weather product expertise, and Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) to provide Enterprise Ground Station command and control and operations support.

“This contract is a testament to GA-EMS’ ability to design and deliver advanced EWS satellites that will provide timely, accurate weather data to support Department of Defense operations across all domains,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “We are currently working toward the delivery of the first EWS satellite and associated ground systems, with spacecraft build and EO/IR payload testing well underway. We are excited to begin the build and integration of a second EWS satellite to help support USSF efforts to extend EO/IR data collection capabilities as legacy DMSP satellites are retired.”

“From our initial 2020 contract award to develop an EWS satellite design to today’s contract modification to deliver two EWS satellites and on-orbit operations services, our team continues to make excellent progress toward meeting EWS mission requirements,” said Gregg Burgess, vice president of GA-EMS Space Systems. “After decades of providing exemplary weather support to military operations and the nation, DMSP is sunsetting. It is imperative that modern, advanced EO/IR weather satellites enter service to ensure accurate, uninterrupted weather data affecting daily operations, mission planning, and intelligence gathering reaches military decision-makers in a timely manner. We look forward to delivering our exquisite solutions for on-orbit weather data collection, high-resolution weather imagery and environmental monitoring data products that will help keep our warfighters on the cutting edge of mission overmatch.”

Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU) has announced that the firm’s Board of Directors has appointed Jeffrey (Jeff) Shuman as an independent Director, effective July 8, 2024.

Mr. Shuman brings more than 40 years of experience across global diversified companies and the military, spanning the U.S. Army, Avon Products, Honeywell International, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris and Quest Diagnostics.

Shuman was the Chief Human Resources Officer at Harris Corporation (now L3Harris) and at Quest Diagnostics during periods of profound cultural and operational progress. Earlier in his career, Shuman held senior executive positions in Operations, General Management and Human Resources. He currently serves on the advisory board of Garner Health, The Citadel School of Business, The Citadel Psychology Department and is Advisory Board emeritus at CIELO Talent.

Mr. Shuman earned a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, and following graduation, served as a Medical Services Corp. officer in the US Army. He completed executive development programs in Business and Human Resources at the University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and Cornell University.

He also participated in a US business exchange program with the People’s Republic of China, supported the Private Sector Council in key initiatives with the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security, and was a regular contributor and guest on “Your Career Partners”, a Washington DC-based radio talk show. Shuman received the “Stevie Award” during the American Business Awards for “Best Human Resources Executive” and was the 2011 recipient for the “HR Executive of the Year” by HR Executive Magazine.

Carol Craig, CEO, Sidus Space, said, “We are excited to welcome Mr. Shuman to the Sidus Board. His extensive experience in both government and commercial sectors will provide invaluable insights to strengthen our strategic direction. Mr. Shuman’s deep connections within the Space Coast community and his broad corporate network are tremendous assets for our growth trajectory.”

Leo Riera, Chairman of the Board of Sidus Space, said, “Mr. Shuman’s appointment underscores our commitment to maintaining a dynamic and diverse board that aligns with our strategic objectives and growth ambitions. His extensive corporate governance and Human Resources background will significantly contribute to our mission.”

Jeff Shuman said, “I am honored to join Sidus Space at such a pivotal moment in its journey. I look forward to leveraging my experience to support the company’s strategic initiates and to help drive its vision of leading the future of Space Infrastructure.”

PLD Space of late presented their MIURA 5 SPARK Program that allows educational centers, universities, institutions and companies from across the globe to access the first two MIURA 5 launches free of charge.

The company is committed to covering the costs of the mission with the goal of promoting scientific and technological innovation to improve people’s lives from space.

To this end, the initiative is backed by the institutional support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Generalitat Valenciana, as well as the backing of the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI) and the European Space Education Resource Office in Spain (ESERO Spain), part of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The MIURA 5 SPARK Program provides small satellite launch services to students, research centers, institutions, and commercial entities that submit innovative and creative proposals to address Earth’s challenges from space. PLD Space will select satellites from around the globe for the two MIURA 5 demonstration flights, scheduled for the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, respectively. The selected satellites will receive standard launch services at no cost.

MIURA 5 SPARK Program Requirements

• The combined mass of all the small satellites selected through this call for submissions is 450 kg per flight, which will be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometres.

• The main selection criteria include the country of origin, with priority given to Spanish entities, followed by EU Member States, NATO Member States, and major non-NATO allied states. Additionally, PLD Space will prioritize proposals from universities, research centres, and commercial entities that are willing to integrate experiments by teams of primary, secondary, and vocational training students.

• Other conditions to be considered include payload mass requirements, orbit flexibility, compliance with technical standards, launch window, schedule flexibility, satellite development status, operational risks, and mission attractiveness.

• The phases of the call for submissions Following this announcement of the open call for submissions, the preliminary application period begins and will end on July 30th. The PLD Space mission management team will conduct an initial assessment and notify shortlisted applicants on August 30. Candidates whose mission proposals pass this stage will receive the MIURA 5 User Guide, detailing the expected flight and maximum activity times. They will then have one month to submit their final applications. The final selection of candidates will be announced on November 30, with the signing of the launch service contracts to be completed by December 30.

Regarding primary and secondary schools and vocational training centers, interested teams will be able to register their experiment idea to have the chance to fly alongside a commercial entity. In this case, there will be no pre-selection process, and they will have until October 31 to submit their proposals.

Mission management costs included Under the MIURA 5 SPARK Program, PLD Space undertakes to cover the costs related to mission management, accommodation on the MIURA 5 launcher, fuel handling, transport to the launch base, storage and handling costs, as appropriate, as well as any other operational costs related to the provision of the standard launch service. For their part, applicants will be responsible for the costs of meeting the technical requirements and any additional tests for the safety of the satellite.

“At PLD Space we have an unwavering commitment to encouraging society’s engagement with the space industry. The first MIURA 5 test flights offer a unique opportunity for students, researchers, institutions and companies to test their innovations in the challenging environment of space“, said Raúl Verdú, Head of Business Development and co-founder at PLD Space.

“The Spanish Space Agency supports initiatives like PLD Space’s MIURA 5 SPARK programme, which align with our ultimate goal of facilitating access to space and bringing space innovation closer to society,” said Juan Carlos Cortés, Director of the Spanish Space Agency.

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