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.

Visit MIURA 5 SPARK Program at this direct infolink…

Following the successful lift-off of the first launch of the SR75 rocket on May 3, 2024, HyImpulse has now firmly integrated the Southern Launch Australian launch site in Koonibba into the company’s global launch site strategy.

This MoU secures further launch opportunities in the southern hemisphere for HyImpulse’s commercial launch vehicle program. This marks a significant expansion of its launch capabilities in Australia.

This MoU with Southern Launch encompasses additional launches of the SR75 single-stage suborbital rocket at the Koonibba site and also includes the development of a new launch site in Whaler’s Way for the SL1 orbital rocket, currently under development. The SL 1 rocket, standing at 32 meters tall, is designed to reach an orbital altitude of 500 km in LEO and features a three-stage, bundled hybrid propulsion system using paraffin (candle wax) and liquid oxygen, capable of transporting payloads of up to 600 kg payload in its initial configuration.

The SL1 is aimed at providing cost-effective transportation of small satellites into space, with its first launches scheduled for the end of 2025. The SL75 suborbital rocket, successfully launched from Koonibba on May 3rd is currently en route back to Germany by sea, having been recovered nearly intact. The rocket is expected to arrive at the HyImpulse laboratories in Neuenstadt am Kocher in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, by the end of August. Upon arrival, data will be extracted, and comprehensive analyses will be initiated to evaluate the inaugural test launch and advance the rocket and propulsion technology.

In addition to Koonibba, HyImpulse has also signed agreements with the Saxa Vord launch site in the UK and is collaborating with the French space agency CNES to access the small launcher site at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

Dr. Christian Schmierer, Co-founder and Co-CEO of HyImpulse, said, “Sovereign access to space is crucial for the economies of Germany and Europe. This includes not only the development of reliable commercial launch vehicle systems, but also access to launch sites capable of reaching all relevant Earth orbits. Our partnership with Southern Launch secures further launch opportunities for both our suborbital and three-stage orbital rockets.”

Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, has awarded Airbus the SATCOMBw 3 prime contract for the next generation, secure, military satellite system that includes geostationary satellites as well as ground segment, launch and operation services for 15 years. The spacecraft are due to be deployed before the end of the decade and the contract value amounts to 2.1 billion euros.

The contract covers the design, integration, test and on-orbit delivery of two, new, Airbus built ,military GEO telecommunications satellites that are the successor communications satellites to COMSATBw 1B and 2B. The contract also includes upgrading of the existing ground segment to operate the new satellites as well as operational services for 15 years, with the possibility of extension.

The new generation Airbus satellites are based on the Eurostar Neo platform and will weigh around 6 metric tons. They will have extensive capabilities to keep pace with the rapid changes in digitization and the constantly increasing volume of data transfer required. They will also feature the latest state of the art technologies. 

A key element of the overall contract is an in-depth German value chain involving partners such as Bremen-based OHB and numerous smaller German companies. Central elements including the guidance and integration of the advanced payloads, the solar arrays and overall operation of the spacecraft will be from Germany. 

The Bundeswehr’s satellite communications system (SATCOMBw) is indispensable for autonomous and independently deployable communications and information services. It ensures the global command and information capability of the German armed forces, such as operational contingents and special forces. The SATCOMBw 3 project also aims to ensure that NATO’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commitments in this area will continue to be met in the future. With SATCOMBw 3, the Bundeswehr is responding to increased user requirements.

Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said, “After the success of the SATCOMBw Stage 2 program, which we have been delivering since 2009, this latest contract reinforces our strategic partnership with the Bundeswehr, providing them with a greatly enhanced secure milsatcom capability that is future proofed into the 2040s. At a time when Western democracies are challenged and where the European institutional space ecosystem is struggling, we are excited and grateful to develop and build this leading-edge system. Long term partnerships are crucial to guaranteeing essential sovereignty and capability, and protecting our armed forces in the increasingly unstable geo-political environment.”

Airbus built Copernicus Sentinel-2C climate satellite heading for launch site

After road transport from Airbus in Friedrichshafen to Bremen, Germany, on July 2nd, the Airbus-built Sentinel-2C satellite, the third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, is about to be shipped to the European spaceport in French Guiana.

The container has been loaded onto the iconic Canopée, the first sail-assisted cargo ship designed specifically to transport Ariane 6 rocket components from European ports to the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, where it will arrive in approximately two weeks.

Data collected by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites is being used to monitor land use and change, soil sealing, land management, agriculture, forestry, natural disasters (floods, forest fires, landslides, volcanic eruptions and erosion) and to support humanitarian aid missions. Environmental monitoring, which provides information on the pollution of lakes and coastal waters, is also part of these activities, as is the monitoring of glaciers, ice and snow.

The Sentinel-2 mission contributes to the management of food security by providing information for the agricultural sector. Copernicus Sentinel-2, with its multispectral instrument, is the first optical Earth Observation (EO) mission of its kind to include three bands in the “red edge“, which provide key information on vegetation conditions. The satellite is designed to provide images that can be used to distinguish between different crop types, as well as data on numerous plant indices such as leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content and leaf water content – all of which are essential for accurately monitoring plant growth.

Sentinel-2C, like its predecessors Sentinel-2A and -2B, will provide “color vision” for Copernicus, the EO component of the EU Space Program, generating optical images from the visible to the shortwave infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. From an altitude of 786 kilometers, the 1.1 ton ‘C’ satellite will provide continuous imaging in 13 spectral bands with resolutions of 10, 20 or 60 meters and a uniquely large swath width of 290 kilometres. The optical design of the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) has been optimised to provide state-of-the-art image data quality over its very wide field of view, to be transmitted via Airbus’ laser-based SpaceDataHighway (EDRS).

The telescope structure and mirrors are made of Silicon Carbide, a material pioneered by Airbus to provide very high optical stability and minimize thermo-elastic deformation, resulting in excellent geometric image quality. This is unprecedented in this category of optical imagers. Each Sentinel-2 satellite collects 1.5 terabytes per day after on-board compression. 

The Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites, Sentinel-2A (launched in 2015) and Sentinel-2B (launched in 2017), flying in the same orbit but 180° apart to optimize coverage and revisit time. The satellites orbit the Earth every 100 minutes, covering all land surfaces, large islands, inland and coastal waters every five days. Once in orbit, Sentinel-2C will replace its predecessor, Sentinel-2A, while Sentinel-2D will later replace Sentinel-2B to ensure continuity of data beyond 2035.

The Sentinel-2 mission has been made possible through close cooperation among the European Commission, ESA, industry, service providers and data users. Some 60 companies have been involved in its development, led by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany.

Airbus has played a key role in building the satellites and instruments for Copernicus since the program began in 1998, contributing its environmental expertise to all six Sentinel missions and the new next-generation Copernicus satellites: CRISTAL, LSTM and ROSE-L.

The Sentinel satellites are part of Copernicus, the EO component of the EU Space Program, managed by the European Commission (EC) in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The Copernicus Sentinels provide remote sensing data of the Earth, providing key operational services related to the environment and security.

Pre-launch activities will be carried out in Kourou to prepare Copernicus Sentinel-2C for launch on the final Vega rocket operated by Arianespace in September.

“About half of the data used to assess and monitor the impact of climate change on Earth is actually delivered by satellites,” said Marc Steckling, Head of Earth Observation, Science and Exploration at Airbus. “The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites have provided valuable climate information to scientists since 2015 and Sentinel-2C will ensure continuity. Additionally, they have also made monitoring marine litter from space a reality, a significant achievement considering how critical this issue has become.”

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence has established a new, integrated, Space Leadership Team and business unit.

Headed up by our newly appointed Director of Space, Doug Liddle, the team will bring together experienced senior leaders from across BAE Systems Digital Intelligence and In-Space Missions to advance our space strategy and deliver innovation in space for advantage on Earth.

Space technology helps us achieve incredible things. Scientists are making ground-breaking discoveries about the universe at a rapid pace – illustrated recently when the European Space Agency found water frost on Mars’ huge volcanoes. Back on Earth, space capability is becoming a core requirement for our customers across government, defence and commercial sectors in order to protect citizens, defend nations, predict natural disasters and more.

However, the importance of space to society is by no means new. For a long time now, technologies such as satellites have been interwoven everyone’s daily lives – take GPS in phones as just one example. At BAE Systems, the company has a long heritage of working in the sector. Over the past 20 years, the firm has delivered complex defence programs to help create a secure space domain, developing specialist technologies in waveforms, electronics, antennas and digital signal processing analytics.

Today, BAE Systems is committed to further investing in space capabilities. In 2021, when BAE Systems acquired In-Space Missions – the company Liddle co-founded back in 2015 – the aim was to bring together this existing space expertise with In-Space Missions’ capabilities, enabling us to work together to design, build and operate full satellites.

In-Space Missions has been a part of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence since the company’s formation in 2022, and two talented teams have collaborated closely on Azalea – this program will launch a cluster of multi-sensor satellites into LEO, with the ability to deliver high-quality information and intelligence to Earth in real time.

A key part of our focus will be to continue driving our Azalea programme at a pivotal stage of its delivery. As Earth Observation (EO) data becomes central to providing our customers with a digital advantage, Azalea will enable us to deliver space-derived intelligence securely, anywhere in the world.

Azalea’s capabilities recognise the growing importance of space to defence, aligning with the UK Government’s Defence Space Strategy which underlines the integral role of the space domain in achieving multi-domain integration. And while our top priority is supporting UK defence with sovereign space capability, the cluster will also be dual use, meaning it can be leveraged for wider EO use cases such as environmental monitoring.

The company plans to expand on radio frequency data collection and mapping capability in the near future to provide customers with an even greater level of intelligence.

The firm will also work to advance wider space capabilities. Examples include:

• Faraday Dragon: Our Asia-Pacific regional satellite rideshare mission, which involves building a satellite with the ability to carry multiple payloads for organisations in the region. This means that several agencies or businesses can carry their technology on one spacecraft to achieve different goals in areas like agriculture, maritime and connectivity. 
• Tracking, Telemetry and Command Processor (TTCP): The next generation technology for ground station signal processing, TTCP allows the European Space Agency to track, communicate and control the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, known as ‘Juice’, on its eight year journey from Earth to Callisto, Europa and Ganymede. 
• Software defined payloads: Satellites that can be upgraded while in orbit for an enhanced lifespan and greater mission flexibility. 
• Ground station expertise: Currently being installed at the Great Baddow office, we have the ability to send and receive data to our satellites on-orbit.