editorial

Hypersat has awarded a design-phase contract to QinetiQ Inc. (QinetiQ) for their next generation hyperspectral satellite — this study will be an enabling activity for a potential constellation of six LEO satellites that Hypersat plans to launch and that will be capable of producing greater information about the material properties on Earth than any current capability in orbit.

QinetiQ will lead a team of specialist engineering and technology organisations across the US that includes Redwire, Millennium Engineering and Integration, LLC and Brandywine Photonics. The team selected Virgin Orbit as the launch provider in part because of the unparalleled agility, mobility, and responsiveness afforded by air-launch, which allows for shorter call-up times and more flexible scheduling for customers, as well as direct injection into precise target orbits. In addition to the value for commercial customers, this capability enables a major strategic advantage to government organisations seeking to maintain unencumbered overhead intelligence.

Each satellite will achieve its incredible resolution by offering hyperspectral imaging – the ability to capture and process an image at wavelengths across the whole reflective spectrum from visible light to longwave infrared, pixel by pixel. This enables the identification of items in an image with superb precision, whether a camouflaged vehicle; diseased crops within a harvest; or gases leaking from a pipeline. That level of information allows users to make informed decisions only dreamed of in the past.

The first satellite, to be launched in early 2023, will have 500 spectral bands across the visible to shortwave infrared region and a ground sample distance of 6m – almost twice that available from existing LEO satellites. The following five satellites will offer longwave infrared images and even more capability in the shortwave infrared region.

The high spatial and high spectrum pixel resolution available from its sensor payload will allow the satellites to be used not only in defense and security applications, but also for other commercial sectors, such as agriculture and insurance, where highly accurate earth observation images can inform critical decisions.

Derek Woods, Founder, President and CEO of Hypersat LLC, said, “The partnership with QinetiQ and Virgin Orbit ensures our satellites are on a path to orbit with the most capable team possible. We look forward to redefining earth observation with an unparalleled hyperspectral and long wave capability.”

Mary Williams, President, QinetiQ Inc. said, “We are excited to partner with Hypersat and Virgin Orbit on this ground breaking program. QinetiQ’s expertise in hyperspectral systems development and data analytics is helping to provide cutting edge technology for both public and commercial organizations; bringing space-based technology to defense and security customers while also supporting the remote sensing needs of civil, environmental and commercial industries.”

“Virgin Orbit is making good on our promise to unleash the small satellite revolution,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “QinetiQ’s team embodies the bold energy of this new era of space. It’s extremely exciting to join with our partners to deploy new capabilities and new ideas that will shape our world.”

WARPSPACE Co., Ltd., a space startup from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, has closed their Series A financing round with additional funding of 400M JPY ($3.6 million) from The Space Frontier Fund (operated by Sparks Innovation for Future Co., Ltd.) and KSK Angel Fund LLC, which is led by professional soccer player Keisuke Honda. This funding marks the first close of the Series A round and the second close is scheduled to be in May of this year.

In addition, as of March 8, WARPSPACE has transitioned to a company with a board of directors. Misuzu Onuki, who is in charge of investment in the Space Frontier Fund and also serves as a member and director of space industry-related organizations, is taking the role of an outside director at WARPSPACE. Through a series of efforts, the company will accelerate the development of “WarpHub InterSat,” which is scheduled to be launched at the end of 2022.

WarpHub InterSat is the world’s first inter-satellite optical communication relay network service using small optical relay satellites. The company isaiming to launch the service in 2023. The number of satellites is increasing exponentially in LEO, which is between 500 to 800 km from the surface of the Earth. WarpHub Intersat enables the satellites to constantly communicate with the ground stations with high-speed optical communication, which also enables the satellite operators to access more satellite data in near real-time, which contributes to the realization of a sustainable global economy of the earth.

Established in 2016. WARPSPACE has launched three communication satellites including the one made in the predecessor university project. In addition to expertise in satellite engineering, the firm is developing space business by taking advantage of partnerships with research institutes, such as JAXA and the experimental and test facilities owned by Tsukuba Science City.

Following the selection of the first Scout satellite mission last December, ESA has also given the greenlight to start negotiations with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in the UK to lead the development of HydroGNSS.

Complementing ESA’s series of Earth Explorer research missions, Scout missions are a new element in ESA’s Earth Observation FutureEO Program. The idea is to demonstrate the capability of smallsats to deliver value-added science, either by the miniaturization of existing technologies or by demonstrating new sensing techniques.

Adopting an agile development process, the aim is to implement a Scout mission, from kick-off to launch, within three years, and for a maximum of 30 million euros. This budget includes the development of the space and ground segments, launch, and in-orbit commissioning.

The first Scout mission, ESP-MACCS, focuses on understanding and quantifying processes in the upper atmosphere over the Tropics – these processes play an important role in the overall evolution of the atmosphere.

This second Scout mission will provide measurements of key hydrological climate variables, including soil moisture, freeze–thaw state over permafrost, inundation and wetlands, and above-ground biomass, using a technique called GNSS reflectometry. The satellite measures the signal reflected off the land, ice, and ocean from existing GNSS missions such as Galileo and GPS. Although these signals are faint, they can be collected by a low power receiver that can be accommodated on a smallsat in LEO, making it compatible with a Scout mission.

The industrial consortium consists of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (UK) in charge of the development of the complete system, and a consortium of scientific institutes that will develop the retrieval techniques to access these key hydrological climate variable from the reflected signal: the National Oceanography Centre (UK), the Nottingham Geospatial Institute (UK), the University of Rome La Sapienza (IT), the Institute of Space Studies Catalonia (ES), and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FI).

ESA’s Acting Director of Earth Observation Programs, Toni Tolker-Nielsen, said, “The decision to implement HydroGNSS after ESP-MACCS demonstrates that the Earth observation community is very interested in the concept of Scout missions. We are confident that this interest will further flourish when we see the first data in 2024.”

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT, TASE: GILT has received orders of more than $20 million for support of gateways of LEO constellations.

Gilat’s subsidiary, Wavestream, was selected as the vendor of choice to supply Gateway Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs) to a leading satellite operator to support LEO constellation gateways. The orders were received as part of the previously announced contract.

Wavestream’s Gateway-Class PowerStream 160Ka SSPAs, designed specifically for networks using wide bandwidth uplinks and high order modulation schemes, were selected due to their best-in-class technical performance and their unmatched reliability in harsh environments, best addressing the stringent requirements of Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) constellations.

“We are fully engaged and committed to deliver the essential SSPAs for the LEO constellation Gateways,” said Bob Huffman, Wavestream’s General Manager. “Wavestream’s proven technological advantage, as well as our unmatched production capacity, make us a perfect supplier for the high volume of Ka-band Gateway-class SSPAs required for this constellation.”

Findus Venture GMBH (“Findus Venture”) and Spire Global, Inc. (“Spire” or the “Company”) will collaborate on their launch of the ADLER-2 satellite in Q4 2022 in a bid to tackle the growing problem of space debris.

This new satellite aims to further enhance orbital debris monitoring in low earth orbit, and expand novel atmospheric sensing capabilities to study clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere. ADLER-2 will be a multi-payload satellite that uses Spire’s LEMUR 6U smallsat platform and will carry three customer payloads:

• An enhanced version of an orbital debris tracking radar developed by Spire on behalf of Findus Venture

• An Austrian Particle Impact Detector piezo-sensor developed by the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), designed to detect debris particle impacts

• The GRASP-Airphoton Multi-Angle Polarimeter (GAPMAP), a wide field-of-view imaging instrument optimised for cubesat technology and designed for accurate and comprehensive measurements of the microphysical properties of aerosol particles and clouds in the atmosphere.

These new observations will perform air quality measurements around the globe and will support estimates of climate change patterns on Earth.

This is the second satellite collaboration between Spire and Findus Venture, following the ADLER-1 mission, which is set to launch into space in December 2021. ADLER-2 is expected to help increase the debris detection rate thanks to use of a debris detection radar with a larger antenna and increased detection range, and also to double the number of observations logged.

Spire will build, launch and operate the satellite, leveraging its radio frequency CubeSat design and manufacturing capability with its satellite tasking, collection, processing, data dissemination, and command and control infrastructure. Spire will also provide the orbital debris radar to Findus, integrate the other sensors, and enable access to all of them via an easy-to-use application programming interface (API).

This agreement between Findus Venture and Spire is based on a flexible subscription model with a monthly payment plan. This model benefits Spire’s customers by reducing high upfront expenditures, enabling predictable service charges distribution, and allowing an easier extension of the service provision beyond the lifecycle of the hardware.

Christian Federspiel, CEO, Findus Venture, said, “It is essential to understand space debris in order to build and operate satellite-based commercial services with service-level agreements. The intention of the ADLER-x series of satellites is to contribute to a deeper knowledge of space debris.”

Theresa Condor, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Spire Space Services, said, “The rapid and substantial growth of space-based activity in recent decades presents us with many opportunities but also significant challenges. Space debris, and the increased risk of collisions between objects, is something we need to manage carefully and as a first step we need to improve our understanding of what is happening and when. The ADLER-2 will join the ADLER-1 in helping us better detect debris and understand what we need to do to solve this challenge. Our business subscription model, evidenced by this second successful partnership with Findus Venture, also means we can work faster and more efficiently, at a lower upfront cost for our clients.”

Spire is a global provider of space-based data and analytics that offers unique datasets and powerful insights about Earth from the ultimate vantage point so organizations can make decisions with confidence, accuracy, and speed. Spire uses a multi-purpose satellite constellation to source hard to acquire, valuable data and enriches it with predictive solutions. Spire then provides this data as a subscription to organizations around the world so they can improve business operations, decrease their environmental footprint, deploy resources for growth and competitive advantage, and mitigate risk. Spire gives commercial and government organizations the competitive advantage they seek to innovate and solve some of the world’s toughest problems with insights from space. Spire has offices in San Francisco, California, Boulder, Colorado, Washington DC, Glasgow, Luxembourg, and Singapore. On March 1, 2021, Spire Global, Inc. and NavSight Holdings, Inc. announced they had entered into a definitive merger agreement for a business combination that would result in Spire becoming a publicly listed company.

Telesat intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund additional investment into one or more unrestricted subsidiaries for the development of Telesat Lightspeed, Telesat’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, and …

Telesat Canada (“Telesat”) today announced the pricing of an offering (the “Offering”) of US$500 million aggregate principal amount of 5.625 percent senior secured notes due 2026 (the “Senior Secured Notes”) by Telesat and Telesat LLC. The Senior Secured Notes will be secured by a first priority lien on the collateral that secures Telesat’s existing credit agreement and existing 4.875 percent senior secured notes due 2027. The Senior Secured Notes are expected to be issued on or around April 27, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Telesat intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund additional investment into one or more unrestricted subsidiaries for the development of Telesat Lightspeed, Telesat’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, for the payment of fees and expenses related to the Offering, and if the funding needs of Telesat Lightspeed are less than currently anticipated, for general corporate purposes.

The Senior Secured Notes are being offered only to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and, outside the United States, only to non-U.S. investors pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Senior Secured Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act or other applicable securities laws.

Accion Systems has announced that two TILE 2 in-space propulsion system units will launch onboard an Astro Digital smallsat aboard the June 2021 SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare launch.

Astro Digital’s Tenzing satellite is a rideshare satellite, hosting several payloads. Also included are two TILE 2 ion electrospray propulsion systems that will test on-orbit maneuvers in LEO and will test proximity operations maneuvers supported by Starfish Space software.

The TILE propulsion system is uniquely superior to conventional electric propulsion, pioneering ionic liquid electrospray for commercial and government propulsion activities. The TILE 2 is the smallest system available, with unparalleled system SWaP (size, weight and power), that combines the use of a safe, inert liquid propellant and a simple mechanical design with few moving parts to create a propulsion system that is low-cost, compact, low pressure, and has less than 50% of the power draw of other propulsion technologies.

As part of the mission, Accion Systems and Starfish Space will complete an on-orbit proximity operations demonstration. The team will combine Starfish’s CEPHALOPOD software and Accion’s TILE 2 thrusters, both already a part of the Tenzing mission, to work together to perform the first ever demonstration of rendezvous and proximity operations trajectories using low-thrust electric propulsion.

Starfish Space is commercializing their CEPHALOPOD software package, which opens up new opportunities for satellite rendezvous, proximity operations and docking (RPOD) missions. CEPHALOPOD is autonomous RPOD software that can use electric propulsion, enabling small RPOD spacecraft. This on-board guidance, navigation, and control capability gives small servicing vehicles eight times more maneuvering capability, which results in greater mission longevity and versatility.

“Propulsive and RPOD technologies are critical to enabling the future of space missions,” said Chris Biddy, CEO of Astro Digital. “We are thrilled to support Accion Systems and Starfish Space with this important demonstration.”

“Efficient proximity operations will enable a new set of activities in orbit,” said Austin Link, Co-Founder of Starfish Space. “Partnering with Accion on this test is key to validating our respective technical developments and showing they can work together.”

“Precision proximity operations are critical for maintaining large constellations, refueling and repairing satellites in orbit, and countless other new space missions from in-space manufacturing to space touris,.” said Peter Kant, CEO of Accion Systems. “Combining Accion’s precise, modular thrusters with Starfish’s autonomy software will bring needed innovation to in-space navigation.”

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced that Amazon has secured Atlas V for nine launches supporting deployment of their ambitious Project Kuiper initiative that will increase global broadband access through a constellation of 3,236 advanced satellites in LEO.  

The Atlas V missions will launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Atlas V has long been the nation’s reliable workhorse for space launch and has been a key enabler to many critical missions for national security space, NASA and commercial customers including, GPS, SBIRS and MUOS constellations, as well as Mars Curiosity, InSight and Mars 2020 missions.

Amazon has committed more than $10 billion to deliver on its mission for Project Kuiper, which aims to make high-speed, low-latency broadband more affordable and accessible for unserved and underserved communities around the world. The project will serve individual households, as well as schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in places without reliable broadband. 

With more than a century of combined heritage, ULA is the nation’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 140 missions to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field, deliver cutting-edge commercial services and enable GPS navigation.

“Project Kuiper will help bridge the digital divide across the United States and around the world, and we could not be more pleased to be working with Amazon to support the initiative,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. “ULA is focused on serving our customer’s missions and providing reliable, innovative launch solutions. We look forward to launching these important missions.”

“We’re determined to make affordable broadband a reality for customers and communities around the world,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “ULA is a fantastic partner that’s successfully launched dozens of missions for commercial and government customers, and we’re grateful for their support of Kuiper.”

“We’ve designed our satellites and dispenser system to accommodate multiple launch vehicles – this gives us the flexibility to use many different rockets and providers to launch our satellite system,” said Rajeev Badyal, VP of technology for Project Kuiper. “Atlas V is a capable, reliable rocket, and we’re proud to be working with ULA to support these important first launches.”

“ULA takes great pride in serving our customers as their best value launch partner – from providing high confidence schedule certainty to flexible and responsive manifesting to transparent engineering collaboration on customer-specific mission design needs – we truly become one integrated team with our customers, fully dedicated to their success,” said Chris Ellerhorst, ULA director of Strategy, Business Development and Sales. “We are thrilled that Amazon has put their trust in us.”