editorial

SpaceX will launch 52 Starlink satellites the weekend of May 15th. The normal batch of 60 is being amended as SpaceX has a couple of paying guest craft on board for the launch. This will be Launch 27 for Starlink and is due at 6:58 p.m. local time (22.58 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and COO, is on record as saying that after about 28 launches the company would have continuous coverage globally.

Starlink has also confirmed that it is now taking orders from clients in France. Spain is also targeted with Starlink having registered a Madrid-based operation with Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMC).

Sources suggest that Elon Musk’s broadband-by-satellite service is anticipating one million European users in Europe this year.

On a OneWeb note, Japanese media conglomerate SoftBank and satellite broadband provider OneWeb have announced an agreement for “mutual cooperation to promote OneWeb’s satellite communication services in the global and Japan markets. SoftBank and OneWeb will promote satellite communication services via the combination of OneWeb services and SoftBank’s services, including advanced communication and Digital Transformation platform services.”

A joint statement added, “SoftBank and OneWeb will collaborate in market development for Japan and global markets, and jointly engage in technical and product development to enhance their competitiveness in these markets. This collaboration encompasses obtaining regulatory approvals and the setting up of ground stations in Japan. To deliver Internet connectivity worldwide, and to digitalize and revolutionize analogue industries, SoftBank aims to provide advanced seamless connectivity services and DX platform services by using global connectivity solutions that incorporate OneWeb’s services.”

SoftBank is an investor in OneWeb along with the UK government, Bharti Global of India, Hughes Network Systems and more recently Eutelsat.

Google Cloud and SpaceX have announced a new partnership to deliver data, cloud services and applications to customers at the network edge, leveraging Starlink’s ability to provide high-speed broadband internet around the world and Google Cloud’s infrastructure.

Under this partnership, SpaceX will begin to locate Starlink ground stations within Google data center properties, enabling the secure, low-latency and reliable delivery of data from more than 1,500 Starlink satellites launched to orbit to-date to locations at the network edge via Google Cloud. Google Cloud’s high-capacity private network will support the delivery of Starlink’s global satellite internet service, bringing businesses and consumers seamless connectivity to the cloud and Internet, and enabling the delivery of critical enterprise applications to virtually any location.

Organizations with broad footprints, such as public sector agencies, businesses with presences at the network edge, or those operating in rural or remote areas, often require access to applications running in the cloud, or to cloud services like analytics, artificial intelligence, or machine learning. Connectivity from Starlink’s constellation of LEO satellites provides a path for these organisations to deliver data and applications to teams distributed across countries and continents, quickly and securely.

“Applications and services running in the cloud can be transformative for organizations, whether they’re operating in a highly networked or remote environment,” said Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure at Google Cloud. “We are delighted to partner with SpaceX to ensure that organizations with distributed footprints have seamless, secure, and fast access to the critical applications and services they need to keep their teams up and running.”

“Combining Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency broadband with Google’s infrastructure and capabilities provides global organizations with the secure and fast connection that modern organisations expect,” said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell. “We are proud to work with Google to deliver this access to businesses, public sector organisations, and many other groups operating around the world.”

This new capability is expected to be available in the second half of 2021.

Rocket Lab is targeting no earlier than 10:00 am UTC, Saturday, May 15, for the launch of the ‘Running Out Of Toes‘ mission.

The mission is a dedicated launch deploying two EO satellites for BlackSky. For the first time this year, Rocket Lab will also be attempting to recover the Electron launch vehicle’s first stage under a parachute for a controlled ocean splashdown. The mission is the next major step in Rocket Lab’s program to make Electron a reusable rocket.

This launch also marks two significant milestones for Rocket Lab — this is the company’s 20th Electron mission and will see the firm’s 200th, 3D-printed Rutherford engine launched to space.

The launch will take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. A two-hour window has been allocated for launch.

• Launch Window:
  UTC: 10:00 – 12:05 (15 May) NZDT: 22:00 – 00:05 (15 May) Pacific: 13:00 – 05:05 (15 May) Eastern: 06:00 – 08:05 (15 May)

If there is a need to stand down from launch for any reason, Rocket Lab has back-up launch days available through May 28th.

As stated, ‘Running Out Of Toes’ will be Rocket Lab’s 20th Electron launch as well as the second of three planned ocean splashdown recovery missions. While Electron’s second stage delivers the satellites to orbit, Rocket Lab will bring Electron’s first stage back to Earth underneath a parachute following a series of complex maneuvers. These include orienting the booster at an angle that will better help it survive the brutal re-entry process that involves heats of up to 2400-degrees Celsius while traveling up to eight times the speed of sound.

‘Running Out Of Toes’ is also the first in a series of dedicated launches this year through Spaceflight Inc. for BlackSky, where two of that firm’s 60 kg class satellites will be launched on this mission in support of the aggressive scaling of BlackSky’s satellite constellation to meet the demand for real-time global monitoring and analysis services for public and private organizations.

Axelspace Holdings Corporation has completed their Series C funding round, raising approximately JPY 2.58 billion (equivalent to $23.8 million). The round sees the allocation of new shares to The Space Frontier Fund, several other venture capitals and corporate investors.

• The Space Frontier Fund (Managed by SPARX Innovation for Future Co., Ltd.)
• Japan Co-Invest III Limited Partnership (Managed by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment Co., Ltd.)
• Japan Post Investment I, ILP (Managed by Japan Post Investment Corporation)
• 31VENTURES – Global Brain – Growth I Joint Project (Managed by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. and Global Brain Corporation)
• KYOCERA Corporation
• Mitsubishi UFJ Capital VII, Limited Partnership (Managed by Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd.)

Axelspace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Axelspace Holdings Corporation, has been developing a next-generation EO platform named AxelGlobe that will possess the capability of obtaining images of the entire planet with high frequency. With this funding, Axelspace plans to manufacture and launch five more optical smallsats called GRUS in 2023, which will evolve AxelGlobe as a constellation of 10 satellites in total. The completion of 10 satellite constellation will enable the company to monitor any location on the Earth on a daily basis and will create new business opportunities in more fields than ever before possible.

“We are confident that 2021 will become the most exciting year for Axelspace since we inaugurated AxelGlobe project 6 years ago. After the successful launch of 4 GRUS satellites on March 22, we have been smoothly preparing for the start of official service with 5 satellites. The operation of a satellite constellation is the very first achievement in Japan and we are very proud that we have added a new page to the history of Japanese space activities. Through the close of Series C this time, we have successfully secured the funds to add 5 more GRUS satellites to our AxelGlobe constellation in 2023, which is a big step toward the completion of 10-satellite constellation allowing the daily monitoring of any location in the world. We will accelerate the collaboration and partnership with various players in a wide range of industries, positioning 2021 as the first year to disseminate satellite data to the world,” said Yuya Nakamura, the President and CEO of Axelspace Holdings Corporation.

“Mitsui Fudosan has been following the growth of Axelspace for a long time, from supporting its office relocation and expansion in 2015 to joining the company’s Series B financing as a lead investor in 2018. In the concept of AxelGlobe to monitor the whole Earth with high frequency we see a big potential to create a new industry beyond our core business of community development. It has become even more realistic after the successful launch of 4 GRUS satellites in March this year, and we look forward to the completion of 10-satellite constellation in 2023 and further opportunities for collaboration in various aspects through the Series C round of investment,” said Mr. Shinji Kato, a Project Manager at Business Development Group, Venture Co-creation Department of Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., one of the accepting institutions and the continuing investor from the Series B financing that was completed in 2018.

Rocket Lab is targeting no earlier than 10:00 am UTC, Saturday, May 15, for the launch of the ‘Running Out Of Toes‘ mission.

The mission is a dedicated launch deploying two EO satellites for BlackSky. For the first time this year, Rocket Lab will also be attempting to recover the Electron launch vehicle’s first stage under a parachute for a controlled ocean splashdown. The mission is the next major step in Rocket Lab’s program to make Electron a reusable rocket.

This launch also marks two significant milestones for Rocket Lab — this is the company’s 20th Electron mission and will see the firm’s 200th, 3D-printed Rutherford engine launched to space.

The launch will take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. A two-hour window has been allocated for launch.

• Launch Window:
  UTC: 10:00 – 12:05 (15 May) NZDT: 22:00 – 00:05 (15 May) Pacific: 13:00 – 05:05 (15 May) Eastern: 06:00 – 08:05 (15 May)

If there is a need to stand down from launch for any reason, Rocket Lab has back-up launch days available through May 28th.

As stated, ‘Running Out Of Toes’ will be Rocket Lab’s 20th Electron launch as well as the second of three planned ocean splashdown recovery missions. While Electron’s second stage delivers the satellites to orbit, Rocket Lab will bring Electron’s first stage back to Earth underneath a parachute following a series of complex maneuvers. These include orienting the booster at an angle that will better help it survive the brutal re-entry process that involves heats of up to 2400-degrees Celsius while traveling up to eight times the speed of sound.

‘Running Out Of Toes’ is also the first in a series of dedicated launches this year through Spaceflight Inc. for BlackSky, where two of that firm’s 60 kg class satellites will be launched on this mission in support of the aggressive scaling of BlackSky’s satellite constellation to meet the demand for real-time global monitoring and analysis services for public and private organizations.

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. (“Tyvak”), a Terran Orbital company, has named retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Christian “Boris” Becker as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer.

Admiral Becker brings more than 33 years of leadership in the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense (DoD) to his new role as well as an extensive knowledge of global satellite and communication networks. He most recently served as the Chief Executive of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) where he led an 11,000-person global organization responsible for the design, delivery and supporting logistics of the U.S. Navy’s global satellite and communications networks and enterprise-wide business systems.

His career includes leadership positions supporting the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Admiral Becker has received numerous professional awards including the NRO and the Department of the Navy Distinguished Service Metals.

“We are thrilled to welcome Admiral Becker to the Tyvak team,” said Terran Orbital Chief Executive Officer Marc Bell. “His proven leadership and rich background in satellite systems and U.S. defense and intelligence requirements add tremendous value to our growth strategy. He deeply understands the needs of our customer base and his appointment reinforces Tyvak’s commitment to provide a full suite of satellite solutions to our customers in the U.S. and across the globe.”

“I am honored and excited to be part of the Tyvak family”, Becker commented. “This is a great team focused on delivering game-changing solutions to the most challenging problems our customers face. The demand signal for space-based solutions is enormous and Tyvak is uniquely positioned to serve those growing needs.”

MMA Design, under a contract with Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory, is providing High Watts per Kilogram (HaWK) solar arrays for six satellites that will be launched just beyond GEO on NASA’s Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) mission.

SunRISE will consist of six cubesats, each six units in size, just above GEO. These six smallsats, flying in a loose cluster about ten kilometers across, will form a virtual, radio telescope to detect and pinpoint emissions from the sun associated with solar storms. Those radio waves cannot be detected on Earth because of interference from the Earth’s ionosphere.

MMA will leverage its heritage of HaWK arrays that have previously flown on NASA missions including MarCO A and B (in support of the Mars InSight lander) and ASTERIA, as well as DoD and commercial missions including SHARC and SPARC-1. MMA HaWK arrays will also support 5 of the small satellites launching on the first SLS launch later in 2021 including NASA’s LunaH-Map, Lunar Flashlight, Near Earth Asteroid Scout (NEAScout), BioSentinel, and the JAXA EQUULEUS missions.

SunRISE is a Mission of Opportunity within the Explorers Program at NASA and the project is managed by JPL.

SpaceFund Inc. announced the company has fully deployed investments from its first “LaunchPad” fund — this venture capital firm placed investor funds in 14 companies, including some well-known NewSpace stars as well as seeding rising stars the firm believes are capable of helping to lead humanity into the frontiers of space.

SpaceFund is rapidly becoming one of the world’s leading space venture capital companies. The firm’s team started the LaunchPad fund in 2019 as a proof of concept to demonstrate its ability to find, navigate, and capitalize on deal flow that may be elusive to those outside of the insular next generation space community.

In addition to one stealth company, the LaunchPad fund has now completed building its portfolio with investments in the following companies:

• Axiom Space: The world’s first commercially built, owned and operated space station.
• Cognitive Space: Transforming the state of automation and AI for spacecraft and orbital machines.
• Cosmic Shielding: Major game changing radiation shielding and space weather forecasting.
• Eden Grow Systems: The first built-for-space integrated food and energy production system, now commercializing this technology for use on Earth.
• Made In Space (Redwire): The first in-space additive and industrial manufacturing company.
• Novo Space: The first plug-and-play modular computers for the most ambitious space missions.
• Orbit Fab: The first Gas Stations in Space for satellite refueling and the first Satellite Gas Cap fueling ports.
• Sen: The first commercial live high-resolution television of Earth (and space), from space.
• Skyloom: The first high speed laser (optical) space communications network.
• Space Forge: The first end-to-end, free-flying space micro-manufacturing plants.
• Space Perspective: The world’s first luxury spaceflight experience company.
• SpaceX: The world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft.
• Voyager Space Holdings: A leading global space exploration company.

“We’re right on track in our plan to seed and support the growth of these amazing companies,” said SpaceFund founder Rick Tumlinson. “Our formula is working. First we find brilliant frontier tech startups in need of early funding, then we bring in funds from visionary investors, and after significant diligence, we place those funds in just the right places to power the space revolution. These companies are a good representation of those rising to meet the challenge of what Gerard O’Neill called the ‘High Frontier. The seeds our investors are enabling us to plant and support now, will grow into the mighty oaks of the future space industrial ecosystem. With our next BlastOff fund, we will widen this base, finding new leaders, and providing the funding for growth needed to assure humanity can permanently and profitably expand into that frontier.”

“We balance our excitement about what is and will be happening in space with a deep and thorough vetting process,” said SpaceFund managing partner and co-founder Meagan Crawford. “We don’t chase rockets, satellite swarms, or shiny objects. Instead, we find brilliant teams with game changing technologies and solid business plans. While some of them may not seem glamorous, they are the foundational elements of a rapidly rising space economy.”

SpaceFund is now investing in new companies out of its second fund, the BlastOff fund. If your space startup would like to be considered for investment, please fill out the ‘Submit Your Company for Consideration’ form on the SpaceFund website: https://spacefund.com/submit/

Maya-3 and Maya-4, the first Philippine-university built cubesats, have been turned over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), according to STAMINA4Space.

The country’s third and fourth smallsats were turned over to the JAXA on April 28, the Facebook post reported.

Filipino engineer Izrael Bautista, project manager of Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology’s (Kyutech) 4th Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite (BIRDS-4) Project and Dr. Takahashi Yamauchi of Kyutech’s Laboratory of Lean Satellites Enterprises and In-Orbit Experiemnts( LaSEINE) were present during the event on behalf of the scholars, the STAMINA4Space said.

“The scholarships are part of the STAMINA4Space Program’s STeP-UP Project, a graduate program with a nanosatellite engineering track housed within the University of the Philippines Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute),” the Facebook page reported, citing the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) continued support of the project.

The STAMINA4Space is the country’s space research and development program funded by the DOST and implemented by DOST-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) and the University of the Philippines (UP). The program aims to further develop deep expertise that enable and sustain the growth of a local scientific-industrial base in space technology and applications in the Philippines. During its four-year implementation, the program successfully launched three smallsats: Diwata-1, Diwata-2 and Maya-1.

Smallsats Maya-3 and Maya-4 are in the development and are expected to be launched this year. The Philippines’ fourth satellite and second smallsat, Maya-2, was successfully deployed into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS) on March 14, 2021.

NanoAvionics has signed a contract with OQ Technology to build, integrate and operate a smallsat for the company’s 5G IoT mission named Tiger-2.

The 6U cubesat is the second mission for the Lithuanian smallsat bus manufacturer and mission integrator with OQ Technology and the latest addition to OQ Technology’s growing LEO constellation of nanosatellites. Their constellation intends to provide basic commercial IoT and M2M services, using 5G connectivity, to customers with a focus on Africa, Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

OQ Technology expects to generate revenue with this satellite, scheduled to be launched this year. To meet that deadline, the company will take advantage of NanoAvionics’ fast satellite build-time of a few months, a result of its automotive approach for speedy bus manufacturing. Following the launch, OQ Technology aims to quickly add another two missions to this constellation, followed by a batch of 6 satellites. Through the Tiger-2 mission the company also intends to secure strategic frequency licenses and partnerships in key countries.

As part of the Tiger-2 mission, NanoAvionics will integrate two payloads into the modular spacecraft. The primary payload will provide satellite-based IoT and M2M services using low frequencies. The secondary payload will demonstrate the feasibility of using high frequencies for 5G IoT radio links. To deliver widespread coverage and 5G IoT/M2M communication, in line with 3GPP recommendations, OQ Technology is using spectrum in the mid band 5G (Sub-6 GHz) frequency bands.

Tiger-2 is a continuation of the collaboration between NanoAvionics and OQ Technology, following MACSAT, the world’s first agile smallsat mission dedicated to 5G IoT in LEO, led by OQ Technology and supplied by NanoAvionics.

OQ Technology is the first 5G IoT operator, building a global hybrid system that combines both satellite and terrestrial wireless networks. It’ll enable expansion of the 4G and 5G IoT footprint globally, which plays a critical role in enabling mobility in vertical markets such as smart cars and drones, transport, logistics, and maritime. Moreover, it provides a unique value for low latency applications (which are critical for 5G) as the satellite are in low earth orbit and provide few milliseconds latency communication which traditional GEO satellites operators cannot do.

Their hybrid system will provide seamless connectivity using 5G standards, terrestrial 5G hardware and chips for a variety of IoT applications for environmental monitoring and agriculture, logistics, maritime, smart metering, mining and oil & gas, aviation, and defence. OQ Technology already holds patents in using narrowband cellular IoT over non-terrestrial networks and is licensing its satellite frequencies globally.

“Tiger-2 is an example of a NewSpace startup breaking barriers and racing with time to get to orbit within a few months, while using an agile approach to quickly deliver 5G connectivity,” said Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology. “Without partners like NanoAvionics, achieving such a target within a short time frame will not be possible. To grow our constellation and provide global coverage we plan to add more nanosatellites soon. What makes OQ Technology different is its combination of cellular and satellite technologies, providing coverage in poorly connected areas with a low-cost solution that can match existing but expensive M2M and VSAT satellite products. We do this by using both mobile 5G chips and a low-cost infrastructure of LEO nanosatellites. This allows us to bring the 5G revolution to countries where terrestrial infrastructure and expensive satellite costs have been a bottle neck, depriving many regions from catching up with the latest developments in the telecommunication industry. OQ Technology is here to change this soon and make digitalization available everywhere.”

Vytens J. Buzas, CEO NanoAvionics, said, “Our nano- and microsats are ideal for IoT and Earth observations with single, formation and constellation setups and our rapid integration accelerates the time to market applications for companies like OQ Technology. Over 90 percent of our customers already ask for full mission services including built, integration, launch brokerage and mission operations. One key element for the success of our mission operations is that we’ve significantly increased how frequently our nano- and microsatellites can send data back to Earth data through the global ground station networks of our partners.”