editorial

Exolaunch is set to deploy 45 customer satellites on the upcoming Transporter-14 rideshare mission with SpaceX aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. This mission highlights Exolaunch’s role as a trusted partner for rideshare launches and represents unparalleled expertise and flight heritage

The Transporter-14 mission represents a major milestone for Exolaunch as its largest mission to date, building on the company’s track record of providing reliable and precise access to orbit for customers worldwide. Exolaunch’s teams of experts will manage the deployment of numerous microsatellites, up to 250 kilograms, and CubeSats, up to 16U in size, supporting 25 new and returning customers from the USA, UK, Lithuania, Finland, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Korea, France, Japan, Spain, Norway, Italy, and Greece.

On this mission, Exolaunch will use its flight-proven deployment systems, including:

• CarboNIX microsatellite separation rings in 8″, 11″, 15″, and 24″ sizes
• EXOpod Nova advanced CubeSat deployers, supporting higher-mass and larger volume satellites with exceptional reliability
• Quadro four-point separation systems, offering synchronized release and ultra-low tip-off rates for precision microsatellite deployments

Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova deployers have now supported more than 100 delivered units and hundreds of successful CubeSat deployments, reinforcing Nova’s reputation as a trusted next-generation deployer for CubeSat mission.

Exolaunch continues to be the only launch integrator to have manifested satellites on every Transporter mission since the program’s inception in 2020. With Transporter-14, Exolaunch will celebrate its 37th mission overall, having deployed over 530 satellites across 36 previous missions on different global launch vehicles.

As part of the company’s comprehensive service offering, Exolaunch has managed global logistics, satellite integration, deployment, and testing for its customers aboard the Transporter-14 mission—a turnkey solution trusted by the world’s most ambitious space programs.

Transporter-14 marks a historic achievement for Exolaunch and our customers,” said Robert Sproles, Chief Executive Officer at Exolaunch. “Our flight heritage, reliability, and hardware performance continue to set the standard in the rideshare industry. We are grateful to our customers for their trust and to SpaceX for being an outstanding partner as we continue to open space for all.”

This milestone reflects not just the growth of Exolaunch, but also the expanding demand for global access to space,” said Jeanne Allarie, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Exolaunch. “Our unmatched success across these missions and the growing adoption of our Nova, CarboNIX, Quadro and Neo systems highlight the strength of our technology and services. We deeply appreciate our customers’ and SpaceX’s ongoing confidence in our team.”

Filed Under: Booster, Booster Recovery, Cubesats, Droneship, Droneship Landings, Exolaunch, Falcon 9, LEO Payloads, Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Microsat, Microsatellites, Mission Payloads, Rideshare, Rideshare Mission, Smallsat Launch Vehicles, Space Vehicles, SpaceX, SpaceX Rideshare, Transporter-14, Vandenberg SFB

Palm oil, the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil, is an inescapable component of most manufactured consumer products, present in roughly 50% of supermarket packaged products ranging from pizza to toothpaste, or products like animal feed and biofuels.

Grown primarily near the equator, palm oil production is incredibly efficient, with the highest yield per hectare among vegetable oils, but still has traditionally been known for its deforestation impacts, as rainforest in tropical areas has been cleared to make way for plantations.

While the deforestation impacts are widely known, satellites are now also beginning to uncover a previously unseen impact of palm oil production: methane emissions.

Following the publication of a scientific study in Environmental Research Letters, which confirmed the accuracy of GHGSat’s high-resolution satellites in measuring methane from palm oil mills, GHGSat’s constellation has increasingly homed in on palm oil ponds in tropical regions around the world, including South America, Asia, and Africa. As of late April 2025, GHGSat’s fleet of satellites has identified more than 50 methane emissions from 12 different countries.

Methane from palm oil mills is not unexpected, as it stems from the industry’s standard production processes and byproducts. Palm oil production produces a large amount of wastewater, known as POME (palm oil mill effluent), which is typically stored in open ponds. As the organic waste in the ponds, such as pulp and shells from the palm fruits, decomposes, it produces methane in a process much like decomposing trash in a landfill. The pond system was designed to curb local water contamination from releasing POME into the riverways and channels, but had an unintended impact. Now, however, for the first time it can be accurately quantified by satellites.

Now, the ability of satellites to quantify the methane from palm oil mills paves the way for potential better accounting of the industry’s total environmental impacts and effective, profitable mitigation of the emissions.

Landfill operators and municipalities with similar methane challenges have seized on the potential of waste diversion, recycling, or and gas capture systems to limit methane emissions or even transform them into a source of additional profit—converting it to natural gas to sell back to local power grids or power on-site operations. Similar approaches and technologies exist for palm oil mill operators.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004, and sets sustainability standards for the palm oil sector, certifying growers that meet those standards. Alongside other initiatives related to deforestation and workers’ rights, RSPO has developed a PalmGHG calculator to enable palm oil growers to estimate their net greenhouse gas emissions and implement more sustainable practices.

Palm oil is a $48.1 billion industry, concentrated in countries near the equator, with Indonesia and Malaysia estimated to produce roughly 90% of the global supply. The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil estimates that the industry provides a living for some seven million smallholder farmers globally, including direct jobs for four million people in Indonesia and nearly a million in Malaysia. Many of the economic benefits of palm oil are focused in remote, rural areas where work can be hard to find.

This is the power of high-resolution satellite technology: it illuminates a previously opaque challenge, and delivers the insights required to map out a solution,” said Stephane Germain, CEO of GHGSat. “Precise data is the first step toward action, and satellite technologies are a part of the puzzle.”

As industries worldwide, from the energy sector to mining or palm oil, seek to mitigate emissions from their activities, GHGSat serves as a trusted partner, providing independent data to global industry and government leaders so that they can tackle emissions with confidence. GHGSat made history in 2016 with the launch of the world’s first satellite capable of directly attributing methane emissions to individual industrial facilities. Since then, the company has steadily expanded its proprietary constellation, which currently includes 12 commercial satellites in orbit, which track emissions from tens of thousands of sites per day—a number far exceeding the capacity of any emerging competitor. GHGSat’s expanding fleet continues to set the standard in satellite emissions monitoring, enabling faster response times and greater coverage than any other player in the market.

STMicroelectronics’ LEOPOL1 point-of-load step-down converter for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) deployments meets the needs of equipment developers targeting the New Space market, now expanding throughout North America, Asia, and Europe.

The emerging New Space industry, driven by private-sector companies, is enabling new services such as communication and earth observation, delivered from satellites built and launched cost-effectively into low earth orbits. The LEOPOL1 is the latest in ST’s LEO series of power, analog, and logic ICs developed for low cost of ownership with quality assurance and radiation hardness optimized for LEO satellites, leveraging automotive best practices including statistical process control.

The LEOPOL1 is radiation hardened by design to withstand the hazards encountered in LEO altitudes, leveraging ST’s space-proven BCD6-SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) technology. Key hardness parameters include 50 krad(Si) total ionizing dose (TID) and 3.1011 proton/cm2 total non-ionizing dose (TNID). Single-event effects (SEE) performance is characterized up to 62 MeV.cm2/mg.

The LEOPOL1 provides extended flexible features including out-of-phase current sharing, which permits multiplying the current to the load with multiple LEOPOL1 converters working in parallel. In addition, synchronization capability allows easy sequencing to power-up equipment with multiple voltage rails. The converter delivers up to 7A and accept an input voltage up to 12V at ground level and has demonstrated 5A at 6V at 62 MeV.cm2/mg s.

With the LEOPOL1, ST’s LEO series now covers a wide range of circuit-design needs. The portfolio also includes popular logic gates and buffers, an LVDS transceiver, 8-channel 12-bit ADC, and a low-dropout regulator (LDO). All devices meet ST’s proprietary specification developed specifically for LEO applications, which covers performance parameters as well as manufacturing controls, qualification and are delivered with a Certificate of Conformance (CoC).

The LEOPOL1 is in production now. It is available in 31-piece tubes, 250-piece tape and reel, and 7-piece tape sticks for samples. Pricing information is provided on request.

AAC Clyde Space has won an order worth 0.12 million euros (approx. SEK 1.3 million) from University College Dublin for a mission study in the first phase of the development program COMCUBE-S.

The study will assess the technical feasibility of the proposed mission and marks an initial step in a structured process that may lead to a CubeSat Swarm In-orbit Demonstration mission. The study is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2025.

COMCUBE-S is a technical project aiming to develop new capabilities for observing Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB)—short-lived and extremely powerful events in space. By delivering faster and more detailed information about these phenomena, the mission will support scientists in making new discoveries about the nature and origins of GRBs.

The project follows ESA‘s established In-Orbit Demonstration process and begins with a so-called Phase A study, which assesses the mission’s technical feasibility. AAC Clyde Space is responsible for the system design in this initial phase, working in close collaboration with the project lead, University College Dublin.

A decision on further development is expected at the end of 2025, once the study is completed. A central element of COMCUBE-S is the use of a satellite swarm: a coordinated network of many small satellites operating together on-orbit. The swarm enables rapid, multi-angle observations of short-lived space phenomena and improves the ability to measure polarization—a key property of gamma-ray bursts that can help reveal how these violent events originate.

To achieve sufficient coverage and accuracy, the project ultimately aims to build a constellation of as many as 27 satellites. The assignment strengthens AAC Clyde Space’s position as a supplier of complete satellite missions—from design to operations—in technically advanced projects. It provides an opportunity to apply the company’s own components, systems engineering and methods for constellation development.

Experience gained through the ESA-funded xSPANCION program, in which AAC Clyde Space developed scalable solutions for satellite swarms, will be directly applicable. The work forms part of a broader collaboration with University College Dublin to advance the COMCUBE-S mission. The selection of COMCUBE-S from among seven European finalists in ESA’s SysNova Challenge confirms the strength of the technical concept and the partner constellation.

This project demonstrates how we translate technical expertise into real-world results. COMCUBE-S clearly illustrates our ability to take the lead in missions that combine scientific objectives with the highest technical demands,” said AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes.

COMCUBE-S represents a significant step forward in our ability to study gamma ray bursts and unlock new scientific insights into the most energetic events in the universe,” said Lorraine Hanlon, Director at UCD Centre for Space Research.

About COMCUBE-S
The project is led by University College Dublin and aims to improve understanding of gamma-ray bursts – extremely bright and short-lived explosions that occur, for example, when neutron stars collide. Using a swarm of satellites, the project will collect polarimetric data and localise these events in real time. This opens new opportunities in so-called multi-messenger astronomy, where different types of space data are combined to provide a more complete picture of cosmic phenomena. AAC Clyde Space is responsible for system design in the project’s initial phase and serves as the industrial partner in the first delivery. COMCUBE-S is one of two selected concepts from ESA’s SysNova Challenge and is supported through the Discovery & Preparation programme. The Consortium partners also include Laboratoire de Physique des 2 Infinis Irène Joliot-Curie (IJCLab), France, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), France, and Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Sweden.

Qorvo® (Nasdaq: QRVO) has launched their new Ka-band power amplifier (PA) that is designed to improve the performance and integration of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Developed to meet the evolving demands of next-generation payloads, Qorvo’s newest PA further expands its proven GaN-on-SiC SATCOM portfolio, giving system designers a more efficient, compact and scalable option for space-based payloads.

Qorvo’s QPA1722 PA offers customers three times the instantaneous bandwidth, a 38% smaller footprint and 10% higher efficiency than competing devices. These enhancements enable greater data throughput and more flexible payload architectures, critical for meeting global connectivity goals in size- and power-constrained satellite platforms.

Key Features of the QPA1722:

• Frequency Range: 17.7–20.2 GHz
• Output power: 10W (saturated); 6W (linear)
• 1 GHz instantaneous bandwidth for high data-rate applications
• 36% efficiency for improved power handling and thermal management
• Compact SMT package for streamlined system integration

Qorvo’s existing Ka-band ground solutions are already enabling global connectivity, and a next-generation, higher-performance lineup is scheduled to debut this summer. Paired with the QPA1722 and Qorvo’s full portfolio of SATCOM products, these enhancements will deliver a more powerful, efficient end-to-end ground-to-space link that reinforces Qorvo’s commitment to connecting the world through space. Additional offerings can be found on our SATCOM solutions page.

The QPA1722 is sampling now, with volume production planned for the Fall of 2025. Qorvo also provides evaluation kits upon request.

The QPA1722 helps us meet the rising demand for LEO constellation deployment,” said Doug Bostrom, general manager of Qorvo’s Defense and Aerospace business. “According to Gartner® research, the most obvious opportunity for LEO satellites is the ubiquitous provision of broadband services to consumers and businesses, reinforcing the demand for compact, high-efficiency payload solutions in space-based networks.”

Qorvo® (Nasdaq: QRVO) has also introduced two, high-performance, S-Band, switched filter bank (SFB) modules designed to meet the rising demand for agile, compact and efficient radar systems in aerospace and defense applications.

As radar platforms evolve to support multi-function capabilities in compact form factors, designers need faster frequency agility and tighter spectral control. Qorvo’s new QPB1034 and QPB1036 modules meet these needs with integrated BAW filtering and fast-switching logic in a compact 6 x 6 mm package—reducing size while enhancing performance.

The QPB1034 and QPB1036 modules, sampling now, integrate high-selectivity BAW filters and bypass paths into compact packages, supporting S-Band radar systems that require rapid tuning and precise signal control. The QPB1034 is optimized for lower S-Band frequencies, while the QPB1036 offers broader coverage and higher channel density, while keeping the same fast switching speed.

Qorvo’s switched filter bank modules enable radar designers to reduce size and complexity without sacrificing performance,” said Dean White, senior director of Defense and Aerospace Market Strategy at Qorvo. “Our BAW technology enables unmatched rejection and channel density in a fully integrated form factor—making these solutions ideal for agile radar front ends.”

Qorvo provides scalable, high-performance RF solutions that meet the rigorous demands of the aerospace and defense industries. For more information on Qorvo’s wide-ranging radar solutions, including land, sea and airborne radar platforms, please visit Qorvo’s Radar Technology page.

Qorvo® (Nasdaq: QRVO) has launched their new Ka-band power amplifier (PA) that is designed to improve the performance and integration of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Developed to meet the evolving demands of next-generation payloads, Qorvo’s newest PA further expands its proven GaN-on-SiC SATCOM portfolio, giving system designers a more efficient, compact and scalable option for space-based payloads.

Qorvo’s QPA1722 PA offers customers three times the instantaneous bandwidth, a 38% smaller footprint and 10% higher efficiency than competing devices. These enhancements enable greater data throughput and more flexible payload architectures, critical for meeting global connectivity goals in size- and power-constrained satellite platforms.

Key Features of the QPA1722:

• Frequency Range: 17.7–20.2 GHz
• Output power: 10W (saturated); 6W (linear)
• 1 GHz instantaneous bandwidth for high data-rate applications
• 36% efficiency for improved power handling and thermal management
• Compact SMT package for streamlined system integration

Qorvo’s existing Ka-band ground solutions are already enabling global connectivity, and a next-generation, higher-performance lineup is scheduled to debut this summer. Paired with the QPA1722 and Qorvo’s full portfolio of SATCOM products, these enhancements will deliver a more powerful, efficient end-to-end ground-to-space link that reinforces Qorvo’s commitment to connecting the world through space. Additional offerings can be found on our SATCOM solutions page.

The QPA1722 is sampling now, with volume production planned for the Fall of 2025. Qorvo also provides evaluation kits upon request.

The QPA1722 helps us meet the rising demand for LEO constellation deployment,” said Doug Bostrom, general manager of Qorvo’s Defense and Aerospace business. “According to Gartner® research, the most obvious opportunity for LEO satellites is the ubiquitous provision of broadband services to consumers and businesses, reinforcing the demand for compact, high-efficiency payload solutions in space-based networks.”

Qorvo® (Nasdaq: QRVO) has also introduced two, high-performance, S-Band, switched filter bank (SFB) modules designed to meet the rising demand for agile, compact and efficient radar systems in aerospace and defense applications.

As radar platforms evolve to support multi-function capabilities in compact form factors, designers need faster frequency agility and tighter spectral control. Qorvo’s new QPB1034 and QPB1036 modules meet these needs with integrated BAW filtering and fast-switching logic in a compact 6 x 6 mm package—reducing size while enhancing performance.

The QPB1034 and QPB1036 modules, sampling now, integrate high-selectivity BAW filters and bypass paths into compact packages, supporting S-Band radar systems that require rapid tuning and precise signal control. The QPB1034 is optimized for lower S-Band frequencies, while the QPB1036 offers broader coverage and higher channel density, while keeping the same fast switching speed.

Qorvo’s switched filter bank modules enable radar designers to reduce size and complexity without sacrificing performance,” said Dean White, senior director of Defense and Aerospace Market Strategy at Qorvo. “Our BAW technology enables unmatched rejection and channel density in a fully integrated form factor—making these solutions ideal for agile radar front ends.”

Qorvo provides scalable, high-performance RF solutions that meet the rigorous demands of the aerospace and defense industries. For more information on Qorvo’s wide-ranging radar solutions, including land, sea and airborne radar platforms, please visit Qorvo’s Radar Technology page.

Muon Space has closed their oversubscribed $89.5 million Series B1 round, bringing total Series B funding to $146 million—this new capital includes $44.5 million in equity and $45 million in credit facilities, and follows the company’s initial Series B close in August of 2024.

The B1 round was led by Congruent Ventures and included existing investors—Activate Capital, Acme Capital, Costanoa Ventures, and Radical Ventures. Muon also welcomed new investor ArcTern Ventures to the syndicate.

The new capital is fueling a major scale-up of Muon’s operations—including expanded satellite production; vertical integration of key components such as propulsion and IR and RF instruments; deployment of Muon’s full-stack automated constellation operations platform; and the expansion of the company’s global ground station network.

The company has grown its team by 50% since December and has surpassed $100 million in new contracts signed in 2024, including a landmark agreement with SNC to develop next-generation satellites supporting its Vindlér commercial RF sensing constellation.

Muon has also acquired Starlight Engines, a propulsion startup pioneering the first commercially available solid propellant Hall-effect thruster systems—a safe, affordable, and scalable alternative to traditional propulsion systems. The acquisition further extends Muon’s vertically integrated Halo platform by bringing in-house propulsion capabilities into its end-to-end satellite technology stack.

Founded in 2022 by veteran propulsion experts Todd Bailey and Mark Hopkins, Starlight developed a novel zinc-fueled thruster system that eliminates the high costs and supply chain vulnerabilities of xenon and krypton-based systems. By eliminating high pressure fluids management—the Achilles heel of every space propulsion system—Starlight’s technology enables a dramatically improved supply chain, highly available and low-cost propellant, simplified integration, and more compact thruster and tank designs. The thruster system scales modularly supporting spacecraft ranging from 100kg to 500kg+. Integration of Starlight’s propulsion technology is already underway as Muon scales satellite production.

Muon has opened a 130,000-square-foot facility in San Jose, California that will serve as its production center, housing manufacturing and test operations from raw material through finished spacecraft. Purpose-built for full vertical integration and high-throughput satellite production, the facility can support up to 500 satellites annually in the 100kg to 500kg+ class.

The site features 70,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities including 30,000 square feet of cleanroom space across Class 10, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 environments—a 10x expansion from Muon’s first facility. The flexible layout accommodates production, assembly, and lab operations, with dedicated areas for secure integration, spacecraft assembly, optical instrument integration (three zones), propulsion integration, and a mission operations center. A 300 kW solar array powers the majority of operations, while the facility meets UL 2050 security standards for defense programs.

Comprehensive environmental testing capabilities include thermal vacuum chambers, vibration tables, and thermal chambers for both unit- and system-level qualification.

Propulsion remains one of the most persistent cost and supply chain challenges in satellite manufacturing,” said Paul Day, VP of Spacecraft Production at Muon Space. “What Todd and Mark have achieved at Starlight is a fundamentally more elegant and practical solution – solid-state, scalable, throttleable, and safer to handle. By bringing this technology in-house and integrating it into our Halo platform, we can accelerate delivery timelines while improving both schedule reliability and overall mission performance.”

We’re focused on delivering mission-optimized satellite constellation systems to customers at unprecedented speed,” said Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space. “High-performance constellations require the speed, cost, consistency, and performance of volume production – they can’t be built one satellite at a time. We are building the world’s first automated, high-mix, high-volume constellation manufacturing system. It’s always been about the mission – now we’re delivering it at scale.”

Muon is building the high-performance scale solution the space industry has been missing,” said Joshua Posamentier, Managing Partner at Congruent Ventures. “By fulfilling mission requirements with a configurable, vertically integrated platform spanning hardware, software, and operations, they deliver a unique path to on-orbit capabilities – at a pace and price point that commercial, civil and national security customers urgently need.”

SFL Missions Inc. is a member of the team led by NUVIEW GmbH that has been contracted by the European Space Agency (ESA) to conduct a Pre-Phase A study, within a new scheme for Small Exploration Missions, for the Moonraker lunar mapping mission—the Moonraker satellite will carry a laser scanner to create a detailed elevation map of the Moon’s surface.

The Moonraker mission will consist of a single orbiter operating in a low-altitude polar orbit around the Moon. The orbiter will host a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) payload to capture highly accurate elevation points of the terrain. These points will be used to generate 3D elevation models that will be relied upon to assess and select future landing sites.

Moonraker’s LiDAR data will also serve a broader scientific purpose, including scanning permanently shadowed regions for water ice and providing valuable insights into the Moon’s geological and interior composition. The Moonraker LiDAR will operator in two modes—one for broad-area scanning of the Moon’s polar regions and the other for high-resolution surveys of specific areas of interest.

The mission analysis evaluates possible launch options and trajectories for efficiently entering into lunar orbit, and it studies how the operational orbit parameters impact the spacecraft design and payload data collection. The system design focuses on payload accommodation, spacecraft layout, and sizing of the various subsystem components.

In particular, the propulsion system is sized with the appropriate amount of fuel to complete the transit phase and then maintain the operational orbit while counteracting perturbations caused by the Moon’s irregular gravity field. Detailed mission and system requirements are also developed to guide future design phases for the project.

NUVIEW GmbH of Berlin, Germany, serves as prime contractor for the Pre-Phase A study team, which includes several members in addition to SFL Missions. NUVIEW GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of NUVIEW Inc. which is developing the world’s first commercial space-based LiDAR constellation for 3D mapping of the Earth.

As part of the Pre-Phase A contract led by NUVIEW, SFL Missions is supporting the mission concept by contributing to transit trajectory analysis, orbit design, and satellite platform conceptual design for Moonraker,” said Jesse Eyer, NUVIEW Space Missions Architect.