editorial

The Mechanical Assembly for Reflectarray Antennas of SmallSats (MARAS) project funded through ESA ARTES 4.0 will enable small telecommunications satellites to take their antenna capabilities to the next level with a multi-panel, Ka-band reflect array antenna developed by DCUBED (Deployables Cubed GmbH), Celestial Space Technologies GmbH, German Orbital Systems GmbH and Blackwave GmbH.

The satellite communications market is growing rapidly and represents an essential part of the global satellite industry. Through the ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) Program, ESA supports the development of new satellite telecommunication technologies to keep the European industry at the leading edge of the market.

One of the critical parts of this support is to ensure the development of satellite telecommunications products compatible with the trends in satellites. With the ARTES activity Deployable Mechanisms for Multi Flat-Panel Reflectarray Antennas for Small Satellites, ESA has the goal of enabling small telecommunications satellite to carry deployable reflect arrays with large surface areas and so, increasing their antenna gain.

ESA selected DCUBED to carry out this activity with their project MARAS. Within the scope of MARAS, DCUBED is leading the design, manufacturing and testing of the mechanisms to support a multi-panel Ka-band reflect array antenna for a 12U CubeSat. The mechanical assembly consists of panels with high-precision hinges that form a planar structure when deployed, the Hold Down and Release Mechanism (HDRM) that supports the stowed reflectarray during launch, as well as any mechanisms required for its packaging and deployment.

The project covers the initial concept definition, analyses, and breadboarding activities, up to the design and fabrication of a mechanical engineering model that will undergo environmental testing and functional testing in representative conditions. These activities will bring the subsystem from TRL 3 to TRL 6.

The consortium of four companies is combining the expertise of different disciplines necessary to deliver MARAS. Celestial Space Technologies GmbH provides the telecommunications know-how, while Blackwave GmbH is supporting the team with their competence in structures and German Orbital Systems GmbH with their expertise on satellite missions. DcubeD is leading the consortium and bringing in the experience in deployable structures and mechanisms.

“We are very excited that the European Space Agency (ESA) rated our proposal on the Mechanical Assembly for Reflectarray Antennas of SmallSats project (in short MARAS) as the best in Europe. This development of flat panels joined by high precission hinges all folded in a tight volume fits in perfectly in our roadmap of becoming the go-to partner for all kinds of SmallSat mechanisms (release mechanisms and deployables),” said Thomas Sinn, CEO of DCUBED.

DCUBED located in Germering (Bavaria, Germany) will help you think outside the box with COTS release actuators and COTS deployables that are specifically designed for SmallSat applications. DCUBED’s pin puller and release nut actuators are space-proven, readily available, easy to use, and small in size. The DCUBED SmallSat deployables (Space Selfie Stick, 100W 1U solar array and deployable radiator) tackle the needs of new space customers by maximizing performance in space while remaining efficiently packed in a standardized volume for launch.

SWISSto12, Switzerland’s rapidly-growing aerospace company and a manufacturer of satellite payloads and systems, announces the HummingSat Partnership Project with the European Space Agency (ESA) is proceeding in the roll-out of the HummingSat satellite product. The roll-out is a result of new subscriptions in excess of €30 million received at the November ESA Ministerial Conference Meeting. Participating States are Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Austria, and the Netherlands, with further subscriptions expected to be received soon. SWISSto12 is playing an important role in Europe’s new space ecosystem and collaborates closely with ESA to foster innovation in the European space industry and develop new satellite products.

The funding will allow SWISSto12’s HummingSat product line that is being developed in partnership with ESA to fully roll-out. Recently, SWISSto12 announced that it will produce the first satellite of this product line, the IS-45, for Intelsat, making SWISSto12 the first scale-up specialist in the history of the industry to sign a contract of this nature with an established telecommunications operator. Named after the tiny, agile hummingbird, SWISSto12’s HummingSat product line is a showcase for the disruptive technologies emerging in Europe’s space landscape. Lightweight and small, the tiny satellite is more cost-effective and sustainable than conventional satellites, paving the way for better connectivity across the globe.

Dr. Emile de Rijk, SWISSto12 founder and CEO, said, “At SWISSto12, we are proud to be at the core of Europe’s new space ecosystem. With our HummingSat product line, we are building a next-generation telecommunications infrastructure with the goal of reliably connecting communities and businesses. ESA has been an invaluable partner in funding and expertise along this journey. The new funding will help us to make the disruptive technology of HummingSat a global success.”

Andreas Mauroschat, ESA Partnership and Opportunity Satellites Program Manager, added, “HummingSat is a showcase for a successful ESA Partnership Project and we are delighted to support European and Canadian industry in this exciting new-space venture. The project has been set up in record time and within only a few months SWISSto12 has sold the first commercial HummingSat to global satellite operator Intelsat. ESA Partnership Projects federate the European and Canadian space industry around large-scale programs, achieving competitive leaps forward and economic impact. They support end-to-end space systems from start-up to in-orbit validation, after which commercial partners operate the system.”

The Ministerial Conference of the ESA in Paris took place from November 22nd through 23rd. ESA members had agreed to contribute €16.923 billion over the next three years, a 16.6% increase from the previous ministerial in 2019 with Switzerland contributing 3.7%. The Swiss Space Office also subscribed a higher amount compared to the previous years, showing its strong commitment to support space innovations in Switzerland.

The demand for next-generation satellites, advanced communications, and more sustainable access to space is quickly rising in Europe and globally. SWISSto12 is committed to contributing to the European space ecosystem with the goal to ensure its competitiveness on the worldwide market.

Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDU), has signed an agreement with SkyWatch for use of its TerraStream data-management platform. Sidus Space is a Space-as-a-Service company providing mission critical hardware manufacturing and commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection.

This agreement is expected to accelerate the expansion of Sidus’ commercial data distribution strategy that includes white labeling data for the company’s existing customers and driving growth of new data customers. Serving as a key contributor to the Space data marketplace, the agreement is expected to generate additional revenue for the Company and engage customers that otherwise may not have connected with Sidus.

The TerraStream platform provides end-to-end data management and distribution capabilities to satellite operators, and provides an accelerated path to grow revenue and new markets through EarthCache, SkyWatch’s remote sensing platform. Using TerraStream eliminates the need for IT infrastructure, enabling Sidus to provide cost-effective access to Space-based data and deliver on its mission of “Bringing Space Down To Earth”. Sidus forecasts that its revenue mix will include a variety of users and industries and an increase in remote sensing data customers and analytics subscriptions.

“A key part of our business plan has always included monetizing high-impact data for insights on virtually every commercial sector, and, as we prepare to launch LizzieSat this year, this agreement represents an important milestone on that journey,” said Carol Craig, Sidus Space Founder and CEO. “As new customers and industries begin to understand how Space-based data can impact business strategy, we believe that Sidus is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand.”

LizzieSat-1, the maiden flight of Sidus’ multi-mission satellite constellation, is expected to launch in 2023 into a mid-inclination Low Earth Orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida. LizzieSat-1 will supply mission-based data to clients and consumers focused on climate change, maritime shipping industry activities, and other commercially relevant interests.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Sidus Space on their mission to ‘Bring Space Down to Earth’,” said Joel Cumming, Chief Technology Officer at SkyWatch. “We share a mission to make Earth observation and remote sensing data more accessible to solve critical issues, and we look forward to working with the team at Sidus as they continue this important work.”

The West Coast Solutions HBS (Hybrid Battery Supercapacitor) enables a new generation of high-power payloads on smallsats by providing >700W sustained power from a 1U (1000 cc) hybrid battery. Targeted applications include advanced propulsion technologies, lasercom, high data rate downlink transmitters, large array infrared sensors, and directed energy. TRL 5+ was achieved in the recently-completed Missile Defense Agency SBIR Phase II in which Applied Vibration, Applied Shock, Thermal Vacuum and EMI testing of a near-flight prototype was successfully completed. West Coast Solutions was recently awarded a Phase II SBIR Enhancement Program to extend on the prior Phase II SBIR to complete the design, build, test, and qualification of a prototype 1U (1000 cc) Hybrid Battery Supercapacitor (HBS).

• High-power-density battery for smallsats
• High reliability, radiation tolerant space design
• 150 Wh energy and >700W power in 1U form factor
• Cycle life > 30,000
• Scalable for higher energy and higher power

The company is also developing a Focal Plane Electronics (FPE) suite for JPL which consists of three separate modules: the analog Focal Plane Interface Electronics (FPIE), the FPIE Power Supply Unit (PSU), and the digital Interface Instrument Electronics (IIE). WCS has been tapped to produce and deliver four (4) complete suites of Engineering Models for Flat Sat testing and four (4) complete Flight Model suites, with all deliveries complete by early 2023.

• Analog focal plane electronics
• Precision, low noise focal plane electronics power supplies
• FPGA (RTG4)-enabled high speed data pipe
• Closed-loop payload heater control
• Payload power distribution

West Coast Solutions was hired by Aerospace Corporation to develop the control electronics for a novel, high-precision pointing mechanism for future USAF Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) missions. During the initial phase, WCS developed a “path-to-flight” brassboard with dual high-speed ADC channels, FPGA and firmware, and dual motor drive circuits. The fully-packaged radiation hard flight electronics will be developed in the future.

• OPIR pointing mirror control electronics
• Dual high-speed ADC, FPGA, and motor drives
• Design and prototype, including firmware

The firm’s partners at Creare have been developing cryocooler electronics since 2008. The Creare-WCS cryocooler collaboration began in 2015 and has now progressed through a series of successful NASA and DoD SBIR programs into multiple, active, flight programs, including the Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI) scheduled to launch in late 2022. WCS brings many decades of hands-on, space flight CCE experience to the strong Creare team, resulting in a combination that cannot be matched in terms of knowledge, experience, capability, and track record.

• Multi-year, Multi-program Creare-WCS collaboration
• High-performance, yet affordable CCE designs
• MCCE-TS (Tactical Space) for cost-sensitive, moderate duration space missions
• MCCE-RH (Radiation Hardened) for long-life strategic missions
• Tailorable options: active vibration control, input ripple filtering, and launch lock

Sateliot and Sensefinity will launch global, 5G-IoT satellite connectivity to facilitate the first technology of data transmission from 1,000 smart containers, thereby saving medium-size shipping companies as much as $1.4 million per year on container maintenance and repairs.

Actual satellite coverage is not 100% global, as GEO satellites only cover fixed areas of the planet. Moreover, their far placement makes them far less efficient than LEO satellites according to the company, which come into play to fix this problem.

Without NB-IoT coverage at high sea, trackers and sensors can only record the information, uploading it once the vessels are near shore, when it is already too late to do anything with damaged cargo. Furthermore, legacy satellite transmission costs for every container are a high addition to a vessel’s already expensive bills, particularly when considering tariffs and port and channel fees.

With Sateliot’s full, 5G NB-IoT satellite constellation, Sensefinity will be able to report location, temperature, humidity, vibration and container breach in real-time, unlocking a set of high-impact use cases such as notifications when a container falls into the ocean, alerting for fires inside containers, warning for cold-chain breaks for sensitive cargo like food and medicines and reporting impacts and damages in containers.

Another advantage of this partnership between Sateliot’s global satellite coverage and Sensefinity IoT solutions in smart containers is the reduction of food waste and carbon emissions. Maritime shipping businesses will grow in a sustainable way, allowing an increase in revenue while caring for the planet.

Shipping companies are heavily investing in smart containers to control cargo, with predictions that, by 2025, 25% of the box fleet will be able to gather data from inside the containers. However, transmitting gathered data in uncovered spots from the middle of the ocean is still an issue.

Sateliot’s transmission costs start from less than $1 per device per month. This allows Sensefinity to facilitate its expansive growth, granting the shipping and vessel companies the ability to transmit data from smart containers in the middle of the ocean with a very reduced cost.

Jaume Sanpera, Sateliot CEO, said, “Investing in smart containers and global continuous connectivity transmission through our network of 5G-NB IoT satellites will provide vessels and shipping companies better control of transported goods, avoiding damage claims and lawsuits costing companies billions of dollars per year.”

Sensefinity CEO, Orlando Remédios, said, “Our technology will help the international shipping industry to overcome cargo damage, which costs a yearly estimate of $6 billion, reducing complaints and lawsuits, and also food waste and carbon emissions. Maritime shipping businesses will grow in a sustainable way, allowing an increase in revenue while caring for the planet.“

Due to the scale of the project and the need for collaborative projects between multiple ecosystem players, the virtual core of Sateliot service is built by AWS, a leading cloud service provider.

DARPA‘s goal for their Space-WATCH program is to provide real-time, persistent tracking of all objects in LEO so that when an anomalous action occurs, operators can be notified in a timely fashion, allowing them to plan and execute appropriate actions.

To accomplish this goal, Space-WATCH aims to capitalize on the enormous volume of low-cost, in-situ sensors in LEO on both commercial and government satellites that can contribute to continuous detection and tracking of nearby objects, identify when an anomaly or unexpected event/movement occurs, and then provide relevant details in a timely fashion to ground-based operators who can then direct appropriate action.

Critical to this process will be the establishment of an “as-a-service” model to incentivize data collection from non-government owned sensors that can be processed to form a single operational picture of LEO.

The U.S. Government, specifically the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Commerce (DoC), continue to make significant investments in addressing the Space Domain Awareness (SDA) mission. As the proliferated LEO (pLEO) commercial and defense ecosystems grow the need for understanding the environment is growing along with it.

At its most fundamental level, SDA is required to ensure safe satellite operations and good stewardship of space, much in the same way that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fulfills this role for air traffic. Currently, sensing and tracking of space objects is conducted by the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), which primarily uses ground-based radars. Space-WATCH seeks to overcome the limitations of these ground-based sensors and add capability and capacity by moving observations from the ground to constellations of satellites throughout LEO.

Specifically, Space-WATCH seeks to leverage the growing number of commercial LEO constellations carrying low-cost but highly proliferated sensor technology to gain situational awareness throughout LEO at a fraction of the cost of the existing ground-based approaches. This will provide the opportunity for commercial LEO operators to capitalize on an additional revenue stream by providing on-orbit observations that will make the LEO environment safer for all participants.

Download the DARPA solicitation PDF at this direct URL…

Preliminary analysis of data from Virgin Orbit‘s Start Me Up mission has begun to shed light on the outcome of the January 9th flight and the next steps that will follow...

The Start Me Up mission was the first orbital launch attempt in history conducted from western Europe. The flight was conducted by Virgin Orbit’s air-launched LauncherOne system from the newly commissioned Spaceport Cornwall in the UK, which just a few weeks ago was transformed from a mere slab of empty cement at a commercial airport into the world’s newest space launch operations center.

After successfully proceeding through pre-launch operations and taking off as planned from the runway at Spaceport Cornwall, Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft traveled to the bespoke drop zone selected for this mission and successfully released the rocket.

The rocket then ignited its first stage engine, quickly going hypersonic and successfully completing the stage one burn. Initial data assessments indicate that the first stage of the rocket performed as expected, that the rocket reached space altitudes, and that stage separation, ignition of the upper stage and fairing separation similarly occurred per the planned mission timeline.

Later in the mission, at an altitude of approximately 180 km, the upper stage experienced an anomaly. This anomaly prematurely ended the first burn of the upper stage. This event ended the mission, with the rocket components and payload falling back to Earth within the approved safety corridor without ever achieving orbit.

Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft and its crew returned safely to Spaceport Cornwall.

Extensive telemetry coverage for the flight allowed for the collection of an enormous quantity of data during the mission, allowing Virgin Orbit’s engineers and review board members to start their analysis immediately upon detection of the anomaly.

Virgin Orbit has initiated a formal investigation into the source of the second stage failure, to be led by Jim Sponnick (Co-Investigator), a distinguished aerospace veteran who was instrumental in the development and operations of the Atlas II, III and V launch systems and operations of the Delta II and IV launch systems, and Chad Foerster (Principal Investigator), Virgin Orbit’s Chief Engineer and Vice President of Technology Development. An extensive fault analysis and investigation and completion of all required corrective actions identified during the investigation will be completed prior to the next flight.

Virgin Orbit is continuing to process its next scheduled rocket through final integration and checkout ahead of its upcoming mission, which is planned to occur from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Virgin Orbit also anticipates returning to Spaceport Cornwall for additional launches, and is in active discussions with key government and commercial stakeholders in the UK to start planning mission opportunities for as soon as later this year.

Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said, “We are all disappointed that we were not able to achieve full mission success and provide the launch service that our customers deserve. Upon identifying the anomaly, our team immediately moved into a pre-planned investigation mode. Given our four previous successful missions, which have proven our technology, our team’s deep understanding of the LauncherOne system from massive amounts of previously collected flight data, and the ample telemetry data that was collected characterizing the flight and the anomaly, I am confident that root cause and corrective actions will be determined in an efficient and timely manner. We are continuing to process and test our next vehicle per our plan and will implement any required modifications prior to our next launch.

“I also want to express my heartfelt appreciation to our team, who worked tirelessly under high pressure and difficult conditions, and most importantly to our customers, supporters, and partners in the UK, the US, and across the world. We thank you for the many expressions of confidence and support we have received over the past two days.”

Original Update 2 posting…

Certainly not a ‘moment to remember‘ debut for Virgin Orbit and Virgin Orbit National Systems, as the company’s initial, rideshare launch from the United Kingdom has been unsuccessful.

With Cosmic Girl taking off from Spaceport Cornwall, 25 minutes after the 10:01 p.m. lift off of the LauncherOne rocket carried beneath the customized 747 aircraft, an anomaly occurred and the mission had to be aborted, sending the rocket and the payload of nine satellites into the Earth’s atmosphere where they were destroyed.

The disappointment was quite evident for the thousands of spectators viewing the launch, all hoping for a victory for the UK as a nation vying for premiere launch status among the world’s space faring nations.

The Cosmic Girl 747 landed safely back at Spaceport Cornwall.

The comments from Virgin Orbit National Systems / Virgin Orbit close to a half-hour after claiming on-orbit victory was that an anomaly had actually occurred, one that had prevented the ascension to orbit of the rocket and satellites and the launch had failed to come to fruition. See their statement next…

Statement from Virgin Orbit…

The historic first attempt to launch satellites from British soil reached space late last night, but ultimately fell short of reaching its target orbit.

After successfully taking off from the runway at Spaceport Cornwall — which just a few weeks ago was transformed from a mere slab of empty cement at a commercial airport to the world’s newest space launch operations center — and traveling to the designated drop zone, Cosmic Girl, the customized 747 that serves as the LauncherOne system’s carrier aircraft, successfully released the rocket.

The rocket then ignited its engines, quickly going hypersonic and successfully reaching space. The flight then continued through successful stage separation and ignition of the second stage. However, at some point during the firing of the rocket’s second stage engine, and with the rocket traveling at a speed of more than 11,000 miles per hour, the system experienced an anomaly, prematurely ending the mission.

Though the mission did not achieve its final orbit, by reaching space and achieving numerous significant first-time achievements, it represents an important step forward. The effort behind the flight brought together new partnerships and integrated collaboration from a wide range of partners, including the UK Space Agency, the Royal Air Force, the Civil Aviation Authority, the US Federal Aviation Administration, the National Reconnaissance Office, and more, and demonstrated that space launch is achievable from UK soil.

Out of five LauncherOne missions carrying payloads for private companies and governmental agencies, this is the first to fall short of delivering its payloads to their precise target orbit.

Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit CEO, said, “While we are very proud of the many things that we successfully achieved as part of this mission, we are mindful that we failed to provide our customers with the launch service they deserve. The first-time nature of this mission added layers of complexity that our team professionally managed through; however, in the end a technical failure appears to have prevented us from delivering the final orbit. We will work tirelessly to understand the nature of the failure, make corrective actions, and return to orbit as soon as we have completed a full investigation and mission assurance process.”

Matt Archer, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at the UK Space Agency, said, “Last night, Virgin Orbit attempted the first orbital launch from Spaceport Cornwall. We have shown the UK is capable of launching into orbit, but the launch was not successful in reaching the required orbit. We will work closely with Virgin Orbit as they investigate what caused the anomaly in the coming days and weeks. While this result is disappointing, launching a spacecraft always carries significant risks. Despite this, the project has succeeded in creating a horizontal launch capability at Spaceport Cornwall, and we remain committed to becoming the leading provider of commercial small satellite launch in Europe by 2030, with vertical launches planned from Scotland.”

Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, said, “We are so incredibly proud of everything we have achieved with our partners and friends across the space industry here in the UK and in the US – we made it to space – a UK first. Unfortunately we learned that Virgin Orbit experienced an anomaly which means we didn’t achieve a successful mission. Today we inspired millions, and we will continue to look to inspire millions more. Not just with our ambition but also with our fortitude. Yes, space is hard, but we are only just getting started.”

Original news posting…

Partners for the United Kingdom’s first orbital launch announced that the initial window for the historic Start Me Up mission will officially open on Monday, January 9th at 22:16, UTC, with additional back-up dates continuing into mid- and late January — Start Me Up is a collaborative effort between the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA), Cornwall Council, the Royal Air Force (RAF St Mawgan), and Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB).

The Start Me Up mission will carry satellites from seven customers to space, including commercial and government payloads from several nations as well as a collaborative US-UK mission.

The LauncherOne system that will conduct the mission is now mated to its carrier aircraft, a Boeing 747 dubbed Cosmic Girl, at Spaceport Cornwall. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system successfully completed an end-to-end launch rehearsal, taking the integrated system through to the loading of propellants and proceeding through terminal count, resulting in the verification of the health of the system and readiness of the team.

Given the number of “firsts” being executed for this launch – the first orbital launch from UK soil or from anywhere in western Europe — Virgin Orbit and its partners will maintain a conservative posture with regard to system health, weather and all other elements of scheduling.

Spaceport Cornwall received the United Kingdom’s first spaceport license from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in November of 2022. In late December of 2022, Virgin Orbit was issued first-of-their-kind launch and range control licenses, which ensured all regulatory, safety, and environmental requirements have been met. This week, the CAA announced that all of the satellites flying on this mission have received their licenses as well.

The forthcoming mission from Cornwall will contain many firsts: the first orbital launch from the United Kingdom, the first international launch for Virgin Orbit and the first commercial launch from western Europe.

Start Me Up will be the fifth consecutive Virgin Orbit launch to carry payloads for private companies and government agencies. All of the prior 33 satellites were carried by LauncherOne to their precise desired orbit, while demonstrating the ability to fly through and above inclement weather, integrate rapid-call up payloads, and reach a broader range of orbits than would be possible from a traditional ground-launch system.

The launch was acquired by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Virgin Orbit National Systems, a Virgin Orbit U.S. subsidiary serving classified customers, as the first task order on NRO’s Streamlined Launch Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Contract, or “SLIC.”

The missions of the satellites span a wide range of activities aimed at improving life on Earth, including reducing the environmental impact of production; preventing illegal trafficking, smuggling, and terrorism; and a host of national security functions. The full Start Me Up manifest…

IOD-3 AMBER (aka IOD-3)
Developed by Satellite Applications Catapult (“SA Catapult”) and Horizon Technologies and built by AAC Clyde Space, all based in the U.K. IOD-3 Amber is expected to be the first of more than 20 Amber satellites to provide space-based Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) data to users.

Prometheus-2
Two cubesats owned by the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s (MOD) Defense Science & Technology Laboratory Dstl. These satellites, co-funded with Airbus Defence and Space who are designing them jointly with In-Space Missions, will support MOD science and technology (S&T) activities both on-orbit and on the ground through the development of ground systems focused at Dstl’s site near Portsmouth.

CIRCE (Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment)
CIRCE is part of a joint mission between the U.K.’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).

DOVER
Developed by RHEA Group in the UK, it is the company’s first satellite in its 30-year history. The satellite is being co-funded through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Navigation Program (NAVISP) and built by Open Cosmos of the United Kingdom. DOVER is a smallsat that was created as a pathfinder for resilient global navigation satellite systems.

ForgeStar-0
Developed by Space Forge of Wales, the satellite is a fully returnable and reusable platform to enable in-space manufacturing. This launch will be the first for the company’s ForgeStar platform and will test future returns from space technology.

AMAN
Oman’s first orbital mission, it is a single EO satellite meant to demonstrate the future feasibility of a larger constellation and was developed after a memorandum of understanding among the Sultanate of Oman, Polish Small Satellite manufacturer and operator SatRev, Poland-originated AI data analytics specialists

TUATARA, and Omani-based merging technology innovator ETCO.
The agreement includes additional planned small satellites, including this, the first in Oman’s history.

STORK-6
Stork-6 is the next installment of Polish Small Satellite manufacturer and operator SatRev’s STORK constellation. Virgin Orbit previously launched two spacecraft in this constellation on a previous launch and looks forward to continuing to launch SatRev’s STORK spacecraft in the future.

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rockets are designed and manufactured in Long Beach, California, and are air-launched from the wing of a converted Boeing 747-400 aircraft named Cosmic Girl. Virgin Orbit’s unique air-launch platform can take off from any runway long enough to handle a Boeing 747. Not reliant on traditional spaceports that support vertical launches, this capability creates a new level of mobility for satellite launch, thereby enabling sovereign launch capability in new markets.

Ian Annett, Deputy CEO at the UK Space Agency, said, “We are entering a new era for space in the UK with the first ever satellite launch from UK soil and from Europe. This is a significant landmark for the nation, the UK Space Agency and for all those who have worked so hard over many years to make our ambitions to create a commercial space launch capability a reality. The development of new orbital launch capabilities is already generating growth, catalysing investment and creating jobs in Cornwall and other communities across the United Kingdom. This will lead to new careers, improved productivity and inspire the next generation of space professionals, and this is just the beginning. I look forward to seeing more launches from other UK spaceports over the next year, putting us firmly on the map as Europe’s leading destination for commercial small satellite launch.”

Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit CEO, said, “After ensuring that every technical aspect is sound and every regulation and code has been satisfied, it is gratifying to see this historic endeavor on the verge of coming to fruition. This launch represents the opening of a new era in the British space industry and new partnerships across industry, government, and allies. Space is already responsible for tens of thousands of jobs across the UK, the global industry is growing quickly, and so is the potential. And this launch is demonstrating that with the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne system an airport can become a spaceport that sends humankind’s innovations on their journey.”

Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, said, “This is a phenomenal moment with incredible international collaboration. Virgin Orbit, the UK Space Agency and all of our partners are breaking new ground to transform access to space across the world from right here in Cornwall. My team at Spaceport Cornwall have worked so hard to get this far and we wish everyone the best of luck as the launch window opens, we are ready.”

Tim Johnson, Director for Space Regulation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said, “Effective licensing forms an integral part of UK space activity, and with public safety at the heart of our decision making, we’ve worked with Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall to assess their applications and issue licences within our expected timeframe, putting the UK framework on a competitive footing with international space regulators. With all licences in place, Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall are now in a position to deliver a historic first orbital launch from UK shores. We’re proud to be playing our part in facilitating the UK’s space ambitions and enable this country to become a leading launch nation.”