Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”) (Nasdaq: ASTR) and SaxaVord UK Spaceport are partnering to increase access to space by providing dedicated orbital launch services to a growing satellite market. Subject to the entry of definitive agreements and regulatory approvals, rocket launches are expected to start in 2023.

With a flexible, mobile approach, Astra can transport and connect a fully functional launch system to a simple concrete pad for launches. SaxaVord UK Spaceport would expand Astra’s capacity at key inclinations. Together, they are expected to accelerate access to space for customers launching in the UK.

“This agreement between SaxaVord Spaceport and Astra is great news for Shetland and represents another step towards our shared ambition of bringing vertical launch satellite capability to Scotland,” said Ivan McKee, Scottish Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise. “Companies like this are vital to achieving the aims of our National Strategy for Economic Transformation that will support a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators in areas like small satellite technology and Scotland’s growing space industry.”

“Astra is an agile, fast-moving company on pace to establish a successful track record,” said Robin Huber, Director of Business Development at SaxaVord UK Spaceport. “We look forward to working with their team to build new launch capabilities in the UK. Their mission to improve life on Earth from space is closely aligned with our own values, and we believe that this exciting new relationship will develop into a strong, lasting partnership.”

“The additional inclinations, flexibility and launch capacity that this partnership enables will allow us to meet the needs of Astra’s customers and align directly with SaxaVord UK Spaceport’s economic investment and environmental goals,” said Matt Ganser, Vice President of Business Operations at Astra. “We are excited to work with this partner to open another spaceport from which we would hope to meet the growing demand for dedicated launch out of the UK.”

“This new partnership between Astra and SaxaVord UK Spaceport is another great example of the strong interest from the international space community in operating from UK spaceports,” said Matt Archer, Director of Commercial Space at the UK Space Agency. “By attracting global partners and developing a home-grown launch industry, we can cater for the diverse needs of small satellite manufacturers and operators, while benefiting people and businesses across the UK. It is fantastic to welcome Astra into the UK’s thriving launch community.”

Astra’s mission is to improve life on Earth from space by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Astra offers one of the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch services of any operational launch provider in the world. Astra delivered its first commercial payload into Earth orbit in 2021, making it the fastest company in history to reach this milestone, just five years after it was founded in 2016. Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) was the first space launch company to be publicly traded on Nasdaq.

UK Spaceport SaxVord Spaceport (SaxaVord) is the UK’s first vertical satellite launch facility and ground station located at Lamba Ness in Unst, Shetland. Given Unst is the UK’s highest point of latitude, SaxaVord offers customers a geographic competitive advantage enabling unrivaled payloads per satellite, launch site operations, a network of ground stations and in-orbit data collection and analysis. SaxaVord has received endorsement from the UK Space Agency’s (UKSA) Spectre Report, formed industry-leading partnerships and has been chosen to host the UKSA’s UK Pathfinder launch, which will be delivered by Lockheed Martin and ABL Systems, in 2022. SaxaVord has secured planning permission for the launch site, which will be designed for small rockets delivering payloads into LEO. Integral to the UK’s space economy ambitions, SaxaVord is building a highly skilled workforce, championing STEM education and supporting the economic regeneration of the Shetlands.

Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) has shipped the CENTAURI-5 satellite to Cape Canaveral in preparation for the SpaceX Transporter-5 launch.

The CENTAURI-5 spacecraft is part of a constellation commissioned by Fleet Space Technologies to deliver global connectivity solutions specifically designed for the energy, utilities and resource industries. Tyvak International, a Terran Orbital Corporation, designed and developed the spacecraft.

Fleet Space is providing the payload that consists of the world’s first, 3D printed, all-metal patch antenna array, combined with Digital Beamforming in S-Band frequency. The spacecraft is based on a Trestles platform.

CENTAURI-5 implements new antenna technologies that maximize the capabilities of smallsats in LEO. Launching large batches of smallsats drives down connectivity costs for customers while improving coverage and network resilience in areas in high need of satellite communication. The Centauri satellites are built to the 6U cubesat form factor. They weigh less than 10 kg. and are the size of a shoebox.

“Terran Orbital is ecstatic to provide innovative satellite solutions that make revolutionary constellations like Fleet Space possible,” said Terran Orbital Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Marc Bell. “Our engineers work day in and day out to fine-tune life-changing and lifesaving missions. The energy, utility, and resource data gathered from CENTAURI-5 will not only lead to technological innovations, but also increased quality of life for people around the world.”

“CENTAURI-5, our new 3D printed all-metal patch antenna satellite, will not only provide digital beamforming in S-band frequency, but will revolutionize the New Space Industry,” said Fleet Space Technologies CEO, Flavia Tata Nardini. “We are extremely excited to launch this satellite in partnership with Terran Orbital and SpaceX. CENTAURI-5 will be the 7th satellite of our planned constellation, with another four launches upcoming. We build, we launch, and we deliver upon our promises to keep growing our satellite constellation and deliver connectivity to our customers across the globe.”

Dawn Aerospace Wins Blue Canyon’s X-SAT Saturn-Class Propulsion Business

Dawn Aerospace, a Netherlands-, New Zealand-and U.S.-based space transportation company, has been selected by Blue Canyon Technologies to provide turnkey chemical propulsion systems for the X-SAT Saturn satellite bus. Dawn will supply thrusters, tanks, control electronics, and full-service support in logistics and propellant loading for the ESPA Grande-class satellite.

Blue Canyon Technologies LLC (BCT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, recently celebrated its first year with Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S). The investment from RI&S saw BCT invest heavily in high-volume manufacturing to enable concurrent production of 60-plus spacecraft. The company has scaled production of its CubeSat, ESPA, and ESPA Grande Microsat buses along with its components’ business to expedite spacecraft production for its clients, including NASA, U.S. Department of Defense, and many others.

“We are moving fast, and we need suppliers that can match our cadence and quality,” Stephen Steg, CEO of BCT said. “The in-space-heritage, creative thinking and solutions-focused approach we’ve seen from Dawn give us great confidence in their ability to deliver.”

“Through a modular approach, we use standardized components and production processes, including additive manufacturing, to provide custom turnkey systems in a fraction of the time and cost of our competition,” Dawn Aerospace co-founder, and Chief Revenue Officer Jeroen Wink said. “We typically deliver the first batch of flight units within 12 months, then six months or less for recurring units thereafter.”

Dawn recently announced it had been contracted to produce more than 100 thrusters for clients across the U.S., Europe, Japan, India, and Indonesia. The company also has propulsion contracts for a series of constellations, including Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging constellation and the Indonesian Space Agency’s (LAPAN) early-tsunami warning constellation. Other contracts include the continued supply for a series of Orbital Transfer Vehicles, such as D-Orbit’s ION spacecraft and UARX’s OSSIE spacecraft.

“We are investing heavily in our people and facilities,” Wink said. “With substantial flight heritage now under our belt on multiple missions, we are scaling to meet demand.”

Blue Canyon’s X-SAT microsatellite buses offer a compact profile designed to maximize volume, mass, and power, and carry payloads up to 200 kilograms. These buses are used by a variety of customers and are built to accommodate all types of unique missions.

Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”) has announced that Charles Chase, Nick Zello and Gary Bartmann have joined the Company as Vice President of Engineering, Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Supply Chain, respectively.

Chase, Zello, and Bartmann bring deep aerospace experience focusing on innovation, technology development, manufacturing, organization building, profitability, and strategy development and execution.

Chase was the founder and leader of Revolutionary Technology Programs, the organization at the technological front end of the storied Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. He led the conception, development and market transition of transformative aerospace technologies in that position. Notably, Chase is an expert in plasma systems and led the development of aerodynamic materials, fluid dynamic control systems, novel control effectors, and cutting-edge vehicle designs. Plasma systems technology is at the heart of the Microwave Electrothermal Thruster using water as a propellant that Momentus is developing.

Zello has product development and manufacturing expertise that spans the automotive, aerospace, internet/I.T., and construction industries. Zello previously worked at Maxar Technologies, where he served as Vice President of Smallsat Operations and Delivery, Vice President of Production Control and Supply Chain and Executive Director of New Product Development at their Space Infrastructure division. He also was General Manager at MDA US Systems LLC, a developer and supplier of commercial and civil robotics, and held leadership roles at General Motors.

Bartmann brings deep expertise in supply chain management from his executive experience at United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Lockheed Martin. As Director and Vice President of Supply Chain at ULA and Lockheed Martin Space/Headquarters, he led teams responsible for strategy development, execution, and supply chain solutions that delivered bottom-line savings and process improvements. His experience in supply chain management, execution, and strategy development are highly valued skills at a time of global supply challenges.

“Success in space starts with our team on the ground, and Charles, Nick and Gary are model leaders who regularly demonstrate it’s not just the work you achieve, but how you achieve it,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer, John Rood. “Their backgrounds and experience are inimitable, and they bring an unrelenting focus on innovation, problem solving, and crisp execution to their roles. As Momentus gears up for its first flight and looks to transition from development to production, we will have top-tier talent leading the charge into the future.”

With satellite traffic reaching more than 52,000 passes on KSAT‘s KSATlite network in March, the successful, small-aperture ground network is currently handling an unprecedented amount of satellite supports. Although traffic has double in just one year, the network demonstrates a proficiency of 99.7% from scheduling to data delivery

KSATlite is a software-focused, Global Ground Network offering optimized support for smallsats and big constellations. In the span of just one year, from March 2021 to March 2022, traffic on the KSATlite network has almost doubled, seeing the same amount of traffic on the lite network alone, as KSAT’s overall network did this time last year.

Despite this extreme growth, the network is demonstrating a proficiency of 99.7% over the last 100,000 contacts, from scheduling to data delivery.

The main reason for the dramatic growth is that satellite operators are expanding their fleets, moving from one satellite to a constellation of many spacecraft. KSAT is continuously expanding the network to ensure capacity is available. Standardized solutions enable global coverage with the flexibility to keep an eye on the satellite, all the while simultaneously accessing data.

Thirty-three new antennas have built in the last 15 months for KSATlite, spread across 10 ground stations. This means that the capacity for the customers is increased, as the team expects the number of passes will continue to grow in the months ahead.

“I am extremely proud of all work the team has put down to reach this significant milestone. We see that the Lite network is hitting a sweet spot in the marketplace, supporting all kind of customers from extremely low latency constellations to university satellites,” said Kristian Jenssen, director, KSATlite.

“The activity in the commercial smallsat market is evolving in an accelerated way. The market is growing fast and with a small team and scalable and automated solutions we are able to keep up with the traffic, increase the service quality and improve the customer satisfaction. This is an amazing challenge and a very exiting journey,” said Arthur Kvalheim Merlin, Product Manager, KSATlite.

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) is a leading provider of Ground Network Services and Earth Observation Services, connecting space to Earth. KSAT owns and operates a Ground Station Network of both polar and mid-latitude stations. The four polar ground stations are uniquely located in Tromsø at 69°N, Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat) at 78°N Inuvik Station at 68°N and the Antarctic station (TrollSat) at 72°S. The network consist of more than 260 antennas located at 26 sites world-wide and handles 75 000+ passes per month.

In May 2022, Rocket Lab will launch a cubesat to the Moon — this historic pathfinding mission supports NASA’s Artemis program that will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Using the company’s Electron rocket and new Lunar Photon upper stage, Rocket Lab will inject the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) cubesat to a highly efficient transfer orbit to the Moon.

CAPSTONE is owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, for NASA.

CAPSTONE’s primary objective is to test and verify the calculated orbital stability of a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon, the same orbit planned for Gateway. NASA’s Gateway is a small space station that will orbit around the Moon to provide astronauts with access to the lunar surface and will feature living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research and ports for visiting spacecraft.

CAPSTONE will also test a navigation system developed by Advanced Space that will measure its absolute position in cislunar space using interaction with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter without relying on ground stations for navigation support.

CAPSTONE is one of the first steps to learn how to operate more robust missions in this unique orbit, thereby laying the groundwork for future exploration of the solar system.

Another exciting day at Planet as the company unveils details about their nex-gen satellite constellation, Pelican, designed to efficiently capture brief and rapidly changing events as they unfold.

The Pelican constellation was designed in-house and is expected to be built at the firm’s manufacturing facility in San Francisco. The advancements of this brand new constellation represent a leap forward in capabilities for the firm’s customers — from higher revisit and higher spatial resolution, to faster data access and delivery.

Pelican is expected to start launch activities early next year and will consist of the following specifications:

• Up to 32 new tasking satellites, which will replenish and improve upon the capabilities of our existing 21 SkySats

• Increased rapid revisit, as customers are expected to be able to task images of the same location up to 12 times per day, and will even have 30 opportunities in mid latitudes

• Reduced latency for downloading data, creating shorter time loops between tasking and receiving data across the world

• Higher resolution capabilities with up to 30 cm. resolution imagery

This next-generation constellation is expected to monitor patterns of life, such as shifting political borders and changing coastlines, and help characterize drivers of environmental change that are threatening protected ecosystems. Planet hopes these exciting product advancements will provide customers across global industries and governments with the ability to respond to global events with more speed and better informed insights.

With such revisit capacity, users should be able to capture transitory events occurring in one location, increasing their likelihood of obtaining a high quality image even during unpredictable or cloudy weather. These new rapid and accurate insights will be particularly valuable for monitoring regions with fleeting events, such as unstable conflict zones or areas vulnerable to storms and fires that spread rapidly over space and time.

The company is currently seeing strong and growing demand from multiple market segments for real-time data from their high-resolution products, including the defense sector for security intelligence, civil government for disaster response and software companies for mapping platforms. Pelican was designed to meet these growing needs as a state-of-the-art rapid revisit and very high resolution satellite system, delivering information faster and more accurately.

Global customers are able to use both of the firm’s satellite system products – the PlanetScope monitoring and SkySat tasking – in combination, to execute tip and cue strategies and design automated alert systems. Thus, Planet designed Pelican to leverage and advance on that interoperability so the company can continue to pioneer unique and comprehensive datasets to answer customers’ questions. Combined with a full suite of daily, global monitoring data and analytics solutions, Pelican believes they will help drive critical decision-making for aid organizations, businesses, international NGOs, and governments.

“We are seeing strong and growing demand from multiple market segments for our high resolution products today. We have designed our next generation ‘Pelican’ fleet to meet the evolving needs of customers who want real-time information about global events as they unfold – from floods and wildfires to political conflicts and threats to human rights. Pelican’s rapid response and higher resolution will do exactly that,” said Planet Co-Founder and CEO, Will Marshall.

Foresail-1, the first satellite from the Finnish Center of Excellence in Research of Sustainable Space, is now ready for space.

“With the help of long-term funding from the Academy of Finland, we have created the first scientific space program in Finland, which aims to develop more sustainable space technology,” said Professor Minna Palmroth from the University of Helsinki, the director of the Center of Excellence.

The satellite’s journey from Otaniemi in Espoo will start within a few days. The first stop will be Berlin, Germany, where the satellite will be integrated into the launch adapter. Foresail-1 will be delivered to its designated rocket by the German launch service provider EXOLaunch. In the summer, the satellite will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the space center at Cape Canaveral in Florida, U.S.

The satellite systems and scientific instruments in Foresail-1 were all developed and built in Finland. The Center of Excellence studies space conditions and uses this research to develop satellites that will last longer in the challenging conditions of space. It is headed by the University of Helsinki and includes Aalto University, the University of Turku and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The teams from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the University of Turku are responsible for the scientific instruments and their measurements.

The Aalto University team was in charge of planning the mission and building the satellite. The team developed a completely new, open satellite platform in its laboratory. The satellite platform and the subsystems, such as the positioning system, radio, central computer, frame, antennas, position sensors, batteries and solar panels, can be used in future Finnish satellite missions. The satellite plans will be made available as an open-source project.

According to Assistant Professor Jaan Praks from Aalto University, particular attention was paid to the reliability and longevity of the satellite by protecting its electronics from space radiation better than in previous small satellites.

“Several development versions of the satellite were built throughout the project, and the functionality of the systems was ensured through dozens of tests in conditions like high vibration, vacuum and low temperatures. The final flight model of the satellite will soon be integrated into the launch adapter, which will then be attached to the Falcon 9 rocket at the launch site in Cape Canaveral,” Praks says.

Control and operation of the satellite will be handled by the Otaniemi ground station, which currently tracks the Aalto-1 and Suomi100 satellites. The ground station operations are built on solutions and software developed at Aalto University.

Though the satellite is just the size of a milk carton, it will carry two unique scientific instruments developed by the Center of Excellence: the PATE particle telescope, which will study the near-Earth radiation environment, and a plasma brake, which will bring the satellite out of orbit.

The plasma brake has already been tested in Aalto-1, but further development has improved its operational reliability. The brake aims to significantly reduce the amount of space debris in orbit by slowing the satellite down, so it falls back into the atmosphere, where it goes up in smoke. Normally it takes years for satellites to sink with return into the atmosphere, but with the plasma brake, the process could be sped up to just two months.

“The plasma brake works in theory and in our tests, but its braking force has not yet been fully measured in space,” said Research Manager Pekka Janhunen from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

The goal of the PATE particle telescope, developed at the University of Turku, is to help researchers better understand the radiation environment of space and extend the life of satellites.

“More accurate measurements from the PATE instrument will help us determine how electrons exit the radiation zones into the atmosphere. With this knowledge, we’ll be able to develop satellites that can withstand space radiation better and operate in space for longer,” said Professor Rami Vainio from the University of Turku.

“Omnispace is reinventing mobile communications by building a global hybrid network that will benefit users requiring true mobility, everywhere”…

Omnispace and Thales Alenia Space are proud to announce that Omnispace Spark-1 was successfully delivered into orbit aboard the SpaceX Transporter-4. The Omnispace Spark program represents phase one in the development and delivery of the world’s first standards-based global hybrid network.

Thales Alenia Space designed and built the satellite, part of the initial two-satellite Omnispace Spark program. The new-generation NGSO satellite in low-Earth orbit (LEO) will operate in the 2 GHz S-band. Omnispace Spark will support the mobile industry 3GPP standard^* in band n256, making connectivity possible direct to compatible devices. This program will serve to advance the development and implementation of Omnispace’s global hybrid non-terrestrial (NTN) network.

“Omnispace is reinventing mobile communications by building a global hybrid network that will benefit users requiring true mobility, everywhere,” said Ram Viswanathan, president and CEO of Omnispace LLC. “We are pleased with the work that Thales Alenia Space, together with its world-class team of innovators, have done to design and build Omnispace Spark. With their help we are making our vision of a single, ubiquitous, global hybrid network possible.”

“I’m very excited about the successful launch of Spark-1, a nanosatellite we built in conjunction with NanoAvionics, Syrlinks & ANYWAVES. This achievement reflects our ability to develop new space solutions in partnership with innovative SMEs to address market needs. We are convinced that merging flight proven expertise with agility is the key to successfully matching the evolving space demand,” added Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space.

Spark-1 was delivered into orbit aboard a SpaceX Transporter. Exolaunch provided launch, mission management, integration and deployment services.

Led by prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space, the Omnispace Spark program includes industry partners, NanoAvionics providing the satellites buses, launch support and in-orbit operations,  ANYWAVES the payloads user antennas and Syrlinks the S-band instruments for the payloads.

“The successful launch of Omnispace Spark-1 also signifies a successful collaboration between the NewSpace and traditional space, resulting in our great technological exchange with Thales Alenia Space,” said Vytenis J. Buzas, founder and CEO of NanoAvionics. “It is fair to say that both companies had to adjust their processes and find mutual middle ground. From working with a traditional satellite prime contractor, we gained a valuable experience and were able to further improve our reliability assurance processes and our technical performance. At the other side, we hope that Thales Alenia Space was able to benefit from our modular technology and the agility levels we provide.”

“After demonstrating our capacity to provide COTS antennas, we are today very proud to show our capability regarding payload ones. Supporting major space projects, such as Omnispace Spark, alongside with Thales Alenia Space, is also another source of great pride for ANYWAVES,” added Nicolas CAPET, ANYWAVES CEO.

“We are very proud to have been involved in the development of the first phase of this Internet Of Things (IoT) satellite constellation. We would like to thank Thales Alenia Space for having relied on Syrlinks for the design of a specific New-Space Radio-Frequency Payload equipment with capability to receive, process and transmit IoT dedicated signals,” stated Eric Pinson, Director of Space activity at Syrlinks. 

5G capability from a single global network will transform industries and serve as the communications infrastructure to support economies of the 21^st century. The network will empower mobile network operators and value added resellers to fuel innovation, power industries, and connect billions of users.

For the first time, Rocket Lab will attempt a mid-air helicopter capture of an Electron rocket as it returns to Earth from space, furthering the company’s program to make Electron the first reusable orbital small launch vehicle.

The “There and Back Again” mission, Rocket Lab’s 26th Electron launch, will lift off from Pad A at Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula within a 14-day launch window scheduled to commence on April 19, 2022, UTC. Electron will deploy 34 payloads from commercial operators Alba Orbital, Astrix Astronautics, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, E-Space, Unseenlabs, and Swarm Technologies via global launch services provider, Spaceflight Inc. The launch is expected to bring the total number of satellites launched by Electron to 146.

For the first time, Rocket Lab will also attempt a mid-air capture of Electron’s first stage as it returns from space after launch, the next major step in the Company’s development program to make Electron a reusable rocket. Rocket Lab will be attempting the catch with a customized Sikorsky S-92, a large, twin engine helicopter that is typically used in offshore oil & gas transport and search and rescue operations.

Catching a returning rocket stage mid-air as it returns from space is a highly complex operation that demands extreme precision. Several critical milestones must align perfectly to ensure a successful capture.

Recovery Mission Profile:

• Approximately an hour prior to lift-off, Rocket Lab’s Sikorsky S-92 will move into position in the capture zone, approximately 150 nautical miles off New Zealand’s coast, to await launch.

• At T+2:30 minutes after lift-off, Electron’s first and second stages will separate per a standard mission profile. Electron’s second stage will continue on to orbit for payload deployment and Electron’s first stage will begin its descent back to Earth reaching speeds of almost 8,300 km (5,150 miles) per hour. The stage will reach temperatures of around 2,400 degrees C (4,352 F) during its descent.

• After deploying a drogue parachute at 13 km (8.3 miles) altitude, the main parachute will be extracted at around 6 km (3.7 miles) altitude to dramatically slow the stage to 10 meters per second, or 36 km (22.3 miles) per hour.

• As the stage enters the capture zone, Rocket Lab’s helicopter will attempt to rendezvous with the returning stage and capture the parachute line via a hook.

• Once the stage is captured and secured, the helicopter will transport it back to land where Rocket Lab will conduct a thorough analysis of the stage and assess its suitability for reflight.

“We’re excited to enter this next phase of the Electron recovery program,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “We’ve conducted many successful helicopter captures with replica stages, carried out extensive parachute tests, and successfully recovered Electron’s first stage from the ocean during our 16th, 20th, and 22nd missions. Now it’s time to put it all together for the first time and pluck Electron from the skies. Trying to catch a rocket as it falls back to Earth is no easy feat, we’re absolutely threading the needle here, but pushing the limits with such complex operations is in our DNA. We expect to learn a tremendous amount from the mission as we work toward the ultimate goal of making Electron the first reusable orbital smallsat launcher and providing our customers with even more launch availability.”

Rocket Lab has previously conducted three successful ocean recovery missions where Electron returned to Earth under parachute and was recovered from the ocean. Analysis of those missions informed design modifications to Electron, enabling it to withstand the hard re-entry environment, and also helped to developed procedures for an eventual helicopter capture.

Payloads aboard the “There and Back Again” mission include:

• Alba Orbital: A cluster of four pico-satellites will be deployed, including Alba Orbital’s own Unicorn-2 PocketQube satellites, as well as TRSI-2, TRSI-3, and MyRadar-1 satellites for Alba Orbital’s customers. Each smallsat carries a unique sensor designed to demonstrate innovative technologies on orbit. Unicorn-2 will be carrying an optical night-time imaging payload designed to monitor light pollution across the globe.

• Astrix Astronautics: Astrix Astronautics is deploying the “Copia” system – a high-performance power generation system for CubeSats that aims to improve on power restraints typically seen in small satellites. The mission aims to demonstrate the high performance of Copia’s novel design via -on-orbit testing with 1U solar arrays able to capture up to 200W.

• Aurora Propulsion Technologies: The AuroraSat-1 also known as The Flying Object will deploy to LEO a demonstration of the company’s proprietary propulsion devices and plasma brakes that provide efficient propulsion and deorbiting capabilities for small satellites. The cubesat will validate the water-based propellant and mobility control of its Resistojets that can assist cubesats with detumbling capabilities and propulsion-based attitude control. AuroraSat-1 will also test its deployable Plasma Brakes which combine a micro-tether with charged particles in space, or ionospheric plasma, to generate significant amounts of drag to deorbit the spacecraft safely at the end of its life.

• E-Space: E-Space’s payload will consist of three demo satellites to validate the systems and technology for its sustainable satellite system. The satellites have small cross-sections to decrease the risk of collision from the millions of untrackable space objects and will automatically de-orbit if any systems malfunction. Eventually, the satellites will sacrificially capture and deorbit small debris to burn up on re-entry, setting a new standard in space environmental management.

• Spaceflight Inc: Spaceflight Inc. has arranged for Rocket Lab to launch two stacks of SpaceBEEs for Internet-of-Things constellation operator, Swarm Technologies.

• UNSEENLABS: BRO-6 is the sixth satellite of the Unseenlabs’ constellation, dedicated to the detection of RF signals. Thanks to its technology, the French company detects any vessel at sea, even those whose cooperative beacon is turned off. The launch of BRO-6 satellite will allow Unseenlabs to improve its revisit time and deliver more customers.