Planet has announced a multi-year, multi-launch agreement solidifying SpaceX as the firm’s go-to-launch provider through the end of 2025. The first planned launch under this agreement is Flock 4x, 44 SuperDoves on the Falcon 9 Transporter-3 SSO rideshare mission scheduled for launch December 2021.

The demand for flexible, high-resolution imagery of the Earth has skyrocketed in recent years as companies across the world seek daily global insights for their industries. While Planet already operates the world’s largest constellation of Earth Observation (EO) satellites, with 200 currently in orbit, the company is continuing to innovate by rapidly building satellites with the newest advances in imagery technology. Planet’s accessible data has transformed the industry by pushing the satellite imagery market past only serving the traditional satellite imagery consumer, multi-billion dollar governments, to also serving a new future of global companies and non-traditional users.

SpaceX’s rideshare program has allowed companies such as Planet to meet their ambitious targets for product launch. This multi-year launch agreement enables Planet to efficiently launch much of the firm’s emerging satellite projects including future SuperDoves and Carbon Mapper. The company is accelerating its work to deliver insights in EO in high resolution and with hyperspectral imaging. Building this collaborative agreement with SpaceX marks an important step for agile aerospace in the New Space industry.

To date, Planet has launched 83 satellites with SpaceX over the course of seven launches, the most recent of which included the launches of SkySats 16-18 and 19-21 aboard Starlink missions, and the launch of Flock 4s, 48 SuperDoves, on the record-breaking Transporter-1 SSO rideshare launch.

Beyond SpaceX, Planet maintains a diversified launch manifest to mitigate risks inherent to the launch industry. Moving forward, Planet will continue to operate with a variety of launch providers to ensure that launch needs can still be met in the event of the unavailbility of specific providers. By engaging with a diversified manifest, Planet can find launches to the right orbit in the right time frame for each evolving satellite project.

Last month, Planet entered into a definitive merger agreement with dMY Technology Group, Inc. IV (NYSE:DMYQ), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to become a publicly-traded company.

“I‘m excited to continue our partnership with SpaceX. We’ve had seven launches to date. But more than that, we’ve pioneered together rapid planning, manufacturing, and launch of satellites that only Planet and SpaceX could together have achieved,” said Planet CEO Will Marshall.

“We’re honored that Planet has chosen SpaceX as its go-to launch provider,” said SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales, Tom Ochinero. “As the demand for Planet’s services continues to soar, SpaceX’s regular launch cadence will allow Planet’s customers to use its services with as little downtime after manufacturing as possible.”

Rocket Lab will launch the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand from Q4 2021 — this will be Rocket Lab’s first launch to the Moon.

CAPSTONE (the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) aids NASA’s Artemis program, which includes landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establishing a long-term presence there.

Launching on an Electron launch vehicle and deploying from Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform, CAPSTONE is a 55-pound satellite created by Advanced Space that will serve as the first spacecraft to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit. As a precursor for Gateway and other Artemis elements, an international and commercial Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies and verifying the dynamics of this halo-shaped orbit.

The mission is the first time Rocket Lab will use its Photon spacecraft platform as a trans-lunar injection stage to place a satellite on a trajectory that will take it beyond Earth orbit to the Moon. After lifting off on Electron to an initial elliptical LEO, Photon will separate and use its 3D printed HyperCurie engine to provide in-space propulsion to allow CAPSTONE to break free of Earth’s gravity and set a course for the Moon. After deploying the CAPSTONE satellite, Photon will continue on its own trajectory to conduct a lunar fly-by, while CAPSTONE will use its own propulsion system to enter a cislunar orbit.

Following a three-to-four-month trip to the Moon, the CAPSTONE cubesat will enter a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), which is a highly elliptical orbit over the Moon’s poles. During its six-month primary mission in orbit around the Moon, CAPSTONE will validate the propulsion requirements for maintaining this type of orbit as predicted by models, reducing logistical uncertainties for future missions. It will also test the accuracy of innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solutions as well as demonstrate capabilities for commercial support of future lunar missions. The NRHO provides the advantage of an unobstructed view of Earth in addition to coverage of the lunar South Pole.

Originally slated for lift-off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, the CAPSTONE mission will now take place from Launch Complex 1 to support a Q4 launch window.

“Flexible isn’t a word usually used to describe lunar missions but operating two launch complexes gives us the freedom to select a site that best meets mission requirements and schedule,” said Rocket Lab Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Beck. “Our team is immensely proud to be launching one of the first pathfinding missions to support NASA’s goal of delivering a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon. We’ve teamed up with the NASA Launch Services Program on previous Electron missions to low Earth orbit, so it’s exciting to be working with them again to go just a bit further than usual…some 380,000 km further.”

Advanced Space of Colorado owns the satellite and operates the mission. CAPSTONE development is supported by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate via the Small Spacecraft Technology Program at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Advanced Exploration Systems within NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate supports the launch and mission operations. NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch management.

Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”) has announced a launch services agreement with the Danish Students CubeSat Program (DISCO).

The launch services agreement was formally signed earlier this year and is focused on a mid- 2022 launch and delivery of a 1U cubesat to its LEO destination aboard a Momentus Vigoride service vehicle.

The DISCO satellite will host a series of student experiments from across a consortium of four Danish universities and serve as a communication station for radio amateurs around the world. One of the DISCO team’s goals is to learn to use S-band frequencies for communications with the 1U satellite. This could allow subsequent DISCO satellites to send much more significant amounts of data to Earth.

“Allowing students to conduct science in orbit challenges, energizes and encourages a new generation of STEM advocates,” said Momentus Chief Revenue Officer, Dawn Harms. “We’re looking forward to helping the DISCO team achieve its mission objectives.”

“DISCO-1 will be the first in a series of hopefully many CubeSats that we will launch in the DISCO program,” said Associate Professor at Aarhus University and leader of the DISCO project, Christoffer Karoff. “We are extremely happy for the collaboration with Momentus. They have been very helpful in guiding us through the complicated process of launching a satellite.“

Leaf Space is progressing with the launch phase of a new, innovative use of telemedicine via satellite for home monitoring of patients with COVID-19 as part of the CARES project led by the company and co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).

CARES is a set of medical devices connected to a smartphone, which collects patient vitals using medical software and adds that information to a database, remotely. This database is accessible by a doctor directly from a web browser and is designed by project partner H&S to provide comprehensive, almost real-time data with ease.

H&S’s Health Platform is also enabled to trigger an alert system if the monitored patient’s vitals are recorded outside of the safe range and provides options for management including contacting the patient or even sending an ambulance.

The pilot trial of the CARES project is currently ongoing in collaboration with Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Erba, Molinette in Torino and Villa Gioia in Sora, where discharged and recovering COVID-19 patients can recover from the comfort of their homes while having the confidence that their progress and vitals are being consistently and reliably monitored by medical professionals.

By integrating the remote monitoring health platform with satellite telecommunication infrastructure to guarantee the service everywhere, Leaf Space’s support of the CARES system allows patients without reliable internet based on ground-based infrastructure to receive the remote monitoring and care that is incredibly important, especially for those patients recovering from COVID-19.

This same model can be applied to patients with chronic diseases, rehab processes and any type of condition that require strict monitoring and multiple medical examinations anywhere in the world. Leaf Space’s satellite backed telecommunication structure ensures capturing and distributing the signals transmitted by the telemedicine systems to the satellite and back to Earth at the hospital are reliable, fast and compliant with current GDPR and patient privacy laws.

“The unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has saturated the emergency departments of European hospitals and is creating a huge stress on the screening processes,” said Arnaud Runge, medical engineer at ESA. “To respond to this unprecedented effort to contain and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have offered to support European companies in developing their best ideas and proposing effective solutions to respond to this crisis, evidencing the contribution that space can bring in these circumstances. A fast-track approach has been put in place to respond as quickly as possible to the impellent needs of citizens and institutions.”

“We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work with ESA on this incredible project, and we hope that this technology can bring much needed support and peace of mind to people who have suffered so much,” said Jonata Puglia, co-founder and CEO of Leaf Space. “We see a massive opportunity to connect satellite communications with telemedicine technology and hope that our continued work with the CARES project can serve as an example of what can be achieved and applied to so many patients and healthcare systems around the world. We are eager to continue to explore the possibilities of what this technology can do to increase access to healthcare worldwide.”

D-Orbit has successfully completed the deployment phase of their WILD RIDE mission. As part of this phase, D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier (ION), the company’s proprietary space transportation vehicle, successfully deployed all six satellites hosted onboard and will now proceed with the on-orbit demonstration of 12 hosted payloads.

The WILD RIDE mission began on June 30, with the launch of ION SCV 003 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. During the deployment phase, which was completed on July 24, ION Satellite Carrier released smallsats from the Spanish Elecnor Deimos, the Bulgarian EnduroSat, and the Kuwaiti Orbital Space.

Also on board, under contract with ISILAUNCH and integrated into a QuadPack from Dutch satellite manufacturer ISISPACE, were Finnish Reaktor Space Lab, Marshall Intech Technology from UAE, and the Royal Thai Airforce. Each satellite was deployed into a custom orbital slot.

“It’s always exciting to complete the deployment phase,” said Renato Panesi, CCO of D-Orbit. “This is our third mission in nine months, and each of these missions has been characterized by a growing level of complexity which, I’m very proud to say, the team has handled flawlessly. Less than a year ago we proved the concept of precision deployment in space and now this extremely complex operation has almost become routine for us.”

WILD RIDE is the third flight of ION Satellite Carrier, the orbital transportation vehicle designed, manufactured, and operated by D-Orbit to ferry satellites into space and deploy each one individually into its own customized orbit and carry out operations on third-party payloads.

“This is another great achievement, another step towards our vision for a space logistic infrastructure enabling the full potential of the space economy. Imagine how many new space businesses could take shape if there were no boundaries, no fixed locations in space, or time constraints. Imagine how the entire space ecosystem could grow faster if innovative and disruptive technology could be tested in space in a fraction of the time,” said Luca Rossettini, CEO of D-Orbit. “Well, now stop imagining – this is already a reality. Our orbital infrastructure is at the service of both the space-to-Earth and space-to-space visionary companies to build, together, the largest market ever.”

The vehicle used in this mission features an innovative plug-and-play system for hosted payloads already tested in the previous mission. D-Orbit is now preparing for the in-orbit demonstration phase of the mission, which will feature the testing of LaserCube, an optical communication device from the Italian-based company Stellar Project, and of Nebula, an on-demand, on-orbit cloud computing and data storage service that is at the core of D-Orbit’s upcoming advanced services. During this phase, a range of innovative applications will be demonstrated using sophisticated, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) techniques.

D-Orbit’s next orbital transportation mission with ION, the fourth in 15 months, is scheduled for December 2021.

Mynaric has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JR Aerospace to accelerate the firm’s entry into the Indian aerospace market.

JR Aerospace is a newly established Indian investment and technology company with an existing network in the Indian aerospace sector and with relevant organizations. The MoU sets out the principal terms and conditions upon which Mynaric and JR Aerospace will enter into detailed, legally binding agreements intended to be signed subsequent to the MoU.

At the core of the MoU is a contemplated distribution partnership between the companies. The partnership will see Mynaric acting as the exclusive laser communication vendor for JR Aerospace that, in turn, will explore business opportunities with commercial buyers with links to India as well as with various organizations of the Indian government, and beyond.

The partnership will also shine light on the technological, programmatic and regulatory requirements for the sale of laser communication products in the Indian aerospace market. It will further explore possibilities to optimize Mynaric’s international supply chain; both to support its increasing serial-production of laser communication products and to also serve the domestic Indian market more efficiently.

This announcement comes shortly after India’s Department of Telecommunications secretary, Anshu Prakash, held discussions with a range of international satellite operators on a holistic roadmap to establish local manufacturing capabilities and an enabling regulatory environment for LEO satellite constellations.

“India has a huge domestic need for consumer grade broadband provided from satellite constellations and an uprising aerospace sector to provide technological capabilities for commercial and governmental actors. That combined with excellent foreign relations enable Indian corporations to not only provide services for domestic users but also serve other markets in the wider region. We are pleased to be making a step closer to the economic powerhouse that is India and look forward to the business that will result from this partnership,” said Bulent Altan, Chief Executive Officer, Mynaric.

Officina Stellare has signed a new contract for a total of approximately 1 million euros with ISI – ImageSat International for an innovative, multi-spectral, optical payload intended for very high resolution imaging of the Earth’s surface from LEO.

The company will supply a very high resolution, multi-spectral, optical payload, that will operate in the visible and near infrared wavelengths, with the intention of providing 50 cm resolution — delivery is scheduled to occur by Q4 2022. The orbital imaging system will be created with the contribution of the optical instrument expertise of Officina Stellare, thereby creating an innovative set of monitoring and intelligence services that the customer will then be able to offer to end users, inaugurating a new range of products.

ISI-ImageSat International brings more than 20 years’ experience in space based intelligence, providing geospatial intelligence solutions and services based on the EROS NG (Next Generation) EO satellite constellation. ISI is part of an exclusive group of companies that operate ultra-high resolution, EO satellite constellations that are serving Governments, Institutions, Defense & Security organizations and Commercial customers with unique, mission-critical intelligence capabilities.

The very high resolution images that will be captured by the space telescope designed and built by Officina Stellare will guarantee a Ground Sampled Distance (GSD) of 50 cm per pixel — that represents a giant leap forward when compared to existing payloads that are currently on-orbit.

Officina Stellare has long been a qualified supplier of optical systems for commercial and institutional EO programs at high and very high resolution, this being an area wherein the company has been meeting the needs of New Space Economy customers for years. The company includes all of the significant steps of the production process, from design to functional testing of the system, passing through manufacturing and the integration of optical and mechanical components.

Gino Bucciol, Head of Business Development and Officina Stellare Co-Founder, said, “We are very happy with this achievement, obtained after a long technical negotiation with the customer, which began before the pandemic event and passed unscathed through this delicate, world moment. We are particularly pleased with two aspects: on the one hand, Officina Stellare qualities have been recognized in terms of design as well as the management of the entire production cycle, thereby guaranteeing very high quality standards, as well as with the efficiency, risks mitigation, time-to-market and economic competitiveness of their work. On the other hand, thanks to the Space Factory, and as envisaged by the strategic plan, the industrial growth of Officina Stellare has been confirmed. It has become an important player in the market of high-tech aerospace components as well as for complete systems for imaging, integrating internal products with third party subsystems, as represented, in this case, by focal plane devices.”

“This is a major milestone in the long lasting cooperation between both companies and a testimony to our confidence in the technology and talent of Officina Stellare”, said Noam Segal, Chief Executive Officer of ISI. He continued, “ISI intends to deploy a large scale constellation of earth-observation satellites, so I have no doubt, that this payload is just the first of many to come.”

Within the New Space Economy, the tools for Earth imaging represent one of the most important products and strong growth is expected. The images produced are, in fact, enabling numerous applications based on the analysis of the information contained in the images themselves and in their temporal evolution. This signed contract allows Officina Stellare to strengthen its presence in this rapidly expanding market, thanks to the unqiue skills built up over the years.

Taiwan is stepping up its efforts to tap into the global aerospace market, with a focus on developing a specific kind of satellite, Minister of Science and Technology, Wu Tsung-tsong, said on July 6.

The development of LEO satellites are particularly worth pursuing for Taiwan, Wu said in an interview with the Central News Agency, referring to orbits with a maximum altitude of 2,000 km. “It is an opportunity Taiwan definitely cannot afford to miss,” he said. Such satellites, which are often deployed in constellations, have a relatively short life cycle of two to four years compared with larger ones and, therefore, offer more of an opportunity for Taiwanese businesses, he said.

LEO satellites are crucial to the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), which has been pursued by global technology and communications heavyweights. LEO communications satellites, which are relatively inexpensive, can be launched in large enough numbers to economically provide sufficient bandwidth for data transmission rates that IoT applications require, he said. This means that there is a high-demand sector that no longer relies on highly advanced technology only affordable to superpowers, Wu said, adding that the sector has a relatively low market threshold that countries like Taiwan can explore. Taiwan hopes to one day manufacture its own LEO satellites, he said.

The government this year launched a four-year, NT$4 billion ($142.83 million) project with the aim of launching its first LEO communications satellite in 2025.

In the meantime, Taiwan can capitalize on its years of experience as an original equipment manufacturer to become part of the LEO satellite supply chain, National Space Organization Acting Director-General, Yu Shiann-jeng, said.

About a dozen Taiwanese companies — including Microelectronics Technology Inc., Win Semiconductors and Kinpo Electronics — are providing components and ground-based reception equipment for SpaceX, Yu said. With maturer technology and more experience, Taiwanese firms could extend their reach to provide more comprehensive modules with greater added value, he said.

Also expected to help is the Space Development Promotion Act, which was promulgated at the end of May. The act, which regulates the nation’s space-based activities, shows the world Taiwan’s ambition to carve out its own niche in the space economy, Wu said. The Act covers four areas — setting principles of development that are aligned with international space laws, regulating space-based activities to ensure safety, establishing rocket launch sites and promoting industrial development, Wu said. The ministry is designated as the regulator of the sector and will establish a dedicated agency to deal with related affairs, he said.

News article source: Taipei Times

GHGSat has completed the second tranche of a funding round initiated in 2020, thereby closing its total Series B funding at $45 million — the company has raised more than $70 million since its inception in 2011.

GHGSat is accelerating its growth and this additional funding will allow it to expand its GHG emission detection array to 10 satellites and 3 aircraft sensors by 2023. The second tranche of Series B funding was, once again, supported by the Government of Québec through Investissement Québec, OGCI Climate Investments and Space Capital, reaffirming their trust in GHGSat’s business model and technological capability.

The Montréal-based company is at the forefront of the commercial exploitation of data from space using smallsats has has selected to address the pressing need for data on greenhouse gas emissions in order to help industries and governments develop appropriate solutions to tackle environmental challenges.

According to the company, GHGSat is the only organization in the world capable of detecting methane emissions from sources 100 times smaller than those detected by other satellites by using a resolution 100 times greater than other systems, using small satellites. This means that GHGSat can identify and quantify methane emissions from point sources as small as individual oil and gas wells.

Since September of 2020, GHGSat has successfully deployed two satellites into orbit, including Hugo, launched in January of 2021 with SpaceX Transporter 1 rideshare. The data collected by these satellites are now being used by industrial site operators, governments and regulators with whom GHGSat partners to help them better understand their carbon footprint and take the necessary measures to reduce it.

In June of 2021, GHGSat also launched SPECTRA, an emissions data management portal designed to monitor, analyze, and report emissions information. The tool seamlessly incorporates GHGSat’s high-resolution data with client information to provide operators with a complete view of emission risks, thus contributing to a better approach to ESG accountability for users.

The company has also developed PULSE, a map of global methane concentrations that offers the highest resolution currently available, free of cost. Together, these tools contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding these highly problematic emissions, which Canada has committed to reducing by 40-45% by 2025.

GHGSat has recently been recognized several times as one of the most innovative companies in the world, including by renowned media brand Fast Company magazine and was the only Quebec-based company awarded by Fast Company in 2021. In addition, for the second time in its history, GHGSat was proudly featured among the winners of the 41st edition of the Mercuriades awards organized by the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ). The company won the Mercury prize as Company of the Year, as well as in the Technological Innovation category of this prestigious business competition.

“Our success over the past few years is built on the combined talents of our team, which has grown from 30 to 100 people in the past 12 months. This team has worked tirelessly – despite the pandemic – to deliver global emissions detection solutions. It is extremely gratifying to see our efforts recognized and supported by our investors,” said Stephane Germain, GHGSat CEO.

“The GHGSat project is a great example of technological innovation that is helping to propel the Quebec space sector and Quebec engineering to the forefront of the fight against climate change. Our government is proud to support this type of initiative to build a greener, more prosperous province,” said Eric Girard, Minister of Finance and Minister of Economy and Innovation.

Modularity Space and Orbital Transports now have a partnership to create a reusable ecosystem of suppliers, manufacturers and rideshare opportunities for payloads — by combining mission planning and supply chain management services provided by Orbital Transports with reusable spacecraft engineering from Modularity Space, the companies can offer affordable opportunities for payloads to get to orbit with a full, turn-key, mission package. The combined service provides an easy on-ramp to space for payload types ranging from technology demonstration and qualification missions to full constellation-scale deployments.

With flights starting in 2022, Modularity Space is mass producing reusable satellites and renting them to space companies for use in hosting their technology. Much like an apartment rental, customers pay a deposit before move-in and then pay monthly throughout the duration of their mission. Space companies can now benefit from rapid manufacturing timelines, affordable financing to get to space, and the reliability that comes from effective on-orbit satellite servicing.

“We’re over the Moon to partner with Modularity Space to deliver reusable satellites,” said David Hurst, CEO of Orbital Transports. “As a space logistics provider, Orbital Transports delivers complete small satellite programs from initial concept through completed mission. Under the agreement with Modularity Space, Orbital Transports will provide mission services, including systems engineering, design, development, payload testing and integration; and supply chain management services including smallsat products and services procurement, delivery schedule monitoring, product quality assessment, regulatory review, and shipping logistics. “If you want to put a payload in space or even deploy instruments in a constellation, there’s no longer any reason to build your own satellite. Let us handle the space logistics of getting you there so you can focus on your primary mission objectives.”

“Our partnership with Orbital Transports signifies a major milestone in the transition to reusable space as we are enabling standardization, automation, and mass production of reusable space systems,” said Scott Weintraub, CEO of Modularity Space. “By partnering with Orbital Transports, leveraging their expertise, and building a constellation of satellites designed to be serviced in space, and then renting the space on each satellite in the constellation, space companies can build an entire constellation of sensors in space, without ever having to build an actual satellite. Combine this with the space tug companies coming online in search of spacecraft to service in space, and together, Modularity Space and Orbital Transports are enabling a reusable space ecosystem to be born.”

Orbital Transports is bringing the smallsat supply chain online with the SmallSat Catalog, a digital portal showcasing products and services from some of the industry’s most innovative and reliable companies. The SmallSat Catalog is a one-stop shop for all your smallsat supply chain needs, and features CubeSat and smallsat buses, COTS nanosatellite hardware components, ground station services, satellite servicing and refueling technologies, development and test equipment, space biotech experiment modules, and more. The SmallSat Catalog provides a convenient go-to resource to check out the latest and greatest that the smallsat industry has to offer.