Hi Jonata, the annual Small Satellite Conference has just concluded, what are the key take away from Leaf Space?

It has been a week dense of emotions and discoveries. After some months of lock downs across the globe, we have been able to convey again with many of our current and future clients, and industry colleagues too. We also realized that the new space economy never actually stopped. It continued working to have commercially operational smallsat constellations despite the inevitable launch delays. Most of our customers are pushing to get their satellites in orbit as soon as possible and at the same time focusing on their next-generation satellites. In turn, we are scaling up of our ground network and improving the services overall to always provide them a simple, reliable and cost-effective Ground Segment as a Service solution.

How is your Leaf Line ground network growing?

During spring, in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak, we secured a series A funding that triggered the scale up plan of Lead Space. We are now proceeding in activating new sites worldwide and installing new ground stations. We have just cut the ribbon on our new GS in the Azores that will provide enhanced coverage in the Atlantic, and we have few ground stations ready to be shipped to new sites in New Zealand, North America and the equatorial region. We are also installing additional antennas in our historic location in Spain, and soon we will have a new location in East Europe. The pandemic has slowed down the roll out planned for Q2 2020 a bit, but now we are catching up. All these new locations are very attractive not only for satellite missions, our main vertical, but also for the increasing need coming from new and established launch vehicle operators.

Tell me more about launch vehicles, and how Leaf Space is supporting this part of the market.

In 2019 Leaf Space was selected to support the final testing campaign of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne vehicle, an experience that has been really fruitful to gain operational know-how.  Right now, we are developing new solutions to better support this kind of test and launch campaign with an “as a Service” model, that is our real key added value. All this added to the fact that our ground stations are flexible and compact so they can be easily deployed in different spaceports or launch facilities. Also, we have started providing LEOP services to satellites also through Launch Brokers, which provides a better and more comprehensive service to their customers.

Why should clients buy Ground Segment Services from Leaf Space and not build their own network or rely on other providers?

For microsatellite operators, the ground segment in general is seen as a key part of their business, but as it is not the core of their business managing this internally is actually seen as a disadvantage. What they really want to focus on is harvesting data from space, processing that data and delivering it to the end users. In addition, efficiently managing a ground station network is not an easy task. If you think about the multiple hardware and software blocks needed to guarantee a secure and reliable communication, all the regulatory challenges and the specific skills you need to deploy and run a network, this is clearly something that many operators handover to a specialized partner. This is especially true if your partner can provide a more reliable and cost-effective solution thanks to the distributed nature of our network and high degree of automation, from load balancing to rescheduling. We’ve made a webinar on this topic during the Smallsat Conference that will be published soon!

What are your main objectives for the upcoming months?

Well, we have customers in the major part of the rockets scheduled to launch from now to the end of the year and we will support them not only during LEOPs but also through our services Leaf Line and Leaf Key.

On the R&D side we’re working on both increasing the performance of the Ground Stations composing our network, to allow faster data downlink and even support higher frequencies, but also on supporting an even wider range of MODCOD schemes and protocols in order to decrease the onboarding time of our customers.

On a revenue perspective, last year we had already significant revenues, and we plan to double this year and have a quite growing trend after that.

To get more traction on the US market we will soon open a new subsidiary there; we already have people working from the US, but we think that a legal entity will provide us even more visibility both to commercial and institutional market.

So, we’re quite busy!

Skyrora continues with its de-risking program by preparing to launch the Skylark Micro rocket from Iceland later this month.

With the first launch window scheduled for August 12, the two-stage, four-meter tall, sub-orbital rocket is set for take-off from Langanes Peninsula, Iceland.

Following the July test for trajectory and hardware on the Skylark Nano, the Icelandic launch of the Skylark Micro will test onboard avionics and communications as well as practice marine recovery operations.

Skyrora’s de-risking program is based on testing its systems with smaller and more cost-effective vehicles before they are used in their larger Skylark L and Skyrora XL rockets. The company’s LEO rocket, the Skyrora XL, is scheduled to launch in 2023.

Executive Comment

Volodymyr Levykin, the CEO of Skyrora, said, “Skyrora’s de-risking programme is essential for scaling, learning and education before we launch our two commercial vehicles, Skylark L and Skyrora XL. The entire team is working at a pace and has made great efforts to get another launch underway. I’d also like to express my thanks and gratitude towards Space Iceland and Iceland’s government, both of which have been tremendously supportive with the preparations for this upcoming launch.”

Industry leaders are urging the UK government to establish world-class rules to enable safe, environmentally conscious and commercially viable space launches from British soil.

A series of UK-wide workshops aimed at developing a common industry position across key issues related to a sovereign launch capability have just been delivered by the Scottish Space Leadership Council (SSLC). They were designed to foster collaboration and a common UK space sector voice for issues of concern during the UK government’s consultation on its Space Industry Regulations, which runs until October 21 and will create secondary legislation under the Space Industry Act 2018.

A report summarizing the output of four workshop modules — range and trajectory management and governance, spaceport operations, and launch safety and indemnity — will be published by SSLC in early September.

More than 60 representatives from across the UK space sector, including both industry and academia, attended each of the virtual sessions. Government agencies — including the UK Space Agency, Civil Aviation Authority, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, the Ministry of Defence, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Marine Coastguard Agency and Marine Scotland — were also present as observers.

The UK space industry wants to work closely with government legislators to create regulations that will enable a technologically innovative spaceflight economy for the UK.

SSLC is a voluntary, cross-sectoral representative organisation with membership is open to all across the UK space industry sector and representation from across government and its agencies welcomed. Set up in 2017, it provides a platform for industry, academia and government to work collaboratively, promote the sector and take a united approach to shared challenges, such as satellite operations and data analysis, launch vehicle development and integration, the testing of engines and other sub-systems and expansion of new, innovative space sector offerings.

Of these challenges, a key enabler for the sector is the development of practical launch legislation to govern all facets of safe spaceflight from UK soil. This area is felt to require immediate attention given global competition, the legislative process and its overall importance to realising the UK’s space sector potential.

Sub-orbital rocket launches have been taking place in Scotland and across the UK since the 1930s. The 21st century now offers the potential for UK industry to expand its range of launch offerings and services to deliver a full spectrum of launch, including vertical and horizontal orbital launches.

The UK Space Agency’s target to capture 10% of the global space market by 2030 has led to significant investment in a number of developing spaceports. The majority of these launch locations are located in Scotland due to geographical benefits related to flight trajectories, particularly for vertical rocket launches.

SSLC is now exploring ways in which the cross-sector collaboration can be continued and some of the common sectoral messages produced by the Workshops, ongoing Work Streams and from messaging being received by the Council can be input to the Space Industry Regulation consultation now underway.

Executive Comments

“The industry’s perception is that regulations must promote safety and environmental considerations while still allowing the commercial viability required for the sector to truly thrive,” said John Innes, Chair of the Scottish Space Leadership Council. “The space industry is therefore keen to seek ways to inform the legislative process and position the UK as a leader in European spaceflight. It demonstrates a strong desire to work collaboratively across the whole UK Space sector as well as with regulators to ensure the appropriate balance of safety and practicality.” Also, according to Innes, the high level of interest and support for the workshops from across the UK space sector underscores the fundamental importance of launch to the industry.”

Miles Carden, Program Director at Spaceport Cornwall, said, “This workshop series was a fantastic initiative enabling cross-sector input that will ultimately strengthen the UK Space Industry. Collaboration will be the backbone of our next chapter and will help create the regulations for safe and responsible launch.”

Mick O’Connor of Prestwick Spaceport stated, “The sector’s success will be determined by how well we collaborate, these workshops are a great start.”

Mark Roberts of Spaceport One, referred to the collegiate approach as “fantastic”, adding, “Government, the agencies, industry and academia enthusiastically rallying around the common purpose of making launch a success; great news for the UK”.

Scott Hammond from the Shetland Space Center noted, “We were delighted to play a part in the recent Range workshop run by SSLC, it was important to bring all parts of the UK Space industry together to start to craft a range solution that will suit all.”

Roy Kirk, from Space Hub Sutherland, commented, “The workshops were a great success. SSLC provided a valuable opportunity for key players in Scotland’s space sector to share knowledge and experience while learning from specialists in a range of subjects.”

SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 7, at 1:12 a.m., EDT, 5:12 UTC, for the launch of the company’s tenth Starlink mission that will include 57 Starlink satellites and 2 satellites from BlackSky, a Spaceflight customer.

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle will lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A backup opportunity is available on Saturday, August 8, at 12:50 a.m., EDT, 4:50 UTC.

Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported Crew Dragon’s first demonstration mission to the International Space Station, launch of the RADARSAT Constellation Mission and the fourth and seventh Starlink missions. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The BlackSky Global spacecraft will deploy sequentially starting 1 hour and 1 minute after liftoff and the Starlink satellites will deploy approximately 1 hour and 33 minutes after liftoff. Starlink satellites will be deployed in a circular orbit, as was done on the first through fourth Starlink missions. Additionally, all Starlink satellites on this flight are equipped with a deployable visor to block sunlight from hitting the brightest spots of the spacecraft – a measure SpaceX has taken as part of our work with leading astronomical groups to mitigate satellite reflectivity.

Watch the launch webcast at this direct link, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.

Benchmark Space Systems has announced an exclusive services agreement with Spaceflight Inc. to provide a full range of non-toxic, chemical propulsion solutions that are designed to accelerate satellite rideshare deployments to prime orbital locations aboard the company’s next-generation Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs).

Announced last month, Spaceflight’s first OTV in the Sherpa-NG family, Sherpa FX, will carry 16 customer spacecraft and several hosted payloads aboard a Falcon 9 no earlier than December 2020. Benchmark’s safe chemical propulsion will be equipped on an upgraded vehicle called Sherpa-LT as early as late next year.

Benchmark’s propulsion features a patented On-Demand Pressurization System (ODPS) that securely fires up the thruster once the OTV is safely in space and deployed from the launch vehicle. The exclusive propulsion agreement enables Spaceflight’s small satellite rideshare missions to take full advantage of low-cost rideshare launches to sub-optimal locations in space, where its Sherpa-LT vehicle propelled by a Benchmark green thruster can maneuver rideshare and dedicated spacecraft to ideal orbits in a matter of hours.

Benchmark’s scalable, launch vehicle agnostic propulsion product and services set supports a broad spectrum of spacecraft, from 1U cubesats through ESPA-class (1-500 kg) satellites, large lunar landers, and orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), offering far safer and faster rideshare options than electric propulsion systems, which can take months to complete their trips to orbit.

Spaceflight has launched more than 270 satellites across nearly 30 rideshare missions. In 2019, the company successfully executed nine missions, the most it’s ever launched in one year, sending more than 50 payloads to space.

Executive Comments

“By exclusively adding Benchmark’s reliable, green in-space propulsion systems to our portfolio of powered Sherpa vehicles, we can cost-effectively deliver our customers’ spacecraft to optimal orbits with greater precision, and then rapidly de-orbit. That’s good for everyone – including the environment,” said Curt Blake, Spaceflight president and CEO.

“Benchmark Space Systems is thrilled to support Spaceflight’s Sherpa OTV program, bringing our patented non-toxic chemical propulsion solutions to this exciting next-gen deployer to enable a whole new level of rideshare capabilities and options for faster, safer missions to the best orbital locations around the world,” said Ryan McDevitt, Benchmark Space Systems CEO. “The Sherpa OTV and its rideshare customers can reach optimal orbits in no time with up to one-thousand times the thrust of electric propulsion, which is so slow the journey to orbit often cuts mission time and revenue in space. We are looking forward to our first milestone launch with Spaceflight’s Sherpa OTV next year. The integration of Benchmark’s non-toxic chemical propulsion solutions across the propulsion-equipped Sherpa OTV series will add speed and precision to Spaceflight’s market-leading rideshare services and capabilities.”

“The Spaceflight-Benchmark collaborative agreement delivers on big demand for innovative green rideshare options that leverage low-cost launches to sub-optimal space with propulsion-equipped transporters offering quick, precise payload deliveries to premier orbit locations,” said Chris Carella, Executive VP of Business Development and Strategy, Benchmark Space Systems. “Both companies are agile developers and share a passion for always creating better solution designs that are launch vehicle agnostic and keenly focused on enabling new space accessibility with rapid, reliable in-space transport.”

Open Cosmos announced that they have ‘sealed a deal’ with satellite communications operator Sateliot to build and operate their small satellite constellation. This enables continuous global connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) under 5G architecture.

Open Cosmos is already manufacturing the first of the one hundred that will comprise the full constellation, that Sateliot has scheduled for construction before the end of 2022. Additionally they will control the mission management and launch of the first satellites.

These microwave oven-sized satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), flying at an approximate altitude of 500km to guarantee IoT connectivity at a global scale and in almost real-time.

In the next two years it is forecast that there will be more than 50 billion IoT devices globally, and with this constellation Sateliot is perfectly positioned to partner with conventional telecommunication providers to ensure ubiquitous coverage.

Sateliot will also offer monitoring and tracking systems, data analysis, and processes in areas such as: maritime, railways, aeronautical, agriculture and farming, gas and petroleum exploration, electric or critical infrastructure.

Rafel Jordá, Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos said, “We are excited to have satellite production underway for these satellites and be progressing all other aspects of the mission, including system integration, launch, licensing and logistics, as well as orbit operations. We are delighted to partner with Sateliot to enable the reality of IoT anywhere.”

Jaume Sanpera, co-founder and CEO of Sateliot, added that, “A bond with a partner, such as Open Cosmos, allows us to move forward with our project, meeting head-on the requirements and challenges the New Space industry faces, while keeping control over the design of the antennae and the radio that will allow the operational and commercial management of our telecommunications service.”

HawkEye 360 Inc. is now offering a daily Regional Awareness Subscription (RAS) service.

Leveraging the company’s RFGeo product, RAS delivers mission-critical insights by allowing organizations to identify, monitor, and analyze signal behavior over time. Large-scale RF signal mapping provides deeper situational awareness in these regions, with the data sets enabling trend analysis using traditional and artificial intelligence algorithms.

HawkEye 360 will work with customers to define a Regional Awareness Subscription that can span millions of square kilometers. Current RAS collection areas include the Mediterranean, South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula. HawkEye 360 curates a collection plan that routinely gathers a combination of high-demand signals. The company delivers the data in an open standard GeoJSON format that seamlessly integrates with most applications.

HawkEye 360’s RFGeo product identifies and geolocates RF signals collected by HawkEye 360’s proprietary satellite constellation. RFGeo is the first commercially available product offering global spectrum awareness across a broad range of radio signals. HawkEye 360 plans to expand the RAS offering to include new areas of interest important to customers.

Executive Comments

“We’re offering a massive collection of data across a broad area. We are also enabling organizations to access periodic data and analytics for areas they want to monitor,” said Tim Pavlick, VP of Product, HawkEye 360. “Subscribers will receive a daily collection of RF data, allowing them to gain comprehensive insight into their regions, establish historical analysis, and augment other geospatial intelligence solutions.”

“With our Regional Awareness Subscription service, we provide customers with a dependable source of timely, trusted RF signal insights that have been detected, characterized, and geolocated over the region,” said Alex Fox, EVP Business Development, Sales and Marketing, HawkEye 360. “These insights allow our customers to identify, understand, and respond to activities important to their operations more effectively.”

Leaf Space has announced their official partnership with Agnikul, a company building an affordable launch vehicle that is capable of launching smallsats on-demand.

Under the MoU just signed, the company will be supporting Agnikul in the provisioning of ground segment services for their highly portable launch vehicle – Agnibaan – through Leaf Space’s ground station network infrastructure.

Leaf Space’s support will be delivered via the development of a mobile and versatile ground station that is capable of supporting the Agnibaan launcher in the initial phases of lift-off from any of their launch locations. Short setup and turnaround time will be key elements of the Leaf Space service support. Furthermore, the launcher will be supported by the rest of Leaf Space’s ground station network infrastructure.

The company is also exploring the ability to offer to Agnikul’s customers the firm’s ground segment support as a package with the Agnibaan launch service itself. This will further simplify mission management for the firm’s customers.

In the 6th edition of its latest research titled “Prospects for the Small Satellite Market,” Euroconsult forecasts that two mega-constellations will account for half of the smallsats to be launched between 2020 and 2029, yet only account for one fifth of the total smallsat market value due to economies of scale, mass manufacturing and batch launches.

The report also addresses the impact of COVID-19 on the small satellite industry and provides updated analysis of the ongoing uncertainties related to the pandemic, smallsat constellations and the OneWeb bankruptcy, despite its recent acquisition.

The 2020s are predicted to be the decade of small satellites with an annual average of 1,000 smallsats to be launched. By comparison, 2019 had the highest number of smallsats to date, with 385 smallsats launched. These spacecraft generated $2.8 billion of market value in 2019, of which 70 percent for manufacturing and 30 percent for launch.

From 2020 to 2029, the smallsat market value is projected to reach $51 billion, of which $33 billion for manufacturing and $18 billion for launch. This is more than four times the market size of the previous decade.

In the coming decade, smallsat market growth will be dominated by communication satellites with nearly 5,700 units forecasted for launch. In contrast, Earth Observation satellites will decrease in market share but will nonetheless triple in terms of units, with 1,520 anticipated. Nonetheless, high levels of uncertainty remain as the smallsat market is, by definition, very volatile. The failure (or market entry) of a single constellation may represent hundreds of satellites of variation.

Executive Comment

“The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a significant impact on the industry. This impact will however vary depending on the size and nature of stakeholders. While many early-stage commercial new entrants will fail to raise funding and deploy their constellations, the two market leaders, SpaceX and Amazon, have been strengthened by the pandemic,” said Alexandre Najjar, Senior Consultant at Euroconsult. “While the commercial sector (Starlink and Kuiper excepted) will decrease compared to previous years due to a COVID-19-induced market rationalization, growth in government smallsat projects is accelerating as nations now recognize the potential and cost savings enabled by the smallsat form, both for civilian and military use cases. Vertical integration is increasing in the smallsat industry. Significant future market shares are now captive of a region, of a country or of an integrator and/or launch provider, challenging both commercial satellite integrators and launch providers which see more of their target customers now competing with their own services. The Asian market, 72% of which is government-driven, will account for 1,600 smallsats over the next decade, competing with US companies to provide connectivity services to foreign countries. The regional market is largely driven by, but not limited to China.”

BlackSky has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract through AFWERX and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) to monitor the efficacy of COVID-19 mitigation efforts worldwide.

The contract calls for BlackSky to monitor overseas U.S. military bases and help maintain secure supply chains using its Spectra artificial intelligence and machine learning platform. Near-real time global monitoring capabilities will track the spread of COVID-19 to ensure the protection of deployed personnel, and secure critical nodes of the supply chain.

BlackSky’s Spectra platform will leverage state-of-the-art image exploitation techniques to automatically analyze anomalies and monitor the application of social distancing. These measurements will then be correlated against the reported infection numbers coming from local governments and integrated into the latest epidemiology models to predict the risk to deployed U.S. Air Force personnel and the surrounding communities.

The major economies of the world have experienced the impact of the rapid onset of the coronavirus. BlackSky will help critical components of the defense industrial supply chain recover by monitoring logistics depots, maintenance facilities, petroleum reserves, and airport facilities. BlackSky will provide alerts and notifications when changes in activity level or other anomalies are observed.

Executive Comments

“BlackSky is giving decision makers the crucial information they need to protect U.S. interests at home and overseas amid today’s rapidly shifting threat landscape,” said Brian O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky. “By combining global geospatial data sources with satellite remote sensing data, Spectra provides a near-real time look at the evolving pandemic and provides critical insights to inform national security. It is imperative to have transparency into the status of critical nodes of the supply chain for planning purposes. With BlackSky’s global monitoring capability, the U.S. Air Force can maintain a watchful eye over its supply chain. Spectra will provide the Air Force an easy to use outbreak monitoring and decision support tool. The platform will help us combat the spread of COVID-19, manage risk and ensure the protection of personnel around the globe.”