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.”

Spaceflight Inc. will be flying their next generation orbital transfer vehicle, Sherpa-FX, on a fully dedicated rideshare mission with SpaceX.

The mission, called SXRS-3 by Spaceflight, is scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 no earlier than December 2020. Spaceflight has contracted 16 spacecraft for this mission from organizations that include iQPS, Loft Orbital, HawkEye 360, NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, Astrocast, and the University of South Florida Institute of Applied Engineering.

In addition to the customer spacecraft, Sherpa-FX will transport multiple hosted payloads including one for Celestis Inc., as well as several that will demonstrate technologies designed to identify and track spacecraft once deployed. By demonstrating these tracking systems on orbit, Spaceflight customers will have access to flight-proven technologies that can mitigate space congestion and provide the foundation of effective and responsible space traffic management.

Technologies onboard Sherpa-FX include payloads by NearSpace Launch, Keplerian Technologies and their hardware partner Tiger Innovations, and Space Domain Awareness Inc. These innovative payloads will provide spacecraft developers an independent capability to identify and track their spacecraft without drawing on the host spacecraft resources.

Spaceflight’s Sherpa-FX is the first innovative orbital transfer vehicle to debut in the company’s Sherpa-NG (next generation) program. The vehicle is capable of executing multiple deployments, providing independent and detailed deployment telemetry, and flexible interfaces, all at a low cost. The company’s Sherpa-NG program is a family of space vehicles, continuing the tradition of the company’s first orbital free flyer on the historic SSO-A mission, which successfully delivered 64 unique spacecraft on orbit aboard a Falcon 9. 

In June 2020, Spaceflight announced it signed a Multi-Launch Agreement with SpaceX, securing capacity on several upcoming flights. The companies are currently working toward the launch of an upcoming Starlink mission in which Spaceflight procured a portion of the launch for its customer BlackSky, designed and built the adapter and harnessing, integrated the spacecraft, and provided mission management services for its customer.

Spaceflight works with a large portfolio of launch vehicles, including Falcon 9, Antares, Electron, Vega, and PSLV, to provide a variety of launch options to its customers. The company 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

“Spaceflight is committed to providing unmatched launch flexibility for customers — whether that’s re-manifesting on a different vehicle due to delays, deployments to exotic or special orbits, or the ability to fly and operate hosted payloads,” said Grant Bonin, SVP of business development for Spaceflight Inc. “In-space transportation is essential to meeting our customer’s specific needs to get their spacecraft delivered to orbit exactly when and where they want it. If you think of typical rideshare as sharing a seat on a train headed to a popular destination, our next-generation Sherpa program enables us to provide a more complete ‘door-to-door transportation service’.”

“We aim to make getting to space easier, faster and with more reliability than ever before,” added Curt Blake, president and CEO of Spaceflight. “To do that, we have to build flexibility into everything we offer — from our contracting practices, to integration processes that enable spacecraft to move seamlessly between launch vehicles, to providing customers with a wide range of mission services. Now we’re solving some of the industry’s most pressing challenges by providing greater spacecraft management awareness and customized orbital delivery. We couldn’t be more excited to expand our comprehensive suite of launch services to support our customers’ mission needs.”

Smallspark Space Systems has entered into an agreement with Leaf Space, an Italian provider of ground segment services to satellite operators and launchers, to bring ground station services to UK Government and private sector clients.

Smallspark and Leaf Space plan for a partnership that will deliver joint bids for projects with the UK Government and other commercial operators in the UK , with the aim of becoming the primary contractor for services related to supporting the UK governments ambitions with OneWeb, the proposed 650-satellite constellation that will provide worldwide satellite internet and broadband services to people across the globe.

This major proposed collaboration changes the landscape of UK aerospace, with both companies working together to provide UK-based services for OneWeb, including the development of new, low-cost, rapidly deployable ground stations, expansion of ground segment coverage to new geographies as well as operating and maintaining OneWeb’s existing ground station networks.

If successful, the bid will kickstart rapid development across the space value chain, creating new skilled jobs, providing massive opportunities for investment across the sector, with new sites proposed across the country, and exploring the potential of manufacturing opportunities in the UK.

Executive Comments

Commenting on this agreement, Joe Ward, CEO of Smallspark Space Systems said, “Working with Leaf Space is an exciting opportunity for both Smallspark and UK Space as a whole; with the UK’s goals of dramatically expanding its reach into space, we’re keen to help support the governments ambitions wherever possible. With both satellite constellations and native launch capabilities, it is essential the UK has reliable, agile ground station services to support applications requiring high bandwidth & low latency communications, driven by adoption of 5G technologies via terrestrial & satellite networks. Italy has always been a pioneer in the global space market, and we’re thrilled to lead the path to strengthen UK-Italy ties.”

Jai Dialani, Sr. Business Developer on behalf of Leaf Space, noted, “Partnership with Smallspark Space Systems is a valuable opportunity for our company to start a collaboration with a pioneering launch service provider. We will provide an immediately available ground segment service capability to broaden their portfolio. This will help potential customers find a complete solution for their missions, assuring a reliable and consistent end-to-end service. Thanks to the continuous work effort to expand and develop our products, customers will be able to find a ground segment solution in the early stages of the mission while choosing Smallspark Space Systems launch solutions, also providing an easier and quicker commissioning phase for their satellites.”

Dialani added, “Leaf Space has been offering tailored ground segment services to its customers, including Launch and Early Operations (LEOPS), daily passes, pass distribution and operational conditions, resulting in a perfect solution for in-orbit demonstrations (IOD) or other missions such as serving broadband constellations requiring high contact time and low latency, typical elements of our distributed ground station network.”, added Jai, “ The proprietary ground segment infrastructure provides redundancy and reliability during the LEOP mission phase, and the versatile service can be easily integrated into third-party service bundles. The two companies are planning to conduct integration and testing activities that will ensure the ground segment service provision is operational on a rapid schedule before OneWebs’ satellite launches.”

OneWeb is now well on its way to being purchased by a joint-venture between the UK government and India telco Bharti Global.

A US bankruptcy court approved the sale of OneWeb to the consortium on July 10th in return for a guaranteed $1 billion sum, which will be paid 50/50 by the UK and Bharti.

OneWeb issued a statement in which the firm stated, “The parties will work to complete the plan sale process, including filing our plan and disclosure statements with the court, conducting voting with our creditors, and seeking regulatory approval and completing customary closing conditions, and expect the process to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020.”

The UK/Bharti rescue plan presented to the New York court provides about $640 million to take the business forward – after various settlement costs are deducted.

There are other hurdles to overcome, including regulatory approvals, although the parties stress they do not see serious obstacles ahead.

Meanwhile, the bankruptcy court dealt on July 10th with a slew of other matters relating to the OneWeb bankruptcy. The firm’s ‘debtor in possession’ authorization was extended — that allows OneWeb to continue in business. One important aspect was OneWeb’s relationship with the existing joint-venture with Airbus in Airbus OneWeb Satellite, which has been building OneWeb’s satellites at a Florida factory.

The court permitted OneWeb to enter into an agreement with the satellite arm of the business and pay an advance sum of $50.7 million for the purchase of satellites.

The Court also received OneWeb’s next 13-week budget of $92.25 million in expenditure plus a further $29 million in costs relating to the restructuring of the company. The court has also approved periodic financing to flow into ‘new’ OneWeb from the buyers as part of the company’s restructuring and transition out of bankruptcy.

In additional news, Arqiva, the UK broadcast transmission and cellular mast operator, is reportedly planning to lay off about a third of its employees, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The report stated that the company, which is in the end-stages of selling its cellular mast division, is planning a radical restructuring that would see more than 500 of the firm’s staff made redundant.

Arqiva is owned by a consortium led by PSP Investments and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (48 percent) along with Australian fund manager and 25 percent by investment bank Macquarie (via its Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund). However, a £2 billion sale of Arqiva’s cellular towers business to Spain’s Cellnex Telecom has been passed by the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority in April. The sale to Cellnex is expected to close during this quarter.

Recently, Arqiva appointed a new CEO in Paul Donovan, an existing board member, and who took over that position on June 30th.

Arqiva retains its important broadcast TV and radio division, along with media playout, satellite teleports and uplinking and asset management businesses.

Reports by journalist Chris Forrester, filing at the Advanced Television infosite...

KONGSBERG is celebrating 10 successful years since the AISSat-1 AIS-receiving satellite, complete with its KONGSBERG AIS payload, was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India on July 12, 2010.

The game-changing AISSat-1, the first operational AIS receiver in space, is financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and deploys technology which was developed collaboratively by Kongsberg Seatex with the Norwegian Space Centre, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

Launched via an Indian PSLV rocket, the 20 x 20 x 20 cm, 6 kg, cube-shaped AISSat-1 smallsat has been maintaining an SSO polar orbit at an altitude of approximately 635 km for a full decade now, receiving AIS messages from ships all over the globe and transmitting them to Earth via Kongsberg Satellite Services’ Svalbard-based ground station.

While the 10th anniversary of the AISSat-1 launch is justifiable cause for celebration, KONGSBERG is nevertheless firmly focused on the future. KONGSBERG’s status as a driver of constantly evolving technologies has positioned the company as a key player in the development of the next-generation VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) payload. Visualized as an extension to AIS, this robust, narrow-band, high-speed, two-way VHF ship communications system will establish a global standard designed to support the transformative digitalization of the maritime community. Accordingly, next-generation AIS equipment for commercial shipping will incorporate both AIS and VDES in the same unit.

While the 10th anniversary of the AISSat-1 launch is justifiable cause for celebration, KONGSBERG is nevertheless firmly focused on the future. KONGSBERG’s status as a driver of constantly evolving technologies has positioned the company as a key player in the development of the next-generation VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) payload. Visualized as an extension to AIS, this robust, narrow-band, high-speed, two-way VHF ship communications system will establish a global standard designed to support the transformative digitalization of the maritime community. Accordingly, next-generation AIS equipment for commercial shipping will incorporate both AIS and VDES in the same unit.

Executive Comments

Arve Dimmen, Director of Maritime Safety at the Norwegian Coastal Administration, still marvels at the radical difference the AISSat-1 made to the supervision of shipping in the high north once it entered service.“It was almost like ‘turning on the light,’ he recalls, “as the satellite enabled us to get a much better overview of the marine traffic in our sea areas. The satellite data is distributed to several public authorities: Joint Rescue Coordination Centers, the Coast Guard and the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries are among some of the most frequent users. The data can be used to monitor fishing activities and to monitor search and rescue operations at sea. AISSat-1 was the starting point of our satellite program for maritime surveillance, and it has been a great success.”

“The 10th anniversary of successful AISSat-1 service, together with a wide range of additional, successful missions in the past decade, have definitely demonstrated that we have taken a lead in innovative space payload solutions for maritime applications,” added Gard Ueland, President, Kongsberg Seatex. “These missions show that, with a NewSpace approach, it is possible to establish highly successful and cost-efficient space infrastructures using micro and nano satellites. VDES represents a bold step forward in the efficient monitoring and management of vessel traffic, leading to greatly enhanced safety on board and in ports. With the ongoing overhaul of the AIS infrastructure both at sea and on land, we can expect to see a substantial uptake of VDES services over the next years.”

Daniel L. Jablonsky was appointed to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Maxar Technologies and to the Company’s Board of Directors on January 13, 2019.

Previously, Mr. Jablonsky had served as President of DigitalGlobe since October 2017, when the company became part of Maxar Technologies. He joined DigitalGlobe in 2012 as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and also held the role of General Manager, International Defense & Intelligence from 2015 to 2017.

Prior to DigitalGlobe, Mr. Jablonsky was a shareholder at the law firm of Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck, LLP from 2011 to March 2012, where he practiced corporate and securities law. From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Jablonsky served as the Interim Co-General Counsel of Flextronics International Ltd., and from 2007 to 2010, he held the role of Senior Corporate Counsel, Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions at Flextronics.

Mr. Jablonsky previously was in-house counsel at UBS Financial Services, Inc., served in the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and practiced corporate and securities law with O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Mr. Jablonsky holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington School of Law. Prior to law school, Mr. Jablonsky was an officer and nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy.

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) launched the latest in a demonstration series of end-to-end smallsats as part of a U.S. Air Force constellation the company is responsible for developing.

As the prime contractor for the firm fixed-price development space mission, L3Harris is designing, developing, building, testing and deploying the satellites. The company will task, command and control the satellite system, as well as perform on-board processing of data to deliver imagery products directly to warfighters on tactical timelines.

The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles Secondary Payload Adapter, or ESPA-class, satellite system will use L3Harris’ fully reprogrammable payload platform — allowing operators to reconfigure smallsat payloads on orbit to changing missions.

The company’s High Compaction Ratio unfurlable X-band reflector is also on board to enable high-speed data communication.

“L3Harris has developed and supported various aspects of satellite missions over the last several decades as a component supplier or hosted payload,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “In collaboration with the U.S. Air Force, we pulled the pieces together to successfully plan, develop and execute an affordable, high-performance space mission, which is part of a responsive constellation contract.”

Ottawa-based Telesat has reportedly entered a bid for OneWeb’s satellite assets. But it isn’t alone.

There will be an auction process on July 2nd in New York. The UK is widely reported to have committed to a $500 million (£405 million) participation for a 20 percent stake in OneWeb. The UK bid is said to be backed by India’s Bharti Telecom and its Bharti Airtel division, owned by billionaire Sunil Mittal. In fact, it is also reported that Telesat had hoped to partner with UK interests on a bid.

Bharti was already a backer and investor in OneWeb (now in bankruptcy protection) alongside other key players such as chip-maker Qualcomm and Europe’s Airbus. OneWeb’s major backer was Japanese media conglomerate SoftBank.

Bharti is a huge Indian company and the nation’s second-biggest wireless operator. Its market value is about $41 billion, and as part of its investment in OneWeb it had the distribution rights to its broadband services and as well as India covering Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Africa.

Airbus has a very special interest in the bankruptcy and its outcome. First up, it is a 50/50 shareholder with OneWeb in the Florida factory turning out OneWeb’s satellites.

OneWeb has 68 working satellites in orbit out of a total initial plan of at least 648 with each operating at 1200 kms altitude. The OneWeb/Airbus joint venture, prior to the bankruptcy, was making two satellites a day from its facility in Florida.

However, there are also rumors that Telesat and Airbus, and possibly including Thales Alenia Spac,e are also interested in OneWeb’s assets. With Europe’s two important satellite-building companies interested, and a possibility that the European Commission might back a French bid – with Telesat – and which includes satellite operator Eutelsat. Eutelsat is alone among the ‘big four’ satellite operators in NOT having a LEO component.

Canada’s Telesat is also a very keen fan of LEO satellites. Telesat is the fourth-largest geostationary satellite operator and supplies DTH TV signals of some 200 channels for the likes of Bell TV and Shaw Direct. It operates the Anik, Nimiq and Telstar fleets of satellites.

It has recently tested its own debut LEO satellites in an exercise with Telefonica. The tests, described by the pair as “rigorous” were designed to explore the performance and feasibility of leveraging LEO satellites for high-end services. Testing demonstrated that Telesat LEO could be a viable option for wireless backhaul and presents a substantial improvement in performance over geostationary orbit (GEO) links.

Those tests included the delivery of HD video streaming and video conferencing as well as VPN connections. Telesat was planning to launch just 117 LEO satellites into orbit. That plan was expanded to 298 craft and in May, Telesat announced that it would like FCC permission to dramatically extend that number to an overall 1671 satellites.

Telesat’s bid – if accepted – could be the ‘fast-track’ to launching its own LEO fleet. For example, it could trim the OneWeb planned fleet to suit the Canadian company’s own purposes.

Article posted by journalist Chris Forrester at the
Advanced Television infosite.
Chris is also a Senior Contributor for Satnews Publishers.

HawkEye 360 Inc. has announced that the company’s flagship RFGeo product can now map an expanded catalog of marine navigation radar signals to further improve global maritime situational awareness.

With this update, HawkEye 360 introduces the first S-band radar signal and quadruples the number of X-band radar signals in the company’s library. HawkEye 360 can now cover the most used frequencies for X-band magnetron-based radar systems, providing a more comprehensive view of maritime activity.

Vessels continuously operate marine radars to safely navigate from point to point and avoid nearby obstacles, making them an excellent means to track vessels that have otherwise ceased AIS transmissions and gone dark. Commercial vessels 300 gross tonnage or larger are required to be equipped with X-band radars (9 GHz).

The largest vessels also carry S-band radars (3 GHz) to penetrate deeper through rain or fog. Each new signal improves Hawkeye 360’s ability to develop vessel profiles. This data helps clients identify dark vessels that might be involved in illicit activities, such as smuggling or illegal fishing.

HawkEye 360’s RFGeo 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.

In addition to the newly announced signals, RFGeo can independently geolocate marine VHF marine radios, UHF push-to-talk radios, L-band mobile satellite devices, EPIRB marine emergency distress beacons, and vessel Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). HawkEye 360 is continually adding signals to the catalog to broaden the reach of RF identification across land, sea, and air domains.

Executive Comments

“We’re addressing critical gaps in Maritime Domain Awareness by revealing an entirely new data layer for vessel monitoring,” said John Serafini, Chief Executive Officer, HawkEye 360. “We’re excited to introduce our first signal in the S-band frequencies. By expanding our signal catalog, we’re not just collecting new and diverse RF data sets, we’re providing actionable intelligence to support the increasing number and scale of our customers’ missions.”

“Our customers need to maintain accurate and consistent visibility of vessels,” said Alex Fox, EVP for Business Development, Sales and Marketing, HawkEye 360. “Vessels are continuing to evade AIS detection to conduct illicit activities, making it difficult for organizations to identify and monitor their behaviors. We’re able to provide unique data sets that enable our customers to keep their finger on the pulse of vessel activity.”

Recent HawkEye 360 news…

HawkEye 360’s Keen Eye Adds More Defense Industry Expertise to their
Board of Directors

HawkEye 360 Reveals Iranian Tankers Evading Sanctions

Ball Aerospace was selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for four, six-month study contracts that will inform mission, spacecraft and instrument concepts for future operational weather architectures and Earth observation capabilities. Ball Aerospace is also collaborating on a fifth study contract awarded to L3Harris Technologies.

The five study contracts include:

• Auroral Imager in Tundra – Ball is working with Computational Physics, Inc. to perform a trade study of cost and performance between two promising technology strategies for a dedicated auroral imager in a highly elliptical Tundra orbit, long recognized as a useful vantage point for global auroral imaging. Auroral imagery provides important space weather situational awareness for users of technologies affected by auroral phenomena, such as power grids and aviation services.
• Ball Operational Weather Instrument Evolution (BOWIE) Microwave – This concept study will evaluate the baseline design of Ball’s BOWIE-M instrument and explore optimization of performance and cost. BOWIE-M leverages recent advances in microwave component miniaturization and advances in antenna technology to enable a future disaggregated constellation of low-cost, high-performance atmospheric sounding instruments. Approximately half the size of current instruments flying on operational polar-orbiting weather satellites, BOWIE-M is designed to deliver similar capability at reduced cost. Ball is collaborating with Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), a Verisk business, that will lead a trade analysis of the instrument design and performance.
• BOWIE Compact Hyperspectral Infrared Observations (CHIRO) – This instrument concept study will focus on technology and performance trades for a cost-effective, high-performance smallsat solution for hyperspectral infrared sounding from geostationary orbit. BOWIE Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) IR Sounder – Through this study, Ball will explore compact instrument designs to meet NOAA’s atmospheric vertical temperature and moisture profiling requirements, identifying technology roadmap options to address cost versus performance for infrared sounder instrument(s) for rapid insertion into Low-Earth Orbit.
• Joint LEO Sounding Mission Study – Ball is working with L3Harris and PlanetiQ for this mission concept study, which will evaluate an all-industry smallsat mission, hosting both microwave and infrared sounding instruments (provided by Ball and L3Harris, respectively), and GNSS-RO sounding sensors (provided by PlanetiQ). The team will also explore how the mission can be optimized for cost and performance while meeting the LEO sounding requirements of NOAA’s future operational weather architecture. Ball will also perform an accommodation assessment of the baseline instrument designs, from all study participants, using a Ball small satellite for insertion in various orbits. In addition to an instrument integration assessment, Ball will study commercial launch options to enable a delivery-on-orbit acquisition model for a complete sounding system that NOAA would own and operate.

“Operational weather satellites are a critical part of the nation’s infrastructure, playing a key role in keeping the public safe and the economy strong by enabling forecasters to predict and reduce the impacts of extreme weather events,” said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, VP and GM, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. “Through close coordination with the broader weather community, Ball developed a series of innovative technology and mission solutions to meet NOAA’s most critical space-based observational needs in an affordable and sustainable way, and these studies are a continuation of this effort.”

Recent Ball Aerospace news…

Anokiwave and Ball Aerospace Add Ku-Band Option to Phased Array Antennas

Ball Aerospace Initiating the Manufacturing of the USAF SMC’s WSF Satellite Following Successful CDR