News

Rocket Lab has announced Japanese Earth-imaging company Synspective as the customer for Rocket Lab’s 17th Electron launch and the company’s seventh mission of the year.

The dedicated mission for Synspective is scheduled for lift-off during a 14-day launch window opening on December 12 UTC and will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula to a targeted 500 km circular LEO.

The mission is named ‘The Owl’s Night Begins’ in a nod to Synspective’s StriX family of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft developed to be able to image millimeter-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space, independent of weather conditions on Earth and at any time of the day or night. Strix is also the genus of owls.

The StriX-α satellite onboard this mission will be the first of a series of spacecraft deployments for Synspective’s planned constellation of more than 30 SAR smallsats to collate data of metropolitan centers across Asia on a daily basis that can be used for urban development planning, construction and infrastructure monitoring, and disaster response.

For this mission, Rocket Lab will use a custom, expanded fairing to encompass Synspective’s wide-body satellite C, the first use of the expanded fairing options that Rocket Lab recently introduced alongside a suite of vehicle performance improvements, including advances in battery technology which enable an improved payload lift capacity up to 300 kg (660 lbs). Rocket Lab will also perform an advanced mid-mission maneuver with its Kick Stage space tug that will shield the StriX-α satellite from the sun to reduce radiation exposure ahead of payload deployment.

Executive Comments

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck, said, “We’re honored to be providing the ride to orbit for Synspective and playing a pivotal role in deploying the first satellite of their constellation. By flying as a dedicated mission on Electron, the Synspective team have complete control over their orbit and launch schedule, giving them a degree of certainty over a crucial time in their business development.”

Synspective Founder and CEO, Dr. Motoyuki Arai, added, “We are so happy to share this launch of our first satellite, the StriX-α, together with Rocket Lab. This is just the start of a 30 SAR satellites constellation. We are very excited to begin the scaling of our business, which includes both SAR satellites and downstream solutions.”

Resolve Optics has supplied video streaming specialists, Sen (Didcot, UK), with radiation hard lenses for their satellite-based, Ultra-High Definition (UHD) video cameras.

Sen launched its first set of UHD video cameras into space in 2019 and successfully demonstrated the excellent performance of its video streaming platform. The next step in Sen’s plan is to launch its own satellite constellation so that it has full control over its live data stream.

To make technology work in space is not straight forward, with both mechanical and environmental challenges, such as extreme temperature changes and radiation that can damage electronics and hardware. Space is also very mass sensitive because each gram costs money to launch. As a consequence, Sen decided they needed a specialist provider who could custom design and manufacture cameras to meet both the unique constraints of spaceflight hardware and the environmental challenges of operating in space for several years. Commercially available camera lenses were not suitable for this application because the glass would increasingly suffer from radiation ‘browning’ – meaning that image quality would gradually deteriorate over the life of the satellite.

Sen approached Resolve Optics to assist with this project because of its expertise in custom designing low mass, high performance lenses using radiation resistant glass that could meet the harsh demands of the space environment.

Executive Comment

Charles Black of Sen commented, “It has been great working with Resolve Optics, who took our requirements in terms of optical performance, mass and mounting points and designed lenses that addressed both the mechanical and environmental challenges of our spaceborne application. After the first satellite has launched in 2021 – Sen will be sharing videos of Earth using Resolve’s lenses and we can’t wait to share them. After that, we plan to launch many more satellites and we are confident Resolve will continue to meet our requirements and high standards.”

WORK Microwave has announced one of the first end-to-end solutions for cubesat missions, thanks to a new collaboration with IQ Spacecom, a provider of satellite radio solutions.

By combining WORK Microwave‘s AX-60 IP modem (photo above) with IQ Spacecom‘s XLink advanced transceiver system, a brand of IQ wireless GmbH, operators have an affordable, one-stop-shop solution for new space applications, including LEO satellite missions for Earth Observation (EO).

The end-to-end solution includes WORK Microwave’s AX-60 19-inch rack-mount modem unit and XLink cubesat-sized communication module from IQ Spacecom. Both platforms connect to IP networks and provide easy-to-use, straightforward connectivity. Supporting satellite communication for the ground and space segments, the solution allows operators to reliably perform telecommand and telemetry transmission tasks to and from satellites. Featuring space communication waveforms according to Consultative Committee for Space Date System‘s (CCSDS) Recommended Standards (Blue Books) 131.0 and 231.0, it is one of the first cubesat solutions.

Executive Comment

“Using the standardized CCSDS waveforms, we have created a cost-efficient, end-to-end solution for CubeSat missions, solving a critical challenge for the wider industry,” said Jörg Rockstroh, Director, Business Development and Digital Products at WORK Microwave. “There are few companies with our longstanding experience and track record in the field of satellite communications, and by making this solution available with our partner, IQ Spacecom, we can provide customers with the reliability that WORK Microwave is known for.”

The world’s first, publicly-available, real-time link between satellites in high and low earth orbits is now available — after a five-year collaboration, Inmarsat and Addvalue Innovation have announced the Commercial Service Introduction (CSI) of their Inter-satellite Data Relay System (IDRS) service, following the successful demonstration of the first live data connectivity between customer Capella Space’s Control Center and its recently launched Sequoia satellite at LEO.

This success paves the way for satellites in LEO to continuously maintain communications with the ground, receiving and transmitting data on demand and in real-time. Satellites in lower orbits typically include those used for climate observations and disaster relief efforts, as well as a host of other applications. Traditionally, these satellites have had to wait until they came back into range of a ground station before being able to receive tasking information and transmit telemetry and valuable collected data. The new data link should reduce waiting times for such data transfers from several hours to a handful of minutes. This can enhance life-saving efforts in a natural disaster or enable observers to spot issues and direct resources to tackle them before they develop or get out of hand.

The new on-demand IDRS service was successfully commissioned on Capella Space’s Sequoia satellite at 10:14am PST on November 12, 2020. The Capella satellite, situated in LEO, communicated with Inmarsat’s I-4 satellite network, which operates at the L-band spectrum and sits in a high Earth, geostationary orbit. Capella Space is a market leader by being the first LEO satellite operator to leverage this enhanced functionality to offer an unprecedented level of responsiveness to its customers.

While instantaneous connectivity on the ground is commonplace, LEO satellite operators have traditionally suffered from high latency in making contact with their satellites, due to geographic sparsity of the required ground stations. This new system, consisting of the Addvalue on-board terminal and the Inmarsat data relay service, achieves a world first by allowing persistent, on-demand transfer of data, creating a new paradigm for smallsat LEO operations.

The benefits of Addvalue and Inmarsat’s solution go beyond the speed at which subscribers receive their data and images. Satellite operators also gain significant operational efficiencies by being able to stay in constant contact and control of their constellation. This is especially pertinent in the fast growing new space industry of large satellite constellations when real time control and coordination of multiple satellites can effortlessly and simultaneously be accomplished through the use of IDRS. This stands in contrast to current practice with its demanding need to coordinate and precisely time communications with multiple ground station operators.

Executive Comments

“We’re proud to team-up with Inmarsat and Addvalue to deliver an entirely new level of efficiency and functionality to our customers,” said Christian Lenz, Vice President of Engineering at Capella Space. “This real-time connectivity will allow us to significantly reduce the time between customer tasking requests and when we collect the data on-orbit.”

Todd McDonell, President, Inmarsat Global Government, commented, “In-orbit connectivity represents an exciting new growth market for both Inmarsat and Addvalue. This LEO smallsat market is growing at an exponential rate. What is critical to LEO operators such as Capella Space is the ability to offer timely services their customers now expect in a connected world. Inmarsat’s L-band satellite network is uniquely placed to facilitate seamless real-time communications that are designed for mobility and can be administered globally. We are delighted Capella Space has achieved the distinction of being the first LEO operator to offer this service to their customers.”

“We could not be more excited to watch Capella realize all of the operational efficiencies and flexibility that the IDRS solution provides a LEO satellite operator,” said Khai Pang Tan, CTO of Addvalue. “From operational service introduction of the Sequoia satellite to the compounding efficiencies that are expected with the addition of each satellite added to the Capella constellation, we are confident that the possibility of “always-on”, on-demand, 24/7 communication capability will create a new standard for LEO satellite operations.”

A commitment to invest over £80 million in a UK Space Centre of Excellence in Ayrshire, Scotland, was made by both the UK and Scottish Governments, in partnership with South Ayrshire Council, as part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal signing on November 21, 2020. The funding package will develop and support a wide range of new, cutting-edge aerospace and space activities around Glasgow Prestwick Airport (pictured below), including a satellite launch site and a range of other advanced technology initiatives beyond space launch.

This significant investment forms part of an even larger £250 million package that was announced via the Ayrshire Growth Deal Head of Terms agreement 18 months ago. This saw the Scotland Office pledge to invest £103 million in the region over the next 15 years, alongside £103 million from the Scottish Government over 10 years, augmented with further investment from the three local authority areas of East, North and South Ayrshire. This will help drive economic development across the region, create new employment opportunities and encourage further inward investment.

The innovative space activity, enabled by the ambitious Aerospace and Space Program element of the Ayrshire Growth Deal, is expected to provide a host of opportunities beyond launch, too. The additional interconnected projects which are being planned include a technical innovation centre to support UK business and academia, a national flight test center with training facilities for skills development, and an educational outreach and visitor centre. The deal also provides for various commercial building developments and improvements to the region’s transport infrastructure — improving quality of life for local residents and providing an opportunity for Ayrshire to profit from the rapid growth of the space sector.

The signing of a deal of this size reinforces Ayrshire’s position as a leading UK aerospace hub. The region already employs over 3,500 people in global companies such as Spirit AeroSystems; BAE Systems; GE Aviation; Collins Aerospace; Woodward and National Air Traffic Services (NATS), accounting for more than half of the aerospace industry’s workforce in Scotland. The financial boost aims to add another 4,000 jobs by 2035, helping Ayrshire capitalize on the exciting opportunities offered by the fast-growing commercial space sector.

Some £80 million of the Growth Deal investment will be used specifically to help realize Ayrshire’s vision of creating a leading cluster, for both space, and wider aerospace supply chain activity. Detailed plans are already in place for a spaceport development that would provide the capability to launch smallsats from within Europe for the first time, using modified aircraft that would begin their journeys from Glasgow Prestwick Airport. These aircraft will carry out rocket launches at high altitude and provide access to the orbits required to observe Earth’s changing climate from above. The technique, known as ‘horizontal’ or ‘air’ launch, would make use of the existing infrastructure and coastal location at Prestwick, and the capability to launch satellites could make the UK a ‘one stop shop’ for commercial space companies.

Executive Comments

Ian Annett, Deputy CEO, UK Space Agency, said, “The deal will deliver another boost to the UK’s growing space sector by funding a range of new, cutting-edge aerospace activities around Glasgow Prestwick Airport, including development of the spaceport site. This will not only create highly-skilled jobs across the region, but also further the UK’s reputation as Europe’s leading new space destination and bring us one step closer to small satellite launches taking place in the UK.”

Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation Ivan McKee said, “The signing of the Ayrshire Growth Deal marks another major milestone in our journey toward the delivery of a world-leading commercial space sector. This is an exciting time for the emerging space sector globally, and Scotland is at the very forefront of it. In particular, the sector will play a critical role in the global fight against climate change with satellites used to measure essential climate variables. In Scotland, we already produce more small satellites anywhere outside of California and the provision of horizontal launch capability at Prestwick will further complement the launch offering across the country. This deal represents a major opportunity to inspire the next generation of space scientists and engineers as well as to deliver a major economic boost for Ayrshire.”

The acquisition of global satellite communications company, OneWeb, has been completed as of Friday, November 20, following a successful UK Government bid in July of 2020 in a consortium with international telecoms operator, Bharti Global.

This is a significant strategic investment, demonstrating the government’s commitment to the UK’s space sector and ambition to put Britain at the forefront of a new commercial space-age. OneWeb is now staffing up to complete the development of its first generation constellation, adding new employees in the UK. The government will continue to work with OneWeb to maximize the benefits to the UK from the OneWeb program, both before and after commercial launch.

The company has the foundation of the network already in place, with 74 satellites launched and infrastructure in development in strategic locations around the world. The company is launching another 34 to 36 satellites in December, bringing its on-orbit fleet to 110 satellites. OneWeb is on track to start commercial connectivity services to the UK and the Arctic region in late 2021 and will expand to delivering global services in 2022.

The UK government is committed to work with OneWeb’s shareholder partners to use this investment as a platform to promote UK jobs and supply chains and protect UK critical assets and intellectual property.

OneWeb will provide a new source of broadband connectivity for businesses, communities, and governments around the world. It could also improve connectivity in a broad range of sectors, including aviation, maritime, government, and enterprise customers, unlocking digital services and applications in a wide range of locations that historically have not access to low latency broadband connectivity.

OneWeb was formed in 2012 and has been developing cutting-edge satellite technology from its facilities both here in the UK and in the United States.

The UK government will have a final say over any future sale of the company and over future access to OneWeb technology by other countries on national security grounds.

Executive Comments

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said, “This strategic investment demonstrates Government’s commitment to the UK’s space sector in the long-term and our ambition to put Britain at the cutting edge of the latest advances in space technology. Access to our own global fleet of satellites has the potential to connect people worldwide, providing fast UK-backed broadband from the Shetlands to the Sahara and from Pole to Pole. This deal gives us the chance to build on our strong advanced manufacturing and services base in the UK, creating jobs and technical expertise.”

Sunil Bharti, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Global, added, “Together with our partners at HMG, we are looking forward to a new LEO opportunity. Innovation, resilience and growth in the high-tech sector are all served by this powerful global opportunity. By the end of 2022, OneWeb will be a truly global force for good.”

Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, noted, “This landmark government investment marks the start of an incredibly exciting period for OneWeb and the whole UK space sector, which can play a vital role in our economic recovery. Global connectivity has never been more important and there is a significant opportunity for satellite constellations to deliver a range of valuable services to consumers, businesses and government.”

AAC Clyde Space has embarked upon a three year project named xSPANCION with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop an innovative, satellite constellation service, including the manufacture of 10 spacecraft.

The UK Space Agency, through ESA, will co-fund the project. AAC Clyde Space intends to, outside this project, enter into customer service agreements for data delivery from the constellation. During the first phase of the project running until mid-2021, AAC Clyde Space will deliver a preliminary design for its next generation space as a service offering.

The value of this first phase is 1.8 million euros, of which 0.9 million euros will be co-funded by UK Space Agency through ESA, providing sufficient resources to achieve comfortably this part of the project. The co-funding from UK Space Agency will be recognized as revenue with no net margin, as AAC Clyde Space and partners will co-fund the remaining 0.9 million euros.

Once the first phase is successfully completed, the project culminates in the manufacture of 10 satellites and a demonstration of four of those satellites in orbit. The value of this part of the project is 17.9 million euros, of which 8.9 million euros will be co-funded by UK Space Agency through ESA.

In parallel, and in anticipation to the second phase, AAC Clyde Space intends to enter into customer agreements for data delivery from its constellation services, bringing additional match co-fund to the project. The latter part of the project will ready AAC Clyde Space for large volume production and constellation operations. The project encompasses design of a satellite platform and production process, manufacturing, licensing, and launch co-ordination, as well as the development of new technologies for the future constellation, such as for propulsion, intersatellite links, safe and secure transmission of data and a customer interface.

Several parts of the project will benefit from development work financed by Scottish Enterprise as announced in June of 2020. The project is structured as a Public Private Partnership, through which AAC Clyde Space will collaborate with Bright Ascension, the University of Strathclyde, D-Orbit UK, the Satellite Applications Catapult and Alden Legal UK.

Executive Comments

“xSPANCION will revolutionize our space as a service offering. It will allow us to significantly reduce the cost of every message collected, every image captured, supporting those business cases that to date have not been able to justify the capex to have 100s of sensors in orbit. Fundamentally, our customers will no longer have to worry about how to access space, they can focus on how to enhance their core business. The xSPANCION project will catalyze a new generation of applications not previously possible,” said AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes.

“This game-changing project will see AAC Clyde Space develop cutting edge technology, including communication between satellites to increase data performance, and help keep the UK at the forefront of the global small satellite market. Building satellites quicker and in higher volumes is not only vital to meet the increasing demand for services we all rely on, it also supports the launch of small satellites from UK soil in the coming years. The UK is a leading investor in telecommunications research, which is why we recently committed a £250 million of investment to back ESA projects led by innovative companies like AAC Clyde Space,” added the UK Space Agency Chief Executive, Dr. Graham Turnock.

Horizon Technologies has shipped their first AMBER cubesat payload to AAC Clyde Space in Glasgow, Scotland — once the first payload arrives in Scotland, it will undergo testing and then be integrated into the AAC Clyde Space bus in preparation for launch.

AMBER is a public/private partnership with the UK Government and Horizon Technologies uses innovative and proprietary technologies to collect and geolocate RF signals from Earth without the need of self-reporting technologies, such as AIS (Automatic Identification System), in detecting and monitoring vessels and without the use of “clusters” of satellites.

AMBER uses single cubesats rather than “clusters. This results in lower total system costs and these savings are passed on to Horizon Technologies’ customers. In addition to geolocation, the AMBER constellation will provide a detailed and advanced (demodulated) data set on the signals which are collected.

The company’s worldwide customers (many of them current users of our FlyingFish airborne SIGINT system) want far more than just geolocations for RF emitters. Customers want actionable intelligence data on targets of interest in addition to geolocation. For many maritime targets of interest, it is important to meet customer requirements for detailed, granular data such as extracted GPS locations, specific radar ID data, L-Band metadata/content, etc., from emitters. AMBER provides this detail.

Despite COVID, Horizon Technologies is completing its most successful year — FlyingFish sales and customers are at an all-time high. Next year, thanks to the outstanding dedication of the entire Horizon Technologies development team, and the firm’s partners, AMBER will be on-orbit and providing critical MDA data to our commercial and government customers.

Executive Comment

Horizon Technologies CEO, John Beckner, stated that “Horizon Technologies is not only on track to launch the first AMBER Maritime Intelligence CubeSat into orbit in mid-2021, but will be launching additional AMBER CubeSats next year.” Beckner noted, “We are thrilled with the continued support we are receiving from AAC NEWS RELEASE Clyde Space and the success of our partnership with them. Due to Covid-related delays affecting our launch windows, we have had time to implement major improvements in the expanded dataset we will be providing to our customers, and are very excited in being able to provide solutions to customers’ Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) challenges.”

Rocket Lab has successfully launched their 16^th Electron mission and deployed 30 small satellites to orbit, the largest number of satellites deployed by Electron to date on a single mission. 

The ‘Return to Sender’ mission also saw Rocket Lab complete a successful splashdown and recovery of the first stage of an Electron launch vehicle for the first time, bringing the stage back to Earth under a parachute after launch. The recovery of a stage is a major milestone in Rocket Lab’s pursuit to make Electron a reusable rocket to increase launch frequency and reduce launch costs for small satellites.

Approximately two and a half minutes after lift-off, at an altitude of around 80 km, Electron’s first and second stages separated per standard mission procedure. Once the engines shut down on Electron’s first stage, a reaction control system re-oriented the stage 180-degrees to place it on an ideal angle for re-entry, enabling it to survive the incredible heat and pressure known as “The Wall” during its descent back to Earth. A drogue parachute was deployed to increase drag and to stabilize the first stage as it descended, before a large main parachute was deployed in the final kilometres of descent.

The stage splashed down as planned. Rocket Lab’s recovery team will transport the stage back to Rocket Lab’s production complex, where engineers will inspect the stage to gather data that will inform future recovery missions. 

The ‘Return to Sender’ mission launched from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula at 15:20 UTC, 20 November 2020, deploying satellites from the below listed companies and organizations. The mission brings the total number of satellites launched by Rocket Lab to 95.

Among the payloads deployed were satellites designed to test new methods of deorbiting space debris, enable internet from space, and build upon a maritime surveillance constellation. The mission also saw New Zealand’s first student-built payload deployed to orbit, the APSS-1 satellite, which is designed to monitor electrical activity in Earth’s upper atmosphere to test whether ionospheric disturbances might be linked to earthquakes. Rocket Lab sponsored the project by providing the launch at no cost to the University of Auckland.

Joining the satellites for the ride to orbit was a mass simulator shaped like a garden gnome, launched to space in support of Starship Children’s Hospital. Manufactured by award-winning design studio Weta Workshop for Valve’s Gabe Newell, Gnome Chompski is a 150 mm, 3D printed, titanium gnome, created as a nod to an achievement in the game Half-Life 2 that sees players carry a gnome through the came before depositing him in a rocket to be launched to space.

While watching Gnome Chompski get launched to space for real was a spectacle enjoyed by gamers worldwide, Mr. Chompski also served an important R&D function by allowing Rocket Lab to test and qualify novel 3D printing techniques that could be employed for future spacecraft components. Gnome Chompski’s time in space is limited though, as he remains attached to Electron’s Kick Stage and will de-orbit with it when the stage burns up on re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.

For every person who watched the launch webcast, Mr. Newell donated a dollar to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Starship Children’s Hospital. More than $80,000 has so far been raised so far, and viewers still have more than 20 hours to watch the launch via YouTube at this direct link  and the view will count towards the total.

Note: All article imagery is courtesy of Rocket Lab’s launch streaming site.

Payloads…

DRAGRACER — Organization: TriSept

The DRAGRACER mission will test the effectiveness of new tether technologies designed to accelerate spacecraft reentry and reduce orbital debris at the conclusion of space missions. TriSept has completed the integration of a pair of qualified Millennium Space Systems 6U small satellites, one featuring the tether drag device and one without. The controlled spacecraft should deorbit in approximately 45 days, while the second spacecraft is expected to remain in orbit for seven to nine years, according to Tethers Unlimited, developer of the 70-meter-long (230 feet) Terminator Tape aboard the control satellite.

BRO-2 and BRO-3 — Organization: Unseenlabs

BRO-2 and BRO-3 are the second and third satellites in French company Unseenlabs’ planned constellation of about 20 satellites dedicated to maritime surveillance. The first BRO satellite was launched to orbit by Rocket Lab in August 2019. Unseenlabs’ constellation enables improved monitoring of activities at sea, such as illegal fishing and anti-environmental behavior. Thanks to a unique proprietary technology, the BRO satellites are the first to be able to independently and precisely locate and fingerprint Radio Frequency (RF) emitters all around the globe, day or night, in any weather condition, and without requiring any special embarked tracking device. With three satellites in orbit, Unseenlabs’ clients can now benefit from the shortest revisit time available on the satellite RF geolocation market.

APSS-1 — Organization: Auckland Program for Space Systems, The University of Auckland

The student-built Waka Āmiorangi Aotearoa APSS-1 satellite is designed to monitor electrical activity in Earth’s upper atmosphere to test whether ionospheric disturbances might be linked to earthquakes. The data from this mission will deliver deeper knowledge of these hard-to-access altitudes and drive understanding of how phenomena such as solar wind and geophysical events affect this atmospheric region.

Spacebees — Organization: Swarm Technologies

Swarm will launch the latest 24 1/4U SpaceBEE satellites to continue building out its planned constellation of 150 satellites to provide affordable satellite communications services to IoT devices in remote regions around the world. Swarm’s uniquely small satellites enable the company to provide network services and user hardware at the industry’s lowest cost and deliver maximum value to customers across a range of industries including maritime shipping, agriculture, energy, and ground transportation. The SpaceBEES will be integrated into two of Rocket Lab’s 3U Maxwell CubeSat dispensers for orbital deployment.

Mass Simulator: Gnome Chompski — Organization: Gabe Newell, Founder of Valve Software

Manufactured with support from multi-award-winning design studio Weta Workshop, the unique space component is additively manufactured from titanium and printed in the shape of Half-Life gaming icon Gnome Chompski. The mission serves as an homage to the innovation and creativity of gamers worldwide, and also aims to test and qualify a novel 3D printing technique that could be employed for future spacecraft components. The 150 mm gnome will remain attached to the Kick Stage during all mission phases and will burn up upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere during the de-orbiting process.

Executive Comment

“What the team achieved today in recovering Electron’s first stage is no mean feat. It took a monumental effort from many teams across Rocket Lab, and it’s exciting to see that work pay off in a major step towards making Electron a reusable rocket,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “It’s a privilege to once again provide access to orbit for our returning customers Unseenlabs, Swarm Technologies, and TriSept, and to deploy a satellite for the University of Auckland for the very first time,” said Mr Beck. “Thank you to our incredible customers, and to the tireless team behind Electron who delivered mission success once again.”