News

Aurora Insight is scheduled to launch its second, satellite-based. radio frequency spectrum sensor on SpaceX’s Transporter-1, on Friday, January 22nd from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The launch is a part of SpaceX’s dedicated rideshare mission on the Falcon 9 rocket and will be broadcast live at www.spacex.com/launches. Aurora will host a special live stream discussion event on the morning of the launch, and details can be found at www.aurorainsight.com/charlie. Launching the satellite-based radio frequency spectrum sensor will unlock new opportunities and answers about wireless spectrum — one of the most valuable resources in the digital economy.

Charlie is the first of a two-part satellite mission this quarter. Aurora Insight partnered with NanoAvionics, a leading nanosatellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator, to build and integrate two nanosatellites, as well as provide launch services. Both 6U smallsats are based on NanoAvionics’ standard M6P bus in a higher performance configuration, providing greater technical performance capabilities for Aurora’s radio frequency spectrum mission. The second satellite is also scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2021.

Regarding the launch, Aurora Insight’s CEO Jennifer Alvarez explained, “This technology will provide Aurora Insight’s clients with an entirely new understanding of the RF spectrum environment, and we can shed light on the ambiguity that has surrounded it for years. The answers we uncover will help advance communications around the world and enable organizations to plan, invest, and move forward with a data-driven strategy.”

The satellite-based radio frequency spectrum sensor has unprecedented capabilities, including the ability to:

• Monitor the deployment and growth of terrestrial mobile networks
• Monitor the on-orbit radio frequency environmental performance to understand when and how ground-based transmissions affect satellite performance
• Identify sources of harmful interference to on-orbit assets

Traditional methods of measuring spectrum are usually ad hoc, limited in scale, outdated and offer poor visibility into the availability of wireless. Aurora has developed an autonomous sensor network, powered by machine learning and advanced radio signal processing, to continuously sample and render the full radio spectrum environment.

Aurora Insight offers accurate, impartial insights on the radio frequency spectrum to inform the next generation of wireless services. Through an autonomous sensor network and machine learning of radio signals, Aurora continuously samples and reports on the radio frequency spectrum, from licensed infrastructure to dynamic utilization, enabling the best use of this scarce commodity. Companies around the globe rely on Aurora Insight’s unmatched data to help analyze, predict, transform, and answer questions about the next generation of applications. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and funded by the country’s top innovation investors, Aurora Insight is pushing the boundaries to help advance global communication. The team is composed of data scientists, engineers, and industry veterans, who leverage a deep expertise and understanding of the challenges that face the communications industry.

The space industry seeks new solutions to ensure economic and environmental space sustainability with the rise of satellite mega-constellations. A solution lies in the use of on-orbit propulsion, but traditional systems are not fit for the New Space paradigm.

ThrustMe has announced that they have successfully tested the first iodine-fueled electric propulsion system in space aboard the Spacety Beihangkongshi-1 satellite. This world first, on-orbit demo has the potential to transform the space industry.

On December 28, 2020, the first iodine electric propulsion system to be launched into space was successfully fired, with a second successful test on January 2, 2021. Both test burns were performed by ThrustMe’s NPT30-I2-1U propulsion system onboard the Beihangkongshi -1 satellite from Spacety.

The satellite was launched on November 6, 2020, and after several weeks of satellite commissioning, the propulsion system was operated during two, 90-minute burns that resulted in a total altitude change of 700 m. These tests represent the first in-space operation of the NPT30-I2-1U and the first demonstration of iodine as a viable propellant for electric propulsion systems: an important step in accelerating its commercial adoption.

A breakthrough for the satellite industry.

The NPT30-I2-1U allows propulsion systems to be delivered completely prefilled to customers and that allows the satellite integration process to be significantly simplified and streamlined. Therefore, iodine offers the potential to provide both economic, and environmental sustainability for the space industry. Indeed, most conventional electric propulsion systems make use of xenon or krypton which are expensive, rare and must be stored under very high pressure. Furthermore, satellite assembly, integration and testing can be more complicated as specialized equipment and trained personnel are required to safely load fuel tanks with such propellants.

Iodine, by contrast, can be stored as a solid at room temperature, is much less expensive, more abundant, and completely unpressurized.

In 2020, the European Space Agency (ESA), supported the development of ThrustMe’s NPT30-I2-1U propulsion system through the ARTES C&G (Competitiveness and Growth) program (funded by France) for innovative technologies for the SATCOM industry. In addition to the on-orbit demonstration, the NPT30-I2-1U is being prepared for the GEO satellite market and a separate unit is currently undergoing extensive radiation testing, which ThrustMe stated is proceeding as planned.

The development of ThrustMe’s NPT30-I2-1U was also supported by the French National Space Agency (CNES) via a project as part of their R&T program.

“In 2008, we identified iodine as an ideal propellant for electric propulsion. Since then, we have developed a number of key technologies to be able to offer, as of today, a complete, standalone, propulsion system to meet current and emerging market needs. This is an important product for our customers as it allows them to deploy their satellite constellations, and to take corrective actions to mitigate collision or debris risks”, said Ane Aanesland, CEO of ThrustMe.

“It has been a long road to bring this product from dream to reality. To make it happen we had to innovate, develop a complex system from the ground up, and perform fundamental research studies since many properties of iodine are missing in scientific databases. I am happy that we have ended up with a very high performance, safe and reliable propulsion system that is now available for any smallsat, said Dmytro Rafalskyi, CTO of ThrustMe.

“The successful launch and the first firings are significant milestones in the development of ThrustMe’s iodine electric propulsion system. We are pleased to support ThrustMe in the development and demonstration of this propulsion module through the ARTES C&G program,” noted Barnaby Osborne, Small Satellite Technology Coordinator, ESA Telecommunications and Integrated Applications.

“We are very happy to have supported the in-orbit demonstration of ThrustMe’s iodine electric propulsion system and are very pleased to have helped a French company achieve such a historic milestone,” added Thomas Liénart, Head of the Propulsion, Pyrotechnics and Aerothermodynamics office at CNES.

ThrustMe is a deep-tech space propulsion company, based in the Paris-region, France. It leverages more than 10 years of applied and fundamental research at Ecole Polytechnique and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). ThrustMe offers a portfolio of turnkey propulsion systems that have been tested in space and are available for a wide range of satellites and space missions. Its unique products make use of breakthrough innovations, such as solid iodine propellant, to streamline delivery and integration with client satellites, and to enable future economic and environmental sustainability of the space industry.

The NPT30-I2-1U is a complete, standalone, propulsion system that includes all subsystems necessary for its operation such as the power processing unit, an intelligent operation controller, and iodine propellant storage and management. It has a 1-Unit CubeSat form factor, and is prefilled with solid, unpressurized, iodine propellant. The NPT30-I2-1U is the first iodine-fueled electric propulsion system to be launched into space, and can provide a total impulse of 5500 Ns at a maximum thrust of 1.1 mN and with a specific impulse up to 2450s. Extreme miniaturization of the system is achieved through several innovations that include pipe-less propellant delivery, custom RF generation technology, a dedicated plasma ignition system, and integrated thermal management. A high level of robustness and safety is achieved through the implementation of built-in self-test and self-tuning algorithms, and several layers of security checks.

Virgin Orbit‘s LauncherOne rocket reached space during the company’s second launch demonstration on January 17, 2021, successfully deploying 10 payloads for NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP).

Virgin Orbit’s launch system uses a technique called air launch, in which a rocket is launched from under the wing of a jet aircraft, rather than from a traditional launch pad on the ground. In addition to improving the payload capacity of the rocket, this technique allows the LauncherOne system to be the world’s most flexible and responsive launch service — flying on short notice and from a wide variety of locations to access any orbit.

For today’s mission, Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft, a customized 747-400 dubbed Cosmic Girl, took off from Mojave Air and Space Port at approximately 10:50 A.M. and flew out to a launch site over the Pacific Ocean, about 50 miles south of the Channel Islands. After a smooth release from the aircraft, the two-stage rocket ignited and powered itself to orbit.

At the conclusion of the flight, the LauncherOne rocket deployed 10 cubesats into the team’s precise target orbit, marking a major step forward for Virgin Orbit in its quest to bust down the barriers preventing affordable and responsive access to space.

The payloads onboard LauncherOne today were selected by NASA LSP as part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). Nearly all of the cubesat missions were designed, built and tested by universities across the U.S., including Brigham Young University (PICS), the University of Michigan (MiTEE), and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (CAPE-3).

This flight also marks a historical first: no other orbital class, air-launched, liquid-fueled rocket had successfully reached space before today.

With this successful demonstration in the books, Virgin Orbit will officially transition into commercial service for its next mission. Virgin Orbit has subsequent launches booked by customers ranging from the U.S. Space Force and the U.K.’s Royal Air Force to commercial customers like Swarm Technologies, Italy’s SITAEL, and Denmark’s GomSpace.

The company’s next few rockets are already well into integration at its Long Beach manufacturing facility.

“A new gateway to space has just sprung open! That LauncherOne was able to successfully reach orbit today is a testament to this team’s talent, precision, drive, and ingenuity. Even in the face of a global pandemic, we’ve maintained a laser focus on fully demonstrating every element of this revolutionary launch system. That effort paid off today with a beautifully executed mission, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart.

“Virgin Orbit has achieved something many thought impossible. It was so inspiring to see our specially adapted Virgin Atlantic 747, Cosmic Girl, send the LauncherOne rocket soaring into orbit. This magnificent flight is the culmination of many years of hard work and will also unleash a whole new generation of innovators on the path to orbit. I can’t wait to see the incredible missions Dan and the team will launch to change the world for good,” said Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson.

All imagery is courtesy of Virgin Orbit.

OneWeb, jointly owned by the UK Government and Bharti Global, has secured additional funding from SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) and Hughes Network Systems LLC (“Hughes”), bringing OneWeb’s total funding to $1.4 billion. The capital raised to date positions the Company to be fully funded for its first-generation satellite fleet, totaling 648 satellites, by the end of 2022.

OneWeb’s mission is to deliver broadband connectivity worldwide to bridge the global Digital Divide by offering everyone, everywhere, access that includes the Internet of Things (IoT) future and a pathway to 5G. OneWeb’s LEO satellite system includes a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals for different customer markets capable of delivering affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications services.

In December of 2020, OneWeb launched 36 new satellites, built at its Airbus Joint Venture assembly plant in Florida, USA, bringing the Company’s total fleet to 110 satellites, all fully-functioning and benefiting from International Telecommunication Union spectrum priority.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, commented, “We are delighted to welcome the investment from SoftBank and Hughes. Both are deeply familiar with our business, share our vision for the future, and their commitment allows us to capitalise on the significant growth opportunity ahead for OneWeb. We gain from their experience and capabilities, as we deliver a unique LEO network for the world.”

Secretary of State, BEIS, The Rt. Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng, MP said, “Our investment in OneWeb is part of our continued commitment to the UK’s space sector, putting Britain at the forefront of the latest technological advances. Today’s investment brings the company one step closer to delivering its mission to provide global broadband connectivity for people, businesses and governments, while potentially unlocking new research, development and manufacturing opportunities in the UK.”

Masayoshi Son, Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank, said, “We are excited to support OneWeb as it increases capacity and accelerates towards commercialization. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Bharti, the UK Government and Hughes to help OneWeb deliver on its mission to transform internet access around the world.”

Pradman Kaul, President of Hughes, remarked, “OneWeb continues to inspire the industry and attract the best players in the business to come together to bring its LEO constellation to fruition. The investments made today by Hughes and SoftBank will help realize the full potential of OneWeb in connecting enterprise, government and mobility customers, especially with multi-transport services that complement our own geostationary offerings in meeting and accelerating demand for broadband around the world.”

Neil Masterson, CEO of OneWeb, added, “OneWeb’s mission is to connect everyone, everywhere. We have made rapid progress to re-start the business since emerging from Chapter 11 in November. We welcome the investments by SoftBank and Hughes as further proof of progress towards delivering our goal.”

In connection with the investment, SoftBank will gain a seat on the OneWeb Board of Directors. Hughes is an investor through its parent company EchoStar, and also an ecosystem partner, developing essential ground network technology for the OneWeb system.

Additionally, the firm has reduced its request for US market access from 47,884 to 6,372 satellites. Together with the satellites for which it is already licensed by the FCC, the total constellation size will be roughly 7,000, down from the 48,000 or so proposed last year.

According to the company, this solidification of their constellation demonstrates the commitment and vision of OneWeb’s new owners, the UK Government and Bharti Global, who are dedicated to deploying a cost effective, responsible, and groundbreaking satellite network to deliver global broadband.

The firm stated that OneWeb remains focused on launching its first-generation system of 648 satellites and is on track to start regional commercial services within a year. This streamlining of activities highlights OneWeb’s plan for global connectivity services and for future generations and possibilities for the network.

The nonprofit MethaneSAT LLC announced recently signed a contract with SpaceX to deliver its new satellite into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Now under construction after completing an intensive design process, the MethaneSAT instrument is on schedule for a launch window that opens October 1, 2022.

MethaneSAT is the newest in a growing wave of methane satellites. It is designed to fill a critical gap between existing missions by providing higher sensitivity and better spatial resolution than global mapping instruments like TROPOMI, combined with a much wider field of view than point-source systems like GHGSat. MethaneSAT plans to stream its data online at no charge for non-commercial users.

Cutting human-made methane emissions is increasingly recognized by scientists, policymakers and the oil and gas industry as a necessary element of any successful climate strategy. Measurements taken by MethaneSAT will enable both companies and governments to locate, quantify and track methane emissions from oil and gas operations worldwide, and use that data to reduce emissions of the highly potent greenhouse gas.

MethaneSAT is building an advanced data platform to automate complex analytics required to determine the amount of methane that is being released across a landscape, transforming a process that now takes scientists weeks or months into one that provides users with actionable data in just a few days. Making methane emissions data for oil and gas infrastructure across the globe freely available will create unprecedented transparency, giving stakeholders and the public a vital window on the progress toward emission reduction goals. Unique mission

MethaneSAT is a subsidiary of Environmental Defense Fund, which has a long record of working with both business and policymakers to create innovative, science-based solutions to critical environmental challenges.

Late last year, the Bezos Earth Fund announced a $100 million grant to EDF that will support critical work including completion and launch of MethaneSAT.

A leading source of expertise on methane emissions, EDF coordinated a sweeping series of studies that produced more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific papers involving more than 150 academic and industry co-authors who assessed methane emissions at every stage in the U.S. oil and gas supply chain.

Cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry 45% by the year 2025 would have the same 20-year climate benefit as shutting down one-third of the world’s coal-fired power plants.

The idea for MethaneSAT was first unveiled by EDF President Fred Krupp in an April 2018 TED Talk, as one of the inaugural group of world-changing ideas selected for seed funding by the Audacious Project, successor to the TED Prize.

“This is a unique mission on an ambitious timeline,” said Dr. Steven Hamburg, MethaneSAT project co-lead. “SpaceX offers the readiness and reliability we need to deliver our instrument into orbit and begin streaming emissions data as soon as possible. We couldn’t ask for a more capable launch partner.”

“Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is the fastest, most cost-effective way we have to slow the rate of warming right now, even as we continue to decarbonize the energy system,” said Mark Brownstein, EDF Senior Vice President for Energy. “MethaneSAT is designed to create transparency and accountability to make sure companies and governments don’t miss that opportunity.”

Exotrail reports the full success of the first-ever cubesat mission equipped with Hall-effect electric propulsion technology. Through an In-Orbit Demonstration mission launched to LEO on November 7, 2020, onboard a PSLV rocket, Exotrail nominally ignited its ExoMG Hall-effect electric propulsion system on the first attempt.

Smallsat constellations will now be able to quickly change their orbit once in space, giving new capabilities for satellite operators as well as more flexibility in their launch strategy, dramatic performance increases, collision avoidance and safe de-orbiting to prevent space pollution.

This success marks a major milestone for Exotrail in the company’s journey to become a space mobility leader, allowing the company to validate in space its product building blocks dedicated to satellites ranging from 10 to 250 kilograms.

ExoMG electric propulsion system is being operated with ExoOPS, Exotrail’s operation software, simultaneously validating not one but two products of the company. This mission opens up a new era for the space industry: ExoMG is the first ever Hall-effect thruster operating on a sub-100 kg spacecraft. This success is strengthened by the extremely short development timeframe, with less than a year from design to delivery. The pandemic and launch delays also caused one year of storage at the launch operator facilities without specific monitoring. This shows the extreme reliability of ExoMG product.

After concluding a first demonstration phase with an altitude change in December 2020, Exotrail will continue demonstrating additional capabilities of its solutions in 2021. Exotrail has already delivered ExoOPS software suite to various clients around the world as well as several flight-grade ExoMG propulsion systems to customers on two continents. Several additional propulsion systems are in production for institutional and commercial clients, such as ESA and AAC Clyde Space.

At least four mission shall fly with Exotrail product onboard in 2021 and more ExoOPS software deployed with new customers to be announced soon.

Hall-effect thrusters are mainly used on large satellites due to their superior efficiency compared to other electric propulsion technologies. Legacy systems, however, are the size of a fridge and require kilowatts of power. Exotrail’s smallsat thruster runs on 50 watts of power and is equivalent in volume to 2 liters of soda. On top of designing and packing world-leading innovations at the thruster level, Exotrail’s team managed the integration of the propulsion system inside the 10 kilograms spacecraft.

Another key element of innovation comes from the use of ExoOPS, Exotrail’s constellation operation software. The software has been instrumental to the realization of the mission. Integrated seamlessly within NanoAvionics’ space infrastructure, ExoOPS allows to command the attitude and propulsion system of the spacecraft and to perform advanced and automatic maneuvers. ExoOPS can also provide capabilities such as orbit determination and propagation, ground station visibility planning or constellation management. The next steps will be dedicated to advanced maneuvering capabilities to demonstrate altitude change, inclination correction, station-keeping, anomaly and plane change, collision avoidance and de-orbit capability.

“Everything worked better than anticipated. Some customers already told us we made history with that mission! Beyond these nice words – a true recognition of the hard work performed by all Exotrail team – it makes our strategy a reality: to operate a high-thrust and flexible electric propulsion system seamlessly with our operations software. We are beyond thrilled!” reported David Henri, Co-Founder and CEO of Exotrail. “We also want to claim the success of our mission showing tangible proofs based on real data. We are happy to report data from our ExoOPS software, but also external tracking elements.”

“We have confirmed nominal operations of our electronics, our fluidics and our thruster head sub-systems. We are now gathering a lot of data to verify the impact of the space environment on our performances and operations. For now, we are very happy with the results as we exceeded our mission objectives.” said Jean-Luc Maria, Co-founder and CTO of Exotrail.

“We confirm that this testing was successful with nominal results at platform level and an altitude change. It has been great working with Exotrail on this journey,” said Arnoldas Pečiukevičius, Head of Systems Engineering at NanoAvionics, the smallsat manufacturing company who built the satellite in which ExoMG is included. “I would like to congratulate the whole Exotrail team on achieving this huge goal. Now that Exotrail’s technologies are space-proven, mobility solutions will be instrumental for a safer space.”

Leaf Space has completed its Series A financing round of 5 million euros, bringing its total funding to 10 million euros. A contribution of 2 million euros came from Primo Space, the investment fund of Primomiglio SGR focused on investments in highly innovative companies in the space industry.

The other 3 million euros of investment were between Whysol Investments, acting as lead investor, and RedSeed Ventures, an early-stage investor of the company that had already joined the equity round last spring. Leaf Space will use the funding to further develop its ground segment services for smallsat operators in the NewSpace economy and globally scale up its business.

During the first trimester of 2021, the company plans to grow its operational ground stations from eight to 11 by deploying and activating stations in Sri Lanka, Canada and Australia. At the end of 2021, the company expects to have a total of 15 operational ground stations for its multi-customer Leaf Line service.

In addition, the company will provide several other ground stations to its Swiss client Astrocast, using the dedicated Leaf Key ground segment service.

The ground segment services of Leaf Space currently support more than 15 customers, such as Astrocast, Pixxel, Virgin Orbit, D-Orbit and many others, around the world. They use Leaf Space’s services to expand and consolidate their business, together with other important institutional customers such as the European Space Agency (ESA), Telespazio-Leonardo and the Indian Space Agency (ISRO). The continuous collaboration with high profile customers such as the ones mentioned, having high performance requirements, enable Leaf Space to improve and maintain the service at peak levels while maintaining maximum efficiency.

Other developments in 2021 will include implementing services to further improve and simplify the operational use for customers and covering almost all of the protocols and communications schemes currently in use in the microsatellite market. This, in turn, will increase Leaf Space’s performance and capabilities to support future more complex mission.

Leaf Space’s ongoing network expansion aims to minimize latency of satellite data reception, managing to provide telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C). It also plans to provide downlink services to satellites in SSO at least once per orbit.

Jonata Puglia, CEO and Co-Founder of Leaf Space, said, “This is a fantastic achievement for Leaf Space. In a short space of time, Leaf Space has become an industry name and a key player in the NewSpace economy. It has shown to be capable of providing excellent ground segment services to satellite operators, from launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) all the way to decommissioning, but also in supporting launch vehicle operators. Having concluded this successful investment round shows the relative resilience of the sector, despite the ongoing pandemic, and allows the company to continue with its strong and swift development plan. Of course, we expect to see future challenges in the space industry as well as extraordinary projects with our customers, collaborators and partners, and we are proud to have Primo Space and our other investors on-board, who believe in our ambitious plans.”

UPDATE

Rocket Lab is currently targeting no earlier than 07:38, January 16 UTC for lift-off of our 18^th Electron launch, the ‘Another One Leaves The Crust’ mission.

Launch Window:

• NZT: 20:38 – 20:45 (16 Jan)
• UTC: 07:38 – 07:45 (16 Jan)
• ET: 02:38 – 02:45 (16 Jan)
• PT: 23:38 – 23:45 (15 Jan)

The company has backup opportunities available through January 25 should Rocket Lab need to stand down for any reason. For real time updates on launch day, keep an eye on Twitter @RocketLab.

Mission Information

• ‘Another One Leaves The Crust’ will launch a single communications satellite for OHB Group.
• The mission will be Rocket Lab’s 18th launch overall and first mission of 2020.
• Rocket Lab will not be attempting to recover Electron’s first stage for this mission. Stay tuned for details of our next recovery mission soon.

Original news story…

Rocket Lab has announced that their first Electron launch of the new year will be a dedicated mission for European space technology company OHB Group.

This dedicated mission, named ‘Another One Leaves the Crust,’ is scheduled for lift-off during a 10-day launch window that opens on January 16 NZT/UTC. Encapsulated inside Electron’s fairing will be a single communication smallsat that will enable specific frequencies to support future services from orbit.

The launch will be Rocket Lab’s 18th Electron mission and was procured for OHB Group through OHB Cosmos International Launch Service GmbH, the launch service division of OHB Group. OHB Cosmos is responsible for launching the spacecraft built by the Group’s satellite manufacturers based in Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

The mission will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula to an initial elliptical orbit, then Electron’s Kick Stage will perform a series of burns with its relightable Curie engine to raise apogee and act as a space tug to deliver the OHB Cosmos’ payload to its precise orbital destination.

Following payload deployment, the Kick Stage will perform a de-orbit burn to lower its perigee where it will experience greater atmospheric drag, enabling it to re-enter and burn up faster to avoid becoming space junk. Rocket Lab will not be attempting to recover Electron’s first stage for this mission.

‘Another One Leaves the Crust’ is the first mission in a packed launch manifest for 2021, which includes multiple dedicated and rideshare small satellite missions for both government and commercial customers. This year will also see Rocket Lab launch a Photon mission to the Moon in support of NASA’s CAPSTONE program and also launch the first missions from Rocket Lab’s two additional launch pads – Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia, and the new Pad B at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.

Rocket Lab’s founder and CEO, Peter Beck, said, “We’re proud to be delivering a speedy and streamlined path to orbit for OHB Group on this mission, with launch taking place within six months of contract signing. By flying as a dedicated mission on Electron, OHB and their mission partners have control over launch timing, orbit, integration schedule, and other mission parameters.”

The FCC has agreed to allow SpaceX to launch ten Starlink satellites into a polar orbit later this month. The FCC published the order on January 8 granting permission for the ten satellites to be placed into a 560 kilometers orbit with an inclination of 97.6 degrees. The satellites will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than January 14.

The satellites will launch as part of the Transporter-1 mission, which is a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission. SpaceX has been lobbying the FCC for permission for the launch into a polar orbital plane for weeks. Reports indicate that the FCC is considering modifying SpaceX’s license to lower the orbits of satellites originally authorized for higher altitudes.

In November, SpaceX issued a request to the FCC for permission to launch 58 satellites into a single polar orbital plane. At the time, SpaceX cited an opportunity for a polar launch in December, but it didn’t identify the opportunity at the time. SpaceX said that placing some satellites into polar orbits would allow it to begin service in Alaska.

Currently, Alaska is not inside the Starlink coverage area for its existing network of satellites in mid-inclination orbits. According to SpaceX, placing the satellites into polar orbits will allow it to offer high-quality broadband service to the most remote areas of Alaska. There was opposition to SpaceX’s plan by Viasat. It claimed “commercial expediency” wasn’t a sufficient reason for the FCC to grant permission for the polar orbit launch.

The FCC concluded that SpaceX was allowed to launch the ten satellites into the polar orbit and that it was in the public interest. The FCC did reject Viasat’s opposition to SpaceX’s request noting that the ten satellites didn’t present concerns in connection with the reliability of the satellites and the potential orbital debris hazards they pose.

By Shane McGlaun, SlashGear.com

A cubesat, largely built by undergraduate students and scheduled to launch on Sunday, will explore the feasibility of a new propulsion method that could enable very small satellites to move around Earth’s orbit without carrying fuel.

This could pave the way for tiny satellites that stay in orbit for long periods and operate in swarms, monitoring storms and natural disasters, for example.

A cubesat is about the size of a loaf of bread, designed to hitch a ride into space with a major mission. Cubesats are low-cost ways to test out new technologies or enable students to get hands-on experience with space exploration. MiTEE is scheduled to fly from the Mojave Air and Space Port on Virgin Orbit’s Launch Demo 2.

While Earth’s atmosphere is much thicker on the ground, a scattering of air particles stretch all the way up to low Earth orbit—the territory of about 60 percent of Earth-orbiting satellites. Small satellites are more strongly affected by the drag of the upper atmosphere than large satellites, slowing their orbits and causing them to drop toward the Earth.

“These smaller spacecraft just don’t last very long, maybe even days to weeks, or a few months, dependent upon how high they are,” said Brian Gilchrist, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, who supervised the team.

And, unlike larger satellites, most small satellites can’t fight the drag. Propulsion is typically achieved by pushing something in the opposite direction of travel, but this means carrying extra material on the satellite that adds weight and is a limited resource.

But because small satellites are so light, they may be able to take advantage of a different means of propulsion. Rather than relying on Newton’s equal-and-opposite reactions to move around, they may be able to harness the more subtle laws of electromagnetism.

The team is studying the idea of tethering two cell phone-sized small satellites with a wire 10 to 30 meters long that is able to drive current in either direction using power from solar panels and closing the electrical circuit through the Earth’s ionosphere. When a wire conducts a current in a magnetic field, that magnetic field exerts a force on the wire. The team plans to use the force from the Earth’s magnetic field to climb higher in orbit, compensating for the drag of the atmosphere.

The first experiments to test the idea will be on a CubeSat satellite called MiTEE-1: The Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment-1. The version being launched was designed and built by more than 250 students, over a course of six years. They were mentored by engineers and technicians of the U-M Space Physics Research Laboratory. The version launching now will have a deployable rigid boom, one meter long, between one satellite the size of a bread box and another the size of a large smartphone. It will measure how much current can be drawn from the ionosphere under different conditions.

“It’s the first time MiTEE will launch a satellite, and it’s been a long time coming. I’m excited to finally see the result of years of effort,” Lauren Citkowski, an aerospace engineering senior.

In two-and-a-half years on the project, Citkowski is grateful for the experiences that built both her technical skills, such as soldering and assembling electronics, and the communication and interpersonal skills that will enable her to thrive on interdisciplinary engineering teams.

The MiTEE project continues at U-M, taking data from this satellite and planning the next. A future version with a longer tether between the satellites, 30 feet or more, would demonstrate that this form of electromagnetic propulsion could keep the device in orbit.

The MiTEE project participates in the Multidisciplinary Design Program, which helps match students from across the University with faculty research—from first year undergraduates to masters level students. Through MDP, the U-M College of Engineering also funds fellowships for students from low and middle income families, or who are in the first generation of the family to attend college. All students who participate in MDP gain hands-on experience in research and industry, preparing them for careers in engineering and space sciences.

Gilchrist is also a professor of climate and space sciences and engineering.

From University of Michigan News