Bright Ascension Ltd. expects to release significantly more information on the firm’s upcoming product suite launch at the Small Satellites Conference in Logan, Utah, at Booth 194, from August 5th through 10th.

2023 has been the busiest year for Bright Ascension, with ten software deployments launched onboard three SpaceX rockets in the first half of the year. The satellites, developed for a diverse mix of applications, ranged from tracking hidden maritime activity for increased intelligence capability to delivering hyperspectral imaging data to benefit the agricultural sector. These satellites comprise the highest number of the company’s software deployments that have been launched within any six month period and take Bright Ascension’s current total to 44 spacecraft on-orbit.

The 2023 SpaceX Transporter launches are an important steppingstone to building and solidifying Bright Ascension’s flight heritage and credibility within the sector ahead of the highly anticipated launch of its innovative suite of end-to-end space software products later in the year.

Bright Ascension is introducing a complete, new product suite covering the entire space system, from spacecraft flight software and ground operations systems, to service management products and data-insights applications. Harnessing the power of integration and in-built scalability, this end-to-end space software solution will enable operators and space-based service providers to maximize their mission potential by making full use of available assets and save significant costs across development, operations and data delivery.

“So far, any information about our upcoming product suite launch has been a closely guarded secret. We’ve had an incredibly productive first half of 2023 with ten satellite launches and breakthrough product development, and we feel now the time is right to share more detail on our new, innovative and truly unique product suite. Make sure to meet the team at the SmallSat Conference in Utah to find out what sort of savings our new products can give your mission in terms of cost, effort and time.” — Peter Mendham, CEO, Bright Ascension

Bright Ascension will be exhibiting on Booth 194 at the Small Satellites Conference in Logan, Utah, on August, 5-10.

Astroscale has a new partnership with Astro Digital US Inc. that will see Astroscale’s Generation 2 Docking Plate incorporated into Astro Digital’s modular satellite bus for end-of-life (EOL) servicing preparation.

Astroscale’s Gen 2 Docking Plate offers a new benchmark for on-orbit servicing and promises to usher in a new era of responsible, sustainable and smart satellite operations in space, aligning with international best practices and guidelines. Astro Digital is set to receive its first Astroscale Docking Plate for integration later this year, with launch expected in Q4 2024.

Astroscale’s Docking Plate and end-of-life services provide bus manufacturers and satellite operators with a solution for striking a balance between developing and growing our activities in space while ensuring space remains viable for future generations.

“We are excited to deliver our Gen 2 Docking Plate to Astro Digital. Equipping their platforms with the Astroscale Docking Plate demonstrates leadership among bus manufacturers to provide a spacecraft that is ready for potential servicing or removal, allowing satellite operators to remain flexible and act responsibly in space. With the Docking Plate in place, on-orbit servicing spacecraft such as Astroscale’s ELSA-M servicer can securely dock with the client satellite and relocate it or remove it from orbit for safe and simple disposal, offering a low-risk, practical and future-proof solution for the industry.” — Andrew Faiola, Commercial Director, Astroscale Ltd.

“We want to empower and accelerate innovative companies and their space-based initiatives. At the same time, Astro Digital and our customers want to operate responsibly and ensure that space remains viable in the future. We see space debris mitigation as a crucial activity for sustainable space, and we recognise that Astro Digital has a role to play. Incorporating Astroscale’s Docking Plate into our satellite bus design supports our goals of being responsible operators. The simple and compatible design allows easy integration, making it straightforward for us to enable our customers to keep space sustainability alongside their day-to-day operations.” — Chris Biddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Astro Digital US Inc.

The launch of PSLV-C56, carrying the DS-SAR satellite along with six co-passengers from the first launch-pad at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota, was accomplished successfully by ISRO on July 30, 2023, at 06:30 hrs IST. The DS-SAR radar satellite was developed and produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

PSLV-C56 was configured in its core-alone mode, similar to that of C55. The DS-SAR, a 360 kg. satellite, was launched into a Near Equatorial Orbit (NEO) at 5 degrees inclination and at an altitude of 535 km.

The DS-SAR satellite was developed under a partnership between DSTA (representing the Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering. Once deployed and operational, it will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the Government of Singapore. ST Engineering will use the satellite for multi-modal and higher responsiveness imagery and geospatial services for their commercial customers.

DS-SAR carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). This allows the DS-SAR to provide for all-weather day and night coverage, and capable of imaging at 1 meter resolution at full polarimetry.

The co-passengers for this mission were…

• VELOX-AM, a 23 kg. technology demonstration smallsat.
• ARCADE Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer (ARCADE), an experimental satellite
• SCOOB-II , a 3U smallsat flying a technology demonstrator payload
• NuLIoN by NuSpace, an advanced 3U smallsat enabling seamless IoT connectivity in urban and remote locations.
• Galassia-2, a 3U nanosatellite that will be orbiting at LEO.
• ORB-12 STRIDER , satellite developed under an International collaboration

Tests have begun on the IAI DS-SAR satellite built for Singapore’s military and commercial use which entered orbit on July 30th. and transmitted the first data to the ground station. The satellite will be handed over to its Singaporean customers at the end of testing.

The DS-SAR satellite builds on IAI’s experience in developing observation satellites such as OptSat and TecSAR, which have been developed in new generations for 35 years. The synthetic aperture radar sensor payload is designed to enable the collection of a wide range of data, in terms of both coverage and resolution, day and night, and under all weather conditions.

The satellite will be used for maritime surveillance with the Singapore Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Agency and provide commercial services through ST Electronics alongside TELEOS 1 Earth Observation.

 A world first trial of space-based VHF voice communications has been successfully completed by Skykraft as part of their development of satellites to provide space-based aviation communications and surveillance services. This trial supports the work on operational space-based aviation VHF services leading up to the World Radio Congress 2023 (WRC-23). 
  

Voice radio communications in the VHF band are used for communications between pilots and air traffic controllers. VHF radios are standard aircraft equipment around the world and are vital in ensuring the safety of air travel. Currently, VHF voice communications services are only available when the aircraft is within range of a ground-based radio. This means that large areas of the Earth’s surface, including much of the world’s oceans, are not covered.  

Skykraft’s trial of space-based voice communications in the VHF aviation band demonstrates the feasibility of satellite communication directly with aircraft using existing equipment. The use of satellites in place of ground-based radio systems will enable global real-time communications between pilots and air traffic controllers for the first time.  

The testing took place in the southern area of Australia’s Flight Information Region. Skykraft worked in collaboration with Airservices Australia to implement appropriate test protocols that ensured that there was no interference to the operational Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. 

“We are proud to have taken another step to bringing this world-first capability to market,” said Dr. Michael Frater, CEO of Skykraft.  

“VHF voice and data communication that covers the entire extent of an aircraft’s journey is the missing piece for Air Traffic Management and will unlock efficiency gains globally.”  

The five satellites used for this trial of VHF voice services have undergone six weeks of successful operational testing prior to the trials of space-based ATM services. Skykraft’s initial constellation continues to be under rapid development with two launches already in 2023, and more planned for 2024. 

“The success of the current round of test activities is a tribute to the capabilities of the engineering team at Skykraft. We recognized the need to deliver these space-based ATM services to ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers) as soon as possible and our team of engineers, project managers andtechnicians has delivered” noted Mark Skidmore, Chair of Skykraft. 

Skykraft’s Air Traffic Management Constellation 

Skykraft is developing a constellation of more than 200 satellites in low-Earth orbit to provide global ATM services from space, providing: 

• Surveillance services using ADS-B and UAT. 
• Multilateration services for:
  • validation of ADS-B and UAT messages received from aircraft, and 
  • independent aircraft position data in the event of GNSS failure. 
• VHF voice communications. 
• VHF data communications. 

Skykraft’s initial constellation will enter service in 2025.  

A highlight of Skykraft’s next space mission in Q2 2024 will be a demonstration of multilateration to provide independent aircraft position data in the event of GNSS failure. 

AAC Clyde Space and partners have agreed to move into the phase 3B of the xSPANCION project, wherein the project will be completed with the manufacturing of ten novel spacecraft, of which four will be launched within the project’s framework — the UK Space Agency, through the ESA Pioneer Partnership Projects, will co-fund the Group’s investments in the project with 4.5 million (approx. SEK 51.7 million).

The xSPANCION project aims to develop an innovative satellite constellation service and is expected to be operational in Q4 2024. The decision to move into phase 3B was taken while completing the phase 3A with satellite platform qualification, scaling production capacity with increased automation and the development of cloud-based software for delivery of data services to users. The first four Earth observation satellites will become part of AAC Clyde Space’s Space Data as a Service (SDaaS) constellation, whereas the six following satellites will be offered for client payloads.

Through Space Data as a Service agreements, customers can access space-based data more quickly and cheaply, without the need to own and operate space assets. Customer agreements can take three different forms; pay-per-access, non-exclusive access by annual subscription, or exclusive access under a capacity subscription. Since the Group aims for a flexible and dynamic constellation, it has, together with its partners, agreed to move into this final phase before finalizing customer agreements. Larger customer agreements will be announced when they are finalized.

The xSPANCION project is structured as a Public Private Partnership, wherein AAC Clyde Space Ltd. and its partners, Bright Ascension Ltd., the University of Strathclyde, D-Orbit UK, Alden Legal UK and the Satellite Applications Catapult are working in partnership with the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to develop a Space Data as a Service offering.

“Good quality and timely data are key aspects of our SDaaS offering and we are delighted to see the xSPANCION project move into its final stretch. These satellites will offer customers new data sets, in a timely manner, opening a variety of opportunities to collect information that will improve life on Earth.” Luis Gomes, CEO, AAC Clyde Space

Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) has deployed all customer payloads from its Vigoride-6 Orbital Service Vehicle that launched in April of 2023 aboard the SpaceX Transporter-7 mission.

To date, Momentus has deployed a total of 15 customer satellites over three missions conducted over the past year and has also placed three Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicles (OSVs) into orbit. While these initial three missions were demonstration missions focused on testing the performance of the Vigoride OSV, Momentus orbited a number of customer satellites in the missions summarized below:

Vigoride-3 launched in May of 2022: Momentus’ inaugural mission deployed six satellites for FOSSA Space Systems and the SelfieSat satellite for Orbit NTNU from Vigoride. The Company also used a third-party deployer to deliver a satellite to orbit for CalPoly Pomona for a total of eight satellites deployed from Vigoride-3 and a third-party deployer.

Vigoride-5 launched in January of 2023: Momentus’ second mission included the deployment of the Qosmosys Zeus-1 payload. The Company is providing ongoing hosted payload services to Caltech’s Solar Power Project Demonstrator (SSPD) mission. Caltech reports that its payload recently demonstrated its ability to wirelessly transmit power in space and to beam detectable power to Earth. Momentus will continue to provide hosted payload support to SSPD over the coming months as it continues its operations.

During the Vigoride-5 mission, the Momentus team also tested its Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) that uses water as a propellant. This included 35 firings of the thruster that demonstrated its ability to perform its intended use cases in LEO.

Vigoride-6 launched in April of 2023: The Vigoride-6 mission successfully deployed the REVELA payload for ARCA Dynamics, the VIREO CubeSat for C3S LLC., the DISCO-1 CubeSat for Aarhus University, and the IRIS-C payload for an Asian customer booked through ISILAUNCH.

During the Vigoride-6 mission, Momentus also deployed two CubeSats into LEO as part of the NASA LLITED (Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density) mission. These two CubeSats, housed behind a single deployer door, were released from the Vigoride OSV earlier than scheduled.

While the CubeSats were deployed at the intended altitude of 495 km., they were deployed at a different inclination than the intended target orbit needed for the science experiment. NASA has confirmed the two CubeSats are functional and the team will be able to operate the science instruments onboard. Momentus conducted a thorough investigation and identified the root cause as human error in the mapping of a software command. The Company is implementing corrective actions to prevent a recurrence.

LLITED launched in April as ELaNa 40 (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) managed by NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.

The TASSA features 11-meter-long metal sheets with flexible solar cells bonded to them. To stow, they are tightly coiled around a mandrel. After launch, motors unroll the mandrel, deploying the solar array. The goal of the TASSA program is to reduce the cost per watt of power generated by 50% over arrays currently on the market. Momentus aims to drive down vehicle production costs and streamline on-orbit operations, while reducing the cost of power for the satellite, with this technology once operational.

Along with Vigoride-6, Momentus is concurrently operating its Vigoride-5 spacecraft that launched in January of 2023. As mentioned above, the Vigoride-5 spacecraft is providing ongoing hosted payload services to Caltech’s SSPD mission.

The Company’s next flight is targeted for no earlier than November of 2023 aboard the SpaceX Transporter-9 mission. During this mission, Momentus will use a deployer to place three satellites into Low-Earth Orbit for three different customers:

• The AMAN-1 Earth Observation satellite will be deployed for SatRev. The satellite can also be used for other services such as land survey, precision agriculture, weather, environmental and smart cities.

• The JINJUSat-1 satellite will be deployed for CONTEC Co. of the Republic of Korea. JINJUSat-1 is spearheaded by three entities: Jinju City, Korea Testing Laboratory, and Gyeongsang National University. Once on-orbit, cameras mounted on the satellite will carry out a mission to take pictures of the Earth.

• The Picacho satellite will be deployed for Lunasonde – a U.S. sub-surface imaging company with the goal of making underground resources – such as water and minerals – easier to find. The Picacho CubeSat is a technology demonstration of Lunasonde’s sensors. It will measure the power spectral density of low-frequency radio signals in the ionosphere, which will help inform designs for the company’s future satellites.

Additionally, Momentus now plans to launch its Vigoride-7 OSV, originally scheduled for launch in October of 2023, on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission that is targeted for no earlier than February of 2024. On the Vigoride-7 mission, Momentus will aim to deploy several customer satellites in LEO and provide services to a hosted payload.

The Company will also release a target satellite and maneuver the OSV into proximity with the target satellite for a Remote Proximity Operations demonstration. The revised mission plans will enable Momentus to launch Vigoride-7 with a fuller load of payloads for deployment in LEO with better mission economics, while still meeting the needs of customers requiring orbital delivery in 2023.

“One of the upcoming events that we are looking forward to conducting on the Vigoride-6 mission is a test of the Tape Spring Solar Array (TASSA), a Momentus technology demonstration of a new kind of solar array.” — Krishnan Anand, Vice President of Program Management, Momentus

SpaceX engaged the company’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle to send 22 Starlink satellites to LEO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida.

This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and seven Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.