News

Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) has announced that the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. (“Tyvak”), has been awarded a $2.4 billion contract to design, build and deploy 288 LEO satellites for Rivada Space Networks — as part of the contract, Terran Orbital will also develop 12 “spare” satellites for a total production of 300 spacecraft.

Terran Orbital, through its subsidiary Tyvak, will act as the prime contractor to design and manufacture the approximately 500 kg satellites, integrate the communication payload, and perform the final satellite assembly, integration, and test. The company will also be responsible for developing portions of the ground segment.

Mission operations for the on-orbit satellites will be conducted from a state-of-the-art, satellite operations, control center. Rivada expects to start deploying their constellation as early as 2025, subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, with the anticipated launch of four of our satellites.

“Terran Orbital is thrilled to form this new partnership with Rivada Space Networks,” said Marc Bell, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Terran Orbital. “Our partnership will show why Terran Orbital continues to be a satellite manufacturer of choice for aerospace and defense companies worldwide. We are ecstatic to work alongside Rivada and look forward to building out their LEO constellation.”

“We at Rivada see Terran Orbital as a kindred spirit of sorts. We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring this project to fruition with them,” said Declan Ganley, Chairman and CEO of Rivada Networks.

Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) is reporting that the commissioning operations of the Vigoride-5 Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV) are continuing to successfully advance.

The Vigoride-5 OSV was launched on the SpaceX Transporter-6 mission on January 3. As commissioning operations advance, the OSV remains in good health, and the vehicle’s power and thermal systems continue to be within nominal ranges.

The solar arrays are fully deployed and generating power within nominal ranges. Both uplink and downlink communications with the vehicle are healthy. Recent activities have included tuning the performance of the attitude determination system and completing pressurization of the vehicle’s propulsion system

As part of the commissioning campaign, a spacecraft camera has now been activated and has begun returning images of the spacecraft, which Momentus uses for engineering evaluation.

In the coming weeks, Momentus will prioritize testing the vehicle’s innovative Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET). Momentus is a pioneer in commercializing this technology. The MET is designed to use water as a propellant and produce thrust by expelling extremely hot gases through a rocket nozzle.

Unlike a conventional chemical rocket engine, which creates thrust through a chemical reaction, the MET is designed to create a plasma and thrust using microwave energy. Using the MET, Momentus aims to offer cost-effective, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly propulsion to meet the demands for in-space transportation and infrastructure services.

Axelspace Corporation has successfully developed a Ka-band radio for Earth Observation (EO) smallsats — the radio operates with less than half the power consumption of conventional radio.

The collaborative research was jointly developed with Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) with key collaborators Atsushi Shirane of the Laboratory for Future Interdisciplinary Research of Science and Professor Kenichi Okada and Assistant Professor Takashi Tomura of Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

EO data from smallsats is attracting attention for a multitude of applications such as smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, disaster prevention, and disaster response. Demand for this data will increase in the future and additional, efficient mechanisms for transmitting data from space to Earth are needed.

The radio equipment typically used on microsatellites for EO have limitations. This is especially true with compatibility between capturing and communicating data. This issue arises due to the direction of image capture and antenna communication as they do not match (attitude control).

Large EO satellites in the several-ton class mount multiple types of antennas and they can use different antennas, depending on the distance from the ground stations, or use mechanical gimbals combined with controllable directivity phased array radios that allow the large satellite to avoid conflicts in attitude control. However, smallsats have far less storage space and power and that presents a unique and difficult challenge for adoption of the above methods for microsatellites.

Advances in sensor technology and data services require today’s EO missions to have faster communications. The downlink must achieve the communication of a large amount of data transmission in shorter time periods. To solve these two issues of space and power constrained smallsats, Axelspace and Tokyo Tech have developed a downlink system that combines a broadband Ka-band transmitter and an active phased array antennas.

The Ka-band phased array radio developed in this research consists of a two-port antenna, amplifier, phase shifter, and active hybrid coupler. This enables electrical directivity control with low power consumption. The newly devised dynamic, hybrid coupler, circuit technology significantly reduces the power consumption of the phased array radio, thereby enabling faster and more real-time data communication than was previously possible.

The manufacturing of the radio IC is a CMOS process, which enables mass production at a low cost. Axelspace plans to install the successfully developed low-power phased array radio on the firm’s EO microsatellite. An on-orbit demo will be conducted within a few years with the company’s aim to shorten the time lag between ground capturing and data downloading as much as possible and to accelerate satellite data use.

The research results were supported by the JST Research Results Deployment Program A-STEP Industry-University Collaboration are available at this direct link…

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) has confirmed that their Vigilance Mission (KSF1) satellites have entered into operations, following achievement of reliably delivering data products against a monthly service level to Government and Commercial customers.

Bringing Vigilance mission into its operational phase is the key catalyst for commencing deferred revenue recognition this quarter, revenue growth and cash receipts.

Commenting on this milestone, Alan Khalili, the company’s CEO, said, “Reaching this critical milestone moves the Company into production mode, confirming the Vigilance mission satellites are now in commercial operation, delivering consistent and reliable data from a specific area of interest which is being processed through our proprietary signal processing platform and being sold to our early adopter customers as intelligence products. We now look forward to expanding our product offering through bringing additional already launched satellites online, including the Patrol Mission (KSF2) expected to commence data delivery in the coming months.”

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) has confirmed that their Vigilance Mission (KSF1) satellites have entered into operations, following achievement of reliably delivering data products against a monthly service level to Government and Commercial customers.

Bringing Vigilance mission into its operational phase is the key catalyst for commencing deferred revenue recognition this quarter, revenue growth and cash receipts.

Commenting on this milestone, Alan Khalili, the company’s CEO, said, “Reaching this critical milestone moves the Company into production mode, confirming the Vigilance mission satellites are now in commercial operation, delivering consistent and reliable data from a specific area of interest which is being processed through our proprietary signal processing platform and being sold to our early adopter customers as intelligence products. We now look forward to expanding our product offering through bringing additional already launched satellites online, including the Patrol Mission (KSF2) expected to commence data delivery in the coming months.”

The Antaris JANUS-1 smallsat has successfully reached orbit — JANUS-1 rode on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) SSLV-D2 rocket, which was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre of India under a commercial arrangement with New Space India Limited (NSIL). The satellite features five payloads from a range of global providers and those will be commissioned and begin nominal operations during the coming days.

Additional tech demonstration satellites from Antaris and manufacturing partners Ananth Technologies and XDLINX Labs are planned for 2023, including 6U, 12U and 27U satellite reference architectures.

JANUS-1 is a 6U satellite featuring payload and subsystem technologies from AICRAFT, Morpheus Space, Netra, SayariLabs Kenya, SpeQtral, Transcelestial and Zero-Error Systems (ZES) that will perform Internet of Things (IoT) communications, advanced experimental laser communications, radio communications and machine learning (ML) during orbit.

Antaris SatOS software manages core bus responsibilities while orchestrating multi-tenant payloads and onboard computing — in addition to showcasing secure TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking and Command) protocols with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and ATLAS Space Operations, who are providing ground communications services.

The project was completed in just 10 months from concept to launch readiness with a cost savings of 75% over comparable satellite missions. Based on data captured during the build, Antaris anticipates that future spacecraft missions can be ready for launch in as few as six months.

While the launch marks the start of JANUS-1’s on-orbit mission, the satellite has been ‘in flight’ for months via the company’s unique TrueTwin digital twinning technology that creates a digital version of the satellite at the start of the project and then integrates with hardware-in-the-loop as hardware becomes available.

“This is a very proud moment for our company and the global space ecosystem,” said Antaris Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Karthik Govindhasamy. “We did something that has never been done before—we designed, built and launched a complex satellite in just months, not years, at a fraction of traditional costs. Our cloud-based platform made this all possible, and we have proven that this software is the future of the satellite industry.”

“We’re so proud of the entire Antaris team and our incredible manufacturing partners,” noted Antaris Co-Founder and CEO, Tom Barton. “Together, we have broken down major barriers that have historically hampered satellite design and production. We hope JANUS-1 will serve as an inspiration to the entire space ecosystem and look forward to partnering with other New Space pioneers who are ready to go fast and work with us to make space easy. Antaris software dramatically simplifies the design, simulation and operation of satellites. We bring New Space thinking to an Old Space world, giving our customers maximum control and flexibility while improving time-to-orbit, reducing costs and optimizing engineering reuse.”

NOAA has awarded the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Ground Sustainment Services (LGSS) contract to Peraton, Inc. based in Herndon, Virginia.

The value of the contract, which includes a base period of five years, with three 12-month option periods is $399,288,456. The period of performance begins on March 1st, 2023.

The purpose of the LGSS contract is for sustainment of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground Services (CGS), while accommodating enhancements and additions to NOAA’s existing LEO satellite constellations and partner missions.

Work will occur at the contractors’ facilities in Greenbelt, Maryland; Clarksville, Virginia; and Bellevue, Nebraska; and at NOAA facilities located in Suitland, Maryland; Fairmont, West Virginia; and Fairbanks, Alaska.

JPSS is NOAA’s current operational LEO program that acquires and distributes global environmental data from multiple polar-orbiting satellites.

The agency’s LEO program includes the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) mission, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 and the JPSS-3/4 missions, as well other leveraged missions and partnerships.

The JPSS Ground System is responsible for implementing JPSS Program command, control, and communications and data processing requirements for JPSS CGS-serviced missions.

Future NOAA and partner LEO missions will be supported by the CGS throughout the life of the JPSS Program. The JPSS Program plays a critical role in NOAA’s mission to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, coasts, and space environments. It also supports the Nation’s economy and protects lives and property.

The following is a congratulatory letter to ISRO from SIA-India, an association for space industry, regarding the completion of their JANUS-1 satellite.

Congratulations to ISRO on the successful completion of the SSLV-D2/EOS-07 mission! The mission is a testament to ISRO’s hard work and dedication. Placing EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 into their intended orbits flawlessly showcases ISRO’s commitment to advancing the space industry and driving innovation. 

SIA-India extends felicitations to Ananth Technologies and Antaris on the successful launch of the JANUS-1 satellite aboard ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) on February 10, 2023. The satellite, which is a software-defined 6U technology demonstration model, was designed and constructed using the Antaris cloud software platform, SatOS software, and XDLinx’s modular Spacecraft Bus, with Ananth Technologies serving as its Master Systems Integrator. The complete Assembly, Integration, and Test process was carried out successfully at Ananth Technologies’ new facility in Bangalore’s Aerospace Park, where the high-efficiency Solar Panels of JANUS-1 were also fully indigenized.

Additionally, the Thiruvananthapuram unit of Ananth Technologies made significant contributions to the country’s space vehicle launch, SSLV, and also to the ISRO Satellite EOS. The Bangalore spacecraft team of Ananth made contributions to the EOS-7 satellite, the primary payload of the SSLV-D2 launch, by developing various avionics subsystems including IRU, BMU, LEMA, and DC-DC converter packages. The unit also provided test support for Azad Sat at its Bangalore facility.

International collaboration and partnerships have played a crucial role in the success of both the SSLV-D2/EOS-07 mission and the launch of Janus 1. These collaborations have allowed for the pooling of resources, expertise, and knowledge, leading to innovative and successful missions. The success of these collaborations showcases the importance of international cooperation in advancing the space industry and driving innovation.