Momentus Inc. and Gran Systems have signed a service agreement for Gran System’s 2U CubeSat NUTSAT to fly on Momentus’ December 2020 Vigoride demo mission.

The 2U NUTSAT was designed by the National Formosa University with the backing of the National Space Organization (NSPO) in Taiwan. One of the three NSPO cubesats launching this year, NUTSAT is a systems engineering training education program integrating an ADS-B receiver onto the cubesat to demonstrate and enhance commercial aviation safety technology. NUTSAT is the first of the three cubesats to go for the launch integration.

Executive Comments

“We are pleased that Momentus will accommodate NUTSAT,” said Kaung-Han Ke, CEO of Gran Systems. “NUTSAT was shipped and delivered to Momentus the same hour that Momentus made a big announcement which upped their profile in investor relations, and we are very happy to be onboard.”

“This is the first NSPO cubesat mission that Momentus will support,” said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. “We are thrilled to be expanding business opportunities and growing with the Taiwanese new space sector where our technology is uniquely positioned.”

A launch delay on Thursday due to a small technical issue was corrected enabling today’s successful launch on Saturday, October 24, at 11:31 a.m. EDT, 11:31 UTC launch of SpaceX’s 60 Starlink satellites. The launch to orbit took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket launched at 11:31 a.m. during the instantaneous window, in which SpaceX did not have a longer timeframe to wait out possible weather violations. This mission also marked the 100th successful flight of a Falcon rocket since Falcon 1 first flew to orbit in 2008.

Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The Starlink satellites deployed approximately 1 hour and 3 minutes after liftoff.

On Thursday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet that the team reported “a small-seeming issue with loss of upper stage camera,” referring to the rocket’s second stage. “Probably nothing serious, but standing down to re-examine (the) whole vehicle just in case.”

Leading up to Saturday’s launch, SpaceX lead manufacturing engineer Jessica Anderson said the issue was resolved and the rocket was healthy.

SpaceX landed the booster about eight minutes after launch on the droneship called Just Read the Instruction already waiting in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the third flight for this rocket first-stage. SpaceX wasn’t attempting to catch the fairings for this launch but will retrieve them after they land in the water.

NanoAvionics has revealed the remaining three payloads of the firm’s ‘D-2/AtlaCom-1’ rideshare mission hosted on board their M6P 6U smallsat bus.

The additional payloads, a camera for hyperspectral remote sensing, a new high-gain X-band antenna and an upgraded X-Band downlink transmitter, are all part of an international collaboration by an international consortium and its partners called “HyperActive”.

The consortium partners for this international collaboration comprise Dragonfly Aerospace (South Africa), Space JLTZ (Mexico) and NanoAvionics US as a supplier to the consortium, as well as mission contributors Polytechnical University of Atlacomulco (Mexico), and CubeCom (South Africa).

Expected to launch in mid-2021, the primary aim of the HyperActive program is a flight demonstration of the hyperspectral imaging and communication payloads. The secondary aim is to evaluate market interest for hyperspectral imaging data captured and processed as part of the program.

Within this collaboration, NanoAvionics will act as the supplier to the HyperActive consortium, taking care of all aspects related to the satellite mission including among others payload integration, performance testing, spacecraft registration and logistics, frequency allocation and payload on-orbit operations.

Responsible for processing the collected hyperspectral data and distributing it to interested parties around the world is Space JLTZ, a space company from Puebla, Mexico. The generated data can be used to develop innovation solutions and optimize various industries such as agriculture yield, mining, livestock, detection of changes in vegetation, pollutants and urban changes including monitoring of vehicles.

For example, a hyperspectral sensor can ‘see’ the spectral signature of an invasive disease threatening an entire harvest, allowing farmers to take preventive steps. Initially, the data will be openly available to all interested parties worldwide, including the Polytechnical University of Atlacomulco, which will allow its students to explore and discover possible applications.

Executive Comments

“This program shows how important international collaboration can be to the NewSpace sector and how it enables low barrier entry for space data businesses,” said F. Brent Abbott, CEO of NanoAvionics US. “I’m very proud that NanoAvionics is part of this effort as well as stimulating education development and contributing to global social benefits such as ocean and agricultural monitoring. NanoAvionics also values its role as a strategic ally for space development in Mexico. Mexico’s participation in the AtlaCom-1 project is possible thanks to the support of Space JLTZ, its extraordinary team and its visionary CEO and president, José Luis Terreros Corrales, The long-term vision and the efforts around AtlaCom-1 by the Mexican Space Agency, and especially the exemplary support of the Municipality of Atlacomulco of Mexico and its space enthusiastic Mayor and engineer, Roberto Tellez Monroy, this team is making history and have laid the ground work to establish a nanosatellite infrastructure for future space missions in Mexico.”

“The team at Dragonfly Aerospace is excited to be working with these great partners on this mission,” said Bryan Dean, CEO of Dragonfly Aerospace. “It fits very well with our plans to team up with leading satellite bus and image processing partners to provide compelling solutions to end users. The Mantis imager is the latest addition to our range of cost-effective hyperspectral imagers which also includes the Chameleon imager that we delivered for flight earlier this year.”

José Luis Terreros Corrales, CEO and President of Space JLTZ, said, “It is a well-known truth that space exploration is the next step for humankind. Speaking as president of Space JLTZ but mostly as a Mexican I couldn’t be more excited and prouder of launching this project and sending Mexico onto a space path. We know this alliance with two giants, NanoAvionics and Dragonfly, is only the beginning of a great partnership that will change the course of the space industry in Mexico.”

Yet another SpaceX Starlink mission is planned targeting Thursday, October 22 at 12:14 p.m. EDT, 16:14 UTC, for its fifteenth Starlink mission, which will launch 60 Starlink satellites to orbit. Falcon 9 will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. There is a backup opportunity available on Friday, October 23 at 11:53 a.m. EDT, 15:53 UTC.

Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the GPS III Space Vehicle 03 mission in June 2020 and a Starlink mission in September 2020. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. You can watch the launch webcast live starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.  

Earlier this week, Ector County Independent School District in Texas announced their participation in a pilot program to help local students and their families access high-speed, low-latency internet. Similar to other rural communities, many residents of Ector County have limited to no connectivity.

This issue was brought to the forefront for the school district earlier this year when COVID-19 forced school building closures and nearly two in five students did not have access to reliable high-speed internet at home. Starting in 2021, Starlink will connect up to 45 households in the community as part of the pilot program. As network capabilities continue to grow, it will then expand service to an additional 90 households in the school district.

Less than a week after the September launch of GHGSat-C1 (‘Iris’), built by Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), GHGSat Inc. recorded the smallsat’s first successful measurement of a methane emission from a known oil and gas facility in Turkmenistan. A week later, the satellite operator tasked Iris to measure a much smaller, controlled methane release from a test site in Alberta, Canada. The satellite-based measurement was successful and confirmed with an airborne sensor.

GHGSat Inc. created the sample image by colorizing the methane concentration measurements that exceeded normal background levels captured over the Alberta test site. The colorized measurements are overlaid on an aerial photograph to provide context.

Precise attitude control and sensor pointing are critical to the success of an atmospheric monitoring microsatellite like GHGSat-C1. The 20x30x40-centimeter satellite must keep its greenhouse gas measuring spectrometer pointed at an area of interest on the ground as the satellite continues on its path.

GHGSat-C1 (‘Iris’) was launched on September 2, 2020, aboard an Arianespace Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Also on that launch was NEMO-HD, an Earth observation microsatellite built by SFL for Slovenia.

GHGSat Inc. awarded SFL the development contract for GHGSat-C1 after building the pathfinding GHGSat-D (“Claire”) smallsat in 2016. Using high-precision target tracking capabilities developed by SFL, Claire successfully demonstrated that sources of methane and other gas emissions could be detected and measured from space. SFL is currently developing another microsatellite, GHGSat-C2, for the company.

Executive Comments

“The successful measurement of methane concentrations in the air above the oil and gas facility indicates the advanced microsatellite attitude control and precise point technologies developed by SFL and built into GHGSat-C1 are functioning as designed,” said SFL Director Dr. Robert E. Zee. “We have a very mature and high-performance attitude control system that can handle various maneuvers and pointing modes with relative ease” said Zee. “In particular, we fine-tuned the attitude control required for GHGSat-C1 by leveraging the results from the GHGSat-D demonstration mission in 2016.”

Established at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) in 1998, SFL has developed CubeSats, nanosatellites, and microsatellites that have achieved more than 128 cumulative years of operation in orbit. These microspace missions have included SFL’s trusted attitude control and, in some cases, formation-flying capabilities. Other core SFL-developed components include modular (scalable) power systems, onboard radios, flight computers, and control software.

TriSept Corporation has signed a launch services contract with the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) unit to broker and integrate a milestone cubesat technology demonstration mission scheduled to launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron early next year.

As part of the demonstration mission, the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command will test a proven smallsat bus as host of its new 3U Gunsmoke-J technology initiative aimed at fostering the development of new, game-changing capabilities for the U.S. Army’s tactical ground forces.

TriSept secured both the U.S. Army’s rideshare slot and payload dispenser, which will release the 3U CubeSat into orbit once in space aboard the Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle. TriSept will integrate the small satellite with the CubeSat dispenser at Rocket Lab’s Long Beach, California facility about 30 days before the scheduled launch date.

TriSept’s team will then travel to the Rocket Lab launch site in Mahia, New Zealand, where it will manage the integration and encapsulation of the dispenser device, carrying the satellite and electrical interfaces inside the fairing, about two to three weeks prior to liftoff atop Electron’s upper stage.

Executive Comments

“Gunsmoke-J is a joint capability technology demonstration executed by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and sponsored by both the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Army,” said Eddie Johnson, Gunsmoke-J Program Manager, U.S. Army SMDC Technical Center. “This science and technology effort will demonstrate an entry-level capability in a 3U form factor relevant to U.S. Army warfighter needs. The mission will also help inform future acquisition decisions.”

“This leading-edge mission for the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command will orbit aboard a satellite smaller than a loaf of bread, but will have a huge impact on milestone developments in warfighter capabilities on the battlefield and beyond,” said Rob Spicer, TriSept CEO. “TriSept is thrilled to have secured the rideshare slot, dispenser hardware, regulatory compliance in both nations, and spacecraft integration for this important technology demonstration in space. We look forward to integrating this small but game-changing payload aboard a Rocket Lab Electron in the coming months.”

“This rideshare exemplifies the very heart of our overall vision at Rocket Lab; that even the smallest of the small satellites can make a major difference in both commercial and government markets,” said Lars Hoffman, SVP of Global Launch Services for Rocket Lab. “The U.S. Army will be able to hone its capabilities around the world as a result of this CubeSat mission for the Space and Missile Defense Command. We look forward to another Electron launch with TriSept’s key launch integration and overall program support ahead of liftoff set for Q1 next year.”

Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”) and Kepler Communications Inc. (“Kepler”) have signed a launch service agreement to deploy two additional satellites for Kepler’s GEN1 constellation in 2021.

Momentus’ rideshare service will include launch provisions and delivery to the customer’s desired orbital altitude while maintaining the SSO inclination using Momentus’ Vigoride transfer vehicle. The GEN1 platform supports both Kepler’s Global Data Service, a wideband high-capacity data service, and EverywhereIoT, a narrowband solution for Internet of Things applications.

With deployment beginning in late 2020, Kepler’s GEN1 constellation is the first to offer both wideband and narrowband services from LEO. The two new satellites will deliver additional commercial capacity for Kepler’s Global Data Service and provide additional support for on-going technology demonstrations for EverywhereIoT.

For communications and IoT satellites, the Local Time of the Ascending Node (LTAN/LTDN) is important in terms of offering fleet coverage diversity so that a satellite operator can offer data and analytics over a variety of times. Once in orbit, Momentus’ Vigoride transfer vehicle can change the LTAN/LTDN of a spacecraft deployed by using precession — a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. Kepler will be a prominent customer for Momentus’ LTAN shift service as they build out their constellation.

Executive Comments

Jared Bottoms, Director, Space Systems at Kepler, said, “Securing this launch with Momentus represents a key milestone in the deployment of our GEN1 constellation. We look forward to the successful launch, and the benefits of the Vigoride service. Assurance on an accurate LTAN insertion is key for Kepler as we serve users on a global scale, and this played a significant role in our selection of Momentus for this mission.”

Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus, said, “Momentus is honored to enable Kepler’s IOT constellation and will efficiently deploy their GEN1 satellites to precise and specific orbits, thereby enabling Kepler to expand their commercial service.”