For those thinking of launching their smallsats or cubesats, please join GK Launch Services and the firm’s virtual side meeting that is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. during the SmallSat Conference— access this direct link to attend…

The company will provide an overview of Soyuz-2 capabilities for smallsat access to space. The topic is: New launch opportunities for Small Satellites on Soyuz-2.

Even though this year is different and the firm is not in sunny Utah, GK Launch Services remains excited to meet attendees during this virtual event.

GK Launch Services is an operator of commercial launches. The company was established by the Russian State Space Corporation, “Roscosmos,” to implement commercial contracts for the launch of spacecraft using Soyuz-2 family launch vehicles from Russian spaceports.

MECANO ID is “exhibiting” a new, smallsat deployer at the SmallSat Conference, selecting this event to present their world of their new EOS (Ejection Of Satellite) deployer for smallsats.

The EOS deployment system’s first goal is to carefully carry the smallsat during the launch. As soon as the required altitude has been reached, EOS will eject the smallsat to its designated orbit with high stability.

EOS spent the last year under development by MECANO ID with the support of French Space Agency (CNES) and NewSpace Factory (NSF). The system has been developed to support any worldwide launchers and any satellites from 20 to 60 kg with a set of unique advantages.

Based on more than 20 years of collaboration, the CNES has selected to support MECANO ID in the EOS development, which is a crucial link between satellite and launcher. This key support is due to CNES unique dual know-how as much in launcher systems as in orbital systems.

The unique MECANO ID in-house know-how in engineering, composite manufacturing, and environmental testing brings high flexibility to its customers. MECANO ID can provide services and expertise as well as prime contracting that is fully committed to superior results. In the field of smallsats, the company traditionally supports satellites providers in mechanical and thermal architectures, engineering and space qualification. EOS is the first MECANO ID product specifically dedicated to smallsats market.

All stakeholders are invited to discover the EOS capabilities at the Small Satellite Conference.

Executive Comment

“We are proud to participate to this 33rd Annual Conference on Small Satellites and to exhibit EOS, the very first creation of our Deployment Systems Product Line. EOS encloses a lot of our knowledge from 25 years of experience in designing, sizing and qualifying space structure,” said Stéphane Galinier, Business Development Manager of the company.

“EOS system combines very low mass (less than 4 kg), predictable mechanical levels, very low spin at ejection and 5 free external faces allowing satellite appendixes such as sensors or antennas,” added Didier Zely, Manager of the Deployment Systems Product Line.

Open Cosmos has sealed a deal with satellite communications operator Sateliot to build and operate the company’s smallsat constellation, which will provide continuous global Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity under a 5G architecture.

Open Cosmos has begun the manufacture of the first of the 100 satellites that will allow Sateliot to start offering IoT services by the close of 2022.

The microwave oven sized satellites will operate in LEO, flying at an approximate altitude of 500 km to guarantee IoT connectivity on a global scale and in almost real time.

In the next two years, it is forecast that there will be more than 50 billion IoT devices globally. Sateliot will partner with conventional telecommunication providers around the world to ensure ubiquitous coverage.

Sateliot will also offer monitoring and tracking systems, data analysis, and processes in areas, such as: maritime, railways, aeronautical, agriculture and farming, gas and petroleum exploration, electric or critical infrastructure.

Executive Comments

Rafel Jordá, Founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, said, “We are excited to have satellite production underway for these satellites and be progressing all other aspects of the mission, including system integration, launch, licensing & logistics, as well as orbit operations. We are delighted to partner with Sateliot to enable the reality of IoT anywhere.”

Jaume Sanpera, Co-Founder and CEO of Sateliot, stated, “a bond with a partner, such as Open Cosmos, allows us to move forward with our project, meeting head on the requirements and challenges the New Space industry faces, while keeping control over the design of the antennae and the radio that will allow the operational and commercial management of our telecommunications service.”

Momentus, a provider of in-space transportation services for satellites, has announced a hosting service for customer payloads, providing access for analytics and in-space demonstrations at a fraction of the cost of designing, building, launching and operating a dedicated smallsat.

Starting in June of 2021, excess capacity will be made available to hosted payload customers on Momentus’ vehicles for customers’ technology demonstrations, qualifications or short-term experiments. These missions will be self-contained and can be hosted by our Vigoride transfer vehicle from the end of the shuttle logistics mission, to the end of its mission life prior to deorbiting.

Two service models are available: Charter and Shuttle Service. The Charter Service will allow payloads to be the sole customer onboard with maximum lifespan, power and data download capacity attributed to the single customer. In the Shuttle Service model, the hosted payload will be a rideshare along with other payloads hosted or deployed from the Vigoride transfer vehicle.

To view full specifications for Hosted Payloads, please access this direct link…

The in-Space collaborative/sharing economy has disruptive ramifications for the industry. By lowering the barriers to entry and increasing the launch cadence, access to space becomes widely affordable for the masses including universities, startups, entrepreneurs and governments. This Satellite-as-a-Service business model sees Momentus providing “white glove” service, with the only customer responsibility being that of the payload.

The scientific applications alone raised an industry-wide proof of concept because of the rising need from scientists and environmentalists to monitor climate change. For example, now research institutes can deploy new solar cell technologies, large unfurlable antennas and payloads requiring up to 1 kW of power or up to 300 kg of mass without having to worry about building their own satellite or operating it on orbit.

As a SpaceX rideshare partner, Momentus is manifested on rides to Sun-synchronous and mid-inclined low Earth orbits, where Vigoride will be deployed to access custom deployment altitudes and orbits in space.

Horizon Technologies, a global provider of airborne Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) products for NATO and Allied governmental end-users, has been issued a patent (US 10,727,932 B2) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

This patent covers Horizon Technologies’ fundamental Xtender technology that allows the smallest cubesats and UAVs to detect, geolocate, and intercept Sat Phone communications, remotely, from a miniature software-defined radio (SDR). This is Horizon Technologies’ 2nd registered patent.

Executive Comment

John Beckner, the company’s CEO, said, “This new patent for our transformational Xtender technology represents a key milestone for Horizon Technologies. Xtender enables the users of even the smallest UAVs to have the same Sat Phone SIGINT capability of larger UAVS and manned aircraft. Even more importantly, our patented Xtender technology is one of the building blocks of our Amber CubeSat constellation and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) space-based intelligence system. Our Amber CubeSat constellation, will not only have the ability to geolocate L-band emitters like Sat Phones, but actually allow for the real-time demodulation of the signals. This capability is unique in the emerging field of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) CubeSat-driven SIGINT. We also believe that the issuance of this patent enhances Horizon Technologies’ ability to attract financial and industry strategic partners to help further the company’s continuing profitable growth.”

Airbus U.S. Space and Defense is bringing experts from the Airbus Bartolomeo team to host a live webinar at the virtual SmallSat Conference.

Join Dr. Christian Steimle and Mr. Bill Corley on Tuesday, August 4, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., EST, for an informative hour dedicated to understanding this all-in-one Space Mission Service. The discussion will cover the basics of Bartolomeo, touching on mission status, specs, and future potential Space missions.

There will be a live Q&A session with Bill and Christian following the presentation. To learn more and to register for the webinar please select this direct link…

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) is on track to start building the U.S. Air Force’s first Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) after completing the program’s critical design review (CDR).

L3Harris will integrate the program’s experimental payload with an ESPAStar Platform, planned for launch in 2022. The system is designed to augment space-based position, navigation and timing capabilities for warfighters.

The NTS-3 payload features a modular design and can adapt to support various mission needs. The experiment will demonstrate capabilities that can be accomplished through a stand-alone satellite constellation or as a hosted payload.

Less than a year after award, the company cleared the first development hurdle in half the time similar satellite programs take. The Space Enterprise Consortium selected L3Harris for the $84 million contract in 2018 as the prime system integrator to design, develop, integrate and test NTS-3. L3Harris is combining experimental antennas, flexible and secure signals, increased automation, and use of commercial command and control assets.

Designated as one of the Air Force’s first vanguard programs, NTS-3 will examine ways to improve the resiliency of the military’s positioning, navigation and timing capabilities. It will also develop key technologies relevant to the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, with the opportunity for insertion of these technologies into the GPS IIIF program. The program is a collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space and Missile Systems Center, U.S. Space Force, and Air Force Lifecycle Management Center.

Executive Comment

“Collaboration with our customers has enabled us to move rapidly through important milestones to design this experimental satellite,” said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “Our goal is to deliver new signals to support rapidly evolving warfighter missions.”

At the 34th annual Small Satellite Conference, NanoAvionics announced a significant business growth, increasing its revenue by about 300% during the last 12 months, as a result of strong contract volume and geographical expansion.

The company also revealed its vertical integration approach, taking full control of each aspect in the development of its clients’ satellites from systems development to mission integration, logistics and operations.

The company has successfully expanded its operations into the USA with two manufacturing facilities. NanoAvionics’ primary hub for the United States is in Columbia (IL) while its second base in Midland, Texas, functions as a scalable resource that allows the company to mass produce their nanosatellite buses for constellation orders.

To take advantage of opportunities in the vital US market, NanoAvionics also hired Franklin Brent Abbott as its CEO of NanoAvionics US Inc. Prior to joining NanoAvionics, he was the Chief Executive for AAC/Clyde Space North America and held several senior roles at Surrey Satellite Technologies US (SST-US).

The success of these strategic steps together with the modular design and low cost of their preconfigured nanosatellite buses has led to a number of scientific, commercial and civil use of space missions. Customers include research and space agencies like NASA, ESA and MIT as well as a number of private companies such as Thales Alenia Space for the Omnispace constellation, Lacuna Space’s Space Gateway for IoT service providers, and Sen’s high-definition video streaming media service, taking advantage of NanoAvionics’ real-time coverage capability that can be built into their nanosatellites.

The flexible architecture of the flight-proven and modular nanosatellite buses and the provision of one of the highest payload volumes for this class of small satellites were also important reasons in the selection for these wide range of missions, constellations and diverse applications.

Those in-house developments follow the company’s path of continually innovating its technology. For example, in June this year, ESA awarded €1 million to NanoAvionics to develop new smallsat propulsion technologies. NanoAvionics has also been developing an intuitive and user-friendly mission control software (MCS) as well as next generation payload controller, meeting high data throughput requirements of telecom payloads or high-res images, which will be introduced to its customers for the upcoming missions.

Executive Comment

“NanoAvionics had a tremendous year and we have taken a big step forward towards our goal to become the global leader in nanosatellites and go-to partner for nanosatellite constellations in Low Earth Orbit,” said Vytenis J. Buzas, CEO NanoAvionics. “We already offer a ‘golden ratio’ of speed, quality, price and functionality when it comes to nano-satellite buses. And with 90% of our clients already buying additional services such as satellite registration, insurance and launch brokerage, becoming a one-stop-shop is a logical next step.”

Even for those with only passing knowledge of the SmallSat Alliance know that the organization is a strong advocate of US space agencies adopting a Hybrid Space Architecture that combines government and commercial satellites, big and small. On August 3, Dr. Chris Scolese, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), announced the following in a pre-recorded video for the 2020 Small Satellite Conference:

“To meet future demands, the NRO is taking an integrated Hybrid Architecture approach. This approach to or constellation leverages the unique capabilities of our large satellites with smaller proliferated satellites that provide mission augmentation, regional emphasis, and reconstitution; AND commercial satellites that allow us to meet mission needs with unclassified, shareable imagery that allows us to reserve our national assets for the most sensitive missions. This combination of national and commercial, large and small satellites gives us increased flexibility, responsiveness, and resiliency.”

The SmallSat Alliance couldn’t be more excited and applaud the leadership of Dr. Scolese and the rest of the NRO team in moving out quickly to adopt this new approach and thereby ensuring the future vitality of the national security mission and the US space economy.

The Small Satellite Conference is hosting Dr. Scolese for a 1 hour, live, online keynote session on August 3 at 3:00 p.m., ET. Steve Nixon, the President of the SmallSat Alliance, will be moderating the first panel (“Space Mission Architectures“) immediately following the keynote at 4:00 p.m., ET.

You can register by following the links from the Space Dynamics Lab Events website.

Spaceflight Inc., during the opening of Small Satellite Conference 2020, is providing information regarding an array of new sweeping programs to deliver launch schedule assurance and greater flexibility to smallsat customers needing frequent, reliable, and cost-effective ways to get spacecraft on orbit.

“One thing we’ve learned about launching smallsats over the past 10 years is that there is a growing requirement for flexibility in everything from contracting to switching vehicles, orbital destinations, booking options, and integration services,” said Curt Blake, President and CEO of Spaceflight. “With our expertise working with all major launch vehicles, we have the unique advantage of building flexibility into all aspects of our business to meet our customers’ individual mission needs. It’s foundational to our vision of getting spacecraft on orbit exactly when and where our customers want, and we’re excited to unveil several first-of-their-kind programs to support it.”

Designed to increase flexibility across the entire launch spectrum, Spaceflight’s new services and programs include:

Transparent pricing, no hidden fees: Combating the standard practice of offering a low introductory per-kilogram launch price for smallsats and charging extra for flight hardware, spacecraft shipping, regulatory guidance or integration services, Spaceflight offers acll-in pricing for its launch services.

• “Book My Launch” online reservation system: As easy as booking an airline flight, Spaceflight has developed a convenient way to book a smallsat launch completely online. Users simply specify their spacecraft configurations, indicate orbital destination, desired launch timing, and any extras such as insurance, fueling and licensing, and reserve with a credit card.

• “Mission Control” platform: Once booked on a launch, Spaceflight customers securely log into Spaceflight’s new Mission Control web platform to manage mission tasks, upload documents, access templates and FAQs, track progress and milestones. Everything associated with current and past launches is at your fingertips for easy, convenient and always-available mission management.

• New Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles: The company recently announced it will be flying the first in its portfolio of new space vehicles, Sherpa-FX, on its next SpaceX rideshare mission, slated no earlier than December 2020. The Sherpa-NG (next generation) family of orbital transfer vehicles provides the flexibility, orbital diversification, and mission assurance developers need, while reducing costs and improving lead times to get on orbit.

• Reconfigurable avionics: Spaceflight is actively developing a highly flexible and rapidly reconfigurable separation sequencer which provides industry-leading capabilities for smallsat deployments. In addition to custom sequencing scripts, the sequencer hosts communications hardware to independently downlink separation telemetry, and is designed to work with most available separation systems.

• Tracking and identifying spacecraft program: Spaceflight is introducing flight-proven technologies to help customers identify and track their spacecraft immediately following launch and deployment. With these tracking systems, customers will have access to information that can facilitate first contact and early operations, mitigate space congestion, and provide the foundation of effective and responsible space traffic management.

• New launch vehicles and agreements: Spaceflight works with a global portfolio of launch vehicles, including Falcon 9, Antares, Electron, Vega, and PSLV, to provide a variety of launch options to its customers. It has also signed launch agreements with emerging new vehicles, including NSIL’s SSLV, Relativity’s Terran 1, and Firefly’s Alpha, to accommodate customers’ specific mission plans.

“Delays in launch are inevitable but being able to switch launches when they occur is critically important to ensure our IoT network constellation gets on orbit as efficiently and expeditiously as possible,” said Kjell Karlsen, CFO of Astrocast. “Spaceflight not only offers an expansive portfolio of launch options, but their integration and mission management expertise in working with the various vehicles, as well as their experience with the international regulations and licensing, has given Astrocast a reliable and valuable partner. Working with Spaceflight has been a pleasure, and we’re looking forward to our next launch with them on their next SpaceX rideshare aboard the Sherpa-FX flyer.”

For more information on any of the new services, registered SmallSat 2020 attendees can visit Spaceflight’s virtual exhibit August 3 through 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., MDT, to talk with staff, or contact sales@spaceflight.com for more details.