News

Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., and Astraius Ltd. announced a collaboration to enhance future satellite launch capabilities from Prestwick Spaceport.

With the announcement the companies had a signing ceremony during a visit to the Spaceport by Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism, and Enterprise Ivan McKee.

Prestwick Spaceport, a joint partnership between Glasgow Prestwick Airport and South Ayrshire Council, aims to become Europe’s premier location for carrying small satellites into orbit via “air launch,” a proven technique that enables a rocket to reach space after being launched from an aircraft that has flown out to an ideal location over the ocean.

Spirit and Astraius, both located within Prestwick’s developing space cluster, are working to advance and accelerate the system components and key processes required for the Astraius horizontal launch platform. The U.K. government has made orbital launch a key priority, with the National Space Strategy outlining plans to secure an increased portion of a global space economy expected to be worth £490bn by 2030. The space sector in the U.K. already employs over 45,000 people, with Scotland accounting for one-fifth of that figure.

Scott McLarty, Spirit Senior Vice President, Airbus and Regional/Business Jet Programs, said Spirit’s sites in both Scotland and Northern Ireland are well placed to support and develop a robust and sustainable space sector.

“Spirit is well-positioned to develop new skills and technologies to contribute to the U.K.’s resilience and supply chain in the space sector and support high-value manufacturing regional hubs,” he said. “We are delighted to be working with Astraius to explore opportunities to contribute further to the expansion of the U.K. Space Sector, through the design, manufacturing, integration and testing of aerostructures for launch activities.”

Astraius’ horizontal launch solution leverages the accessibility of C-17 transport aircraft, combining innovative technology with proven delivery platforms that removes the reliance on individually modified aircraft and increases responsiveness. The company brings together an international team with experience in commercial space launch and operations, to offer an affordable solution that caters to the growing demand for payloads designed to carry out a variety of tasks from orbit, such as monitoring climate change and supporting disaster relief efforts.

Astraius Chief Executive Officer Kevin Seymour stated, “This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is the first step in what I’m confident will be a long-term partnership with Spirit AeroSystems. Spirit’s advanced manufacturing expertise and world-class facilities can significantly bolster our development roadmap, bringing together UK engineering excellence with proven horizontal launch technology. With both companies located in Prestwick, Scotland’s largest aerospace cluster, our collaboration is further testament to the proactive and vibrant space ecosystem developing around Prestwick Spaceport.”

On the collaboration between Spirit and Astraius, Minister Ivan McKee commented, “There is great potential and opportunities in the space sector in Scotland with the first orbital launch from Scottish soil due this year. That is why we have identified the sector as a priority in our National Strategy for Economic Transformation. Our ambition is clear, we want to become Europe’s leading space nation by 2030. The signing of this MoU is great news, and it is another positive step in the development of space and aerospace opportunities in Prestwick. Spirit AeroSystems brings a wealth of capability and technologies that can support further growth of the space sector in Scotland, and I am excited about the innovative developments Spirit and Astraius can bring to Prestwick.”

Ian Annett, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the U.K. Space Agency, added, “We are committed to becoming the leading provider of commercial small satellite launches in Europe by 2030 and we welcome the partnership between Spirit AeroSystems and Astraius, which brings Astraius another step closer towards conducting a launch from the U.K. Developing orbital launch capabilities is already helping the space sector to generate growth across science and engineering supply chains, catalyse investment, create new jobs and career paths, and inspire the next generation of space professionals all over the U.K.”

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s LEO satellite network with the mission to bridge the digital divide by providing fast, affordable broadband to communities unserved or underserved by traditional communications technologies.

To use the service, customers will install an outdoor antenna—called a customer terminal—to communicate with satellites passing overhead. Traditionally, this equipment has been too large, too complex and too expensive for many customers, making it difficult for LEO constellations to bridge the digital divide in a meaningful way.

Project Kuiper plans to serve tens of millions of customers, so the company set an ambitious goal at the start of the project: design a customer terminal that costs less than $500 to build. Project Kuiper engineers hit that milestone in 2020, inventing a new antenna architecture that was smaller and lighter than traditional designs. Since then, the team has continued to innovate to make its terminal designs even smaller, more affordable, and more capable.

Amazon has now provided a first look at three engineering models that will anchor its customer terminal portfolio:

• An affordable high-performance design for residential and small business customers: Project Kuiper’s standard customer terminal measures less than 11 inches square and 1 inch thick. It weighs less than five pounds without its mounting bracket. Despite this modest footprint, the device will be one of the most powerful commercially available customer terminals of its size, delivering speeds up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps). Amazon expects to produce these terminals for less than $400 each.

• An ultra-compact design to help connect even more customers: A 7-inch square design will be Project Kuiper’s smallest and most affordable customer terminal. Weighing just 1 pound and offering speeds up to 100 Mbps, its portability and affordability will create opportunities to serve even more customers around the world. This design will connect residential customers who need an even lower-cost model, as well as government and enterprise customers pursuing applications like ground mobility and internet of things (IoT).

• A high-bandwidth design for the most demanding needs: Project Kuiper’s largest, most capable model is designed for enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications that require even more bandwidth. The device measures 19 inches by 30 inches, and will deliver speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

“Our goal with Project Kuiper is not just to connect unserved and underserved communities, but also to delight them with the quality, reliability, and value of their service. From day one, every technology and business decision we’ve made has centered on what will deliver the best experience for different customers around the world, and our range of customer terminals reflects those choices.”

Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s Vice President of Technology for Project Kuiper

Project Kuiper customer terminals are powered by an Amazon-designed baseband chip, developed under the code name “Prometheus.” Prometheus combines the processing power of a 5G modem chip found in modern smartphones, the capability of a cellular base station to handle traffic from thousands of customers at once, and the ability of a microwave backhaul antenna to support powerful point-to-point connections—and it packs all of that into a single custom chip.

In addition to being in Project Kuiper’s customer terminals, Prometheus is also used in Project Kuiper’s satellites and ground gateway antennas, allowing the system to process up to 1 terabit per second (Tbps) of traffic on board each satellite.

Preparing to offer commercial service
Amazon has built and shipped hundreds of millions of devices for customers, including best-selling, low-cost products such as Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick. Project Kuiper is applying that experience to its customer terminal design and production processes, and the team is already scaling its infrastructure in anticipation of building tens of millions of units for customers.

Project Kuiper is also preparing to deploy its first two prototype satellites on the first flight of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket. The upcoming mission will help Project Kuiper engineers gain real-world data on how the systems perform in space and let them test the entire end-to-end communications network.

In parallel, Project Kuiper is scaling operations in preparation for offering commercial service. The team recently began development of a dedicated satellite production facility in Kirkland, Washington, and expects to begin mass-producing satellites by the end of 2023.

Project Kuiper expects to launch the first production satellites in the first half of 2024 and plans to give its earliest customers access to the service beginning later that year.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) will launch a pair of satellites on a dedicated Electron mission for BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY) through global launch services provider Spaceflight, Inc., during a launch window that opens on March 22nd., 2023 UTC.

The mission, named “The Beat Goes On,” will launch two of BlackSky’s Gen-2, Earth-imaging satellites from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, and will bring the total number of satellites delivered by Electron to orbit to 159 — Electron will deliver the satellites to a circular 450 km orbit, that will bring the total number of satellites in BlackSky’s constellation to 16.

As a secondary mission, Rocket Lab plans to recover Electron’s first stage after it parachutes back to Earth and splashes down in the ocean. Rocket Lab’s recovery team will retrieve Electron using a customized vessel and transport the stage back to Rocket Lab’s production complex for analysis. Data from this recovered stage will inform Rocket Lab’s ongoing recovery and reuse program.

The pair of high-resolution, multi-spectral, Gen-2 satellites to be launched on Electron will expand BlackSky’s network in space and its offering of real-time geospatial intelligence and monitoring services. BlackSky combines high-resolution images captured by its constellation of microsatellites with its proprietary artificial intelligence software to deliver analytics and insights to industries including transportation, infrastructure, land use, defense, supply chain management, and humanitarian aid.

Rocket Lab founder and Chief Executive, Peter Beck, said, “We’re proud to continue playing a key role in building out BlackSky’s growing constellation. We’ve now delivered 9 satellites to orbit for BlackSky since our first launch for them in 2019 and we’re grateful to have been entrusted with their mission once again. Counting down to another mission just six days after a successful launch from LC-2 in Virginia is no mean feat and testament to our team’s experience and dedication to delivering response launch.”

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has successfully launched its 34th Electron rocket and second mission from its launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia, deploying two spacecraft to LEO for Capella Space.

The “Stronger Together” mission lifted off at 22:38 UTC, March 16th, 2023, from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Rocket Lab successfully deployed two 100 kg class Capella Space satellites to LEO.

“Congratulations to Capella Space and well done to the Rocket Lab team for another flawless launch from Virginia,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck. “This year we’re really picking up the launch pace so while one Electron was on the pad at Launch Complex 2 for Capella Space, the team in New Zealand has been preparing the next rocket at Launch Complex 1 to enable two launches from two continents within days of each other. Dedicated and responsive space access for small sats is here now, made possible by Electron.”

“Stronger Together” is Rocket Lab’s second mission from Launch Complex 2, following the Company’s first mission from U.S. soil in January of 2023. Launch Complex 2 supplements Rocket Lab’s first launch site, Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, from which the Company has launched 32 Electron missions since 2017. Launch Complex 2 was built to provide dependable and responsive launch access for Rocket Lab’s U.S. government and commercial customers and its own Mission Control Center, Integration and Control Facility (ICF) with payload processing facilities and 100k class cleanrooms, and a vehicle integration bay capable of processing multiple Electron rockets at once to support rapid launches in quick succession. Electron is already the most prolific dedicated small launch vehicle globally and, with Launch Complexes 1 and 2 now fully operational, Rocket Lab can support as many as 130 flight opportunities every year.

Rocket Lab’s next scheduled mission is a dedicated launch for Spaceflight Inc. customer BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services. The mission is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during a launch window that opens in March 2023.

Other upcoming disclosed Electron missions in 2023 include two launches for the NASA TROPICS constellation, the first of five dedicated missions for Internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity provider Kinéis; several additional launches for Capella Space, and the launch of a mission to demonstrate space debris removal technology by Astroscale Japan.

2nd Update information posting…

Based on the weather forecast this week, Rocket Lab has set a new no earlier than launch date for the upcoming mission from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 in Virginia for Capella Space. Here are the details.

Stronger Together

• Launch date: Wednesday March 15

• Launch timing: 6:00-8:00 p.m. Eastern, with lift-off targeted for 6:00 p.m.

Launch location: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2, Wallops Island, Virginia.

The mission will be Rocket Lab’s second Electron launch from Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island, Virginia. Stronger Together will carry two 100-kg class satellites for Capella Space, a leading provider of commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery.  

Previous update posting…

Unfavorable weather conditions required Rocket Lab to cancel the March 11th launch of the Capella Space SAR smallsats… a new launch date will be announced shortly and the company has an open window for such activity throughout this coming week.

Original information posting…

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has scheduled their next Electron launch from Virginia during a launch window that opens on March 11, 2023, ET.

The “Stronger Together” mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) on Wallops Island, Virginia, for Capella Space, a provider of commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. The mission will be Rocket Lab’s second launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility following on the Company’s successful inaugural mission from LC-2 on January 24, 2023.

“Stronger Together” will deploy two,100 kg class satellites to LEO and expand the existing Capella Space SAR constellation, increasing imaging capacity to meet growing customer demand. Capella Space SAR satellites are able to gather images of Earth any time of the day, in any weather as well as penetrate conditions that include clouds, fog, smog, darkness and smoke.

Supporting Rocket Lab’s vertical integration strategy, Rocket Lab will also supply Capella Space with two of the Company’s own Motorized Lightbands; separation systems designed to separate the Capella satellites from Electron once in orbit. Rocket Lab has launched for Capella previously with the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical” mission in August of 2020, when Electron successfully deployed to orbit Capella’s first satellite in that firm’s SAR constellation.

This upcoming launch is one of five missions for Capella Space scheduled to start launching on Electron this year, following the recently-announced multi-launch deal securing four rapid succession launches for Capella from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. However, there is the option for Capella to move any of these missions to Launch Complex 2 should that be needed to meet Capella’s requirements – the type of responsive and flexible launch solution that Rocket Lab can provide by operating three orbital launch pads across two continents.

Members of the public wanting to watch Electron’s upcoming launch from Virginia can visit nearby viewing locations in Accomack County, Virginia, such as Robert Reed Park and Curtis Merrit Harbor on Chincoteague Island. The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations.

A live launch webcast will also be available at this direct link from around T-20 minutes.

GomSpace Group AB, provider of nanosatellites, today announces that Carsten Drachmann has been appointed CEO of GomSpace as of March 13, 2023.

Carsten Drachmann comes from the position as CEO of the tech startup Zero Error Systems PTE LTD in Singapore, and provides expertise and extensive global experience as CEO and Senior Executive from well-established companies and start-ups within Space, IT, SatCom and Telecom such as Nokia, KEBNI AB in Sweden, and Datapath Inc. in the U.S.

Carsten Drachmann holds an MSc in Software and Electronics from the Technical University of Denmark and an E-MBA in Strategy and Organization from Stanford University.

Chairman of the Board Jukka Pertola says, “We are very pleased to welcome Carsten Drachmann as CEO. Carsten has a solid track record of creating growth in tech companies. Together with the rest of the management team, Carsten will execute on the strategy and product investment program following the planned rights issue.”

Carsten Drachmann added, “Since its establishment, GomSpace has been a pioneer in the development and production of nanosatellites. I look very much forward to working with the rest of the management team and the many dedicated and skilled employees to unleash the great potential of GomSpace in a growing market.”

After the appointment of Carsten Drachmann, the Executive Management of GomSpace consists of Carsten Drachmann as CEO and Troels Dalsgaard as deputy CEO and CFO.

BeetleSat, formerly NSLComm, a satellite technology company building the first global LEO constellation optimized for premium point-to-point communications, announced that Executive President Patricio Northland has been named Chief Executive Officer. Northland is an industry veteran with a 20+ year track record of scaling space technology and communications companies. His previous executive leadership roles include serving as CEO of Eutelsat Americas, CEO of Satelites Mexicanos S.A. de C.V. (SATMEX) and Chairman, President and CEO of AT&T Latin America.

As CEO of Eutelsat Americas, Northland led the company’s market entry and business in the region after architecting a successful merger with his prior company SATMEX in a deal valued at over $1.7B. At SATMEX, Northland was responsible for transforming the business into one of the most profitable satellite operators in the world.

Before his work with Eutelsat and SATMEX, Northland founded telecommunications corporation FirstCom. He orchestrated the company’s $1.25B merger with Netstream Brazil and Keytech Argentina to create AT&T Latin America (AT&T LA), which he then led as President, Chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, AT&T LA was the first provider to offer seamless broadband to a global Fortune 1000 client base across the Americas region.

Leveraging his 20+ years of corporate leadership experience in the satellite technology and communications industries, Northland will lead BeetleSat through the next phases of its growth.

“I am honored to take on the role of CEO and to advance our mission to become the world’s first LEO constellation operator focused on delivering premium global satellite communications to broadband carriers and service providers,” said Northland. “With our proprietary technology – an expandable antenna that significantly reduces the overall cost of the satellite constellation– and open network architecture, BeetleSat is leading a paradigm shift in satellite communications that not only allows us to deliver premium service at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems, but also to create new service categories and applications. As CEO, working alongside a world-class management team, I’m excited to scale BeetleSat to serve the growing needs of our customers and to lead a company that is blazing a trail toward a more flexible, open and cost-effective model for the satellite communications industry.”

On February 24, BeetleSat announced the successful deployment of its lightweight, very high data rate, expandable antenna in space. The in-orbit deployment of the Company’s 60 cm expandable antenna from a 6U CubeSat — an industry first — marked a significant milestone in the development of the BeetleSat constellation and proved the viability of its proprietary technology.

The BeetleSat Nano-Satellite carrying the expandable antenna launched via SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 3. Now in Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at 550Km altitude, the Nano-Satellite will provide BeetleSat’s public sector customer with store and forward, very high throughput satellite communication services.

“Serving as BeetleSat’s Executive President for the last year, we have already seen Patricio drive growth and help achieve significant technical milestones for the business,” said Yoav Tzurya, a BeetleSat director and a managing partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners, BeetleSat’s first investor. “We are looking forward to celebrating even greater success for the company under his leadership.”

Kymeta has completed the first shipment of the company’s electronically steered Hawk u8 OneWeb LEO terminal via its partnership with OneWeb — Kymeta is the first to commercially deliver, electronically steered user terminals for OneWeb’s LEO network and continues to ramp up production to meet overwhelming demand.

Kymeta user terminals are available for fixed applications and will soon be available for Communications-on-the-Move (COTM) for land and sea. This commercial milestone marks the start of new solutions and opportunities to better serve the needs of customers around the world.

Kymeta and OneWeb will demonstrate the solution across remote locations in the UK and via a roadshow in Canada.

“The satellite industry is entering an exciting new era, as every major industry from agriculture to defense can increasingly tap mobile broadband as an efficient and effective means to transform their operations,” said Walter Berger, President and Co-CEO, Kymeta. “The race to capitalize on the opportunity will be won by a group relay, not a single-company sprint. Partnerships such as our ongoing collaboration with OneWeb, along with Kymeta’s investments and innovation, will accelerate new applications to connect industries on Earth to capacity in space.”

OneWeb CEO, Neil Masterson, said, “We know there is palpable demand for flat panel, small, lightweight, easy to use, low power terminals. Kymeta’s u8 terminal gives our customers an exciting new choice of terminal for reliable, efficient connectivity to our LEO network.”

Widely adopted by military, government and enterprise customers, Kymeta offers the world’s only high-bandwidth, low-power, fully integrated family of high throughput mobile terminals. OneWeb’s LEO satellite network will give Kymeta customers access to high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity while on the move or while stationary, anywhere in the world.

Neumann Space, a leader of in-space electric propulsion has successfully completed integrating its world leading propulsion system, called the Neumann Drive®, onto Skykraft’s Australian designed and manufactured satellite.  

This marks the first time the Neumann Drive®, whose unique propulsion technology uses solid metallic propellant, has been integrated onto a satellite. The satellite is now undergoing final testing before being shipped to the U.S. for a scheduled launch in mid-2023. 

Neumann Space’s CEO, Herve Astier said, “In the rapidly evolving new space economy there is a growing need for better propulsion. Whether it is deorbiting at the end of a mission’s life, navigating into the most effective orbit, or maneuvering away from growing space junk, we are seeing an increasing demand for our products.”  

“We are pleased to be working with Skykraft, a fellow Australian space company working to commercialzse technology for the benefit of global customers. We look forward to demonstrating in space the sovereign capability that Neumann Space has developed, and the benefits of using a propulsion system that is safer, more efficient and easier to operate,” he said. 

Dr. Michael Frater, CEO of Skykraft added, “Skykraft is pleased to be able to carry payloads like the Neumann Drive® to enable them to achieve crucial space heritage. Through this activity, Skykraft supports innovation in the broader Australian space community and has the opportunity to work with our world leading companies.” 

Neumann Space designs and manufactures propulsion systems for CubeSats and SmallSats, and it is its CubeSat Product Class that will be carried on the Skykraft satellite. The propulsion system incorporates a Thruster Unit that contains Molybdenum as the solid metallic propellant and is based on the company’s patented pulsed cathodic arc thruster technology. Neumann Space’s team of engineers based in Adelaide, South Australia, continue to refine the company’s products, and have now finalised the design and commenced manufacturing of its next generation Neumann Drive®.