As high-altitude winds above the Guiana Space Center remain unfavorable, Arianespace made the decision not to initiate the final chronology operations for Flight VV16 on Saturday, June 20, 2020. 

A new target date will be announced as soon as possible, based on the evolution of weather conditions.

The Vega launch vehicle and its 53 spacecraft payloads are in stable and safe conditions.

Unfavorable high-altitude wind conditions over the Guiana Space Center has led to a decision that the final preparation phase for Arianespace’s Flight VV16 with Vega could not be initiated as planned today. 

For its fifth mission in 2020 and the first Vega flight of the year, Arianespace will orbit 53 satellites on the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof of Concept (PoC) Flight, performed on behalf of 21 customers.

With this mission, designated Flight VV16, Arianespace underscores its comprehensive range of innovative and very competitive services to address the nano- and micro-satellite market sub-segment, serving both institutional and commercial needs. The creation of such a new service using the company’s light-lift Vega led to the SSMS project.

The European Space Agency (ESA) funded the SSMS hardware development, and also contributed with the European Union to the funding of this “Proof of Concept” (PoC) flight.

The combined European efforts will enhance Arianespace’s response to the rideshare demand with solutions that are perfectly suited to the flourishing small satellite market.

Small satellites (smallsats) are becoming more attractive, as they enable missions that cannot be accomplished by large satellites, such as high temporal and spatial resolution by gathering data from multiple points, in-orbit inspection of large satellites, and space missions consisting of a large number of satellites forming constellations.
     Small satellites enable missions in navigation, communication, remote sensing, and scientific research for civilian, commercial, and military purposes. XploreMR in its newly published report assesses the global small satellites market over a 10 year forecast period – 2018-2028. (Report title: Small Satellite Market: North America to Continue Market Dominance; Western Europe Slated for Robust Growth in the Years Ahead: Global Industry Analysis 2013 – 2017 and Opportunity Assessment 2018 – 2028)

Report Overview
This report presents an analysis about the current trends and ongoing developments in the small satellite market. Small satellites are artificial satellites with lower weights and smaller sizes, and are becoming more attractive in recent years due to lower development costs and shorter lead times as compared to large satellites.
     During the past few years, space systems and technologies have become a crucial part of the economic, scientific, and security capabilities of countries across the world. Various government and private organizations in the world are now focused on capitalizing on space systems to improve operational effectiveness, and to enhance homeland security and digital communication capabilities.

Scope of the Report
The scope of this market study includes the manufacturing of small satellite. Satellite-related services in consumer and commercial domains such as satellite TV and cellular communication, launch vehicle services, and ground equipment have been excluded from the scope of this market study. The research methodology of the market study includes extensive primary and secondary research. Various surveys were conducted with small satellite manufacturers and industry experts to understand the value chain and critical driving factors of the small satellite market. Desk research was conducted to identify current market trends and ongoing developments in the market.

Market Segmentation
The market has been segmented in two broader categories: satellite type and end user. The satellite type segment is further segmented into mini-satellites, micro-satellites, nano-satellites, and pico-satellites. Among these, the nano-satellites segment is expected to grow at a relatively higher CAGR during the forecast period, owing to an increase in the demand for nano-satellites in various applications such as Earth Observation (EO), research & development, and remote sensing.
     The nano-satellites segment is also expected to capture a market share of 43.0% during the forecast period. Among the end user segments, the commercial segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.9% during the forecast period, as small satellites are now being increasingly used in several commercial applications such as air & maritime monitoring, communications, land use monitoring, agriculture monitoring, and disaster monitoring.
     The decrease in the prices of launch services and the increasing need for surveillance in defense are some of the primary factors which are fuelling the growth of the small satellite market. North America is expected to hold more than 50% of the market share in 2018. One of the major reasons for the dominance of North America is that, most satellite manufacturers are based in the U.S., and are delivering small satellites to various public and private organizations across the globe. However, the SEA & others market in the APAC region is expected to create more potential growth opportunities for the small satellite market in the coming few years, owing to the increasing demand for small satellites in India and ASEAN countries.

The final section of the report focuses on the profiles of leading companies in the global marketplace for small satellites. The market study also presents some recommendations for market stockholders. In brief, these recommendations encourage consultation between small satellite manufacturers, for which technological advancements should be an agenda issue, and professional bodies in non-satellite manufacturing sectors, such as media & entertainment and telecommunication services.

All stockholders in the smallsat industry should work in collaboration and exchange their resources in order to improve the quality of services that are being offered through small satellites.

Request a free sample of this report at this direct link…

PredaSAR Corporation will launch a constellation of 48 commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites across multiple orbits, with this constellation becoming the world’s largest and most advanced commercial SAR satellite constellation. According to the company, this constellation will provide PredaSAR’s government and commercial clients with unprecedented image quality, unmatched global persistence, and rapid data delivery. 

PredaSAR is led by a highly respected CEO, Major General Roger Teague, USAF (Ret), and a seasoned executive team with extensive national security space expertise and substantial access to capital. A U.S. owned and controlled company, PredaSAR is supported by a Board of Directors who bring over 100 years of national security experience, including General William Shelton, USAF (Ret), Lieutenant General Richard Newton, USAF (Ret), and Major General Douglas Raaberg, USAF (Ret).  

PredaSAR spacecraft employ an advanced, proprietary radar payload to create 2D Synthetic Aperture Radar images, 3D reconstructions of objects and the Earth’s surface, and customer-tailored data products. SAR satellites provide high-resolution images at any time of day and in any weather condition, overcoming natural limitations of traditional optical satellites. PredaSAR spacecraft possess the latest in space-proven, high quality satellite systems to support scalable and fully capable operations in any orbit. Leveraging its advanced technologies, PredaSAR will deliver critical insights and data products to military and commercial decision makers at the speed of need.

“I am thrilled to announce the 48 satellite PredaSAR constellation. It delivers unparalleled capabilities that meet the most demanding national security needs addressable by a commercial constellation, demonstrating our commitment to our U.S. Government clients. Setting such a high bar also allows PredaSAR to deliver outstanding products and services for our commercial customers,” said PredaSAR Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Marc Bell. “PredaSAR features a well-known and respected leadership team of trusted professionals with extraordinary depth and experience across both government and industry. With groundbreaking commercial technology, the PredaSAR constellation will deliver best-in-class, advanced SAR data products and services.”

“This is an exciting time to be in the commercial space industry.  Today, more than ever, commercial space companies are delivering unprecedented value to the United States government, enabling military, intelligence, and commercial customers to maintain ever-critical U.S. leadership across their enterprises and markets,” commented PredaSAR CEO Roger Teague. “PredaSAR looks forward to meeting the challenges of our customers to deliver compelling SAR products and services.”

Alaska will benefit from the efforts of Astranis’ MicroGEO line of small communication satellites, as a result of successful thermal-vacuum testing of a qualification vehicle. This important test furthers the company’s ability to develop technology to operate in the harsh environment of space and marks a major milestone on the path to delivering low-cost broadband internet to underserved populations around the world, starting with Astranis’s first commercial satellite that will provide broadband internet in Alaska.

A qualification vehicle test accomplishes two things.

• First, it allows the engineering team to characterize the thermal behavior of the vehicle.
• Second, it pushes the vehicle to significantly higher levels than it will expect to see on orbit to ensure the vehicle can continue to operate.

Astranis succeeded on both counts. Astranis made use of a highly-specialized vacuum chamber at an NTS Space center-of-excellence facility in Los Angeles, California. This thermal-vacuum chamber, paired with a custom-designed shroud, was able to simulate both extreme hot and cold temperatures needed for qualification testing. The chamber was pumped down to near vacuum, and Astranis engineers then powered up the vehicle, ran through a series of functionality checks, and began to operate the vehicle as the test environment was adjusted across a wide range of temperatures. The spacecraft was exposed to pressures as low as 7 x 10-6 Torr (about one one-hundred-millionth the density of Earth’s atmosphere).

“This is the single largest technical de-risking milestone for this product and for our first commercial program,” said Astranis CEO John Gedmark. “To get to this point, all the different aspects of the vehicle had to come together and work as a system—avionics, power electronics, the payload, the structure, the software, and more. Then we really pushed it to the limits. The fact that we passed this test with flying colors speaks volumes to the dedication and talent of our team. And it brings us one step closer to helping hundreds of thousands of Alaskans gain reliable access to broadband internet.”

After the success of this test, the Astranis team will complete a final wave of system-level and unit-level tests before commencing with the build of the first MicroGEO flight vehicle.

Astranis will ship its first commercial satellite early next year for a mission to provide broadband internet to the State of Alaska, with service beginning in summer 2021. The company has signed a contract to launch the satellite on a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Astranis is partnering with Pacific Dataport Inc., a subsidiary of Microcom, Alaska’s largest satellite TV and internet provider, to deliver affordable broadband internet to Alaska, and this new satellite will more than triple the satellite bandwidth serving the state.

“We have to turn away customers every day who want more bandwidth,” says Chuck Schumann, CEO of Pacific Dataport Inc. “This first satellite from Astranis will enable Alaskans living in remote locations to get reliable access to the internet for the first time, and will reduce internet prices across the state. The success of this qualification TVAC test shows that Astranis and Microcom can deliver on their promise to the people of Alaska.”

Spaceflight Inc. is managing the launch of Canon Electronics’ CE-SAT-IB imaging satellite on Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle — the mission will lift off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 at the southern tip of Mahia Peninsula, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, with the launch window opening on July 4 NZT/July 3, UTC.

CE-SAT-IB is a 67 kilogram microsatellite which can resolve 90 centimeter objects on the ground from space. Additionally, Spaceflight is coordinating the launch of another Canon satellite, CE-SAT-IIB, which is slated to lift off after the CE-SAT-IB mission later in 2020, also aboard an Electron. It will carry three cameras with different resolutions and sensitivities.

Canon Electronics CE-SAT 1.

This mission, called Pics Or It Didn’t Happen by Rocket Lab, represents Spaceflight’s fourth launch with Rocket Lab in the past 12 months and follows the successful launches of 10 spacecraft on earlier missions “Make it Rain” (June 2019), “Look Ma No Hands” (August 2019), and “Running Out of Fingers“ (November 2019). While this mission was scheduled to launch earlier this year, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Spaceflight has continued to work closely with Canon Electronics, Rocket Lab, and government officials to launch as expeditiously and safely as the conditions allow. Like the previous missions, Spaceflight managed the launch capacity procurement, integration and mission management services for the rideshare spacecraft.

Since its founding, Spaceflight has launched more than 270 satellites via 29 rocket launches, establishing itself as the leading rideshare service provider. Spaceflight is scheduled to execute more than six missions in 2020 across many different launch vehicles, including the Falcon 9, Electron, Vega, SSLV and PSLV.

Curt Blake

Curt Blake, the CEO and President of Spaceflight, stated the company is looking forward to getting these next generation Canon spacecraft on orbit and helping them kickstart their constellation. Spaceflight’s ability to find the most expedient rides to space for the firm’s customers is critical, especially when their business plans require a frequent cadence of launches. Offering end-to-end launch services across multiple launch vehicles gives Spaceflight customers flexibility, along with confidence that the company will get them where they want to go, aligned with their schedule.

Dr. Nobutada Sako, group executive, Satellite Systems Lab, Canon Electronics Inc., added that this launch is critical for Canon Electronics as the company is launching a satellite where the firm has remarkably increased the ratio of in-house development of components compared to the previous launch. Partnering with Spaceflight on this mission has been very helpful and the company looks forward to a successful launch of Canon Electronics’ satellites.