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Kepler Communications has delivered more than 100 Mbps connectivity service in the Arctic region to the German icebreaker Polarstern.

The vessel is located around 85°N and is the home to the MOSAiC scientific expedition. The demonstration marks the first time in history that the central Arctic is successfully connected through a high-bandwidth satellite network.

Kepler’s two polar-orbiting satellites are being used to transfer data for scientists taking part in MOSAiC, the most extensive research expedition ever to the North Pole.

MOSAiC is an international expedition consisting of hundreds of scientists and operations crew, which will remain locked into the Arctic ice sheet to study the environment. The team will spend the next 12 months drifting along with the ice sheet, with the purpose of the mission being to take the closest look ever at the effects of climate change on the Arctic.

Thanks to Kepler, the Polarstern is equipped with the world’s only high-bandwidth satellite data link delivered from LEO that is available in the Arctic. With the vessel operating well outside the range of traditional high-throughput satellites, Kepler is providing 100x higher data speeds, when the satellite passes the vessel than would be otherwise available to the ship. This improved data transfer capability means scientists can share large data files between ship and shore, improving the ability to share, analyze, and disseminate information.

In charge of MOSAiC’s logistics is the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), from Germany. They are responsible for leading this international expedition that involves the joint efforts of 19 countries around the world. With over $158 million in funding, the most advanced technology on a research icebreaker, and an astonishing quantity of planning and logistics, MOSAiC is the largest expedition to the North Pole ever in history.

The MOSAiC expedition began when the Polarstern set sail from Norway this past September and will continue for more than a year. Findings from the mission will help better assess the future of Earth’s climate, and provide valuable information to help fight climate change.

Kepler is the world’s only provider of high-bandwidth satellite services in the poles. Aboard the Polarstern, Kepler has demonstrated data rates of 38 Mbps downlink and 120 Mbps uplink to a 2.4m Ku-band VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal).

Mina Mitry, CEO at Kepler, said that the firm’s Global Data Service provides a cost-effective means to transfer large data volumes that will be gathered over the course of MOSAiC. Rather than only storing data locally and analyzing once physical storage can be sent back with supply vessels, the company is giving scientists the ability to continuously transfer test and housekeeping data sets over outhe firm’s unique LEO satellite network.

Professor Markus Rex, MOSAiC project leader and atmospheric scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, added that the high polar regions are the last frontiers of the globe where high bandwidth data connections could not be established so far. Kepler’s new Global Data Service now enables the institute to send back bulk data, including key data files for monitoring the status of instruments together with experts at home. This will contribute to the success of MOSAiC.

Kepler’s LEO satellites spin around the Earth at 575 km. altitude, completing an orbit every 90 minutes and deliver total coverage to the planet. From pole-to-pole, each satellite can transport hundreds of GB every day for customers.

The National Space Science and Technology Center at United Arab Emirates University (NSSTC-UAEU) and GomSpace have signed a contract with a value of approximately 780,000 euros for the purpose of supplying cubesat products, training and support over the next 18 months

GomSpace Group AB’s business operations are mainly conducted through the wholly-owned Danish subsidiary, GomSpace A/S, with operational office in Aalborg, Denmark.

GomSpace is a space company with a mission to be engaged in the global market for space systems and services by introducing new products, i.e., components, platforms and systems based on innovation within professional smallsats.

South Australian CyberOps Pty Ltd has collected an out-of-this-world deal with the Australia Department of Defence — the company has been awarded an AUD $299K contract to develop a security framework for smallsat development programs and operating systems, according to the Department.

The Australian Federal Minister for Defense Industry, Melissa Price, said in a press release that the rapid growth in space tech reinforced that security must be a priority, adding that the contract with CyberOps aims to improve Australia’s growing sovereign space industry by increasing the security and resilience of the nation’s military space systems.

Since the agency’s inception, the Australian Defence Innovation Hub has invested more than $23 million in space related innovations ranging from smallsats to radar systems that will enhance SSA.

South Australian MP James Stevens also congratulated CyberOps for securing the contract and said that companies working with Defence through the Defence Innovation Hub are developing cutting-edge and world-first technologies to equip Australian warfighters with some of the most advanced capabilities”

Founded in 2016, CyberOps specialties include space and defence consulting, process and architecture, governance and risk, security design and testing plus blockchain consulting.

Horizon Technologies CEO, John Beckner, spoke at the Airborne ISR Conference in London on October 23-24, 2019.

Beckner gave a presentation on trends in Sat Phone SIGINT for ISR and emphasized how airborne and ground-based strategic SIGINT platforms and their output will be merged with the upcoming availability of space-driven Amber data next year.

Amber is the public/private partnership with the UK Government to launch a cubesat constellation to provide a Maritime Intelligence data product for its government users.

At the Conference, Beckner announced that Horizon Technologies had recently been awarded a “plus-up” to a current NATO-user FlyingFish™ contract worth over £2.4 million through 2024.

The 5th Annual Airborne ISR conference in London covered Maritime Patrol, Data Dissemination, UAV Technology, International Surveillance Cooperation, AWACS, 5th Generation ISR, Industrial Engagement, and Threat Evolution in detail. During the UAV ISR sessions, Horizon Technologies discussed the upcoming deployment of UAVs being tasked on FRONTEX missions to include Horizon Technologies miniature Xtender SIGINT technology.

Beckner also presented at the Global Maritime Forum Annual Summit in Singapore. Asia is a key market for both FlyingFish™ and the Amber maritime intelligence data service. Beckner and the Horizon Technologies team met with customers and decision makers from all over the world at the Summit which convened leaders from across the maritime spectrum who need to address the burning issues facing the maritime industry.

Working together and building on the outcomes of the Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit in Hong Kong, they are developing solutions for a safe, clean, inclusive and efficient maritime industry – goals that can unleash the potential of global seaborne trade and increase sustainable long-term economic development and human well-being. Horizon Technologies Amber data, and the governments who use it, will have a major positive impact on meeting these goals.

Following the launch of its first smallsats into the stratosphere in late 2018, Dutch startup Hiber has announced that the firm’s Internet of Things (IoT) network is now live.

After only three years of product development, the commercial launch of the fully automated end-to-end service known as Hiberband, marks the latest step for Hiber, where it will see its first customers trialing the technology.

Hiber’s first customers will be trialing the service over the coming months with projects based in the 90% of the world that have previously lacked a network. Hiber is unlocking a $100 billion opportunity for growth in the wider IoT market and the network will power projects working hard to improve people’s lives and make a positive impact on the environment. 

Artistic rendition of a Hiber smallsat on-orbit.

Existing terrestrial networks (such as Lora, NB-IoT or GSM) only work in urban areas, while traditional satellites that provide wider coverage are expensive and power hungry. Hiberband is disrupting global connectivity by empowering individuals and organisations to reliably transmit data (text message size) from the world’s most hard-to-reach places for less than a dollar per month per device with its state of the art end-to-end service. 

With more than 70 customers already signed up, projects on every continent will benefit from Hiberband. Any industry operating in remote and developing areas can use the network, with early adopters being from government, environment, transport & logistics, agriculture and mining. A sample of some of the first uses cases to trial the network include:

– Soil Moisture Monitoring – Monitoring soil moisture levels on farms helps farmers understand whether their crops need water. The sensors developed by Hiber partner Royal Eijkelkamp ensure that farmers make the right irrigation decisions, reducing water waste and increasing crop yields. Hiberband makes this solution globally available.

– Beehive Monitoring – Bees have been facing the threat of extinction for more than fifteen years, and Hiberband’s technology will be instrumental in ensuring successful cultivation and preservation of bee colonies. Bee farmers can monitor the environment inside hives anywhere on the globe using sensors connected via Hiberband, ensuring that the conditions are optimal for bee survival and honey production.

– Crop Monitoring / Post Harvest – Monitoring crops will help farmers across the world reduce food waste and spoiled crops. Centaur Analytics has developed an “Internet-of-Crops™” platform that monitors the condition of harvests all the way from the farm to the consumer. Hiber enables Centaur to provide customers in the US and globally with updates on crop conditions no matter where they are in the world.

Hiber will introduce two networks, Hiberband Direct (a modem + antenna that talks directly to Hiber’s satellites) and a gateway solution, Hiberband Via, which can operate on LoRa (a network widely used for IoT connectivity), Bluetooth or WiFi. Hiber launched its first two satellites from sites in Sriharikota, India and California, USA in November and December, 2018. It will be launching its third and fourth satellites in Q1 2020 also in Sriharikota, India.

Laurens Groenendijk, Managing Director Commercial and co-founder at Hiber (and co-founder of JustEat and Treatwell) said, “We are extremely proud to announce that after only 3 years of hard work, Hiberband is the first network of its kind to become operational on a global scale. We have the team, partners, technology and regulatory building blocks in place to shortly be the industry leader. With full freedom to operate everywhere in the world, we are looking forward to supporting our customers wherever they need to be.” 

Sotiris Bantas, CEO at Centaur Analytics said, “Earth’s growing population combined with climate change is placing enormous stress on the world’s food supply chain. The lack of transparency in the chain is causing about one third of the crops in the world to be wasted before consumption. Together with Hiber, we are now able to effectively monitor crops after harvest globally – no matter the location. This means that Centaur and Hiber together combat food waste and promote sustainability, while at the same time providing new business opportunities for producers, traders, and CPG companies.”

Spaceflight has arranged for Tokyo-based ALE to launch that firm’s entertainment and science satellite on Rocket Lab’s next Electron launch.

The mission, called “Running Out of Fingers” by Rocket Lab to signify the company’s tenth mission, represents Spaceflight’s third launch with Rocket Lab this year and follows the launch of seven spacecraft on Rocket Lab’s inaugural “Make it Rain” mission in June and three on the “Look Ma No Hands” mission in August. 

Similar to the previous missions, Spaceflight managed the launch capacity procurement, integration, and mission management services for the rideshare spacecraft. The Electron, carrying the ALE satellite, 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. The launch window opens on November 25, NZDT.

Artistic rendition of the ALE spacecraft.

ALE’s Sky Canvas, the world’s first man-made shooting star project, will deploy to a 400 km. circular Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), which is beneath the International Space Station. The company’s satellite will create man-made shooting stars by safely releasing particles, precisely controlling the reentry location, date, and timing. When the particles re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they fully burn up, creating the appearance of shooting stars on the ground. 

In addition to the entertainment factor, the Sky Canvas project will also study the path and mechanics of shooting star particles during re-entry from the upper atmosphere. The data collected in the mesosphere will be helpful in the aerospace industry to help predict the path of satellites and artificial objects as well as contributing to scientific understanding in several technology fields including meteorology and the study of climate change.

Photo of Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 at
the southern tip of Mahia Peninsula.

Following this launch, Spaceflight will have launched 11 spacecraft on the Electron and has plans to continue partnering with the launch vehicle provider in 2020. Spaceflight has completed five missions already this year, with another five planned in 2019. Other noteworthy missions from the last year include Spaceflight’s GTO-1, which deployed the first commercial lunar lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, and SSO-A, the company’s historic dedicated rideshare mission, successfully launched 64 unique smallsats, making it the single largest deployment of satellites from a U.S.-based launch vehicle.

Curt Blake

Curt Blake, the CEO and President of Spaceflight, said the company’s experience offering end-to-end launch services across multiple launch vehicles continues to be highly valued by organizations — regardless if they’re a newer customer like ALE, or an experienced constellation developer. The firm’s expertise and long-standing relationships provide reliability, flexibility, and the confidence that we’ll get customers to space as efficiently as possible. Spaceflight is really looking forward to taking ALE on this third Electron launch this year.

Lena Okajima

Lena Okajima, the CEO of ALE, added this launch gets the company much closer to realizing the world’s first man-made shooting star. ALE really appreciates Spaceflight`s support and attention to this mission and the company is honored to take this big step with them.

Rocket Lab‘s next mission will launch multiple smallsats in a rideshare mission representing five different countries.

The launch window for Rocket Lab’s tenth flight, named ‘Running Out Of Fingers,’ will open November 25, NZDT, and take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle lifts off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.

Onboard this rideshare mission are six spacecraft comprised of 5 cm. PocketQube microsatellites from satellite manufacturer and mission management provider Alba Orbital. The final payload on board was procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider Spaceflight for ALE Co., Ltd (ALE), a Tokyo-based company creating microsatellites that simulate meteor particles (see http://www.satnews.com/story.php?number=1131193933). 

Electron’s first stage will not be recovered from this mission; however, the stage includes new hardware and sensors to inform future recovery efforts. As part of a first stage block upgrade, Electron’s booster will include guidance and navigation hardware, including S-band telemetry and onboard flight computer systems, to gather data during the first stage’s atmospheric re-entry. The stage is also equipped with a reaction control system to orient the booster during its re-entry descent.

Peter Beck.

Rocket Lab’s Founder and CEO, Peter Beck, said increasing launch frequency for smallsat operators is the key driver behind Rocket Lab’s reusability program. He noted that reaching this tenth flight within only two years of commercial operations is an incredible achievement. Thanks to the continued dedication and passion of the teams at Rocket Lab, responsive and frequent access to space is the new normal for small satellites. As the company moves beyond once-a-month missions toward the goal of weekly launches, recovering and reusing Electron could play a significant role in increasing launch frequency.”

Payloads onboard ‘Running Out Of Fingers’

• ATL-1: A payload from Advanced Technology of Laser (ATL) from Hungary designed to test a new thermal isolation material in space, conduct a thermal insulator material experiment, and DVB-T band spectrum monitoring.
   
• Fossasat-1: FossaSat 1 is a picosatellite developed by Spanish non-profit organization Fossa Systems. The spacecraft, which fits in the palm of a hand, is a communications satellite that uses low power RF to provide IOT connectivity.
   
• NOOR 1A & NOOR 1B: These satellites from Stara Space will demonstrate LEO-to-LEO intersatellite link technology communicating with ground stations on Earth; crucial technologies required to create a real-time global communications constellation in space.
   
• SMOG-P: A novel spectrum monitoring payload built by students at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary. Smog-P features a spectrum analyzer to measure man-made electromagnetic pollution from space.
   
• TRSI Sat: ACME AtronOmatic is a U.S.-Germany based software application development company that provides flight tracking services to the aviation community and to mobile applications such as MyRadar, a weather radar application for mobile devices.
   
• ALE-2: Tokyo-based ALE Co., Ltd ‘s ALE-2 satellite aims to create human-made shooting stars by simulating re-entering meteor particles. The satellite includes multiple redundant attitude sensors and controllers, as well as a propulsion system for maneuvers.

On Sunday November 3, China launched a new Earth Observation (EO) satellite, Gaofen-7, which will play an important role in land surveying and mapping, urban and rural construction and statistical investigation, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The Gaofen-7, launched on a Long March-4B rocket at 11:22 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province, is China’s first, civil-use, optical transmission, three-dimensional surveying and mapping satellite that reaches the sub-meter level, CNSA said.

Artistic rendition of the Gaofen-7 satellite which, along with the carrier rocket, were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The satellite and carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The users of the Gaofen-7 satellite will be mainly from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the National Bureau of Statistics.

Via the same carrier rocket, three other commercial and scientific experiment satellites including one developed for Sudan were also sent into space.

The satellites onboard include Gaofen 7, Xiaoxiang-1 08, Whampoa 1, all belonging to China, plus a remote sensing satellite owned by Sudan. The Sudan Remote Sensing Satellite, SRSS-1, was developed for the Sudanese government by the Shenzhen Aerospace Oriental Red Sea Satellite Co.

A Chinese Long March 4B rocket lifts off. Image is courtesy of Xinhua.

The Sudanese smallsat was designed for both civil and military remote sensing mainly over Sudan, whose objectives are to generate a comprehensive, cost-effective and reliable data base on the topographic mapping, natural resources for developmental planning, exploration of natural resources, environmental monitoring, agricultural monitoring and yield estimation and beside public security (intelligence) and defence applications. The aim of the government is toward the establishment of the space industry in Sudan by owning the first Sudanese satellite and the development of ground facilities in Khartoum North.

The development of the Gaofen-7 has achieved a breakthrough in sub-meter level 3D mapping camera technology, meeting the highest mapping accuracy requirement among the Gaofen series Earth observation satellites, CNSA said. The satellite can obtain high-resolution optical 3D observation data and high-precision laser altimetry data and can realize 1:10,000 scale satellite 3D mapping for civil use in China, according to CNSA.

Article source: Xinhua.net