This experiment is the result of a collaboration between the French Defense Innovation Agency (AID), part of the French armament directorate (DGA), and two French New Space companies, Unseenlabs and Cailabs. Together, they succeeded in establishing a stable laser link over several minutes, demonstrating the tracking of the smallsat in LEO by the optical ground station and the establishment of a closed-loop laser link.

The optical link offers several advantages over traditional radio links, including greater speed, enhanced discretion, and independence from radio spectrum coordination regulations. However, it can sometimes be disrupted by atmospheric turbulence, which KERAUNOS is tasked with mitigating to ensure optimal transmission quality.

KERAUNOS combines the expertise of Rennes-based companies Unseenlabs and Cailabs:

• Cailabs’ technology and photonics expertise have enabled the development of a ground receiver that circumvents these constraints while being sufficiently reliable and robust to be offered commercially.
• The modern and agile architecture of Unseenlabs’ nanosatellites enables the integration of the laser payload within the short timeframes demanded by the New Space pace. This laser can be used to transmit data to the Cailabs ground station.

This success makes it possible to use space-based laser communications on mobile, land-based, naval, and airborne platforms. This system could be integrated into the Ministry of Defense’s future satellite systems. The KERAUNOS project contributes to the objectives of the 2024-2030 Military Programming Law, which aims to strengthen France’s presence and capabilities in space.

“I am delighted with the success of this first optical communications test with the KERAUNOS satellite, the first demonstrator initiated by the French Innovation Agency in the space sector. Our aim is to achieve the same level of success with our future projects, drawing on the creativity and ingenuity of companies from France’s burgeoning New Space ecosystem, said Patrick Aufort, Director of the French Defense Innovation Agency

“The KERAUNOS experiment is a success story that forms part of the ‘Optical Communication’ technology roadmap of the French Defense Innovation Agency’s ‘New Space’ priority theme, launched in 2021. This success is the result of the investment and exceptional know-how of Unseenlabs and Cailabs, said Jean-Michel Parlier, Head of Space Innovation at the French Defense Innovation Agency

“The success of this optical communication test completes the validation of Cailabs’ range of optical ground stations. It supports Cailabs’ proposal to our customers to provide a proven industrial ground station solution. This success also confirms the ability of New Space companies like Cailabs to quickly and efficiently develop ambitious systems for the armed forces,” said Jean-François Morizur, CEO and co-founder of Cailabs

“This success reflects Unseenlabs’ ability to quickly deliver a complex, fully functional system into orbit. Combining the performance of Unseenlabs’ system and satellite architectures with Cailabs’ optical innovations paves the way for faster and safer communications,” said Jonathan Galic, CTO and co-founder of Unseenlabs

Starfish Space has been awarded SBIR Phase III funding for a mission to inspect defunct satellites to increase opportunities to mitigate space debris.

NASA is advancing an innovative approach to enabling commercial inspection of defunct, or inoperable, satellites in low Earth orbit, a precursor to capturing and repairing or removing the satellites.

The agency has awarded Starfish Space a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to complete the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission. The award follows a Phase III study, which funded four, U.S. small businesses, including Starfish, to develop mission concepts. Starfish Space will receive $15 million over three years to execute the mission.

The ability to inspect defunct spacecraft and identify opportunities for repair or deorbiting is critical to maintaining a safe orbital environment for spacecraft and humans. Orbital debris mitigation is a key component of NASA’s Space Sustainability Strategy.

The Starfish-led mission uses the company’s Otter spacecraft, a small satellite about the size of an oven, which is designed to inspect, dock with, and service or deorbit other satellites. Otter’s electric propulsion system will not only help it efficiently travel to multiple satellites, but the SSPICY demonstration also will mature the spacecraft’s ability to perform inspections using electric propulsion, an important enabling technology not typically used for rendezvous and proximity operations.

During the SSPICY mission, Otter will visit and inspect multiple U.S. owned defunct satellites that have agreed to be visited and inspected – a delicate and challenging task, as satellites move quickly and are kept far apart from each other for safety. Otter will approach within hundreds of meters of each satellite to conduct inspections during mission operations. During the inspection, Otter will gather key information about each of the debris objects including their spin rate, spin axes, and current conditions of the objects’ surface materials.

The SSPICY mission is the first commercial space debris inspection funded by NASA and supports the agency’s efforts to extend the life of satellites while reducing space debris. Satellites that are no longer in use can break apart or collide with one another, creating debris clouds that pose risk to human spaceflight, science and robotic missions in Earth’s orbit, and missions to other planets in the solar system. Data from inspections like those planned during the SSPICY demonstration will play a critical role in understanding the nature of defunct satellites and advancing solutions for reuse or disposal.

“The SSPICY mission is designed to mature technologies needed for U.S. commercial capabilities for satellite servicing and logistics or disposal,” said Bo Naasz, senior technical lead for in-space servicing, manufacturing, and assembly in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “In-space inspection helps us characterize the physical state of a satellite, gather data on what may leave spacecraft stranded, and improve our understanding of fragmentations and collisions, a difficult but critical factor in a sustainable space operating environment.”

“We are excited to expand our partnership with NASA, building on our shared commitment to advancing in-space manufacturing and assembly capabilities,” said Trevor Bennett, co-founder of Starfish Space. “It’s an honor for Starfish to lead the first commercial debris inspection mission funded by NASA. We look forward to collaborating on this and future satellite servicing missions to enable a new paradigm for humanity in space.”

The Otter spacecraft is expected to launch in late 2026 and will begin performing inspections in 2027.

The SSPICY demonstration is funded and managed by NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The award is enabled by NASA’s SBIR program, which is open to U.S. small businesses to develop an innovation or technology. These programs are part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

Article author: Tara Friesen

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South Australian artificial intelligence (AI) company AICRAFT has secured funding from the inaugural South Australian Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund to develop the smallest Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload with fastest onboard data processing unit.

The SAR payload will be developed as part of the project called ‘Leoflect’ (short for Low Earth Orbit reflector antenna) and will combine AICRAFT’s miniature edge device with server-processing capacity and a lightweight, ultra-compact, reflector array antenna from Guerin Technologies (India). This solution will use advanced AI models to deliver power-efficient, high-speed data processing and analysis on orbit – a solution that is light-years ahead of existing technologies. A special quality of SAR is that it can penetrate cloud cover and ‘see through’ darkness and weather allowing a unique view of flood inundation, land cover changes, and modifications of Earth’s surface from landslides, earthquakes, and background tectonic motion, etc.

AICRAFT’s CEO Dr. Tony Scoleri said, “We have developed strong relationships with the Indian space ecosystem and are thrilled to partner with Guerin Technologies on our ‘Leoflect’ project to harness the innovation in both our companies and deliver the most compact SAR antenna and most compact, low-power onboard computer on the market. SAR data is critically important and can be used in applications such as agriculture, forestry, glacier monitoring, maritime surveillance and Defence intelligence. We are grateful to the South Australian Government for this funding support, which will make it possible for us to deliver world-class technology with rapid speed, bringing down the cost of, and access to, critically important SAR data.”

Guerin Technologies’ CEO Suhas Bannur, said, “We are excited to collaborate with AICRAFT to develop extremely lightweight, compact SAR platforms with super-fast data processing for next-generation satellites. Our revolutionary composite-based SAR antenna along with AICRAFT’s cutting-edge data processing modules will bring a paradigm shift in the SAR data processing landscape. We thank the South Australian government and the South Australian Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund for the opportunity to collaborate with AICRAFT to bring this unique solution to the market.”

The South Australian Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund is an initiative of the South Australian Space Industry Centre in collaboration with the Defence Innovation Partnership. The fund, launched earlier this year, is designed to accelerate the development of local space innovation and collaboration with international partners. It supports projects that are focused on proof-of-concept or delivering space capabilities with a clear path to commercialization.

Sirius Space Services has signed a contract with Equatorial Launch Australia for a multi-year, multi-launch campaign from the Arnhem Space Centre.

The agreement will see Sirius become a ‘Resident Launcher’ at the spaceport from 2025, taking up residency at their own dedicated Space Launch Complex (SLC) for the extended term of their multi-year contract. Sirius has elected to take up a ‘full service’ solution to be provided by ELA, taking advantage of the full suite of launch and mission support services and facilities available at the remote but ‘cutting edge’ commercial East Arnhem Land spaceport.

The campaign will begin with the development and test flights of SIRIUS 1 in 2026, followed by launches of the larger SIRIUS 13 (800 kg payload capacity) in 2027.

Artist impression of SIRIUS 1 rocket on an Advanced Launch Pad at the Arnhem Space Centre.

The flexibility to access a range of orbits, including medium and low inclination orbits, SSO and equatorial, along with ELA’s full-service offering, were the key reasons behind the decision by Sirius to sign with ELA for launches from the ASC. The deal significantly emphasizes the desirability and market-fit of launching from the Arnhem Space Centre and the industry leading advanced engineering and technology solutions and launch services provided by ELA. Sirius, whose planned launch cadence could scale up over time to 18 launches per year, develops competitive launch solutions designed to meet the growing needs of the commercial space market.

Sirius has selected Space Launch Complex No.3 (SLC3) or ‘Le Mans’ for their home base. The Le Mans SLC will have a dedicated 45m x 26m x 12m high Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) with ISO 8 vertical payload integration clean room with its own full span, 20T gantry crane. Le Mans SLC also has two ASC Advanced Launch Pads (ASCALP) where one will be fully developed with the ability to accommodate Sirius’ three variants of rocket, SIRIUS 1, SIRIUS 13 and, in future, the large 4 booster SIRIUS 15 variant. The other launch pad will be part-developed as a back-up.

The Sirius range. SIRIUS 1, SIRIUS 13 and SIRIUS 15.

Services to be provided by ELA as part of the deal include joint design, manufacturing, integration of a range of essential launch system equipment (under Sirius lead) as well as a comprehensive systems and services for launch and mission operations (under ELA lead). It will cover a very wide scope including: strongback and support/clamping equipment design and integration, propellant, oxidizer and gases provision and delivery to the rockets, launch management, mission control functions, assistance with launch permit applications, logistics to and from Paris to the ASC spaceport, on-site accommodation and detailed support for assembly, integration and test of both engines and rocket systems.

Sirius’ has an innovative approach to rocket engine design which comprises metal additive manufacturing / 3D printing using copper and nickel-chromium superalloys. Its STAR-1 engine is fueled by liquid oxygen and methane – producing 55kN of thrust.

The agreement marks the second ‘Resident Launcher’ contract for ELA; further validating ELA’s innovative business model. Several other contracts and commercial alliance deals are expected to be announced in the near future.

“I’m delighted and excited to announce this contract with Sirius Space Services,” said ELA’s Group CEO, Michael Jones. “Sirius will become the second resident launcher at the Arnhem Space Centre which means they will leverage ELA’s advanced commercial spaceport concept, taking advantage of our comprehensive suite of launch solutions, innovative commercial offering and the best customer service and support to increase efficiency, safety, mission assuredness and commercial benefit to Sirius. It was key for Sirius to have the ability to access unique orbit options to service their clients and we are probably the only place on the planet that could provide access to these orbits, the support level required, and access to the scope of launch services in the timeframe required. We absolutely love working with Sirius who we believe are among the most mature and advanced launch service providers we work with.“

Jones added, “When you combine the list of services and equipment offered with physical attributes of the spaceport including: minimal jet stream and stable upper atmosphere, low maritime and air traffic and all the attendant infrastructure assets in our area such as a sealed B737 capable runway and airport within 15 kms, deepwater port, weather monitoring facilities, hospital and no population within 30 kms, it’s quite compelling. When added to the most important element – the access to more orbital inclinations for Earth Observation, Communication/IOT and Defence applications – the ASC can be almost be considered a ‘designer spaceport. Sirius is bringing innovation into the small launch market by developing a range of agile and affordable and flexible launch solutions. They are an extremely impressive rocket company. The rate of progress during each of our visits to their premises in the past few years has been remarkable and their vision for sustainable and reusable space systems is world leading.”

Mr. Jones stated that in addition to contracted rocket companies Innospace and Sirius, inbound enquiry relating to ELA’s services has been ‘hot’ meaning the Space Launch Complexes are filling fast. “We are currently in the final stages of negotiation with three more launchers about our resident launch contracts, so our remaining orbital complexes are filling fast. The feedback we are receiving is that our comprehensive, full-service approach is really resonating with these rocket companies and their payload customers and that is why we’ve developed our new tagline: ‘You build the rockets… we’ll take care of the rest’,” said Jones.

In addition to its seven dedicated ‘Resident Launcher’ Space Launch Complexes, ELA has expanded its offering to include common use, multi-user launch pads for ad hoc or ‘one-off’ launches as well as a suborbital multi-user launch pad facility.

“This contract demonstrates the potential for the ASC to deliver on our goal of being the pre-eminent commercial launch site globally. With the combination of our launch pad design/technology, launch inclination options, respected geopolitical reputation, infrastructure, logistics and engineering support solutions, we know we offer a highly competitive and attractive spaceport solution,” said Jones.

François Maroquene-Froissart, Co-founder & CTO of Sirius Space Services, said, “Our decision to select ELA was driven by their advanced commercial spaceport concept, which includes state-of-the-art infrastructure, innovative commercial offerings, and exceptional customer service and support. ELA’s commitment to safety, operational excellence, and service aligns with our mission to deliver agile and competitive launch solutions to our global clientele.”

GomSpace signed a contract with Unseenlabs earlier this month to deliver four additional cube satellites (CubeSats). The contract value is 3.5 million euros and delivery of the satellites will occur in Q2/Q3 2025. 

These satellites will be similar to the eight CubeSats ordered in 2022 and 2024. Of those, five have already been launched, and the remaining three will be delivered by the end of 2024.

This contract solidifies the market guidance of positive free cashflow in the second half of 2024. 

To clarify, this satellite order is not related to the Micro Satellite development contract announced on May 13, 2024. The number of Micro Satellites to be delivered is yet to be agreed between the partners, pending the first phases of design.

“It’s always an extraordinary feeling when a partner returns for more of what they previously ordered. It’s even better when they come back twice! This is a testament to the dedicated and consistent work from all GomSpace teams and the strength of a balanced partnership, which fosters deep strategic relationships. Expanding the constellation will help Unseenlabs strengthen its business, and we will always be by their side to help them achieve their ambitions,” said Carsten Drachmann, CEO of GomSpace.

“With the experience and level of understanding of both Unseenlabs and GomSpace teams, we can go faster and constantly improve the way we serve our customers. With GomSpace’s ability to understand us and “live” Unseenlabs challenges as theirs, Unseenlabs teams can focus on what makes the difference: our own customers and service value creation,” said Jonathan Galic, cofounder, Président and CTO of Unseenlabs.

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) was by NUVIEW earlier this month to develop the bus for Mr. SPoC, their pathfinder smallsat that will demo the capabilities of the world’s first commercial, space-based, LiDAR constellation.

NUVIEW is building a ground-breaking constellation of satellites that will provide continually updated 3D elevation data for the entire Earth’s land surface using the company’s onboard laser scanning technology known as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Space-based LiDAR will capture 3D surface measurements more efficiently and cost effectively than traditional airborne methods, especially in remote areas, for applications related to environment, agriculture, infrastructure, forestry, cartography, and archaeology.

SFL has developed several pathfinder technology demonstration satellites for a variety of missions over the past 25 years and is frequently chosen for Earth observation, environmental monitoring, space astronomy, and other microspace missions that require precise pointing of onboard data collection sensors. For EO satellites, precise sensor pointing results in capture of image data with a high level of geolocation accuracy.

“SFL is excited to support the pioneering Mr. SPoC mission by providing a high-quality, reliable small satellite platform,” said SFL Director, Dr. Robert E. Zee. “This mission will serve as a technology demonstration for NUVIEW’s first-of-its-kind operational constellation that will perform global high-resolution 3D mapping with frequent revisits and updates.”

“NUVIEW is proud to announce our collaboration with Space Flight Laboratory,” said NUVIEW CEO and Co-Founder, Clint Graumann. “We have been working closely with Dr. Zee and the SFL team, and we are delighted to report significant progress on the Mr. SPoC mission.”

Established in 1998, SFL has developed 79 operationally successful smaller satellite missions totaling more than 325 cumulative years of unparalleled success in orbit. Another 30 missions are now under development by SFL, which offers a complete suite of nano-, micro- and small satellites – including high-performance, low-cost CubeSats – that satisfy the needs of a broad range of mission types from 3 to 500 kilograms. For a comprehensive list of SFL high-performance satellite platforms, please visit this direct link…

NASA has selected Firefly Aerospace, Inc. of Cedar Park, Texas, to provide launch services for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) QuickSounder mission.

The selection is part of NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. This contract allows the agency to make fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity awards during VADR’s five-year ordering period, with a maximum total value of $300 million across all contracts.

The QuickSounder mission will support NOAA’s next generation satellite architecture for its future low Earth orbit program, which will provide mission-critical data for the agency’s National Weather Service, the nation’s weather industry, and other users worldwide.

QuickSounder is the first small satellite in NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON). A collaborative effort between NASA and NOAA, NEON will provide a new approach to developing a new global environmental satellite system by quickly building small to medium-sized satellites with Earth-observing instruments for weather forecasting, disaster management, and climate monitoring. QuickSounder has a launch readiness date of February 2026.

NASA will manage the development and launch of the satellites for NOAA. As the mission lead, NOAA provides funding, technical requirements, and will manage post-launch operations. NASA and NOAA will work with commercial partners to design and build the network’s spacecraft and instruments.

AAC Clyde Space has won a 1.025 million euros order for four Starbuck power systems and related services — the company expects to have completed delivery of the order during the second quarter of 2025.

The power systems will be used in a planned constellation. The name of the client cannot be disclosed at this time.

BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) won the 2024 Novaspace Leading Earth Observation Business Award at World Space Business Week. BlackSky is recognized for excellence and innovation in Earth observation by delivering commercial real-time, space-based intelligence at mission speed and scale using high-cadence, rapid-revisit satellite imagery and AI-driven analytics.

The annual WSBW awards recognize the most forward-thinking businesses and innovators shaping the future of the global space sector. A panel of industry experts evaluate qualitative and quantitative criteria, including innovation, strategic decisions, market impact, financial and commercial indicators.

This year, BlackSky made notable achievements in transforming the adoption model for commercial real-time, space-based intelligence and furthering the EO industry’s transition from static mapping to dynamic, AI-driven monitoring of critical areas of interest while expanding its product offering to revolutionize non-Earth imaging.

Through a first-of-its kind $50 million contract supporting the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, BlackSky is pioneering a new, software-first adoption model, offering customers immediate access to subscription-based Assured monitoring services over priority areas of interest with very little risk and without spending hundreds of millions on capability that will not materialize for years.

In January, BlackSky won a contract from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) to move forward into the third and final phase of the multi-year Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART) program. With the core technology developed under the SMART program, BlackSky’s AI tools have detected and classified more than two million change observations with a high degree of accuracy over 120 thousand distinct sites after having analyzed five years of historic broad area satellite imagery from government and commercial sources.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) recently announced BlackSky was selected as a vendor under the five-year, $290 million Luno A multi-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The five-year deal focuses on monitoring economic and environmental activity and military capabilities using commercial geospatial intelligence and analytics services. BlackSky today monitors over more than 30 million square kilometers of the Earth’s surface for the NGA.

BlackSky was recently awarded a seven-figure space domain awareness contract from HEO to bring automated low-latency capabilities to non-Earth imaging (NEI) services for defense, intelligence and commercial use. Under the agreement, the companies will partner to bring BlackSky’s current constellation into HEO’s NEI sensor network. The contract is now moving into its second phase with a focus on automating the entire tasking-to-delivery process, following a successful initial proof of concept phase.

“BlackSky is honored to receive the Novaspace 2024 Leading Earth Observation Business Award at the World Space Business Week,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO. “This recognition is only possible with the collective passion and commitment displayed every day by the entire BlackSky team as we lead the Earth observation industry into a new era of dynamic, real-time, low latency monitoring. Our software-first approach has made space more accessible for nations seeking sovereign, space-based intelligence capabilities and is reshaping how customers see and understand the most important security and economic events in our world.”