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30 Nov 22. RI&S completes mission payload CDR for USSF’s MTC programme.
The company is now planning to complete the system CDR for MTC programme by next year.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) has successfully completed the critical design review (CDR) of its mission payload for the US Space Force’s (USSF) programme.
Known as Missile Track Custody (MTC ), the programme was established by the USSF to deploy initial warfighter capability to track missiles at medium Earth orbit.
The CDR process involved RI&S showcasing the designs of several crucial components that were ready for fabrication. It included the telescope, electronics, focal plane and firmware.
The company claimed to use various digital engineering-based models to demonstrate all the key elements, which helped to minimise the potential technical and schedule risk involved in the follow-on phases of the MTC programme.
This approach will further support the delivery of a fully compliant space-qualified product.
RI&S Strategic Systems programmes executive director Roger Cole said: “Our country faces new and diverse missile threats that require a layered approach to detection, tracking and defence.
“Using the latest digital engineering techniques, we have successfully completed key design elements of fully compliant payload design in just under 18 months.”
In the next steps, the company is now planning to complete the remaining design aspects of the programme’s space and ground segments, with system CDR, anticipated to complete by next year.
The Raytheon team will then conduct a build, integration and test campaign to deliver the final capability, which is scheduled to launch by 2026.
All the payload-related work is being carried out at the company’s facility in El Segundo, California.
Earlier this month, Boeing’s wholly owned subsidiary Millennium Space Systems completed the CDR for the same programme.
Both companies were selected by the USSF’s Space and Missile Systems Center in May 2021 to develop the MTC programme’s prototype.
(Source: airforce-technology.com)
01 Dec 22. Kleos Space S.A (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1, Kleos or Company), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) and Mission-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider, has partnered with leading geospatial developer platform and marketplace, UP42, to offer Kleos’ RF geolocation data to their platform users.
Under the partnership, Kleos’ geospatial data product, Guardian LOCATE, will be available on UP42’s marketplace. Guardian LOCATE provides processed geolocated radio frequency transmissions collected over key areas of interest by Kleos’ satellites, enhancing the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of users.
The UP42 marketplace features more than 180 geospatial data sources and algorithms, from leading geospatial organisations. Kleos’ RF data can be used to validate or tip and cue commercial datasets to establish a baseline pattern of behaviour, complementing the existing data available on UP42’s marketplace.
Kleos currently has two multi-satellite missions in orbit, that collect radio frequency transmissions over key areas of interest to produce its data products, and a further multi-satellite mission launching before the end of 2022.
Kleos’ Chief Revenue Officer, Eric von Eckartsberg, said, “UP42 offers its users a vast range of data sources, such as satellite imagery with algorithms, to identify objects, detect change, and find patterns. The addition of our precision radio frequency geolocation data, low earth orbit technology, and industry know-how will be beneficial for all of UP42’s platform customers. We are looking forward to helping unlock new capabilities from the fusion of these datasets with existing imagery and algorithms. By making our data available via UP42, we provide access to an even greater number of potential customers, increasing our market penetration.”
“By partnering with Kleos, we stay true to our mission of commercializing data that would otherwise not be easily available,” said Kevin Boverie, Head of Partnerships and Resellers at UP42. “This opens countless opportunities for our customers to combine different products available on our marketplace with Kleos’ RF geolocation data and expand their applications across multiple industries.”
Kleos’ satellites detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions, enhancing the detection of illegal activity, including piracy, drug and people smuggling, border security challenges and illegal fishing. Its global activity-based data is delivered via API and sold as-a-service to governments and commercial entities either directly or via channel partners.
30 Nov 22. Netherlands MoD publishes Defence Space Agenda. The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) has published its Defence Space Agenda, detailing the country’s future military space investment priorities.
According to the agenda, published by the MoD on 25 November, the Netherlands is seeking to ensure strategic autonomy by developing and owning its own constellation of satellites, while also reducing its dependency on communication, navigation, observation, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities supplied by its strategic and commercial partners.
Between EUR25m and EUR100m (USD25.88m and USD103.54m) will be allocated from 2023 to 2027 to address these requirements. This is separate from the EUR25−100m earmarked for military satellite communications (milsatcom), outlined in the 2022 Defense Memorandum. (Source: Janes)
29 Nov 22. HawkEye 360 Inc., a leading commercial provider of space-based radio frequency (RF) data and analytics, today announced the transition from Amazon Web Services (AWS) commercial services to AWS GovCloud (US) as a foundational element of their overall approach to protecting sensitive and controlled data. AWS GovCloud (US) is designed to host sensitive data, regulate workloads, and address stringent U.S. government security and compliance requirements.
“Our AWS GovCloud (US) migration is a significant milestone for HawkEye 360. The move to AWS GovCloud (US) facilitates the development and delivery of export-controlled products and services and demonstrates to our customers the security and integrity of our data and analytics,” said HawkEye 360 Vice President of Engineering, Chris Gregory.
AWS GovCloud (US) is FedRAMP compliant and provides a robust platform for HawkEye 360 to develop and deliver products as well as streamlines the assessment process that demonstrates to the U.S. government that HawkEye 360 is meeting the applicable requirements of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), as well as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 and NIST-800-171.
“AWS GovCloud (US) provides us with access to ITAR-compliant services that have had a positive impact on our data storage and analytics architecture by making data more shareable and discoverable both across teams and with our government customers,” said HawkEye 360 Chief Data Scientist, Kate Zimmerman. “Since migrating our data, we have been able to accelerate our development of sophisticated RF analytics that can help defense and intelligence customers detect and maintain a chain of custody over dark maritime vessels potentially participating in nefarious activity. HawkEye 360 also developed a data lake architecture that uses AWS GovCloud (US) to streamline data discovery and mining through a common data catalog. HawkEye 360’s data lake allows advanced data fusion between multiple datasets to better identify dark maritime vessels by leveraging multiple data sources, which is a breakthrough in the realm of RF-based analytics. With the addition of these analytics, HawkEye 360 will not only detect when a vessel stops reporting its position from standard systems such as Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), but will also show the likely path a vessel travels while it is “dark” solely based on the RF detections of the radars in which vessel operates.
By enhancing dark ship detection, HawkEye 360’s products can help governments more easily analyze illicit activities such as illegal fishing, smuggling, human trafficking, and more.
HawkEye 360 is giving a sneak peek of these capabilities during a presentation at AWS re:Invent 2022 in Las Vegas on Thursday, December 1 from 2-3 p.m. PST. For more information on the HawkEye 360 satellite constellation, please visit https://www.he360.com/. (Source: PR Newswire)
28 Nov 22. Ginan satellite technology to receive upgraded LEO features. FrontierSI has signed an agreement to provide improved features for Geoscience Australia’s satellite navigation system.
Ginan is at the heart of Geoscience Australia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), providing the analysis centre with software that can correct positioning in real time.
The agreement will see FrontierSI work with Geoscience Australia, Curtin University and the University of Newcastle.
The goal of the agreement is to improve Ginan’s ability to support and track low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, providing better monitoring and modelling capabilities.
A specific goal of the agreement is to make improvements to Ginan that will allow it to map the ionosphere and troposphere, which will provide important data for improved weather prediction.
The Ginan software, which was developed by Geoscience Australia in conjunction with a range of industry partners, is open-source software designed to improve the positioning capabilities of satellites and navigation systems.
The ultimate goal of Ginan is to increase the positioning accuracy of navigation systems operating across Australia down to 3 to 5 centimetres from the current 5 to 10 mtres.
This project is a part of the National Positioning Infrastructure Capability (NPIC) intiative that is being undertaken as part of the broader “Positioning Australia” program being carried out by Geoscience Australia.
These programs are designed to bring Australia to the forefront of global navigation and positioning technology, which is a field that has an extremely broad range of applications.
From smartphones and autonomous vehicles to mineral exploration and disaster and emergency response, the applications for highly accurate positioning systems are immense and extremely important to our modern society.
A 2008 report projected that improvements in positioning technology could generate over AU$73bn of value to the Australian economy by 2030.
One of the most exciting aspects of Ginan is that it is open source, meaning it can be accessed by anyone, from students learning to interpret the basic data to business entrepreneurs who want to utilise the data for unique use cases.
Combining the open-source nature of Ginan with the openly accessible platform of the NPIC, Geoscience Australia has opened the door to Australian businesses to harness the improvements being constantly made to the GNSS system.
By making the software open source, Geoscience Australia is also encouraging community-driven innovation to assist them in finding even more areas of the system which can be improved. (Source: Space Connect)
29 Nov 22. Momentus will deliver CUAVA-2 satellite into orbit. US company Momentus has signed an agreement with the CUAVA training centre to deploy the CUAVA-2 satellite in October 2023.
The agreement will see Momentus deploy and position the CUAVA-2 CubeSat into low-Earth orbit (LEO) from its Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle after launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Momentus is a commercial space company specialising in space infrastructure services and in-space transportation and orbital deployments.
CUAVA-2 is the second iteration of the CUAVA organisation’s CubeSat program. CUAVA as an organisation is the Australian Research Council’s training centre for CubeSats, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their applications.
Funded by the Australian government via the Australian Research Council, CUAVA is based at the University of Sydney’s Camperdown campus.
The Sydney University-based CUAVA works closely with industry and academic partners on several research topics, including advanced manufacturing, UAVs, and commercial space projects.
Their main focus over the past few years has been the development of advanced CubeSat systems, culminating in the launch and subsequent deployment of the CUAVA-1 Satellitein 2021.
CUAVA-2 will implement theessons learned from the first deployment, as well as doubling in capacity from CUAVA1’s 3U, up to 6U.
The new and updated CUAVA-2 will carry two primary payloads, a hyperspectral imager developed by the Space Photonics Group at Sydney University and a GPS reflectometry payload developed by the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at the University of New South Wales.
Aside from the two primary science payloads, CUAVA-2 will carry several secondary payloads, as well as selected “technology demonstrations”. Among these include a charge exchange thruster, a wide field-of-view CROSS star tracker, an Electron Density and Debris Instrument, an Electro Permanent magnetorquer, an in-orbit test payload of advanced solar cells, and a radiation counter and data over power-bus payload.
All of the secondary payloads and technology demonstration payloads were developed at the University of Sydney.
Director of CUAVA, Professor Iver Cairns, spoke about the deal and the push by the whole team to get to this stage.
“The CUAVA-2 CubeSat is the culmination of several years of hard work by the satellite team and our partners,” Cairns said.
“We are looking forward with great excitement to the launch with Momentus, and to gathering unique data from the many advanced payloads and technology demonstrators on CUAVA-2 once in orbit.”
Momentus CEO John Rood also commented on the deal between the two.
“Innovation and pushing the boundaries of technology is what we love to do at Momentus. We look forward to supporting CUAVA’s mission to use leading-edge capabilities in space to improve life on Earth.” (Source: Space Connect)
28 Nov 22. Ginan satellite technology to receive upgraded LEO features. FrontierSI has signed an agreement to provide improved features for Geoscience Australia’s satellite navigation system.
Ginan is at the heart of Geoscience Australia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), providing the analysis centre with software that can correct positioning in real time.
The agreement will see FrontierSI work with Geoscience Australia, Curtin University and the University of Newcastle.
The goal of the agreement is to improve Ginan’s ability to support and track low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, providing better monitoring and modelling capabilities.
A specific goal of the agreement is to make improvements to Ginan that will allow it to map the ionosphere and troposphere, which will provide important data for improved weather prediction.
The Ginan software, which was developed by Geoscience Australia in conjunction with a range of industry partners, is open-source software designed to improve the positioning capabilities of satellites and navigation systems
The ultimate goal of Ginan is to increase the positioning accuracy of navigation systems operating across Australia down to 3 to 5 centimetres from the current 5 to 10 metres.
This project is a part of the National Positioning Infrastructure Capability (NPIC) initiative that is being undertaken as part of the broader “Positioning Australia” program being carried out by Geoscience Australia.
These programs are designed to bring Australia to the forefront of global navigation and positioning technology, which is a field that has an extremely broad range of applications.
From smartphones and autonomous vehicles to mineral exploration and disaster and emergency response, the applications for highly accurate positioning systems are immense and extremely important to our modern society.
A 2008 report projected that improvements in positioning technology could generate over AU$73 bn of value to the Australian economy by 2030.
One of the most exciting aspects of Ginan is that it is open source, meaning it can be accessed by anyone, from students learning to interpret the basic data to business entrepreneurs who want to utilise the data for unique use cases.
Combining the open-source nature of Ginan with the openly accessible platform of the NPIC, Geoscience Australia has opened the door to Australian businesses to harness the improvements being constantly made to the GNSS system.
By making the software open source, Geoscience Australia is also encouraging community-driven innovation to assist them in finding even more areas of the system which can be improved. (Source: Space Connect)
28 Nov 22. Millennium, Raytheon complete design review for missile warning system. Millennium Space Systems and Raytheon Technologies said they passed design assessments for a U.S. Space Force program aimed at strengthening the service’s ability to detect and track missile threats.
The critical design reviews, or CDRs, which occurred in November, are for the Space Force’s Missile Track Custody program. The companies are both developing sensors to track missile threats from medium Earth orbit, or MEO, located between 1,200 and 22,000 miles above sea level.
Millennium, a subsidiary of Boeing, announced its successful review on Nov. 23 and Raytheon confirmed the milestone to C4ISRNET on Monday.
“Using the latest digital engineering techniques, we’ve successfully completed key design elements of the fully compliant payload design in just under 18 months,” Roger Cole, executive director of strategic systems programs at Raytheon, said in a statement.
Following the successful payload design review, the program will transition into space and ground segment development, Millennium said in its statement. That includes a digital design for the satellite that will carry the missile warning sensor.
“As shown during the mission payload CDR, a wholly-digital engineering environment will continue to be employed to shorten design cycles and further reduce cost,” according to the company.
The Missile Track Custody program is one piece of the Space Force’s plan to make its on-orbit missile warning and tracking capabilities more resilient against growing threats from China and Russia. Today, those satellites either reside in geosynchronous orbit — about 22,000 miles above Earth — or in highly elliptical orbit beyond GEO. Through Missile Track Custody, the service plans to launch warning and tracking satellites to MEO, where space sensors can observe a larger area.
The Space Development Agency is also launching a fleet of more than 100 satellites in low Earth orbit, or LEO, less than 1,200 miles above the equator.
The Space Force awarded Millennium and Raytheon contracts in May 2021 to develop digital models of missile warning sensors for the MEO-based program, but the value of those contracts was not disclosed. The service, which requested $135m for the effort in its fiscal 2023 budget, plans to solicit bids next year for Missile Track Custody, but hasn’t disclosed whether it will choose more than one vendor to develop the satellites. By 2028, the Space Force expects to have four MEO satellites on orbit with a goal of launching technology upgrades on a two-year cycle. (Source: Defense News)
28 Nov 22. Macquarie University and Gilmour Space partner to develop thermal camera for orbit. Macquarie University’s Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) has signed an agreement with pioneering manufacturer Gilmour Space Technologies to produce a new sovereign space technology, set to launch in 2023. Under this new partnership technical specialists from AAO Macquarie will construct and deliver a thermal camera payload.
“The payload will be integrated into a Gilmour Space satellite which is slated for launch in late 2023,” says Project Lead Dr Lee Spitler from AAO Macquarie. The data collected from the thermal camera payload will allow the exploration of a new approach to collecting imaging data.
“The agreement marks an exciting new chapter for the AAO, as our team of experts can expand their skills and remits to support the growing interest in space exploration.”
Brisbane-based Gilmour Space Technologies is Australia’s leading venture-backed manufacturers of launch vehicles and satellite platforms. AAO Macquarie is world renowned for its ground-based precision instrumentation for telescopes and is now branching out to non-astronomy applications in space.
“At Gilmour Space, we like to work with fast-moving and innovative partners like AAO Macquarie,” said Shaun Kenyon, the Program Manager for Satellites at Gilmour Space. “This is going to be a new Australian-made thermal space imager, which could be used for many different applications, including water quality monitoring, bushfire detection, weather monitoring, and more.” (Source: Rumour Control)
25 Nov 22. UK MoD issues PQQ for ISR space project. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) for Project Oberon, a programme that seeks high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.
According to the PQQ released by the MoD on 24 November, the contract will involve a cluster of three satellites equipped with an active SAR payload and, at a lower priority, passive radio frequency (RF) functionality, which the supplier will be required to operate.
The main contract is expected to demand a “full end-to-end solution including inter alia; design, development, manufacture, assembly, integration, test, launch, commissioning, operations, and eventual disposal”, the PQQ stated.
Up to GBP70m (USD84.7m) has been earmarked for the 36-month contract.
A further contract option is expected as part of the project – this will require a supplier to deliver mission operations, training, and support (per year) for a further six years, as well as mission integration and implementation into the ground architecture of the multisatellite intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) ‘ISTARI’ programme, the MoD detailed. (Source: Janes)
28 Nov 22. China poses increasing threat in military space race, top U.S. general says. Rapid advancements in China’s military capabilities pose increasing risks to American supremacy in outer space, the head of the United States military’s space wing said on Monday.
Nina Armagno, director of staff of the U.S. Space Force, said Beijing had made significant progress in developing military space technology, including in areas such as satellite communications and re-useable spacecraft, which allow countries to rapidly scale up their space programs.
“I think it’s entirely possible they could catch up and surpass us, absolutely,” Armagno said at an event in Sydney run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a research organisation partly funded by the U.S. and Australian governments. “The progress they’ve made has been stunning, stunningly fast.”
Historically lagging in a space race dominated by the United States and Russia, Beijing has made significant advances in recent years that have alarmed Washington and other Western nations.
Ye Peijian, the head of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, has likened the moon and Mars to contested islands in the South China Sea that Beijing is attempting to claim.
China is also developing experimental technology aimed at mining asteroids and minor planets for natural resources.
“[China] is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to achieve that objective,” Armagno said.
Along with Russia, China has also conducted “reckless” missile tests that have created dangerous amounts of space debris in recent years, Armagno said.
“These debris fields threatened all of our systems in space, and these systems are vital to all nations’ security, economic and scientific interests,” she said.
Founded in 2019 in part as an attempt to counter the rising capabilities of China, the Space Force is the fourth branch of the U.S. military, with Armagno serving as its first permanent leader. It is set to launch three astronauts to its new space station on Tuesday. (Source: Reuters)
26 Nov 22. India’s first private rocket company looks to slash satellite costs. The startup behind India’s first private space launch plans to put a satellite into orbit in 2023 and expects to be able to do so at half of the cost of established launch companies, the founders of Skyroot Aerospace told Reuters in an interview.
The Hyderabad-based company, backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, says the $68 m it has raised will fund its next two launches. Skyroot has been in contact with more than 400 potential customers, it says.
Thousands of small satellite launches are planned in coming years as companies build out networks to deliver broadband services like SpaceX’s Starlink and to power applications like tracking supply chains or monitoring offshore oil rigs.
Skyroot faces both established and up-and-coming rocket launch rivals that also promise to bring down costs. In China, startup Galactic Energy put five satellites into orbit last week in its fourth successful launch.
In Japan, Space One, backed by Canon Electronics (7739.T) and IHI Corp (7013.T), plans to launch 20 small rockets per year by the middle of the decade.
But Skyroot, which launched a test rocket last week, expects to cut the cost of a launch by 50% compared with current pricing for established competitors like Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit and California-based Rocket Lab USA Inc (RKLB.O).
Pawan Chandana, one of Skyroot’s two co-founders, told Reuters he expected a surge in demand for the company’s launch services if it proves itself with launches set for next year.
“Most of these customers have been building constellations and will be launching them in the next five years,” he said.
The Modi government’s push to increase India’s share of the global space launch market from just 1% has given investors confidence that Skyroot and other startups have government backing for their efforts, Skyroot says.
“Three or four months back when we were talking to investors, one of the biggest questions they asked was if the government was supporting us,” Skyroot co-founder Bharath Daka told Reuters.
India opened the door to private space companies in 2020 with a regulatory overhaul and a new agency to boost private-sector launches.
Before that, companies could only act as contractors to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a government space agency with a reputation of its own for frugal engineering. The country’s Mars mission in 2014 cost only $74 m, less than the budget of the Hollywood space movie “Gravity”.
Building on India’s record for cost efficiency will be key, said Chandana. Skyroot, founded in 2018 when Chandana and Daka quit jobs at ISRO, has set a target to develop rockets for one-fifth of the current industry costs.
The Skyroot rocket that reached 89.5 kilometers altitude in last week’s test launch used carbon-fibre components and 3D-printed parts, including the thrusters. That boosted efficiency by 30%, the company says, cutting weight and procurement costs, although it meant Skryoot engineers had to write the machine code for vendors who fabricated the rocket because few had experience working with carbon fibre.
With 3D printing, Skyroot believes it can build a new rocket in just two days as it works towards reusable rockets, a technology pioneered by SpaceX.
Chandana and Daka believe the per-kilogram launch cost for a satellite can be brought down to nearly $10, from thousands of dollars currently, a stretch target that could upend the economics of space commerce and one that draws inspiration from their idol: Elon Musk.
“SpaceX is a symbol of great innovation and great market validation,” said Chandana, who added they have not had the chance to speak to Musk.
“Right now, we think he’s probably busy running Twitter.” (Source: Reuters)
20 Nov 22. Hypersonic milestone completed by Hermeus. Hermeus has demonstrated turbojet to ramjet transition within their Chimera engine — this is one of the most important technological feats to making operational hypersonic flight a reality.
Chimera is a turbine-based combined cycle engine (TBCC) — which basically means it’s a hybrid between a turbojet and a ramjet. The ability to switch between these two modes allows Hermeus’ first aircraft, Quarterhorse, to take off from a regular runway and then accelerate up to high-Mach speeds. The cost and speed at which the Hermeus team achieved this milestone is notable.
The testing occurred at the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory which provides heated air to simulate high-Mach temperatures and pressures.
Hermeus designed, built, and tested Chimera in 21 months for $18 m.
At low speeds Chimera is in turbojet mode — just like any jet aircraft. But as the temperature and the speed of the incoming air increase, turbojets hit their performance limit. This happens at around Mach 2. Chimera has a pre-cooler that reduces the temperature of the air coming into the turbojet. This allows Hermeus to squeeze out a bit more performance from the turbojet before transitioning to ramjet. At around Mach 3, Chimera begins to bypass the incoming air around the turbojet and the ramjet takes over completely.
A ramjet is a simple propulsion system which “rams” the incoming high-pressure air to create compression. Fuel is mixed with this compressed air and ignited for thrust. Ramjets are optimal between Mach 3 and Mach 5. “air-breathing” engines vs rocket engines
Hermeus’ TBCC engine is unique in the field of hypersonics. Most hypersonic platforms are powered by a rocket engine. However, this approach makes reusability much harder and inherently more dangerous for passenger flight. By making a full-range, air-breathing, hypersonic engine that does not require a rocket to accelerate, Hermeus is setting the stage for operational hypersonic flight — meaning aircraft that can be rapidly re-used. An additional benefit of this engine design is that it accommodates existing transportation infrastructure. Hermeus aircraft are designed to be operational at traditional airports. This is important not just for hypersonic testing, but critical given Hermeus’ goal of radically accelerating passenger travel through hypersonic flight.
An essential manufacturing principle at Hermeus is vertical integration. Manufacturing in-house allows for a tight feedback loop between engineers and technicians which is key to the company’s ability to iterate quickly. Additionally, vertical integration eases reliance on outside vendors and allows for better control of the supply chain. Another important factor in building Chimera is additive manufacturing. About 15% of the engine is 3D printed which enabled rapid development. With mode transition successfully demonstrated, the Hermeus team is now racing to manufacture the first Quarterhorse aircraft that will begin flight testing in late 2023.
“This achievement is a major technical milestone for Hermeus,” said CEO, AJ Piplica. “But more than that, it’s a proof point that demonstrates how our small team can rapidly design, build, and test hardware with budgets significantly smaller than industry peers.”
“The Notre Dame facility allowed us to create conditions similar to what we’ll see in flight,” said CTO, Glenn Case. “Completing this testing on the ground significantly de-risks our Quarterhorse flight test campaign which will begin late next year.”
Hermeus is a startup developing hypersonic aircraft to radically accelerate air travel. At Mach 5, more than twice the speed of the supersonic Concorde, passengers will be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes. On the path to hypersonic passenger aircraft, Hermeus is partnering with government agencies including the US Air Force and NASA to develop a series of autonomous aircraft that derisk the technology and solve urgent national security challenges. These products provide the data and confidence necessary to certify, produce, operate, and maintain safe and comfortable commercial aircraft. Hypersonic aircraft have the potential to create trillions of dollars of new global economic growth per year, unlocking significant resources that can be utilized to solve the world’s greatest problems. (Source: Satnews)
25 Nov 22. Arianespace offers new launch dates for the Vega C mission launch of the Pléiades Neo satellites. After the discovery of a defective equipment when arming the Vega C launcher for the Flight VV22, Arianespace has taken the decision to postpone the launch. In order to replace the equipment, the upper composite of the launcher will be taken back to the payload preparation facilities and the payload fairing will be opened for the intervention.
All the operations will be handled, in respect of the environmental requirements of the two Pléiades Neo satellites and in accordance with Arianespace’s quality policy. In order to secure both launch dates for Ariane 5 flight VA259 and Vega C flight VV22, Arianespace decided to update its manifest, swapping the two missions:
- The new targeted launch date for VV22 now is December 20;
- The new targeted launch date for VA259 –initially scheduled for December 14- now is December 13.
Due to a defective equipment that needs to be replaced on the launcher, Flight VV22 – initially scheduled for November 24th from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana –must be postponed.
The Vega C launch vehicle and the two Pléiades Neo satellites are in safe conditions. A new launch date, in December, will be shared as soon as possible.
On Thursday, November 24, 2022 at 10:47 pm local time (01:47 am (UTC) on Friday, November 25), Arianespace’s first Vega C mission will lift off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, with the 30cm resolution satellites Pléiades Neo 5 and 6. This first commercial flight follows the success, July 13, of Vega C inaugural launch operated by the European Space Agency (ESA).
After liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport, the Vega C launcher will fly powered by the first three stages for a little over seven minutes. The third stage ZEFIRO 9 will then separate from the upper composite, which comprises the AVUM+ upper stage and the two Pléiades Neo satellites. The AVUM+ stage will ignite its engine for the first time about nine and an half minutes, followed by a ballistic phase lasting approximately 35 minutes, in order to reach the injection altitude of the first satellite.
The AVUM+ stage will then restart its engine for a second burn lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds to circularize the orbit at an altitude of 629 km before releasing the first satellite. The next step, 6 minutes and 39 seconds later, will be a 15 seconds RACS boost leading to a new ballistic phase lasting about 36 minutes. It will be interrupted by a third AVUM+ ignition phase lasting exactly 5 seconds, and will be followed by the release of the second satellite at an altitude of 614 km.
Approximately nine minutes later will occur the fourth and last AVUM+ ignition for a period of 61 seconds, that will deorbit the launcher — marking the end of mission VV22, one hour, 53 minutes and 55 seconds after liftoff.
Pléiades Neo 5 and 6 fully funded and manufactured by its operator Airbus, are the two final satellites of the Pléiades Neo constellation that will respectively be the 139th and 138th Airbus Defence and Space satellites to be launched by Arianespace as well as the 120th and 119th satellites launched by a launcher of the Vega family.
The first one, Pléiades Neo 3, has been successfully orbited by Vega Flight 18 on April 28, 2021, and the second one, Pléiades Neo 4, by Vega Flight 19 on August 16, 2021. Built using the latest Airbus’ innovations and technological developments, the constellation allows imaging any point of the globe, several times per day, at 30cm resolution. Highly agile and reactive, they can be tasked up to 15 minutes before acquisition, and send the images back to Earth within the following hour. Smaller, lighter, more agile, accurate and reactive than the competition, they are the first of their class whose capacity will be fully commercially available. Thanks to these state-of-the-art satellites, each step of the acquisition and delivery cycle offers top-level Earth observation services now and going forward for the next ten years.
Vega C, which stands for Consolidation, has been developed to better respond to customers’ needs based on the lessons learned from the first decade (2012-2022) of Vega operations. The launcher has been upgraded with more powerful first and second stage Solid Rocket Motors, bigger AVUM tanks and with a larger fairing that significantly increase payload mass (up to 2,350t in SSO – Sun-Synchronous Orbit) and double allowable volume.
The launcher also better meets the specific needs of small spacecraft, as a result of its improved SSMS (Small Spacecraft Mission Service) dispenser and to its AVUM+ that will allow seven re-ignitions. Vega C can thus achieve three different orbits for its multiple payloads on the same mission, instead of the two previously possible with Vega.
Vega C development program has been managed by ESA. It associates 12 of Member States of the Agency. Avio Spa (Colleferro, Italy) is the industrial prime contractor for both launch vehicle and interfacing ground infrastructure. Avio is also responsible for campaign operations and preparation of the launch vehicle up to lift-off. Avio hands over a “ready to fly” rocket to Arianespace, which sells the Vega C, defines the missions’ requirements, validates its flight worthiness, and operates it from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
During launch campaigns, Arianespace works closely with CNES, the French space agency and the launch range authority at the European Spaceport in Kourou, who is notably looking after the satellite preparation facilities besides being responsible for the protection of populations. (Source: Satnews)
16 Nov 22. EASii IC and ST Engineering iDirect’s demonstration of HTS Free Hopper Project for European Space Agency at Electronica 2022.
Interoperability testing with ST Engineering iDirect’s wideband patented MCM7500 Multi-Carrier Modulator and EASii IC’s Oxford-2 satellite modem ASIC will be showcased during the upcoming Electronica 2022 event in Munich from November 15-18th.
MCM7500 Multi-Carrier Modulator
The MCM7500 is a wideband multi-carrier satellite modulator fully compliant with DVB-S2 and DVB-S2X standards, including Annex-M. The MCM7500 is used in Dialog Baseband Hub Modules as part of the XIF Hub.
The demonstration will be conducted as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Free Hopper project, which aims to validate the technical maturity of advanced DVB-S2X beam-hopping using the DVB-S2X standard. Beam-hopping is a patented technique that allows highly flexible allocation of satellite capacity to areas that need it most.
ESA, under the Artes 4.0 Telecom program, has engaged Airbus France, Honeywell UK, ST Engineering iDirect and EASii-IC France to participate in the HTS Free Hopper program. The two-year project is currently in its initial phase, where equipment interoperability is tested and guaranteed before proceeding with full testing of beam-hopping scenarios.
The demonstration at Electronica, a leading trade show for the electronics industry, exhibits a high symbol rate carrier using the new DVB-S2X Super-Frame format 6 in continuous very low signal-to-noise ratio (VLSNR) mode. Further features can be demonstrated live at stand C2.148 on request. VLSNR is a form of modulation that allows satellite links to be maintained in very challenging link conditions where the useful signal’s power level is well below the noise power level. With a culture of innovation and a long history of pushing technology boundaries, both ST Engineering iDirect and EASii-IC were instrumental in creating the DVB-S2X standard. The MCM7500 and Oxford-2 implement the latest DVB-S2X standard EN302307-part 2 which was first adopted in 2021. (Source: Satnews)
21 Nov 22. Spire Global has unveiled their next-gen smallsat bus. Earlier this month, Spire Global, Inc. revealed the firm’s next-gen 16U satellite bus design — the bus is tailored for customers with missions that require larger payloads and more power, volume, and data capabilities than a conventional 16U smallsat, such as EO and space domain awareness missions.
Spire, which operates the world’s largest, multipurpose, satellite constellation, designs and builds satellites entirely in house at the firm’s manufacturing facility in Glasgow, Scotland. The company has built and launched more than 150 satellites, carrying nearly 500 years of spaceflight heritage across its fleet.
Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova deployer, a custom launch deployer developed in partnership with Spire, has enabled the company to optimize the capacity and volume of the satellite while still fitting into standard deployment settings. The 16U satellite can accommodate payloads of up to 30 kilograms.
Spire Space Services customers can leverage the company’s proven space, ground and web infrastructure to quickly scale their own constellation. In 2023, Spire will launch its next-gen 16U satellites to orbit, carrying payloads for Space Services customers NorthStar Earth & Space and GHGSat.
“Increasingly we’re seeing that our customers’ missions require buses that offer the performance of a larger satellite with the agility of a nanosatellite,” said Joel Spark, Co-Founder and General Manager, Space Services, Spire. “It’s a tall order, but we’ve leveraged our extensive space heritage and experience in satellite design and manufacturing to build a one-of-a-kind satellite bus that checks all those boxes. Our next-gen satellite has been a natural next step for us, driven by the needs of the market.“
“Spire Global is leading the market to address a growing demand for affordable access to space,” said Stewart Bain, NorthStar Earth & Space CEO and Co-Founder. “The timing of this new product fits well with NorthStar’s plans to launch the first commercial space-based services to improve space situational awareness precision and coverage over all near-Earth orbits. NorthStar is pleased to be engaged with Spire in this endeavor as part of a vibrant and innovative space economic ecosystem.”
“This is an exciting time for the space sector in Scotland. Businesses such as Spire Global are delivering innovative new satellites, helping to position Scotland as a global leader for commercial space developments gaining a £1 bn share of the global space market,” said Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee MSP. “We continue to lead the way in small satellite manufacturing, with our manufacturing hub in Glasgow and innovative new designs like the next-generation 16U satellite bus design from Spire highlighting the ambition set out in our 10 year transformation strategy to build an internationally competitive economy founded on entrepreneurship and innovation.”
Spire (NYSE: SPIR) is a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, offering access to unique datasets and powerful insights about Earth from the ultimate vantage point so that organizations can make decisions with confidence, accuracy, and speed. Spire uses one of the world’s largest multipurpose satellite constellations to source hard to acquire, valuable data and enriches it with predictive solutions. Spire then provides this data as a subscription to organizations around the world so they can improve business operations, decrease their environmental footprint, deploy resources for growth and competitive advantage, and mitigate risk. Spire gives commercial and government organizations the competitive advantage they seek to innovate and solve some of the world’s toughest problems with insights from space. Spire has offices in San Francisco, Boulder, Washington DC, Ontario, Glasgow, Oxfordshire, Luxembourg, and Singapore. (Source: Satnews)
21 Nov 22. Rocket Lab completes the final launch rehearsal prior to the 1st Electron mission from U.S. soil. With rocket and launch pad checkouts complete, Rocket Lab is ready for its first mission from U.S. soil at Launch Complex 2 in Virginia. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has completed a final launch rehearsal and is ready for the lift-off for the company’s first mission from U.S. soil as early as December 7th — the mission will occur at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) that is located within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility — a launch pad developed to support U.S. Electron missions for government and commercial customers.
Known as a Wet Dress Rehearsal, this pre-launch exercise sees the launch team carry out the same activities and procedures they will conduct on launch day to ensure the Electron rocket, launch pad, and supporting systems are ready for flight. As part of the rehearsal, Electron was rolled out to the launch pad and raised vertically before it was loaded with fuel and liquid oxygen to verify fueling procedures.
The launch team then conducted a full launch countdown, ending before the final step of engine ignition of Electron’s Rutherford engines. Electron was then de-tanked of fuel and returned to Rocket Lab’s Integration and Control Facility (ICF) at the Wallops Research Park to await launch during a window that extends from December 7 – 20.
The “Virginia Is For Launch Lovers” mission will deploy three satellites for radio frequency (RF) geospatial analytics provider HawkEye 360, with integration of those satellites to Electron taking place in the coming days at Rocket Lab’s ICF.
Meanwhile, NASA is continuing to make progress in certifying its Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) software required for the launch. This will be the first time an AFTS will be flown from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, representing a valuable new capability for the nation.
Rocket Lab has already conducted 32 Electron missions from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand and has delivered 152 satellites to orbit for customers that have included NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office, DARPA, the U.S. Space Force and a range of commercial constellation operators. Electron is already the most frequently launched, small orbital rocket globally and, now with the capacity of the pads at Launch Complex 1 and 2 combined, Rocket Lab has more than 130 Electron launch opportunities every year.
This launch will be the first of three Electron launches for HawkEye 360 in a contract that will see Rocket Lab deliver 15 satellites to LEO between late 2022 and 2024. These missions will grow HawkEye 360’s constellation of RF monitoring satellites, enabling the company to better deliver precise geolocation of radio frequency emissions anywhere in the world.
“This mission is a significant moment for Rocket Lab and a pivotal milestone for Virginia’s long legacy in spaceflight,” said Rocket Lab CEO and founder, Peter Beck. “With wet dress rehearsal now complete, we’re excited to move into launch operations for this historic mission.”
“We are honored to support the launch of this historic mission,” said Ted Mercer, CEO and Executive Director of Virginia Space. “In addition to being Rocket Lab’s first and only U.S. launch location, we will also be building rockets and processing their payload right here in Accomack County – something that has never been done in Virginia. Our partnership with Rocket Lab is a unique opportunity for the Commonwealth of Virginia to create long-term economic development opportunities in the form of high-paying jobs, launch viewing tourism, and construction of new facilities on the Eastern Shore.”
A live launch webcast will at this direct link and will start at approximately T-40 minutes. (Source: Satnews)
20 Nov 22. Sidus Space partners with GTM for LizzieSat™ solar panels. Sidus Space, Inc. has partnered with GTM Advanced Structures for space-proven solar panels integration into LizzieSat™.
Sidus Space is in the advanced stages of developing LizzieSat, a proprietary, partially 3D printed satellite that is expected to launch in 2023. The satellite design uses a combo of eight deployed and additional body mounted solar panels to generate as much as 400 watts of usable power for satellite operations and up to 50 watts continuous for payloads.
Since 2013, GTM has manufactured solar panels for the smallsat market from 1U up to 12U solar panels. In the past two years, GTM has integrated more than 1,400, triple junction cells onto solar panels. This, combined with GTM’s development of a Plug and Play substrate using industry proven methods and products, creates a rapidly producible, highly reliable, cost-effective product.
GTM’s experience, combined with the selection of Azur Space, ensure the efficiency and longevity of power collection that is vital to accommodating vehicle basic operations and supporting payloads throughout their orbital lifetimes. Azur Space assemblies provide space solutions with a higher integration level. Based on their high-efficiency solar cells of the 28% or 30%-Advanced class, the assemblies are additionally equipped with cover glasses and interconnectors.
“We’re excited to partner with GTM, an AS9100 certified company, to integrate its space-proven solar panels into LizzieSat™, providing our satellite with solar power and furthering our sustainability efforts. GTM is utilizing its space-proven solar panel manufacturing heritage, employing industry leading Azur Space solar cell assemblies (SCA) to provide Sidus Space with high reliability performance over the orbital lifetime of LizzieSat™. The solar panels are both fixed body mounted and deployable arrays providing a maximum level of exposure for power generation,” said Carol Craig, Sidus Space Founder and CEO. (Source: Satnews)
25 Nov 22. U.S. Space Force activates + assigns forces to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The U.S. Space Force (USSF) officially activated and assigned U.S. Space Forces – IndoPacific to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in a ceremony on November 22 conducted at Joint Base Hickam– Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir.
USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC is the service’s second component to present forces to a combatant command and the first to stand up at an overseas combatant command. The component is directly subordinate to the Chief of Space Operations for the execution of responsibilities under Title 10 for service-specific administration and support functions.
Having field components dedicated to Space removes layers of bureaucracy and aligns with how other services provide forces to the commander. Additionally, activating the USSF component to INDOPACOM provides clarity to command relationships, roles and responsibilities.
USSF service components integrate at the component level and provide every combatant commander a subordinate space commander, organic space planning and employment expertise, and space command and control focused on the joint force’s operational warfighting priorities and requirements.
USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC will provide USINDOPAC a cadre of space experts who can work with allies and partners to integrate space activities into our shared operations, activities, and investments. By doing this, USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC enhances security stretching from the Indian Ocean across South and East Asia to the West coast of the United States. Furthermore, USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC promotes regional stability and advances U.S. partnerships in the region.
USSPACEFOR-INDOPAC will be headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam in Hawaii (photo below) to maximize synergy with USINDOPACOM headquarters and the existing Air Operations Center.
The stand up at USINDOPACOM is the USSF’s blueprint for presenting forces to the other combatant commands. The nation’s newest service plans to establish two additional component field commands and present them to U.S. Central Command and U.S. Forces Korea by the end of the calendar year. Planning is also underway to establish USSF service components at each of the remaining combatant commands.
“This is truly an historic moment for the Space Force,” said Chief of Space Operations, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman. “This is an important step as we normalize Space into the joint force. Given today’s multi-domain character of war, Space must be deeply integrated with the joint team.”
“Today we double down on our commitment to integrate space across all components, all domains,” said Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of U.S. Space Forces Pacific. “Our task is simple: ensure that warfighters in INDOPACOM maximize the combat effects available from space capabilities — capabilities across all services, U.S. Space Command, the intelligence community, and commercial space.” (Source: Satnews)
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