Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
————————————————————————
14 Aug 23. Viasat Real-Time Earth Opens Ground Station in Japan. Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), today announced the opening of a Real-Time Earth (RTE) ground station in Hokkaido, Japan, now enabling RTE customers the ability to downlink Ka-band payload data in the northwestern Pacific at the site hosted by RTE partner Infostellar. This new ground site gives RTE customers unique access to a strategic location that reduces the time it takes to deliver mission critical data. Viasat is establishing itself as a global leader in Ka-band support for low earth orbit (LEO) missions with its ability to downlink Ka-band payload data with a 7.3m full motion antenna at the Hokkaido site and is postured to support current and future government and commercial satellite programs. For Viasat, the Hokkaido ground station is a vital link in supporting high data rate remote sensing missions in polar and inclined orbits through the RTE network of Ka-band antenna systems.
“We’ve already proven our ability to rapidly integrate with a civilian space agency to receive Ka-band payloads over our fully automated commercial service and have multiple contracts with commercial satellite operators who understand the value proposition of Ka-band,” said Steve Tanous, vice president, Real-Time Earth at Viasat. “Ka-band more than triples the capacity available to downlink earth observation data, compared to traditional high data rate X-band, which translates into more effective and cost-efficient passes for satellite operators.”
Tom Pirrone, CEO of Infostellar U.S., Inc added, “Infostellar is very pleased that our partnership with Viasat RTE also now includes an RTE 7.3M S/X/Ka-band antenna at our hosting site in Taiki City located in the Hokkaido Prefecture. This new capability is already producing fruit for both Viasat and Infostellar clients. We look forward to the continued expansion of our partnership services as our companies continue to expand our reach in Japan and around the globe.”
The Viasat RTE Ka-band footprint now includes sites in Sweden, Ghana, South Africa, and Australia. RTE plans to expand the Ka-band capability with sites in Alaska and Argentina later this year. RTE offers global S/X-band services at all sites.
About Viasat Real-Time Earth
Viasat RTE provides Ground-Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) capabilities in support of environmental, insurance, shipping, energy, and government operations. It is a fully managed, cost-effective ground network that is designed to enable operators with geosynchronous orbit (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites using the S-, X- and Ka-bands, to meet current and future data requirements. Currently, Viasat’s RTE network operates on five continents, with sites in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa.
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to positively impact people’s lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space. On May 30, 2023, Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and resources of the two companies to create a new global communications partner. Learn more at www.viasat.com, the Viasat News Room or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.
About Infostellar
Infostellar is a satellite ‘Ground Segment as a Service’ (GSaaS) provider. Infostellar provides flexible and scalable ground station services enabled by our cloud platform, ‘StellarStation’, which virtualizes ground station networks. Infostellar also provides support for the ground segment operations necessary for satellite operations, such as radio license acquisition and frequency coordination operations. By lowering the barriers to entry in the ground segment, Infostellar empowers new space businesses to build better missions and improve the quality of their service. Founded in 2016, Infostellar is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and has offices in the U.K. and the U.S. For more information, visit https://www.infostellar.net
17 Aug 23. True Anomaly gets regulatory greenlight for first spacecraft reconnaissance mission. Defense-focused space technology startup True Anomaly has received key permits from regulators that will allow it to demonstrate imaging and rendezvous capabilities on-orbit for the first time.
The two authorizations — from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — give the company the greenlight to perform non-Earth imaging and to demonstrate in-space rendezvous proximity operations, respectively. True Anomaly is planning on executing these capabilities using two of its “autonomous orbital vehicle” spacecraft, which the company calls Jackals, during a mission early next year.
The 275-kilogram Jackal spacecraft will launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission, which is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than February 2024. True Anomaly had previously been targeting a ride on Transporter-9, which is launching in October, but CEO Even Rogers told TechCrunch that they decided to move to a slightly later launch date after experiencing some supply chain issues.
“Sometimes there are pressures when you’re building new systems that you experience across the supply chain,” he said. “We were subjected to some of those delays and then it just got a little tight.”
The startup also announced that it had opened its first factory, a 35,000-square-foot facility called “GravityWorks,” in Centennial, Colorado. The new facility will be able to produce a spacecraft every five days, thanks to a manufacturing approach that’s similar to how automobiles are assembled.
“We’re not trying to commoditize spacecrafts,” he said. “There’s some phenomenal companies out there that are just trying to make spacecraft less expensive and fast, but we’re really focused on a national security space and securing the space domain from threats.”
True Anomaly, founded by a quartet of ex-Space Force members last year, is looking to furnish the Pentagon with defensive technology, including an “autonomous orbital vehicle” the company calls Jackal, to protect American assets in space and conduct reconnaissance on adversary spacecraft. The company has found major traction for its tech, raising around $30 million in funding so far, including a $17 million Series A that closed earlier this year.
In a previous interview with TechCrunch, True Anomaly CEO Even Rogers described an “information asymmetry” between the U.S. and its adversaries in space; the company wants to close that gap, by building spacecraft that can rendezvous with other orbital objects and capture images up close.
The company is also planning to provide virtual training and using the Jackal on-orbit as a real-life training system for U.S. warfighters. Last month, True Anomaly debuted a digital and an “on-orbit range” service, which will be able to realistically replicate threats and allow users to train and test tactics.
Eventually, Rogers said the company is looking to roll out more hardware lines and have “potentially hundreds” of spacecraft in every orbit, including cislunar orbit.
(Source: News Now/https://techcrunch.com/)
17 Aug 23. ELA signs first long-term spaceport tenant.
A Korean launch company is set to become the first long-term tenant based at Equatorial Launch Australia’s spaceport in the Northern Territory.
The deal will see Innospace blast-off “several” rocket variants, each carrying payloads of between 50 kilograms and 500 kilograms, into low-Earth orbit from early 2025.
It significantly follows ELA launching three NASA rockets from its Arnhem Space Centre on the Gove Peninsula last year.
On Thursday, ELA announced its first major deal that will see Innospace become one of up to seven resident launchers’.
The pair will now work with the Australian Space Agency to obtain a launch permit – a process that is expected to take between six and 14 months to complete.
Michael Jones, executive chairman and group CEO of ELA, called the agreement a “major milestone”.
“We are delighted to announce this multi-lunch and long-term agreement with Innospace and what we hope is the first of several launch agreements which we have been developing for some time,” he said.
“The launch contract and associated space launch complex agreement, which we have been discussing for over a year, provide Innospace with the flexibility they require around launching a range of launch vehicles at an increasing cadence over the next five years.”
The news comes after ELA earlier this year agreed a separate deal to become the dedicated launch site of American space transportation and rocket manufacturing company Phantom Space Corporation.
It also follows NASA’s launches last year — the first from a commercial port outside the US and Australia’s first commercial space launches.
More than 70 NASA staff travelled Down Under from the Wallops Flight Facility to work on the project.
The first mission saw the sub-orbital “sounding rocket” blast off from the launchpad carrying scientific instruments designed to observe the Alpha Centauri A & B constellations. The three marked NASA’s first blast-offs from Australia since 1995, when launches were conducted from the RAAF Woomera Range Complex. (Source: Space Connect)
16 Aug 23. ANU unveils 40m-tall, particle-firing generator. The irradiation testing beamline was funded by a $2.5m grant awarded by the Australian Space Agency and is now situated in the university’s Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF).
It’s hoped the device – the first of its type in Australia – will save local firms from sending their equipment abroad for testing.
Mahananda Dasgupta, scientific director of the HIAF, told the ABC that space has a range of radiation that can damage equipment, such as gamma rays, electrons, and particles.
“This [beamline] is about the particles, which are like firing a cannonball at a piece of equipment, whereas gamma rays are like throwing ping-pong balls,” Professor Dasgupta said.
It comes as the $100m HIAF – housed within the Department of Nuclear Physics in the Research School of Physics at the Australian National University – celebrates its 50th birthday.
The facility supports Australia’s only experimental nuclear physics program, a major accelerator mass spectrometry program and facilities for ion-beam modification and analysis of materials.
Aside from space research, experts also use it for cancer and solar cell research.
It comes after Space Connect reported last year how the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) was awarded a $1m grant to develop new ways of monitoring test flights of space rockets and hypersonic aircraft.
The money from the Australian Research Council will be used to develop “diagnostic” instruments that could be placed in the air, on the ground or even on high-flying drones.
While hypersonic technology – defined as flying at least five times the speed of sound – is nothing new, countries are currently in an arms race to develop the next generation of missiles that are so manoeuvrable in mid-air they can’t be intercepted or detected.
The advances are also being used to create scramjet-powered, hypersonic spaceplanes, which could one day provide an alternative to rockets for taking satellites into space.
USQ already has its own pioneering wind tunnel that can simulate the effect of Mach 5 speeds on vehicles and the heat it generates. (Source: Space Connect)
16 Aug 23. DARPA to explore technology needed for moon-based economy. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is kicking off a seven-month study of the infrastructure and baseline technology needed to develop a moon-based economy within the next decade.
Through the lunar architecture study, dubbed LunA-10, DARPA aims to establish an analytical framework for “rapid scientific and commercial activity on and around the moon,” between 2025 and 2035, the agency said in an Aug. 15 statement.
“A large paradigm shift is coming in the next 10 years for the lunar economy,” Michael Nayak, program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, said in the statement. “To get to a turning point faster, LunA-10 uniquely aims to identify solutions that can enable multi-mission lunar systems.”
Those “multi-mission systems” could include dual-use military and commercial technology, like a wireless power station that offers communication and navigation capabilities, Nayak said. He likened the agency’s potential role in spurring the lunar economy to its contributions to the origin of the internet.
“Just like DARPA’s foundational node of ARPANET grew into the sprawling web of the internet, LunA-10 is looking for those connective nodes to support a thriving commercial economy on the moon,” Nayak said.
DARPA’s study comes as the U.S. and other countries — as well as commercial companies — plan missions and envision a future economy on the moon. In recent years, DARPA and the Air Force Research Laboratory have started a number of programs that explore satellite sensing and logistics in a lunar environment.
Meanwhile, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency announced in May it is developing a Lunar Reference Frame that will provide the mapping infrastructure to support a GPS-like capability for the moon.
The DARPA effort is focused on “fusing” various infrastructure sectors that have technological overlap into hubs that could be built up in the future, as economic activity on and around the moon increases. Those sectors include: transit and mobility; energy; communications; and other “revolutionary orbital or surface infrastructure concepts.”
While the agency does not plan to fund technology development, transportation to the moon or integration with space vehicles, it will form industry teams made up of companies with expertise in lunar technology. Those teams will help identify enabling capabilities, develop an analytical framework and consider logistical and technical challenges for lunar operations.
DARPA expects the study to begin in November and continue through June 2024. The agency is coordinating with NASA, which is crafting a blueprint for scientific exploration on the moon and Mars. That work includes developing an architecture for a long-term human presence in the region. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
16 Aug 23. ESA chief sees Ariane 6 debut launch delayed to next year. The first launch of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket has slipped into 2024 after an incomplete recent ground test, the head of the European Space Agency suggested in remarks to Reuters.
ESA and manufacturer ArianeGroup, owned by Airbus (AIR.PA) and Safran (SAF.PA), have been carrying out ground tests at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana and in Germany for the new launcher, which is needed to fill a gap in space access after the retirement of Ariane 5 and recent failure of the smaller Vega C launcher.
Part of the last test run on July 18 – a short hot firing of the Vulcain 2.1 engine – was not completed and has been postponed to Aug. 29, ESA said last week in an invitation to a Sept 4 media briefing. Ninety percent of July’s objectives were met and further tests are scheduled for September, it added.
“After this series of tests we plan to consolidate a launch date for Ariane 6,” ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher told Reuters.
Asked whether it was fair to assume that plans for a test launch before the end of the year were now out of reach, Aschbacher told Reuters, “This is fair to say, yes”.
In June, Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury told the Paris Air Forum that first test launch of the new heavy Ariane 6 launcher was scheduled for the end of the year, but that this would depend on the progress of ground tests during the summer.
Aschbacher was speaking during an interview in which he urged European politicians to ignore pressure to weaken climate targets, saying record heat waves and fires visible from space provided “really alarming” evidence of global warming. (Source: Reuters)
11 Aug 23. Canada’s Telesat says MDA to build 198 satellites, shares soar. Satellite operator Telesat (TSAT.TO), has given space tech firm MDA (MDA.TO) a C$2.1bn ($1.56bn) contract to build 198 satellites for its low-earth orbit program. The deal announced on Friday sparked a more than 45% surge in both Telesat’s Canadian and U.S. shares, putting them on track for their best day ever. MDA, meanwhile, rose about 29%.
Telesat said it had earmarked $3.5bn as capital expenditure for the Lightspeed project and that the MDA deal had helped it save $2bn.
The launches are scheduled to commence in mid-2026, with polar and global services scheduled to begin in late 2027.
By using MDA’s beam-forming array antennas and integrated regenerative processor, the redesigned Telesat Lightspeed network will achieve increased network efficiency and enhanced flexibility to focus and deliver capacity to users, the company said in a statement.
The technology would also allow each satellite to be slightly smaller than the ones Telesat was previously considering.
Telesat’s Lightspeed network is designed to serve the connectivity requirements of enterprise and government users, with highly secure, resilient, low-latency broadband connectivity anywhere in the world.
The company launched its first LEO 3 demonstration satellite aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket in July. Telesat earlier on Friday also reported second-quarter results. The company posted a profit of C$519.9m, compared with a year-ago loss of C$4.38m. Revenue fell 4% to C$179.8m. ($1 = 1.3449 Canadian dollars) (Source: Reuters)
15 Aug 23. Astrobotic Building a 3D Lunar Surface for Testing & Research. The 100mx100m high-fidelity test bed is being constructed in Mojave, CA Astrobotic announced today it has begun work on a 100mx100m high-fidelity 3D test field that will mimic the topography and optical properties of the Moon’s surface. This lunar surface analogue test site called the Lunar Surface Proving Ground (LSPG) will be used for a variety of test campaigns, from precise lunar landing technologies like LiDAR scanners and navigation algorithms to lunar rovers and other robotic systems. In addition to providing a realistic lunar topography for spacecraft and rover sensors and systems, this test field will offer a facility for simulating the extreme lighting conditions encountered at the lunar poles.
LSPG will first enhance Astrobotic’s capabilities for testing innovative Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) technologies aboard Xodiac, its suborbital rocket lander. Xodiac is currently scheduled to fly four test campaigns over the next year that will demonstrate high-priority EDL systems that could support government and commercial lunar landings. The LSPG will enhance terrestrial testing for planetary landings and further technology development before spaceflight.
The LSPG will debut as the test site for NASA’s Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge, part of the TechLeap Prize, later this year. In that challenge, three winning teams will fly their sensing payloads aboard Xodiac to simulate landing on the Moon during the lunar night. TechLeap is sponsored by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program.
“The accuracy of the LSPG’s terrain will allow our customers to test their technologies using the closest physical copy of lunar terrain available on Earth. We already have four Xodiac campaigns booked to fly their payloads over the test field, and we’re excited to see how else we can leverage the LSPG to advance the readiness of other critical technologies,” says Jenna Edwards, Director of Propulsion & Test for Astrobotic.
Astrobotic designed the LSPG to simulate a region of the Moon’s South Pole because the area has attracted great scientific interest within the lunar community. The terrain for the LSPG, which will be excavated and covered in a layer of solid, unfinished stucco, is modeled after an actual map of the lunar surface scanned by Astrobotic’s LunaRay system. Maps of the region have already been used to inform flight plans and detect hazards for Griffin’s mission to the Moon, and the LSPG will serve as another dynamic verification method for flight systems.
“LunaRay is an industry-leading capability that Astrobotic has been perfecting for about a decade. LunaRay produces some of the highest fidelity maps of the Moon we’ve seen to date and we’re using it to construct the LSPG. LunaRay will model the LSPG after the South Pole landing site for Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One, carrying NASA’s water-hunting VIPER rover to the lunar surface in late 2024,” says Dan Hendrickson, Vice President of Business Development for Astrobotic.
Astrobotic plans to unveil the completed LSPG later this year at Astrobotic’s Propulsion & Test facility in Mojave, California.
14 Aug 23. RTX Provides Blue Canyon Satellites for NASA Swarm Test Launch. RTX’s (NYSE: RTX) small-satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT), announces successful launch and initial contact with CubeSats for the NASA Starling mission, a technology demonstration aimed at proving the success of cooperative groups of spacecraft operating in an autonomous, synchronous manner or “swarm.”
BCT provided four 6U CubeSats to NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program which is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley for the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The Starling mission is advancing the readiness of various technologies for cooperative groups of spacecraft by demonstrating technologies to enable multipoint science data collection by several small spacecraft flying together. The six-month mission will specifically test onboard swarm maneuver planning and execution, communications networking, relative navigation, and autonomous coordination between satellites.
“We continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said John Carvo, Executive Director of CubeSats at BCT. “By providing heritage hardware for a demonstration such as this, we’re continually optimizing low-costs and quick turns for small constellation programs.”
The satellites will be positioned in a nearly sun-synchronous, low-Earth orbit, with all four spacecraft actively engaged in the experiment.
BCT delivered the first satellite for the mission in 2021. In addition to manufacturing the satellites, BCT is providing operations support for the Starling mission, named after the bird famous for flying in a synchronous or “swarm” formation. Work on this program was performed in Lafayette, Colorado. (Source: ASD Network)
14 Aug 23. RTX Space Sensor to Monitor Coastal Ecosystem Health
- GLIMR will fly aboard NASA satellite
Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, announced today that its Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer, or GLIMR, sensor has completed its Critical Design Review and is now in the build and test phase of the program.
NASA selected GLIMR to be the agency’s first hyperspectral imager in geostationary orbit. GLIMR will collect and process information from across the electromagnetic spectrum, including visible light, infrared and ultraviolet frequencies, to create a highly detailed view of physical and biological conditions in coastal waters.
“GLIMR will help enable us to better study our planet’s oceans,” said David Broadbent, president of Space Systems at Raytheon. “With this new capability, we’ll be able to better track coral bleaching, chlorophyl and plankton health, oil spills and Harmful Algal Blooms, otherwise known as red tide.”
The instrument will provide high-sensitivity, high-spatial and high-temporal resolution measurements of coastal and ocean ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico, parts of the southeastern U.S. coastline and the Amazon River plume. Decision-makers will use GLIMR data to respond rapidly to natural and manmade coastal water disasters, such as harmful algae blooms and oil spills. It will also help improve the coastal ecosystem’s sustainability and resource management.
Raytheon also recently completed their final review for NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations satellite system, or GeoXO, and is taking lessons learned from GLIMR to design the next generation operational weather satellite payload that will launch in 2032.
The University of New Hampshire is NASA’s lead organization for the GLIMR contract, led by principal investigator Dr. Joseph Salisbury, with a team of scientists from partnering universities, NOAA and NASA. The instrument will launch in the 2026-2027 timeframe, and its data will be available soon after to scientists, researchers and educators around the world.
Work for both programs is being executed in El Segundo, California.
(Source: ASD Network)
05 Aug 23. Beam-hopping JoeySat passes on-orbit tests. As they can swiftly switch their coverage between different locations, beam-hopping satellites can connect people living in, or traveling over, wide geographical areas. They can also vary the power of their signals, enabling them to respond rapidly to surges in customer demand, for example, during natural disasters when emergency responders need to communicate with each other.
The beam-hopping satellite — nicknamed JoeySat after a baby kangaroo — will soon demonstrate the technology that will enable a beam hopping satellite in LEO to connect thousands of people traveling by air, sea or on land.
JoeySat was launched into orbit on May 20th., exactly two years after ESA and OneWeb signed the contract to collaborate on the satellite’s creation.
Since then, JoeySat has completed commissioning tests of its platform and payload and initiated its one-year test campaign that includes a digitally regenerative, on-board processor, a multi-beam phased array that incorporates beam-steering as well as beam-hopping antennas.
JoeySat is in a near-polar orbit and will send signals via ground stations in Norway and Sweden to demo the full capabilities of flexible payloads in nexgen constellations with global connectivity. Experiments will include end-to-end communications with dynamic resource allocation, and 5G pilot tests with the University of Surrey.
Developed under the Sunrise Partnership Project between ESA and telecommunications operator OneWeb, with support from the UK Space Agency, JoeySat is demonstrating key technologies for OneWeb’s nexgen constellation.
JoeySat’s fully digital and state-of-the-art payload was built using off-the-shelf components, new space best practices and a lean management style in less than a year. The satellite’s advanced, digital regenerative payload was built by communications equipment company Satixfy and the payload environmental tests were completed in the UK.
“It is exciting to see OneWeb’s JoeySat pass its initial in-orbit tests so that it can move on to demonstrate the huge potential of its innovative beam-hopping technology to enhance connectivity and improve people’s lives, whether that means better broadband services in remote places, or the ability to respond more effectively to emergency situations. The UK Space Agency has supported the mission with more than £50 million to fund both the game-changing technology behind JoeySat’s creation and the development of a wider ecosystem that will ensure a reliable and sustainable end-to-end service. We look forward to watching its next-generation capabilities come to life.” — Harshbir Sangha, Missions and Capabilities Delivery Director, UK Space Agency
“We are proud of this ESA Partnership Project with a large telecommunications operator that also includes small and medium-sized enterprises. By working in a lean style using commercial off-the-shelf components and flexible project management to bring innovative technologies to market in response to commercial needs, ESA is helping to foster innovation in next-generation 5G connectivity. ESA Partnership Projects help European space companies succeed in the highly competitive global market for telecommunications satellites.” — Javier Benedicto, Acting Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications, ESA. (Source: Satnews)
06 Aug 23. Advanced Space Selected for two NASA SBIR Phase I concepts. The first project, won under the Flight Dynamics and Navigation Technologies subtopic, will support NASA’s future efforts to design spacecraft trajectories for vehicles flying in cislunar space using low-thrust propulsion. The goal of NASA’s opportunity is to increase the autonomy of spacecraft heading for orbits at or near the Moon.
Under this subtopic, Advanced Space will develop a mission design and planning tool that uses operational algorithms to mitigate the impact of anomalies and missed-thrust events for low-thrust and dynamically sensitive missions. The tool will be used to generate a multitude of spacecraft trajectories simultaneously to determine the worst-case scenarios to account for margins in the mission design. The proposed solution will be especially useful to future crewed Artemis missions to reduce mission risk more comprehensively. The solution is named CALM or Contingency Analysis for Low-thrust Missions.
This effort builds on the experience developing low-thrust trajectories to near-rectilinear halo orbit, as demonstrated by the CAPSTONE™ program; our ongoing studies for developing ballistic lunar transfers for the Lunar Gateway program; and our efforts to apply neural networks to developing autonomous trajectory planning for spacecraft using electric propulsion.
“We’re excited to win another NASA award, and we look forward to supporting the agency on further efforts in the future. Being awarded these NASA SBIRs is tremendous,” said Advanced Space Proposal Manager Sean Hoenig. “Our ability to deliver innovation to orbit continues to be realized as we meet NASA’s needs by utilizing our unique expertise in astrodynamics.”
Under the second project, Advanced Space will develop deorbit technologies compatible with small satellites, which will reduce the threat of orbital debris posed by large satellite constellations. Our solution, Satellite Collision and Risk Assessment using Machine learning (SCRAM), features a trade study of using Recurrent and Transformer Neural Networks (NNs) to develop autonomous risk analysis for spacecraft collision avoidance (COLA).
These new ML applications in astrodynamics predict future trends in collision risk early and validate collision avoidance maneuvers. By identifying conjunction events early and validating collision avoidance maneuvers autonomously, we would reduce the strain on COLA operators. SCRAM will be developed with the goal of being implemented into future space agency COLA ConOps such as the NASA Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA) team. SCRAM could be applied to mega-constellations and private Space Domain Awareness (SDA) providers.
SCRAM will build upon and enhance our company’s efforts to apply machine learning to astrodynamics problems and to improve the ability of spacecraft to function in space with less need for input from Earth.
“We are grateful for NASA’s investment and partnership in technology development. This proven model has allowed us to demonstrate novel approaches to challenges and to enable future space exploration and development”, exclaimed Dr. Jeffrey Parker, Advanced Space Chief Technology Officer. “We look forward to the execution of these two projects. These will continue our efforts to develop technologies that enable future exploration, development, and settlement of space.”
(Source: Satnews)
04 Aug 23. Resolve Optics: Motorized version of radiation tolerant zoom lens debuts. Purpose designed for use with color 2/3 inch tube and CMOS cameras in high radiation environments, the Model 357-004 provides true, HD quality images over an unrivaled 10x (12-120mm) zoom range. Operating at f/3.6, the Model 357-004 zoom lens provides high image resolution and minimum geometric distortion from 400 to 770 nm. and can image objects from 1300 mm. to infinity. The 357-004 is a tracking zoom lens, meaning that once it has been set up, it will maintain focus throughout the entire zoom range.
“The Model 357-004 was developed to provide better HD color images for the nuclear industry. Offering full motorized control of zoom, iris and focusing this robust lens is easily integrated with most radiation tolerant cameras and sensors. The Model 357-004 zoom lens uses specialised non browning glasses to produce clear sharp images free of the strong yellow tint that has traditionally been a limiting issue when using radiation tolerant lenses on color sensors. The glass used in these lenses can withstand long-term exposure to radiation up to an accumulative dose of one hundred million RAD and temperatures up to 85°C without loss of transmission.” — Rob Watkinson, Customer Support Manager, Resolve Optics. (Source: Satnews)
06 Aug 23. SpaceX’s Sunday Starlink launch sends 22 small satellites soaring. SpaceX was successful with the Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites on Sunday, August 6 at 10:41 p.m. ET (02:41 UTC on August 7) to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida. This is the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER, and one Starlink mission. To date SpaceX has launched 4,881 Starlink spacecraft.
A successful stage separation, resulted in the first stage landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. (Source: Satnews)
07 Aug 23. Benchmark unveils 1st autopilot for satellites + engages in new partnership with Kayhan Space. The category-defining, propulsion solution, called SmartAIM™ (Smart Advanced In-Space Mobility), features an onboard software control solution embedded in Benchmark’s non-toxic chemical, electric and hybrid propulsion systems. Having a more intelligent and integrated mobility solution extends the guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) capability of any spacecraft to offer unprecedented tiers of autonomous flight – ranging from assisted ‘cruise control’ for station keeping and payload pointing to full-blown maneuver planning and execution for collision avoidance.
SmartAIM™ is now available in Benchmark’s common control system across product lines and will reduce operational costs and lead times associated with mission planning and system integration.
Benchmark also announced a strategic partnership with Kayhan Space to integrate the company’s Pathfinder spaceflight safety service with the SmartAIM™ platform. Pathfinder’s capabilities for optimized maneuver planning and autonomous space traffic coordination provide a unique and complementary offering when paired with Benchmark’s SmartAIM™ propulsion solution. This alliance will ultimately drive the full value of SmartAIM™ for collision avoidance and sustainable space operations. Benchmark plans to add Kayhan and other SSA companies to its extensive network of partners with complementary technology and services.
Benchmark has designed, developed, and thoroughly tested its SmartAIM™ intelligent propulsion offering, in part with funding and R&D support from the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and expects the first SmartAIM™-assisted flights to launch in 2024. The cooperative effort among Benchmark’s commercial and government partners has focused on eliminating the laborious, iterative manual satellite control functions, which have become cost prohibitive and unmanageable for many operators as their constellations dramatically scale.
Benchmark’s SmartAIM™ intelligent guidance, navigation and control solution runs on multiple streams of real-time data, from onboard sensors and data relays, that provide vivid situational awareness. The low-latency information feeds and onboard processing include the state of the propulsion system and satellite, where it’s been, where it’s headed, and efficient travel routes around potential issues or threats nearby or on the horizon.
The company expects the first SmartAIM™ systems to launch next year, beginning with collision avoidance and station keeping capabilities in space. The company’s technology roadmap includes next-generation features, which include advanced operator-assist and autopilot functions, in the late 2024 through 2025 timeframe.
Established propulsion providers are at an advantage when developing GNC capabilities. The integration goes beyond hypotheticals and is designed with the detailed specificities of existing avionics and propulsion systems for maximum optimization. By working in unison with additional effectors like momentum wheels, torque rods, and ACS thrusters – the GNC framework is designed for optimizing each maneuver, whether that be for power conditions, fuel preservation, or speed.
The company is laser focused on providing non-toxic chemical, electric and hybrid propulsion systems capable of enabling in-space mobility and the emerging space economy. Benchmark is currently fulfilling contracts for dozens of its new Xantus electric metal plasma thrusters (MPTs), with some on the verge of playing a key role in upcoming in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) satellite docking demonstration missions.
The company is also producing hundreds of its 2N Lynx bi-propellant (HTP + fuel) thrusters this year to meet increasing demand for LEO and cislunar missions. The intelligent maneuver control enabled by SmartAIM™ is being considered by a growing number of missions and operators deploying Benchmark thrusters and propulsion systems.
“The Low Earth Orbit ecosystem is not sustainable without driver assist technologies like SmartAIM™. Benchmark is in full production mode on propulsion systems for several government and commercial missions. Operators are not just looking to Benchmark to provide propulsion hardware, but a full life cycle partnership and innovative bundled mobility solutions to maneuver safely and confidently through space. Large constellations aren’t technically or economically feasible in today’s busy orbits if they’re being controlled with traditional manual and multi-step procedures. SmartAIM™ makes watching over constellations of dozens to hundreds of satellites far more manageable and sustainable. The operational equivalent of falling asleep at the wheel could lead to a Kessler scenario that wipes out a trillion-dollar global infrastructure.” — Chris Carella, Chief Commercial Officer for Benchmark Space Systems
“The game-changing benefits of having SmartAIM™ tightly integrated with Benchmark’s propulsion systems, the host spacecraft resources, and additional effectors, aids in scalability, performance efficiency and sustainability, and operator peace of mind. Operators can lean on Benchmark’s unrivaled propulsion expertise and not get bogged down with the technical details needed for scalable mobility operations in space. The efficiency of the driver-assist and autopilot modes enable operators to get a lot more mileage out of their propulsion systems – driving up mission sustainability while reducing overhead.” — Jeff Gibson, Head of Engineering, Benchmark
“The Kayhan Space mission is all about empowering satellite operators with the information and streamlined autonomous capabilities they need to safely and efficiently navigate through an increasingly congested space environment. We are thrilled to partner with Benchmark Space Systems and integrate with their SmartAIM™ intelligent propulsion solution to maximize safe and sustainable space operations.” — Siamak Hesar, Co-Founder and CEO, Kayhan Space. (Source: Satnews)
13 Aug 23. U.S. military and allies get a feel for the value of commercial satellite imagery. U.S. Space Force imagery specialists during a recent military exercise in South America helped locate illegal fishing boats and track other activities using commercial sensor satellites.
The exercise showed how unclassified data from commercial satellites can be leveraged for maritime security and other military applications, 1st Lt. McKenna Medina, head of the Space Systems Command’s surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking team, said in a news release Aug. 10.
A team from Space Systems Command participated in the 2023 Resolute Sentinel exercise in Lima, Peru. Imagery and data analytics specialists from the United States, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and the United Kingdom worked at Peru’s satellite imagery national operations center.
The best part about commercial products is that they’re not classified, Medina said. “They give users the flexibility to share commercial data with international partners.”
Need for timely data
Despite a commercial boom of easily accessible satellite imagery — which allowed the U.S. government to openly release intelligence on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — DoD has struggled to incorporate these capabilities into military operations.
The Space Systems Command this year established a commercial services office to help support U.S. combatant commanders who need timely data.
The commercial office’s program to procure data from commercial satellites is called SRT, short for surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking. It also has been referred to as “tactical ISR” (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) but the Space Force changed the term to convey that the SRT program is not trying to replace the imagery support provided by the U.S. intelligence community.
The Space Force plans to establish a unit within U.S. Southern Command, and the exercise served as a test for how future operations could be conducted with support from space assets, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Whitaker, Southern Command’s director of space forces. “Our hosts in Peru and Colombia gave us a world-class opportunity to test operational aspects of the future Space Forces Southern Component Field Command,” he said.
Applications for commercial imagery
Gen. Laura Richardson, head of U.S. Southern Command, said space-based data can help address challenges in the region like deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. “Those problems and others that present security challenges in Southern Command — including illegal mining and illegal logging operations — can be identified from space … and that information can be shared among partner nations in the region,” Richardson said Aug. 4 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
During the exercise in Lima, U.S. and allies relied on satellite imagery to identify and locate a vessel suspected of illegally fishing in Peruvian waters. The suspected ships had turned off their radar and gone “dark.”
Satellite data also supported disaster planning by imaging a volcano in Colombia that showed signs of impending eruption. The Space Systems Command team captured commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data showing the conditions of the volcano in Colombia and compared it to data from a Peruvian volcano that had recently erupted.
Capt. Benjamin Berezin, SSC deputy branch chief, said it was “eye-opening to see partner nation imagery applications because it gave the team’s analysts new avenues to work with partners.”
Space Systems Command is trying to “showcase the benefit of commercial technology to combatant commands and partner nations,” said Col. Minpo Shiue, director of SSC’s Warfighter Integration Office.
“We expect all combatant commands to seek out this capability,” he said.
The SRT program office is planning a six-month pilot project to assess U.S. Africa Command’s needs for commercial sensing and analytics products.
Commercial Space Office
The Space Force leadership has made it a priority to take care of combatant commanders’ needs in a timely fashion, said Jeremy Leader, acting deputy director of the Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office.
The SRT program is intended to collaborate with the intelligence community “whereas we may focus a lot more on that timeliness piece, versus the more strategic intelligence piece,” Leader said Aug. 8 at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance forum.
“The big difference between SRT and ISR is really focusing on that timeliness piece,” he said. “As we push for those types of solutions to be able to collect things in a timely manner, the more commercial capabilities that we can bring into that fold, the better we can address the timeliness gap.”
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/Space News)
11 Aug 23. Exolaunch Awarded Multi-Launch Agreement to Deploy Muon Space’s Constellation Satellites on SpaceX Transporter Missions.
- Muon Space awarded Exolaunch a Multi-Launch Agreement (MLA) for at least three satellites to be launched on SpaceX Transporter missions through 2024
- The first satellite, MuSat-1, was successfully launched by SpaceX on the Transporter-8 mission in June 2023
- Exolaunch is providing CarboNIX separation systems and launch management services for Muon Space’s initial satellites
Muon Space, the climate constellation company revolutionizing the way Earth is monitored from space, and Exolaunch, a global leader in launch mission management, integration services and deployment technologies, have signed a multi-launch agreement (MLA) to deploy Muon Space’s first three constellation satellites during SpaceX Transporter missions. Muon Space’s first satellite, MuSat-1, was launched in June via Exolaunch on SpaceX’s Transporter-8 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The successful deployment of MuSat-1 was the first step towards the development of Muon Space’s Climate Constellation, which will use a new generation of sensors to monitor Earth’s climate and ecosystems. MuSat-2 and MuSat-3 are close behind – establishing a regular launch cadence to enable a growing constellation for Climate Intelligence data.
“The experience and reliability of the Exolaunch team ensured an issue-free first launch campaign, allowing our team at Muon Space to focus on our core mission objectives instead of launch logistics and separation systems,” said Reuben Rohrschneider, Chief Mission Architect and Co-Founder at Muon Space. “We look forward to continued collaboration with Exolaunch and SpaceX to launch and deploying our climate data monitoring constellation.”
Muon Space chose Exolaunch for its vast expertise on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and for Exolaunch’s rapidly growing flight heritage, which now counts over 320 satellites launched. Under this MLA, Exolaunch will provide turnkey launch and deployment solutions for Muon Space’s satellites, as well as its award-winning CarboNIX microsatellite separation system through 2024. With a flight heritage of nearly 70 satellites deployed across 14 missions and a patented low-shock design, CarboNIX has quickly become the system of choice for Exolaunch customers launching microsatellites on Falcon 9 and helped Exolaunch to secure multiple new launch agreements.
“We are proud and grateful that Muon Space entrusted Exolaunch with separation services for these critical constellation-building launches,” said Jeanne Allarie, VP Launch at Exolaunch. “It’s a pleasure to work with a team of such distinguished space industry veterans, and we are honored to help them turn their vision into a ‘separation confirmed’. Muon Space can fully rely on regular and on-schedule launches thanks to the SpaceX’s Transporter program when planning their ambitious missions and tackling global challenges from space.”
Transporter-8’s success marks the first milestone in this MLA and represents a significant achievement for both companies, with Muon Space celebrating its first satellite in orbit and Exolaunch surpassing its 300th satellite deployed on the mission. (Source: ASD Network)
————————————————————————-
At Viasat, we’re driven to connect every warfighter, platform, and node on the battlefield. As a global communications company, we power millions of fast, resilient connections for military forces around the world – connections that have the capacity to revolutionize the mission – in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Our customers depend on us for connectivity that brings greater operational capabilities, whether we’re securing the U.S. Government’s networks, delivering satellite and wireless communications to the remote edges of the battlefield, or providing senior leaders with the ability to perform mission-critical communications while in flight. We’re a team of fearless innovators, driven to redefine what’s possible. And we’re not done – we’re just beginning.
————————————————————————