Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
————————————————————————
23 Feb 24. A commercial space flight has successfully landed on the Moon for the first time, opening a new era of private lunar exploration. After an eight-day flight, US-based Intuitive Machines’ unmanned Odysseus lander touched down safely on the lunar surface on Thursday, close to its target, the Malapert A crater near the Moon’s south pole. The descent was fraught with last-minute suspense as mission control lost contact with the lander just as it reached the surface. However, roughly 15 minutes after the targeted landing time, a faint signal was finally received and mission director and chief technology officer Tim Crain announced: “Odysseus has found a new home.” The mission marks the successful return of the US to lunar exploration for the first time in more than 50 years, after the Apollo programme ended in 1972. It is an important milestone in Nasa’s plans to send humans to the lunar south pole in 2026, relying on private companies to help cut the costs of services such as transport, navigation and communications. Bill Nelson, Nasa administrator, declared: “The US has returned to the moon. Today for the first time . . . a commercial company, an American company has launched and led the voyage up there. This shows the power and promise of Nasa’s commercial partnerships. What a triumph!” Nasa has said the creation of a commercially viable lunar economy will be vital to its ambition for a permanent human base on the Moon and, eventually Mars. PLAY | 00:36 US-based Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander touches down safely on the lunar surface © NASA TV / Reuters Thomas Zurbuchen, professor of space science at ETH Zurich who ran Nasa’s science missions until 2022, said the landing “changes the whole paradigm of planetary exploration. Until now everything has been done by governments. With companies we can do it a lot cheaper.” Odysseus’s safe landing was greeted with elation at Intuitive’s mission control in Houston, Texas. In the last few hours the lander had to go into an extra orbit of the Moon because its laser navigation system malfunctioned and engineers were forced to use instruments from a Nasa payload onboard instead. Nasa paid Intuitive $118m to carry six scientific payloads, including instruments to observe space weather from the Moon and a radio beacon to aid navigation. The company was also carrying six commercial packages, including mini-sculptures by artist Jeff Koons, a camera to record the landing and a lunar archive. (Source: FT.com)
22 Feb 24. Luxembourg DoD Partners with SES and HITEC to Augment SATCOM Ground Infrastructure. The Luxembourg Directorate of Defence (DoD) procured two ground stations following a competitive call for tender to enable the Luxembourg Army to improve its resilience by accessing secure satellite communications services, the DoD, SES and HITEC Luxembourg said today.
The ground stations, which will be installed at the Luxembourg Army’s Military Centre in Diekirch, will be used for Luxembourg’s GovSat-1 satellite services in X- and Military Ka-band frequencies, as well as for the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system, the backbone of the satellite communications capability of the U.S. DoD.
The addition of the two new ground stations reinforce resiliency and augment the existing Luxembourg Army satcom infrastructure already built by SES and HITEC Luxembourg 10 years ago, bringing the total number of dedicated antennas to four. The new ground stations unlock the strong potential to scale and add interoperability with the NATO partner systems, in line with the country’s defence strategy for the years to come.
Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg Minister of Defence: “Access to secure satellite communications has always been among the priorities and strengths of Luxembourg, allowing the country to reinforce defence capabilities, as well as enabling fulfillment of Luxembourg’s commitments towards the EU and NATO. To keep the upper technological edge, we will continue to leverage Luxembourg’s globally-renowned expertise in the space sector, to increase our resilience, including that of our armed forces.”
“It is an honour for SES to help strengthen the Luxembourg Government’s defence pillar by adding resiliency to its secure satcom,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. “Following the successful implementation of the initial ground stations by the Luxembourg Army, we are delighted to extend its communications infrastructure that leverages Luxembourg’s GovSat-1 and enhances interoperability with the partner systems.”
“We are proud to be part of the project and once again join efforts with SES to help augment Luxembourg’s defence capabilities with resilient and proven technology,” said Philippe Osch, CEO of HITEC Luxembourg. “The ground terminals to be supplied for the Luxembourg Army’s satcom infrastructure are a source of particular pride for us as they combine the latest technological innovations and a track-record of superior “Made in Luxembourg” quality.” (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
16 Feb 24. SpeQtral Unveils Mobile Quantum Optical Ground Station. TarQis will serve as an access point to SpeQtral’s upcoming quantum satellites, offering a plug-and-play solution for interested users in the government and defense, telco, financial services and data center segments to deploy and test satellite QKD solutions.
SpeQtral has launched TarQis, a Mobile Quantum-Optical Ground Station (Q-OGS) designed to lower the barriers for access to secure communication through satellite Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
TarQis will work seamlessly with SpeQtral’s upcoming quantum satellites, allowing users to quickly familiarize and test satellite QKD technology, prove out use cases and prepare for deploying and integrating QKD solutions into their institutions.
SpeQtral’s Mobile Quantum-Optical Ground Station consists of a modular quantum receiver unit, QKD control server and an optical telescope all contained within a standard 20-foot container, which can be easily transportable globally.
This product uses standard data interfaces and enables users to quickly deploy TarQis at selected locations to allow for long-distance satellite QKD connectivity. It will serve as an access point to SpeQtral’s upcoming quantum satellites, offering a plug-and-play solution for interested users in the government and defense, telco, financial services and data center segments to deploy and test satellite QKD solutions. TarQis can be located at a user’s secure premises to allow direct access to satellite QKD solutions, or can serve as a node within a metropolitan fiber-QKD network to enable long distance QKD connectivity to other metropolitan QKD networks.
SpeQtral’s TarQis solution offers a quick-deploy solution without the need for permanent infrastructural fixtures. SpeQtral currently offers short-term commercial demonstration campaigns for satellite QKD between any two or more locations globally. This allows users to gain first-hand experience with this strategic technology, and plan for broader adoption and operational deployment for the entire organization.
This first-of-its-kind demonstration offering has been conceptualized and fine-tuned through feedback from users across the financial services, government and defense market segments. TarQis has garnered significant interest from stakeholders during pre-launch engagements, and the official launch marks a quantum leap towards the adoption of satellite QKD technologies within an organization’s communication infrastructure and applications. SpeQtral takes pride in offering bespoke quantum-secure solutions for various use cases, and is committed to realizing a global quantum-secure communication network. (Source: https://www.defenseadvancement.com/)
21 Feb 24. iLAuNCH to develop light but strong rocket components. iLAuNCH’s next collaboration will utilise additive manufacturing technology to help it develop light yet strong components that can be used on rockets. The project – the latest to work with start-up New Frontier Technologies – takes advantage of tech that can scale the production of large-scale carbon composite structures which can handle the extreme loads, vibrations and shocks of blast-off.
The $180-m iLAuNCH trailblazer is a partnership between academic institutions and more than 20 industry partners aimed at accelerating the development of the space manufacturing sector.
“This is another world-class approach to lay up space-grade carbon-fibre and then digitally model that for scale and repeatable design,” said iLAuNCH Trailblazer executive director, Darin Lovett.
“As we make progress in developing sovereign capability for space applications, we know these products will also benefit defence, aerospace, and other sectors that require high-value, bespoke composite structures.”
The latest collaboration will also work with ANU and the National Laboratory for X-ray Micro Computed Tomography (CTLab) for testing.
Using an ANU high-resolution CT scanner to assess and mature the manufacturing process, the project will build a “digital twin” of the rocket bodies to assess and improve the fidelity of structural models for simulation.
“The application of X-ray computed tomography (CT) and 3D multiscale modelling at ANU will provide high-fidelity simulation,” said iLAuNCH.
“The CT will capture the detailed microstructure features, such as fibre alignment and voids, that can be reflected in the simulation models.
“3D models will provide a detailed digital profile, with capability for performance simulation of every manufactured component, which is the foundation for digital certification.
“The project lead, New Frontier Technologies, has developed innovative design-for-manufacture (DfM) strategies for scalable, additive manufacturing of space-grade carbon-fibre structures using laser-assisted automated tape placement (ATP).”
It comes after Space Connect reported in October how iLAuNCH would work with New Frontier Technologies to develop light, radiation-proof coatings for LEO satellites.
The organisation said it hoped the project would ultimately bring down the cost of launch, given payloads are usually billed per kilogram of weight by launch providers.
The coatings have to balance saving weight with being able to withstand a range of environmental hazards experienced in LEO, such as UV irradiation, atomic oxygen and space debris.
“These environmental hazards can cause surface erosion, cracking, and delamination of composite materials, which can lead to a reduction in the mechanical properties of the material and can compromise the structural integrity of the spacecraft,” said iLAuNCH. (Source: Space Connect)
21 Feb 24. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced it will launch a dedicated mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia, during a launch window that opens March 20th, 2024.
The NROL-123 mission, called ‘Live and Let Fly’, will be Rocket Lab’s first launch for the NRO from the United States after previously launching four NRO missions from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. It will be Rocket Lab’s 4th mission from Launch Complex 2, a dedicated pad for the Electron rocket located at Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
“Electron has been providing reliable access to orbit for the NRO since 2020 and we’re honored to once again provide critical launch capability, this time from U.S. soil,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “The ability to reliably launch national security missions from pads in two countries is a unique one that offers a rare level of responsiveness and resiliency for small satellite launch. We’re immensely proud to deliver this capability to the NRO, enabling them to maintain the nation’s advantage in space.”
The ‘Live and Let Fly’ launch service was acquired using NRO’s Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract. RASR enables the NRO to explore new opportunities for launching small satellites through a streamlined, commercial approach. NRO missions provide critical information to more than a half-m government users, including every member of the Intelligence Community, two dozen domestic agencies, the military, lawmakers, and decision makers.
The launch will broadcast live at www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream. Media may apply for credentials to cover the pre-launch and launch activities at Wallops by emailing by March 14, 2024.
The mission is scheduled to be Rocket Lab’s fourth launch of 2024 and 46th Electron launch overall. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
20 Feb 24. U.S., Partner Nations Strengthen Space Interoperability During Global Sentinel. International partnerships and cooperation among allies are key components of the United States’ strategy to deter conflict and reinforce safety and stability in space.
Those partnerships were on full display this month as space operators from 25 partner nations gathered to participate in Global Sentinel, U.S. Space Command’s marquee exercise focused on security cooperation and operational collaboration in the frontier warfare domain.
Throughout the two-week exercise held at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, each participating nation organized into Regional Space Operations Centers aligned to maintain command and control across an array of space sensors.
The scenarios presented during the exercise, which concluded last week, were designed to improve space situational awareness and strengthen interoperability among the participating nations.
Italian Air Force Col. Dario Tarantino said improving space situational awareness and maximizing interoperability across partner nations is critical for maintaining safety and security in space.
“One of the issues with the space domain is complexity,” he said. “It’s a complex domain – it’s difficult to understand sometimes.”
He said potential threats in space can often be ambiguous and difficult to understand if those threats are intentional or unintentional.
“That is why we need to increase our sharing of our and our sharing of operations in terms of interoperability to increase our level of comprehension of the complex and ambiguous domain,” Tarantino said.
In addition to the U.S. and Italy, this year’s participants included Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
India and Mexico also attended the last two days of the exercise as observers along with representatives from NATO.
Global Sentinel is the only exercise of its kind that brings together multinational partners in a single venue to collaborate on issues focused on space security.
It represents the recognition among participants that alliances and partnerships are key to ensuring that their shared interests in space remain protected.
Dr. John F. Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, has emphasized the critical role of cooperation among allies as global competitors increasingly look to space as the next frontier of warfare.
In outlining the U.S. approach for maintaining its edge in space last month, Plumb emphasized that these partnerships are key to building “an asymmetric advantage and force multiplier that neither China nor Russia could ever hope to match.”
Global Sentinel, which began in 2014 as a space situational awareness tabletop event among seven nations, has grown in both size and complexity in recent years.
A total of 246 participants, including 177 international partners, were involved in this year’s exercise.
“From a purely numbers perspective, the size of the game has grown significantly,” said Global Sentinel planner Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Mitchell.
Mitchell noted the number of space sensors used and the complexity of the exercise has grown significantly in recent years. This year, participants managed 97 sensors used to maintain space situational awareness, up from 50 sensors at play in 2022.
“Those sensors were modeled in the simulation,” Mitchell said. “They are real world sensors, and just the volume of sensors is so much higher than it was in previous iterations.”
Mitchell stressed that working with international partners to address complex scenarios yields tangible results.
Nations involved in the exercise often face real world events requiring collaboration across partners, and Mitchell said the links built during Global Sentinel are critical to that interoperability.
“We’ve established that lexicon, the ability to talk to each other, and then put that to work in the real world for the benefit of space situational awareness,” he said.
In that respect, Mitchell said Global Sentinel is not just a simulation.
“There are tangible benefits that do come out of this event,” he said.
Other participants echoed Mitchell in noting the benefits of those connections built during the exercise.
“This is a great opportunity for so many people to gather in the same place and spend two weeks together,” said Japan Air Self Defense Force Col. Kimitoshi Sugiyama.
He said participants come away from the exercise with a better understanding of their international partners’ procedures and develop skills that will immediately translate into the real world.
“We have a chance to human connections,” he said. “This is a very important asset.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
18 Feb 24. ELA to blast off suborbital rockets this year. Spaceport firm Equatorial Launch Australia has agreed a deal with a Singaporean rocket company for a series of suborbital launches later this year.
The blast-offs – hinted at by chief executive officer Michael Jones in an exclusive interview with Space Connect weeks ago – will take place on the traditional ELA launch pads at its Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory.
The arrangement with the similarly named Equatorial Space Systems (ESS) is initially an MOU but could lead to a fuller deal for the company to become a longer-term tenant blasting off orbital rockets.
Jones said the two firms were a good fit for each other.
“We have a cost-effective solution for both small and larger rockets,” he said.
“We have facilities for assembly, integration and test of both engines, sub-systems and the entire rocket. The other obvious advantage is our remoteness.
“This makes recovery and operations for sub-orbital launch and testing easier and when offset by the access to the area via a jet-serviced airport and a deep-water port, our customers are all seeing the key attributes that set us apart from other space ports.”
The upcoming launches this year will use ESS’ Dorado rockets which will carry science experiments and technology demonstrator payloads.
However, it could lead to future and more regular, orbital blast offs using the launch company’s Volans rockets that can carry a 500-kilogram payload.
ELA said four other Asian rocket companies had indicated their interest in becoming clients and had visited the Northern Territory to inspect the spaceport.
It comes after a Korean launch company agreed to a deal with ELA last August to become its first long-term tenant.
Innospace will blast off “several” rocket variants, each carrying payloads of between 50 and 500 kilograms, into low-Earth orbit from early next year.
ELA is planning to eventually accommodate up to seven resident launchers initially, but the site has the potential to grow further.
To accommodate the expansion, the company recently unveiled both next-generation horizontal integration facilities and launch pads.
The “state of the art” launch pads can handle weights of up to 450,000 kilograms and feature an 80,000-litre water deluge system to reduce the adverse effects of rocket plumes.
Jones told Space Connect in December the company learned lessons from failed blast offs to help design them.
“Most people didn’t see, but there was a very early version of Starship with the top section coming back,” he explained. “It landed off-centre and had a bit of a residual fire from just the heat that the engine produced.
“Automatic water cannons, for instance, were firing, but missed it because it landed off-centre.
“So I looked at that and went: ‘We really need to have a good system so that we plan for the worst case of having an accident on the pad.
“So we said let’s have pre-wetting, let’s have large, really efficient water deluge for the period of launch.
“And if we have any residual fire, I want to purge all the oxygen out of it. Nitrogen is the best source of that. And there’s a reason why we use nitrogen, as well as the longer term. In the next 18–24 months, we’re likely to construct a liquid oxygen plant on-site.”
Simon Gwozdz, CEO of Equatorial Space Systems, said, “ELA and ESS are bonded not just by the similarity in our companies’ names but also by the common vision for more sustainable, democratised, and flexible space access for the global space economy.
“Together, we are poised for a period of exponential growth as we prepare to launch our upcoming rockets from East Arnhem Land.” (Source: Space Connect)
21 Feb 24. The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).
A joint UK Space Agency/NASA mission to observe and map the heliosphere — the area of space surrounding the Sun.
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is a US-led, joint mission between the UK Space Agency and NASA. The aim of the mission is to observe and map the heliosphere, the area of space surrounding the Sun filled with charged particles known as the solar wind.
Scheduled to launch in 2025, IMAP will travel to the Lagrange 1 point in space between the Earth and Sun, around a m miles from our planet.
The mission will improve the UK’s space weather monitoring capability by transmitting real-time data back to Earth. This will increase our understanding and awareness of potentially damaging solar flares, which can affect vital satellite services we rely on every day, from communications to banking.
IMAP will also be crucial for future human exploration of the Solar System by studying cosmic rays in the heliosphere, which can be harmful to astronauts.
UK involvement
Imperial College London have designed and built one of IMAP’s 10 instruments — a magnetometer called MAG, which will measure the magnetic field around the spacecraft in the heliosphere. This will help us understand more about how the solar wind interacts with interplanetary space.
The MAG instrument was shipped to the US in February 2024 to be integrated into the rest of the mission.
Imperial College will also provide ground support and personnel to support the instrument and science team.
The UK Space Agency has supported the UK development of the mission with £4.2m. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
20 Feb 24. Science and technology projects wanted for potential UK mission with Axiom Space. Up to £15m commercial funding could be made available for British science and technology to fly to space, should the proposed mission with Axiom Space proceed, the UK Space Agency announced today.
- new £15m funding calls open today, as progress made towards potential UK space mission with Axiom Space
- UK Space Agency seeks proposals for best of British science and tech that could fly to space with a team of British astronauts, funded by commercial sponsorship
- Axiom Space confirms active conversations are ongoing with commercial sponsors regarding the mission concept
Two new funding calls – one for science and another for technology demonstrators – have opened, in preparation for an agreement being reached to fly a team of four British astronauts on a commercially-sponsored mission, potentially to the International Space Station.
While the commercial funding for projects is dependent on the mission proceeding, the UK Space Agency is giving scientists, innovators, and businesses the opportunity to submit proposals now to maximise the benefits of a mission in the near term.
Andrew Griffith MP, Minister for Space at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said:
There is huge potential for UK businesses to play an increasingly important role in space exploration and the development of new technologies.
The £15 m funding calls mark a significant stride in our collaborative mission with Axiom Space, and I urge the UK science and technology community to use this opportunity to drive forwards discovery and unleash innovation in critical technologies.
Today’s announcement follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the UK Space Agency and Axiom Space in October 2023, which outlined the plans to pursue a commercially-sponsored UK astronaut mission, and an initial request for ideas for science and technology.
Annelies Look, UK Space Agency Deputy CEO, said: “We want to keep the UK space sector at the forefront of scientific discovery and technological innovation, so this has been front and centre of our work with Axiom Space since October. To deliver the maximum potential benefits to the UK, we are opening funding calls for science experiments and technology demonstrators today, ahead of the potential UK astronaut mission.”
Funding for the Science and Technology demonstrator calls is dependent on the mission going ahead.
Dr Lucie Low, Chief Scientist for Microgravity Research at Axiom Space, said: “Axiom Space is delighted to support the UK Space Agency in its efforts to solicit impactful scientific and technological development projects that can advance the goals of human exploration of space, as well as bring benefit to citizens on Earth. Our Axiom Space missions to date have enabled researchers from across the globe to utilise the microgravity environment for national research and technology development priorities, and we continue to work together to secure sponsorships for this exciting mission.”
Science experiments
The aim of the science call is to support UK-based researchers to design and execute scientific research which uses microgravity and the space environment. Proposals can be from any research area but are encouraged from those that align to the goals of the National Space Strategy, UK Science and Technology Framework, and research priorities identified by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Technology demonstrators
The technology demonstrator call will support the UK’s exploration sector to test innovative technologies within a space environment. The UK Space Agency is particularly interested in technologies that support the National Space Capability Goals, the UK Science & Technology Framework and its five critical technologies: Artificial Intelligence; Engineering Biology; Future Telecommunications; Semiconductors; and Quantum Technologies, or that fall under the Agency’s Space Exploration Technology Roadmap categories, which include Advanced Manufacturing, In-Situ Resource Utilisation, Life Support and Crew Performance.
UK astronaut Tim Peake, who spent 6 months on board the International Space Station in 2015/16 and, in his ambassadorial role for Space, has been supporting the development of the potential mission with Axiom Space, said:
The recent Ax-3 mission set a new bar for what commercial human spaceflight can achieve, with important science carried out by the four European astronauts over the course of the more than two-week flight, from research into cancer prevention to studies of plasma physics and botany.
It’s fantastic to see the UK Space Agency taking advantage of this new era of commercial human spaceflight and working with Axiom Space and the European Space Agency to put a real focus on high-quality science and innovative technology for the potential UK mission.
Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS said:
The UK space sector is a world-leader in a rapidly expanding global space economy, with long-term investment critical to allowing our industry to focus on the development of cutting-edge capabilities. ADS encourage companies from throughout the space value chain to engage with the latest developments. The UK has long been known as a hub of technological innovation in leading science and technology – long may that continue as we take our technology, quite literally, to new heights.
The UK Space Agency is working with Axiom Space on plans for a commercial mission with the full support of the European Space Agency. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
19 Feb 24. Thales will provide satellite communications for the F126 frigates with SurfSAT-L solutions. This modernised system, previous versions of which have been in service with multiple Navies across the world, will ensure improved connectivity even under difficult operational conditions.
- The German Navy will be equipped with SurfSAT-L system, which includes several satellite communication (SatCom) terminals as well as a Land Based Training System.
- This system, offering high-level performance and security, guarantees long-range connectivity in high seas, which is critical for naval ships such as the F126 frigates.
- With this SurfSAT-L new-generation SatCom terminal, Thales demonstrates its global leadership in military communication satellites.
The F126 frigates, designed by Damen Naval, will be the largest in the German naval fleet and will be capable of operating in all latitudes. They require protected resilient satellite communications that meet the elongation constraints between the theatre of operations and the command centres of maritime operations to fulfil their missions.
A total of four SurfSAT-L and one Land Based Training System will be delivered to the German Navy. This milestone marks a further step in the deployment of the SatCom SurfSAT-L new version. This secured naval terminal has become an essential tool in the field of satellite communications. Designed for ships from frigates to aircraft carriers, SurfSAT-L has been used by the French Navy and has already been adopted by five other countries in Europe and the Middle East. The SurfSAT-L is a robust, compact and easy-to-use solution. It has been designed in collaboration with end-users, enabling rapid deployment and mission configuration.
SurfSAT-L’s versatile, high-precision pointing system can cope with extreme situations such as adverse weather and sea conditions, combat speeds and accelerations, as well as electromagnetic warfare. Its radio-frequency power is essential for overcoming severe jamming, interference and cyber-attacks. Its scalability and easy integration make this SatCom an agile communications tool, adapted to all operational contexts. It has been designed to share sensitive and protected data of various kinds (radar data, cartography, voice messages, optronic information, videos, etc.), as well as to exchange welfare data for the crew, including TV and Internet provision and the transmission of administrative data.
F126 will be equipped with a very high-power tri-band (Ka mil, Ka civil, X) SatCom solution enabling simultaneous transmission on these three frequencies. The system is capable to connect to Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites, both military and commercial, for optimal connectivity and extended coverage for the German Navy’s F126 frigates. Even in a multi-spot satellite architecture, the system is able to maintain optimum connectivity.
“Thales SatCom SurfSAT solutions have proven their capabilities in operational use for over 15 years within the French Navy as well as within the naval forces of several other countries in Europe and the Middle East. We are very proud and honoured to be able to count on the confidence of the German Navy to equip its F126 frigates with our new-generation satellite communication systems”, Alexandre Bottero, Vice-President Network and Infrastructure Systems Business Line.
09 Feb 24. New Mobile Satellite Industry Assoc. to advance global connectivity for D2D + IoT services. Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), Terrestar Solutions, Ligado Networks, Omnispace and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat), have announced the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA). The organization will bring significant scale and choice to promote and advance the emerging Direct-to-Device (D2D) ecosystem.
MSSA seeks to develop a global ecosystem use more than 100 MHz of L- and S-band spectrum already allocated and licensed for mobile satellite services (MSS), which is well-suited for integration into a broad range of mobile devices. The non-profit industry association intends to align with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards to extend terrestrial mobile coverage for both Mobile Network Operator (MNO) and Over-the-Top (OTT) internet services.
MSS licensed spectrum advantages include: enabling existing space networks to immediately offer Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) services; an existing international regulatory framework; no interference with terrestrial networks; and more spectrum to advance 5G New Radio (5G-NR) services. MSS spectrum enables all MNOs to offer space/terrestrial integration in their entire service area without having to sacrifice terrestrial spectrum.
By aligning their expertise, along with other ecosystem partners, the founding members support integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to deliver scalable, sustainable, and affordable connectivity to any device, anytime, anywhere. Emerging D2D services can expand connectivity and enable competition across multiple large and diverse segments, including cellular, industrial, government, agriculture, automotive, and others. The Association will foster a D2D ecosystem of solutions providers including terrestrial mobile and satellite operators, OEMs, infrastructure, chip vendors, and others.
MSSA is focused on achieving the following fundamental goals:
- Unlocking interoperable architectures and standards for use in multi-orbit satellite systems, ground infrastructure, and end user equipment
- Enhancing seamless global roaming between terrestrial and multi-orbit satellite networks through the development of recommended specifications
- Achieving scale through improved coordination and cooperation mechanisms among MSS operators to maximize the utility of more than 100 MHz of already available and licensed global MSS spectrum in nations desiring advanced NTN services
- Maximizing scarce multi-orbit space and spectrum resources and employing sustainable network design and operation to enable affordable advanced NTN services
- Advocating for policies, laws and regulations, including those related to rational, efficient, safe and sustainable uses of spectrum and orbits, and where appropriate, objective and quantitative metrics regarding all objects in orbit around Earth
- Providing a neutral forum for coordination of 3GPP NTN and other international standards activities
- Supporting the integration of space networks into national telecommunications infrastructure via trusted local partners and within sovereign regulatory and national security frameworks
- Supporting mechanisms for individual nations to participate in the new space economy via open standards and architectures, and via the space networks supported by MSSA
“Integrating satellite connectivity into consumer mobile devices is a transformative opportunity for the satellite industry. As a coalition of leaders with a unified voice, MSSA will be a driving force in making this new marketplace a reality, while respecting the rights of nations to meaningfully engage and retain sovereignty in a rapidly growing space economy,” said Mark Dankberg, Chairman of MSSA, and Chairman and CEO of Viasat. “The Association will help create opportunities to scale NTN systems via open, standards-based solutions for D2D and IoT. We believe this can be done while preserving critical MSS aviation and maritime safety services and by expanding the markets supporting diverse users through substantial improvements in speed, bandwidth, availability, interoperability and affordability.”
For more information on the formation and mission of MSSA, visit the Association’s website: https://www.mss-association.org/ (Source: Satnews)
10 Feb 24. True Anomaly’s 1st Jackal AOVs are ready for launch at Vandenberg SFB. True Anomaly‘s first two Jackal autonomous orbital vehicles (AOVs) have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base and have completed functional testing, fueling, and mating to the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rideshare plate. The satellites are officially ready for launch as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission no earlier than March of 2024.
Photo of the True Anomaly team, courtesy of the company.
Once on orbit, True Anomaly will commence with “Mission X”—what the company has internally dubbed the flight test and demo of the first two Jackal AOVs. The Jackals will capture high-resolution images and full-motion video (FMV) of one another while maneuvering in close proximity. This type of activity, known as rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), is one of the most challenging space missions to master.
The goals of Mission X are to demonstrate RPO for advanced non-Earth imaging, test and evaluation, and on-demand training. With this milestone, True Anomaly is one step closer to delivering space capabilities that support deterrence and secure space for future generations.
True Anomaly Spacecraft team member Eli Peterson, a Senior Automation Engineer, helps prepare the Jackal AOVs to ship from Centennial, Colorado, to Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Photo is courtesy of the company.
“What the True Anomaly team has accomplished in just under 18 months is incredible,” said Sean Ozdemir, Director of Spacecraft Development. “What began with a white board and three-person team working in a small office above a coffee shop has transformed into a 35-person spacecraft team with exceptional breadth and depth of industry expertise. Not only did the team build two complex and capable ESPA-class spacecraft—they stood up the production process, in-house test facilities, and built the factory in parallel. I’m extremely proud of this team for accomplishing this milestone and look forward to soon validating our capabilities on-orbit.”
“Not all spacecraft fit into the binary designations of ‘expensive and effective’ or ‘inexpensive, but compromised,’” said Even Rogers, True Anomaly CEO and Co-Founder. “With the Jackal AOV, we’ve designed an attritable system with which we can iterate quickly and build rapidly at scale without compromising on mission effectiveness. This is a new class of space vehicle, purpose-built for national security space missions. It was designed for operators, by operators in partnership with world-class engineers. I could not be prouder of our team for designing, building, and testing two novel spacecraft in record time without sacrificing on excellence and quality. We acknowledge that the hard proof lies ahead of us as we look toward the Jackals’ first orbital flight and tech demonstrations. Go, Jackal. Go, True Anomaly. Go, U.S. Space Force!” (Source: Satnews)
————————————————————————-
At Viasat, we’re driven to connect every warfighter, platform, and node on the battlefield. As a global communications company, we power ms 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.
————————————————————————