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14 Mar 24. Terran Orbital Unveils Next-Generation SmallSat GEO™ Solution.
Addressing Evolving Needs for Agile, Cost-Effective Geosynchronous Communications
Highlights:
- Enhanced maneuverability enabling precise adjustments within geosynchronous orbit to meet mission demands.
- Affordable small satellite GEO solutions with shorter lead times compared to traditional options.
- Designed for potential integration with existing communication constellations.
Today, Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) (“Terran Orbital” or the “Company”), a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, announced their entrance into the small satellite geosynchronous orbit (GEO) market with their SmallSat GEO™ solution for satellites above 500kg. This will be unveiled at the SATELLITE 2024 trade show, happening March 18-21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. Visit us at Booth #2251 and experience our next-generation SmallSat GEO solution through immersive augmented reality.
SmallSat GEO is intended for the communications market and can operate in geosynchronous orbit and provide higher power and performance than may have been needed in low earth orbit (LEO). The geosynchronous market is moving more towards small satellites with more and more GEO spacecraft ordered in the small size class. Terran Orbital is leveraging its investment in a 94,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing facility with automation in build and test, as well as three previous GEO missions, to expand into this market.
“Our customers require agility, affordability, and the ability to adapt their geosynchronous communication architecture,” said Marc Bell, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer at Terran Orbital. “We can bring our LEO small satellite heritage to GEO and provide the agile customization that our customers have come to expect and value.”
Key strengths of Terran Orbital’s SmallSat GEO capability:
- Performance & Power: Gives customers a high-performing platform compactly packaged to support missions with the best price/bit offering.
- Payload: Adaptable to commercial/customer-provided or Terran Orbital-supplied payloads. Allows for independently steerable multi-beam arrays. Supports multiple reflectors.
- Cost: Significantly lower cost, with a faster delivery timeline than traditional GEO.
By offering this new capability, Terran Orbital further solidifies its position as a leader in cost-effective responsive space solutions. The company remains committed to developing innovative and cost-effective technologies that empower the national security community and revolutionize the future of space exploration. Click here to learn more about our spacecraft solutions. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
12 Mar 24. ICEYE expands high-resolution SAR data products with Dwell Fine imaging mode. ICEYE’s Dwell Fine is unique in commercial SAR satellite imagery. As a satellite orbits the Earth in Dwell Fine mode its radar signals focus on a defined area of the planet’s surface to create an image for 25 seconds – in contrast to the usual 10 seconds for a standard Spot image. Thanks to the longer duration imaging mode, Dwell Fine users can determine the shape of an aircraft’s fuselage, wings, stabilizers, and engines; recognize narrow objects like power lines and antennas; or evaluate the extent and nature of damage to civil infrastructure. Short videos, composed of multiple images taken during collection and delivered as part of the Dwell Fine services, can detect vessels’ movement, direction, and speed.
With its many practical applications, Dwell Fine can detect and emphasize the differences between human-made and natural features. And because images in Dwell mode are taken from a much more comprehensive range of angles, it can perceive objects through gaps in the trees and foliage.
Owner and operator of the world’s largest constellation of SAR satellites, ICEYE first introduced its Dwell mode in May 2023. With the introduction of Dwell Fine less than a year later, ICEYE underlines its commitment to constant innovation in serving private and public sector organizations globally with the most advanced commercial Earth Observation capabilities and SAR satellite imagery.
John Cartwright, ICEYE’s SVP and Head of Data Product, said: “Dwell is a first-in-the-world capability that just evolved into an even better one with the introduction of Dwell Fine. Sharpening the resolution down from one meter to 50 centimeters produces SAR satellite images with incredible clarity. This – combined with the ability of ICEYE satellites to observe any location on Earth every few hours, day or night, and in any weather – enables a level of change detection that’s never been possible before.”
ICEYE’s radar antennae are one-of-a-kind in the SAR satellite sector, controlled by software to direct the radar beams to areas of interest as needed. This technology confers unique capabilities in the sector and provides greater versatility in imaging modes – ranging from the fine granularity of Dwell Fine to views covering tens of thousands of square kilometers. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
13 Mar 24. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today launched its 45th Electron rocket, successfully deploying a fourth synthetic aperture radar satellite to Synspective’s Earth-observation constellation.
“Owl Night Long,” a dedicated mission for Synspective, launched from Pad B at Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 04:03 NZDT March 13, 2024 (15:03 UTC, March 12). The mission delivered a single spacecraft, the StriX-3 satellite, to a 561km Sun Synchronous Orbit, where it joined Synspective’s growing constellation.
Rocket Lab has been the sole launch provider for Synspective’s constellation, previously delivering three satellites across launches in September 2022, February 2022, and December 2020. Rocket Lab will launch two more missions for Synspective as part of a multi-launch agreement signed in 2023.
“Owl Night Long” was Rocket Lab’s third Electron mission of 2024. Rocket Lab’s next launch is scheduled to liftoff no earlier than March 20th from Launch Complex 2 in Wallops, Virginia for the National Reconnaissance Office. (Source: ASD Network)
13 Mar 24. Space Force Chief Says Shift to Warfighting Posture Continues Despite Slight Budgetary Decrease. During fiscal year 2025, the Space Force will continue to invest in areas key to obtaining a warfighting posture despite a proposed 2% downturn in next year’s budget, according to the agency’s chief of space operations.
While discussing the current state of the Space Force during a broad-ranging, half-hour interview with Defense One yesterday afternoon, Gen. Chance Saltzman said the approximately $600 m reduction from the Space Force’s FY 2024 budget isn’t holding the agency back from focusing on areas necessary to face off against potential adversaries.
“We are still investing heavily in resilient architectures to make sure we can continue to provide missile warning, satellite communications and precision navigation and timing,” Saltzman said, adding that the Space Force has also invested heavily in operational tests and training infrastructure to make sure the service’s personnel, known as Guardians, have proper training to face potential threats on the horizon.
“There lots of areas that I feel very comfortable that we’ve plussed-up and that we’re increasing to make sure we can meet all the requirements,” Saltzman added.
The FY 2025 Space Force budget request for $29.4 bn is down from the FY 2024 request for $30 bn. The reductions come in the areas of research, development and testing and evaluation, along with procurement.
The Space Force budget is included in the overall Department of the Air Force budget. According to the Air Force, the FY 2025 Space Force budget request “focuses on comprehensively fielding equipment and trained Guardians with sufficient sustainment funding to conduct prompt and enduring operations against any adversary. It presents major investments in fielding combat-ready forces for a growing and maturing service.”
Along the lines of “comprehensively fielding equipment,” the $4.7 bn FY 2025 budget request for procurement is $400 m less than last year’s. However, requesting less money in that department isn’t necessarily indicative of a problem, according to Saltzman.
“I don’t think there’s a particular problem, he said. “It’s just the timelines that come with us estimating what we’re going to need in the future.”
Spotlight: DOD Space Strategy
To illustrate this, the general pointed out that the Space Force purchases some of its rockets for launching satellites two years in advance, and planning for the acquisition of those rockets takes place even further out from the purchase date.
“And, so, as we get closer to execution, we modify and refine those estimates to make sure that we don’t buy anything that we don’t need or can’t use,” Saltzman said. “And that’s what you’re seeing this year.”
On the topic of Space Force Guardians, whose portion of the budget request remained unchanged from the last fiscal year, Saltzman said the Department of the Air Force recently announced a re-optimization plan that focuses on training-up the Space Force personnel to be at the highest level of readiness standards.
“We want to develop advanced training,” Saltzman said. “We’re re-scoping all the education, training and experience opportunities to make sure our Guardians are ready.”
“I want to put tools in their hands this year, so they can start to practice, they can ask questions of themselves rather than forwarding questions all the way up to the leadership, they can solve problems at their level,” Saltzman continued. “They’re hungry for it, and I’m just trying to take advantage of that this year.”
The Space Force’s $29.4 bn proposed budget for FY 2025 is the smallest request of the U.S. armed forces, with the overall Air Force request being $217.5 bn. The Army is requesting $185.9 bn, and the Department of the Navy—including the Marine Corps—is requesting $255.7 bn.
The White House made President Joe Biden’s proposed DOD budget for FY 2025 public on Monday. Congress will now spend the coming months legislating over authorizations and related appropriations. (Source: U.S. DoD)
13 Mar 24. ADF to gain breakthrough satellite voice tech. ADF personnel situated thousands of kilometres away from each other in remote locations will soon be able to send secure voice messages following a pioneering experiment.
Fleet Space Technologies – best known for its mining tech – made the breakthrough by updating the software on one of its existing LEO Centauri satellites.
The successful demonstration of “push to talk” (PTT) messages follows the SA-based business being awarded a AUD$6.4 m contract by Defence Space Command last year as part of the ASCEND2LEO program.
The project was supported by SmartSat CRC – a collaboration between universities and research organisations that partner with industry – and the UniSA-backed Safety from Space.
Fleet called the innovation a “major leap forward in tactical communications capabilities” and said its Centauri satellite is now the “smallest voice-capable satellite on Earth”.
“Custom waveforms are a critical part of enabling high-performing satellite capabilities,” said Dr. Mark Rice, founder of Safety From Space.
“We’re excited to continue working with partners to help build secure and resilient satellite-based solutions in support of the ambitious objectives of the Australian private and public sectors.”
The live demonstration was hosted by the Defence Science & Technology Group (DSTG) and abided by a “strict criterion” for one-way voice transmission, including voice quality, reliability, and link persistence across “thousands of kilometres in manifold operational environments”.
Space Connect previously reported that the ASCEND2LEO program seeks to identify how commercial space capabilities can support Australia’s national security objectives.
Professor Andy Koronios, chief executive officer of SmartSat, said last year, “ASCEND2LEO is an ambitious project and a prime example of how SmartSat can help our partners successfully develop and demonstrate innovative Australian technology to customers such as Defence.
“It delivers one of the Defence Space Strategy objectives, being that ‘Defence may benefit from repurposing civilian technology for military means, without having to invest in R&D or venture incubation’.
“SmartSat was able to work with Fleet to develop a proposal to do just this — repurpose technology being used for world-leading mineral exploration, and technology SmartSat developed to build more resilient search and rescue infrastructure into a demonstration of tactical voice communications.” (Source: Space Connect)
14 Mar 24. SpaceX’s third Starship test flight gets FAA green light. The FAA on Wednesday granted SpaceX a license to test-launch the company’s Starship rocket system from Texas, according to the agency’s website, paving the way for another early demonstration of a spacecraft crucial to Elon Musk’s satellite launch business and NASA’s moon program.
“The FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees launch site safety, said in a statement.
The regulatory sign-off came less than 24 hours before Starship’s targeted launch time of 7 a.m. CDT (1200 GMT)on Thursday from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, launch facilities, where the rocket’s first two attempts to reach space blasted off from last year.
Starship, a towering two-stage rocket system that will become the centerpiece of Musk’s space launch business, will aim to fly farther and clinch more testing objectives than its last two flight tests, including the reignition of the system’s upper stage engine and opening its payload door in space.
Unlike the last two tests, both which ended in explosions before reaching a planned splashdown target in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, the Thursday test flight will launch on a trajectory bound for the Indian Ocean, a flight profile picked by SpaceX to enable the mission’s new test objectives, the company said.
Starship’s window to launch on Thursday – and on Friday, as a backup – is from 7 a.m. to 8:51 a.m. CDT (1200 GMT to 1351 GMT), SpaceX said.
NASA, under a roughly $4 bn contract with SpaceX, plans to use Starship in the next few years to send the first crew of humans to the moon’s surface since the Apollo era more than half a century ago.
The upcoming Starship test is an early demonstration on a long path to prove itself capable of safely getting astronauts to the moon, a feat that will involve other NASA spacecraft and require extra fuel for Starship supplied in space by a fleet of “tanker” refueling Starships.
(Source: Reuters)
13 Mar 24. Australia demonstrates satellite-enabled push-to-talk capabilities. South Australia-based Fleet Space Technologies has demonstrated push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities using a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite as part of an Australian military project on satellite communications (satcom). Fleet Space implemented a “software update” to its Centauri 4 satellite, currently in LEO, that enabled the satellite to deliver tactical PTT communication capabilities for the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) Joint Capabilities Group (JCG), the company said in a media release on 12 March.
“Built with the world’s first 3D-printed all-metal patch antennas and advanced field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), this demonstration showed that Centauri satellites can be reprogrammed to deliver high-quality, fit-for-purpose voice capabilities while in orbit,” Fleet Space added. According to a company document, Fleet Space has a fleet of eight Centauri satellites. (Source: Janes)
11 Mar 24. Four Spiral Blue computers launch aboard Transporter-10 mission. Four of Sydney-based Spiral Blue’s SE-1 edge computers have been launched into orbit aboard the SpaceX Transporter-10 mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida. This successful launch brings the total number of Spiral Blue computers in orbit to 8 and also marks the first customer missions carrying the SE-1.
Two computers are launching as part of customer missions, with the other two being operated by Spiral Blue.
The two Spiral Blue-operated computers are part of Project Rainbow Python, the first Australian hyperspectral mission. These will enable an expansion of the YCIS (Your Code In Space) program launched by the company in 2023 that allows users to test drive Spiral Blue hardware in orbit.
Of the two customer-operated SE-1 computers, one forms a critical component of Esper Satellites ‘Esperesso’ hyperspectral imager. The mission is designed to unlock the hidden secrets of Earth’s surface by exploring chemical compositions with HSI technology.
The second SE-1 is providing edge computing capabilities for an undisclosed customer’s satellite.
“Our customers are using our hardware to carry out onboard processing and to control imaging hardware,” said Co-Founder James Buttenshaw. “The hardware launched by Spiral Blue will, among other things, be utilised to offer our YCIS service once more, helping future customers test-drive our hardware in orbit. We anticipate being able to commence operations in around one month’s time.”
Spiral Blue has various other customer and test missions planned this year, it says, with additional SE-1 computers scheduled to launch later in the year, as well as the release of the company’s next generation space edge computer by Q3. The SE-2, which is based on the Orin NX, will boast greater processing power as an additional product offering alongside the SE-1. (Source: https://www.ex2.com.au/news/)
08 Mar 24. France prepares for space wars in ‘AsterX’ European exercise. In silent orbit around Earth, a potentially hostile satellite approaches an allied communication node, intentions unknown.
French Space Command has determined the move is deliberate, and intelligence shows the enemy spacecraft is equipped with a robotic arm that would allow it to de-orbit the friendly asset. The French-led blue team moves a “patroller” satellite into a protective position – a capability France is working on, but now lacks – to block any hostile action by the U.S.-led red team.
While fictional, the scenario played out March 7 during Europe’s largest space wargames is credible and based on real capabilities, said Colonel Mathieu Bernabé, who is leading the exercise. During the event called AsterX 2024, some 190 participants from France and 15 partner countries are training for everything from jammed space communications to hostile satellites maneuvering to take out friendly orbiters.
“This type of exercise is absolutely essential for our operators, but also our processes, training for what we call operational readiness, so we’re ready to fight a real war,” General Philippe Adam, the commander of France’s space command, said during a presentation of the exercise in Toulouse in south-west France. “It’s as realistic as an exercise scenario can be, obviously – inspired by a lot of things you’ve probably recognized.”
Adam said, “unfriendly behavior” by Russian satellites, with uncoordinated and unannounced approaches, happens “all the time,” in all orbits.
Space is becoming more dangerous, and militarization is on the rise, Adam said. Earth orbits have become busier, with increased competition between commercial players and states, while satellites are becoming a lot more capable and maneuverable.
Space-based systems have become an integral part of military operations, from communication to ballistic-missile detection, navigation, planning and targeting. Meanwhile, the value of the space economy rose 8% to $546 bn in 2022, according to the non-profit Space Foundation.
French President Emmanuel Macron created a military space command in 2019, with the goal of boosting the country’s awareness of the security situation in space, and to better protect its satellites. France had 91 satellites in orbit in February 2023, the most of any European Union country, according to data published by Statista.
AsterX is “absolutely essential” for ramping up French Space Command, which doesn’t have operational status yet, though it’s performing operations, Adam said. The command is expected to pass an initial stage of operational qualification when it moves into new headquarters in Toulouse next year, and targets full operational capability by 2030.
France is organizing the AsterX wargames for the fourth year, pitting the French-led blue team against the fictional country of Mercure, an adversary trying to destabilize the nation of Arnland. What’s new this year is that the red team, with “significant” space resources, is played by U.S. Space Force personnel, the first time a foreign nation plays the role of adversary.
The exercise simulates more than 4,000 objects in orbit, spinning around in simulated space already days before the exercise, and with the blue and red teams not fully aware of the spatial capacities of their adversary. The knowledge gaps create an intellectual challenge, and the red team being played by the U.S. results in a non-deterministic scenario, Bernabé said.
“AsterX is a laboratory in which you’re confronted with situations, where you experiment with solutions, and get feedback,” Bernabé said. “The challenge is to train how to manage a space situation, but backed up by an inter-army and multi-domain environment, which also means cyber or informational, so this scenario provides for conditions that enable us to play the full spectrum.”
Americans playing the red team provides an additional element of surprise to the exercise, according to Bernabé.
The exercise runs through to March 15 and will include 14 different types of threats and 23 events, within the scenario of a gradually worsening crisis, headed towards high-intensity warfare. Adam said a crisis situation is a useful exercise, as there’s “a lot of ambiguity” to be resolved, while a high-intensity scenario is in some ways simpler because “anything goes.”
Worst-case scenario
A worst-case scenario for orbital conflict would be generalized war with a completely uninhibited enemy attacking satellites “quite indiscriminately,” according to Adam.
“Then we’re going to be losing satellites all over the place, we’re going to lose resources, we’re going to create debris, and then it’s a bit of a snowball effect,” Adam said. Failure to quickly stop such an adversary would create “a problem that will last for decades. Once you’ve created debris everywhere, some orbits become completely inoperable.
”So yes, a generalized conflict in space would be very, very bad news.”
Through the exercise, France also seek to develop a common culture of space operations with its allies and partners, under realistic threat conditions. In addition to the U.S., countries participating in AsterX include the U.K., Japan and South Korea, as well as a number of EU partners.
“We understand each other better after this exercise, in the nature of the responses we can provide, since we’ve experimented with things together,” Bernabé said.
Interoperability challenges between countries’ space forces are “extremely numerous,” including distinct vocabulary for the same things and different procedures and policies, according to Adam.French Space Command targets about 500 personnel in 2025, from around 350 now, according to Adam. He said partners such as Japan, Germany and Italy are creating commands similar in size, between 300 and 600 personnel, adding that human resources are “a tremendous problem” for everyone.
Those goals compare to around 13,900 staff for the U.S. Space Force at the end of December. France doesn’t have the ambition of creating anything similar, which would require “being rich like an American,” the general said.
In addition to the new Toulouse headquarters, the main priority for France is to get patroller satellites into orbit, according to Adam. He said the country also needs to strengthen the terrestrial part of its space capabilities, and needs more space-surveillance sensors.
He said the country’s Yoda agile satellite demonstrator, which has been held up by a lack of launch slots, may become operational “in the next few months,” with operational space-patrol capacity following within one to two years.
“These are not very big satellites, they’re not very complicated satellites,” Adam said. “What’s most complicated is knowing how to use them.” And that’s what France is preparing for with AsterX. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
11 Mar 24. Gilmour Space’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport granted Australia’s first orbital launch facility licence. Australia’s first orbital launch facility has been granted a licence under the Space (Launches & Returns) Act 2018. Located within the Abbot Point State Development Area in north Queensland, the Bowen Orbital Spaceport is built and operated by Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies, which plans to offer commercial orbital launch services – including satellite platforms and dedicated/rideshare launches – to Low Earth Orbits (LEO).
The Bowen Orbital Spaceport received grant funding from the Australian Government as part of the Modern Manufacturing Strategy and is co-funded by the Queensland Government and Gilmour Space. The licence is a vote of confidence in the company’s technical capability and paves the way for the launch of Australia’s first sovereign-made rockets, ‘bridging Country to Sky’, says the company.
Gilmour Space Technologies has also secured approval from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, enabling the operation of the spaceport at Abbot Point.
“Australia now has its own ‘road’ to space,” said Gilmour Space Co-founder and CEO, Adam Gilmour. “The ability to launch our own satellites, on launch vehicles that we own and control, to key orbits in space from Australia, will be a significant capability for our global customers, as well as for our nation and allies.”
Added James Gilmour, Co-founder and Head of Launch Operations at Gilmour Space: “It’s been two years since we started the project, engaging with the Juru traditional owners and other stakeholders at the local, state and federal levels. We’ve seen these efforts lead to diversified business opportunities, jobs, and investment in Bowen and greater Whitsunday region; and it will be exciting to see ‘rocket tourism’ emerging to support the local economy.”
Eris TestFlight 1 is targeted to launch in the coming months, pending approval of the launch permit by the Australian Space Agency.
(Source: https://www.ex2.com.au/news/)
11 Mar 24. Capricorn Space joins Saber Astronautics Marketplace for space operations. Adelaide-based Saber Astronautics has formed a strategic partnership with Capricorn Space a leading Australian satellite ground station services provider. This collaboration is set to significantly bolster Saber Astronautics’ Responsive Space Operations Centre (RSOC) program, incorporating Capricorn Space’s advanced satellite ground station capability into its expanding SATCOM marketplace.
The RSOC is Saber’s mission control program offering satellite operations and traffic support. With several mission control centers based in Australia and Colorado, the RSOC provides a global “follow-the-sun” service for large numbers of satellites. The service includes an open marketplace for satellite communications (SATCOM) giving satellite owners the ability to select a service that scales to their needs.
“We are delighted to welcome Capricorn Space to the RSOC program and our SATCOM marketplace,” said Dr Jason Held, CEO of Saber Astronautics. “They are leaders in the community with an exceptional offering in the West Australia region with antennas available to support missions up to GEO and beyond.”
The partnership aims to expand the operational reach of satellite communications, serving a diverse clientele across the defence, commercial, and research sectors. Capricorn Space joins a wide range of RSOC’s commercial space providers in support of client missions, connecting the RSOC to its S/X-Band antennas.
Mark Thompson, CEO of Capricorn Space, commented, “Supporting fellow members of the emerging Australian Space community such as Saber Astronautics is a priority for Capricorn Space as we can offer unique world-class sovereign capability that has been privately funded and established over the past 5 years.” (Source: https://www.ex2.com.au/news/)
11 Mar 24. Frond Space to provide dragsail system for Gilmour Space satellite. Frond Space Systems, a New Zealand-based company specialising in deployable space technology, will provide a dragsail system for Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies’ MMS-1 satellite mission.
The MICRO dragsail system, developed by Frond, is a lightweight and compact device that can be deployed at the end of a spacecraft’s life to increase its drag and accelerate its deorbiting. The system aims to enhance space sustainability and reduce the risk of space debris, thereby ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
“The new five-year deorbit requirement introduced by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a great step in the right direction for the responsible and sustainable use of the space environment,” said Mr Kody Cook, Head of Satellites at Gilmour Space.
“Products like the MICRO dragsail system developed by Frond Space will be critical for meeting these requirements. It’s also a core part of our strategy to support the growth of the trans-Tasman supply chain and start-up ecosystem as we continue to develop future platforms.”
The Gilmour MMS-1 satellite mission, scheduled for launch in early 2025, will deploy a 100-kilogram class microsatellite to low Earth orbit. Frond’s dragsail system will be attached to the satellite and activated after the completion of the mission. The contract reflects Gilmour Space’s commitment to the principles of responsible and sustainable space utilisation. (Source: https://www.ex2.com.au/news/)
02 Mar 24. Rocket Lab reveals their spacecraft bus lineup. The spacecraft share many common components and subsystems, designed and manufactured in-house by Rocket Lab, including carbon composite structures, star trackers, reaction wheels, solar arrays, radios, separation systems, avionics, flight and ground software.
Rocket Lab’s family of spacecraft includes:
Photon: The original Rocket Lab spacecraft, Photon is the Company’s integrated launch-plus-spacecraft solution. Photon is a modified Electron Kick Stage with power, propulsion, and communications to deliver a capable LEO platform that serves civil, defense and commercial customers across a range of missions. With a mass of 200-300 kg, Photon is launched on Electron for responsive space and other challenging missions like cryogenic fuel demonstration, taking advantage of precision orbit insertion, launch on demand, and the lowest launch environments in industry.
Lightning: Rocket Lab’s newest spacecraft bus is designed for a 12+ year orbital lifespan in LEO, delivers high power and high radiation tolerance, incorporating redundancy in critical subsystems. This ~3 kW bus is ideal for high operational duty cycle telecommunications and remote sensing applications. Lightning can be launched on Neutron and other medium and heavy launch vehicles. Lightning is based on the same design as the custom spacecraft Rocket Lab developed for MDA and Globalstar and is the basis for the Company’s bus for the Space Development Agency.
Pioneer: A highly configurable medium delta-V platform designed to support payloads up to 120 kg and unique mission profiles, including re-entry missions for Varda Space Industries, and dynamic space operations. Depending on the mission profile, Pioneer can be launched on Electron, Neutron or other launch vehicles.
Explorer: A high delta-V spacecraft with large propellant tanks, deep space capable avionics, and ranging transponders. Explorer enables small spacecraft missions to planetary destinations like Mars and Venus, the Moon, highly eccentric Earth orbits, GEO, Earth-moon Lagrange points, Earth-sun Lagrange points, and near Earth objects (NEOs). Depending on the mission profile, Explorer can be launched on Electron, Neutron or other launch vehicles. Explorer gained flight heritage during the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon for NASA and forms the basis of the twin spacecraft Rocket Lab is developing for the ESCAPADE mission to Mars for NASA and the University of California, Berkeley.
Each member of Rocket Lab’s spacecraft family is currently in production in a range of quantities for different customers, with more than 40 satellites currently in backlog. To support the rapid production of our family of spacecraft, Rocket Lab has established an advanced spacecraft development and manufacturing complex at the Company’s Long Beach headquarters. The facility includes more than 10,000 sq. ft. of cleanroom and 40,000 sq. ft. of additional production and test facilities designed to support constellation class manufacturing and satellite assembly, integration and test for commercial, civil and national security customers. (Source: Satnews)
04 Mar 24. SpaceX launches the Transporter-10 mission. On Monday, March 3 at 2:05 p.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched Transporter-10, SpaceX’s 10th dedicated smallsat rideshare program mission, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This was the fifth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission which previously launched Crew–7, CRS–29, PACE, and one Starlink mission. On board this flight were 53 spacecraft, including CubeSats, MicroSats, and a hosted payload. To date, SpaceX has launched nearly 1,000 smallsats for more than 130 customers across the company’s entire Rideshare program. (Source: Satnews)
06 Mar 24. Finally a maiden flight for Space One’s Kairos rocket. Space One’s satellite will be carried into space on a Kairos solid fuel rocket launched from Space Port Kii on Friday, March 8. Built by Japanese general contractor Shimizu Corporation, Space Port Kii is located near the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama prefecture south of Nagoya and Osaka. The launch, which was originally scheduled to take place in March 2022, has been postponed twice. The type of satellite and its mission have not been disclosed. The Kairos rocket is based on technology developed by IHI Aerospace and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It is a relatively small rocket at 18 meters long and 1.4 meters in diameter, but is capable of putting satellites weighing up to 100 kilograms into low Earth orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers.
According to a press release, “SPACE ONE is a launch service that uses small rockets. We will offer the world’s shortest lead time from contractual agreement to launch as well as the world’s most frequent launching schedule.” (Source: Satnews)
27 Feb 24. ST Engineering iDirect + AITELECOM/APCO expand their strategic partnership. ST Engineering iDirect and AITELECOM/APCO are expanding their partnership to deploy new, cutting-edge technology on the SES 17 network, increasing connectivity services throughout Latin America.
Together, the companies have deployed ST Engineering iDirect’s flexible and scalable Dialog multi-service satellite communications platform with hundreds of operational sites deploying its MDM3310 modems across two, high throughput satellite (HTS) Ka-band beams. Such platforms take advantage of the high packets per second processing capabilities specifically designed for 4G/5G mobile backhaul applications.
Advancing on this success, AITELECOM/APCO is continuing to work with ST Engineering iDirect as it looks to expand to additional HTS beams on the SES 17 network. The update will further roll out ST Engineering iDirect’s award-winning Mx-DMA® MRC waveform with intelligent automation, which has been a key component in enabling AITELECOM/APCO to deliver critical connectivity for 4G cellular backhaul and enterprise services.
The demand for cellular backhaul services across Mexico has seen a major surge in recent years. In 2022, more than 74 percent of mobile phone users in Mexico accessed the internet through their mobile phone. By 2027, it is projected that this will rise to around 88 percent. To continue delivering the best connectivity performance to its customers in Mexico and across Latin America, AITELECOM/APCO is forging close collaborations with best-in-breed technology partners championing innovation.
Orlando Castillo, Chief Executive Officer of AITELECOM/APCO, said, “The high efficiency of ST Engineering iDirect’s solutions, combined with the expertise and experience of the AITELECOM/APCO integration and operational processes, have been extremely beneficial in the growth of our 4G networks, bringing cost-effective communication services to people in the most rural towns in the southwest of Mexico. We partnered with ST Engineering iDirect as we were impressed by the team’s ability to provide a comprehensive turnkey and managed-services solution under an innovative long-term scheme. We’ve found deployment to be very quick and efficient, with excellent technical support and project planning. Above all, we’re seeing very strong network performance with exceptional bit/hertz efficiencies.”
Diego Casquero, Regional Vice President, Latin America at ST Engineering iDirect, said, “Supporting our customers’ growth and expansion is a key priority for us – with AITELECOM/APCO, we provided a tailored technical support and deployment strategy to ensure comprehensive network availability and service delivery. The scalable nature of our technology and the availability and capability of our support team are essential requirements to fulfil AITELECOM/APCO’s vision. Our Mx-DMA MRC technology has helped AITELECOM/APCO simplify its operations by sharing capacity seamlessly and very efficiently among its user terminals, satisfying the most demanding throughput requirements presented by both its MNO and enterprise customers.” (Source: Satnews)
09 Mar 24. First ‘Christmas tree’ antennas installed on SKA-Low telescope. The installation of the 2 metre-high devices is a significant milestone in the construction of the site, which is currently scheduled to end in July 2029.
When complete, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory will be the largest radio telescope ever built and will work in tandem with a partner observatory being built in South Africa.
Researchers hope to use it to explore the first bn years after the so-called dark ages of the Universe when the first stars and galaxies formed.
Professor Phillip Diamond, the SKAO’s director general, said astronomers had been “dreaming of this project for decades”, and laying the first antennas was a “proud moment for us all”.
“These telescopes are next-generation instruments, allowing us to test Einstein’s theories and to observe space in more detail than ever before,” he said.
“With this telescope in Australia, we will watch the births and deaths of the first stars and galaxies, giving us invaluable clues about how the Universe evolved.”
Construction on the project began in 2022 at the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory site in Wajarri country, Western Australia.
When complete, the telescope will cover roughly an entire square kilometre, with 131,072 antennas to be built across the site.
The antennas at the Murchison Observatory, which is classified as “SKA-Low”, will be used in tandem with the 197 dishes that will be built at a site in Karoo in South Africa, which is dubbed “SKA-Mid”.
A core goal of the SKA is to map the structure of the fledgling Universe for the first time and help astronomers understand how galaxy formation began.
Australia-based SKA-Low Telescope Director Dr Sarah Pearce said, “The telescopes are like time machines. We’ll see things we’ve never been able to see in the history of humanity.
“It may not look like other telescopes you’ve seen. But the SKA-Low telescope in Australia will be able to map the sky more than 100 times faster than other state-of-the-art telescopes and will be so sensitive that it can detect the faintest radio signals that have travelled bns of light years across space.” (Source: Space Connect)
08 Mar 24. Amphinicy Blink software modem breaks the 10Gb/s limit, 1.2 GHz carrier, all on a single server. Blink was able to easily support two, concurrent, X-band channels on a single machine and with capacity to spare — no other commercially available software modem was even close to that capability. The company has been optimizing the code for about a year and the decision was made to run those tests again and note the results…
Blink runs at 10 Gbps… in addition to breaking through a psychological barrier, this is a significant result in a number of ways. For a start, the bandwidth that Blink can support on a single server in real time is approximately 2.5 GHz. This means that users could, for example, handle two nearly full-size Ka-band carriers, or four carriers of 600+ MHz wide, all on a single server. This is a significant capability in the light of a long list of large agency and commercial missions announcing Ka-band-class channels, up to four times wider than those used in the currently dominant X-band.
Further toward the horizon, V-band and optical space-to-ground communications are expected to push the envelope with regard to throughput. Blink’s current performance already makes usage in those bands feasible. What’s more, the 27% yearly GPU performance upgrades suggest that, by the end of 2026, Blink will be able to support 5 GHz or 20 Gbps carriers and much higher throughput with receiver-friendly modulation schemes such as on-off keying (OOK), which is in wide use in optical communications, and that would occur even if the software was not further optimized.
For decades, software modems were hampered by throughput and, therefore, constrained mostly to TT&C, where their numerous benefits could shine through: speed of development, ease of use, rapid evolution, deployment and scaling, seamless fit in a virtualized ground segment, configuration and state management, reliability and ease of integration.
A few years ago, software modems demonstrated that they can do more than TT&C. With Blink in particular, wideband payload reception became a reality, but claims to high throughput were always made with the awareness that traditional, hardware modems are the undisputed champions of high-throughput data reception.
With Blink’s latest performance upgrade, this is no longer the case: it may well be that no other, currently commercially available modem — software or hardware — can receive a single 10 Gbps signal. This is a remarkable achievement for any modem and possibly the first time in space industry history that the title goes to a pure-software modem.
Most, but not all, digitizers are too bandwidth-limited to feed Blink with the kind of bandwidth needed to achieve peak throughput. The company is working on evaluating and integrating high-performance Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) digitizers to have solutions ready for a wide array of ground station operators, including those aiming at the highest end of performance. The product will debut at Satellite 2024, Washington DC, at booth #2547. (Source: Satnews)
07 Mar 24. Exolaunch deploys 28 customer satellites onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission.
Exolaunch, the global leader in launch mission management, integration, and satellite deployment services, announced the successful deployment of 28 customer satellites during the SpaceX Transporter-10 Rideshare mission. The mission, which took place on March 4, 2024, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, marks another milestone in Exolaunch’s commitment to advancing the booming commercial space and smallsat industry.
The launch took place on March 4, 2024 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The T-10 launch photo is courtesy of SpaceX
Exolaunch has participated in all Transporter missions to date, and the Transporter-10 mission builds upon Exolaunch’s previous successes, bringing the company’s total number of deployed satellites up to 391. Exolaunch has a Multi-Launch Agreement with SpaceX, and with each launch procured under the contract, Exolaunch provides its trusted mission management, industry-leading integration services, and flight-proven proprietary separation hardware to ensure efficient and reliable satellite deployments to its customers.
Exolaunch’s customers on the Transporter-10 mission included: Aerospacelab, Careweather, ICEYE, Kongsberg NanoAvionics, Loft Orbital, Muon Space, ONDO Space, Open Cosmos, Orbital Astronautics, SATORO Space, Satlantis, Spire Global, Unseenlabs, and Universität Würzburg.
The end-users that were also served included: CEiiA (Portugal’s Center of Engineering and Product Development) via Open Cosmos, CONTEC via Kongsberg NanoAvionics, and Hubble Network via Spire Global.
In addition, Exolaunch provided its proprietary deployment solutions and integration services to Sidus Space, Space Machines Company and Satellogic.
Hailing from locations around the world – such as Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Mongolia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – this mission marked one of Exolaunch’s most diverse yet. To effectively navigate intricate technical, logistical, and legal processes, Exolaunch clients onboard the mission received a service package which facilitated end-to-end testing, integration, global shipping, and deployment of their satellites. (Source: Satnews)
08 Mar 24. USSF seeking new GEO satellite, payload capability. The US Space Force (USSF) is looking to industry to provide inputs in support of its efforts to develop an operational architecture for a new slate of satellites and payloads operating at geosynchronous orbit (GEO), according to a 5 March USSF request for information (RFI). USSF’s Space Systems Command Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power (SSC/SZ) directorate is culling industry inputs for the development of “a constellation of free flyer, Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO)” space vehicles (SVs) and associated electro-optic (EO) payloads, the solicitation stated. “The primary objective of this notional multi-SV, replenishable constellation will be to detect, track, and characterise resident space objects” at GEO, it said. (Source: Janes)
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