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2018

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#EDITOR #MOON #HUMANITYSTAR #CHINA #ARTIFICIALMOON

Dr Amy Saunders

Editor

Most of us will be able to recall a key story from the start ofthis year pretty well – back in January 2018, Rocket Lab

achieved the second launch of its Electron vehicle, which carried to orbit a varietyof small satellite payloads, alongside the Humanity Star. The small geodesic sphere,around 1 metre in diameter and constructed from carbon fibre, spun rapidly inorbit to create a flashing light of the sun’s rays reflected from its 65 highly reflectivepanels. Orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes, and visible from anywhere on theglobe with the naked eye, the Humanity Star was designed to be ‘a bright symboland reminder to all on Earth about our fragile place in the universe.’

This ‘shared experience for everyone on the planet’ wasn’t globally well-received; some went as far as to call it ‘space graffiti.’ During its shorter-than-expected time in orbit, the Humanity Star was the brightest object in the sky, asomewhat controversial feat given that astronomers already struggle with lightpollution. Academics the world over were very vocal in their derision of the(arguable) vanity project. Columbia University’s Director of Astrobiology CalebScharf wrote in Scientific American: “Most of us would not think it cute if I stuck abig flashing strobe-light on a polar bear, or emblazoned my company slogan acrossthe perilous upper reaches of Everest. Jamming a brilliantly glinting sphere intothe heavens feels similarly abusive. It’s definitely a reminder of our fragile place inthe universe, because it’s infesting the very thing that we urgently need to cherish.”

It’s now been revealed, as reported by China’s ‘People’s Daily Online’ that theChinese city of Chengdu plans to launch its own illumination satellite, currentlyknown as the ‘artificial moon.’ Due for launch in 2020, Wu Chunfeng, Chairman ofthe Chengdu Aerospace Science and Technology Microelectronics SystemResearch Institute Co., Ltd., the illumination satellite is designed to complementthe Moon at night. Shining some eight times brighter than the Moon, the satellitewill be ‘bright enough to replace street lights’ – indeed, according to some reports,this is its purpose - with a diameter of 10-80km. Testing has been ongoing forseveral years now, and the technology is now considered mature.

As for the Humanity Star before it, various experts have come out in droves tohighlight the potential problems, including disrupting the natural rhythms ofnocturnal animals, and of course, causing unnecessary light pollution, already aproblem in much of the world. “The moon would significantly increase the night-time brightness of an already light-polluted city, creating problems for Chengdu’sresidents who are unable to screen out the unwanted light,” John Barentine, Directorof Public Policy at the International Dark Sky Association, told Forbes.

Whether we’ll see thisartificial moon come to fruitionin 2020 is arguable, but it’scertainly an interesting storythat we’ll be keeping track ofhere at NewSpace Intern-ational. It’s also a pleasinglysymmetrical way to round outthe year, allowing us to finishjust as we started; with anunlikely story of anillumination satellite that willprovide something for theScrooges of the world tocomplain about this Christ-mas.


Letter from the Editor 32018: A tale of two space graffiti

NewsBlast 6All the latest news from around the world

Developments in satellite constellations 14A bumper feature on current and planned constellation projects

Observing the Earth from space 20Satellite Vu’s Anthony Baker shares his thoughts on Earth observation

Democratizing satellite 22Rafel Jorda Siquier from Open Cosmos opines on democratization

Modernizing the launch sector 24The biggest advancements in satellite launch technology in 2018

Enhancing Earth observation technologies 32Teledyne e2v’s Paul Jerram discusses Earth observation projects

Advertisers’ Index / Next issue 34

Front cover: BangabandhuSatellite-1 Mission. Photocourtesy of SpaceX

EditorAmy [email protected]

Sales DirectorChris [email protected]

Sales DirectorSam [email protected]

PublisherRichard [email protected]

Managing DirectorDavid [email protected]

No part of this publication maybe transmitted, reproduced orelectronically stored without thewritten permission from thepublisher.

DS Air Publications does not giveany warranty as to the context ofthe material appearing in themagazine, its accuracy,timeliness or fitness for anyparticular purpose. DS AirPublications disclaims allpersonal responsibility for anydamages or losses in the use anddissemination of the information.

All editorial contents Copyright ©2018 DS Air PublicationsAll Rights ReservedISSN: 2516-4848

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2014

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CONTENTS

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Bringing HD video to the Moon via laser#NEWSBLAST #NEWSPACE #MOON #LASER #GALILEO

UK to develop alternative to GalileoUK industry will benefit from a UK£92million injection to design a nationalalternative to the EU’s Galileo satellitesystem, ensuring UK security post-Brexit.

The money has been allocatedfrom the £3 billion Brexit readinessfund announced at last year’s Budgetand will be rolled out over the comingmonths.

Satellite navigation systems likeGPS are increasingly important forcommercial, military and other criticalapplications, from guiding aircraft,ships and emergency services tohelping millions of people find theirway on car journeys.

A recent government studyestimated that sustained disruption tosatellite navigation would cost the UKeconomy £1 billion per day.

The government has been clearthat the UK wants to remain involvedin the Galileo programme, and isnegotiating with the EuropeanCommission to this end. But withoutthe assurance that UK industry cancollaborate on an equal basis nowand in the future, and without accessto the necessary security-relatedinformation to rely on Galileo formilitary functions such as missileguidance, the UK would be obligedto end its participation in the project.

LGS Innovations will be supportingNASA’s Orion EM-2 OpticalCommunications (O2O) project byproviding an optical modem that willenable broadband data communic-ations to and from the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle designed totake humans into lunar orbit. Lasercommunications can transmit dataover long distances at rates up to 100times faster than traditional radiofrequency systems.

“We’re proud to support yetanother NASA project with advancedoptical technology to help meet theever-increasing requirements formore bandwidth and fasterconnections,” said Kevin Kelly, LGSInnovations CEO. ”Fast and reliablecommunications are key to thesuccess of exploration missions andcan transform the work and life ofspace crews.”

The UK Space Agency is leadingthis phase of the work to look atoptions for a British Global NavigationSatellite System, which would fullymeet UK security requirements andsupport the UK's sovereign space andcryptography sectors. This significantnew investment will develop specifictechnical proposals with the Ministryof Defence playing a full role insupport.

The 18-month engineering, designand development project will delivera detailed technical assessment andschedule of a UK global positioningsystem. This would provide bothcivilian and encrypted signals and becompatible with the US GPS system.

UK industry has been instrumentalin developing Galileo technology andencryption, and this experience willbe used in developing the alternative,with a number of multi-million-poundcontracts available for British spacecompanies.

“Britain is a world leader in thespace industry and satellites. We areinvesting in an alternative option toGalileo to ensure our future securityneeds are met using the UK’s world-leading space sector,” said BusinessSecretary Greg Clark. “Our position onGalileo has been consistent and clear.We have repeatedly highlighted the

specialist expertise we bring to theproject and the risks in time delaysand cost increases that the EuropeanCommission is taking by excludingUK industry. Britain has the skills,expertise and commitment to createour own sovereign satellite systemand I am determined that we take fulladvantage of the opportunities thisbrings, backed by our modernIndustrial Strategy.”

“The danger space poses as a newfront for warfare is one of my personalpriorities, and it is absolutely right thatwe waste no time in going it alone ifwe need an independent satellitesystem to combat those emergingthreats,” said Defence SecretaryGavin Williamson.

“This alternative system and theUK’s very first Defence SpaceStrategy which I will launch later thisyear will be a further boost to militaryskills, our innovative businesses andour genuinely world-leading rolewhich has seen us make such a keycontribution to Galileo.”

“We remain confident in thestrength of our space sector and lookforward to working in partnership withthem on the exciting prospect of anational satellite navigation system,”said Dr Graham Turnock, CEO of theUK Space Agency.

The modem will convert the datagenerated on the Orion spacecraft toan optical signal, allowing it to bebeamed from the vicinity of the Moonto a receiver on Earth. It will also becapable of receiving the optical signalfrom Earth and converting it to datafor the spacecraft.

LGS Innovations was selected byMIT Lincoln Laboratory, a DoDResearch and DevelopmentLaboratory that is managing thecontract. LGS is expected to deliverthe modem in late 2019 to helpmaintain NASA’s Orion schedule. Theadvanced free space opticalcapability will continue to pushforward space exploration and can besuitable for commercial applicationssuch as satellite communications.

LGS Innovations is helping NASAadopt laser communications for othermissions with technologies such asthe first deep-space laser transmitterfor the Deep Space OpticalCommunications project, and a free-space laser modem that will flyaboard the International SpaceStation as the first demonstration ofa fully operational, end-to-end opticalcommunications system.



Kepler Communications has raisedUS$16 million in a Series A round offinancing led by Costanoa Ventures,with participation by Deutsche Bahn’s(DB) Digital Ventures as a strategicinvestor. The round also included anumber of returning investors, suchas IA Ventures who led their SeriesSeed. This brings the cumulative totalraised to over US$21 million.

Rather than pursue the moretypical approach of launching aconstellation prior to deliveringcustomer services, Kepler alreadydelivers services for customersoperating in the poles who arecurrently completely devoid ofconnectivity options.

Despite being the size of abreadbox, their first satellite KIPP, a3U CubeSat, delivers upwards of40Mbps to 60cm diameter VSATantennas for their customers wherethe bulk of alternative satelliteservices peak around 1Mbps. This isan improvement similar to the jumpfrom 3G to 4G data speeds. KIPP willsoon be joined on orbit by its sistersatellite, CASE, when the latter islaunched from the Satish DhawanSpace Centre on India’s Polar SatelliteLaunch Vehicle (PSLV) in mid-November 2018.

“We’ve spoken with icebreakers,oil tankers, tourism companies,maritime operators, and scientificorganizations that all operate at thepoles. They told us of the frustrationswith the complete lack of highbandwidth coverage in theseregions. This is what led us toroll out PolarConnect, theworld’s only high bandwidthsolution designed for the poles,”stated Mina Mitry, CEO ofKepler.

Demand for connectivity atthe poles is poised to increase,as tourism activities flourish andice-covered shipping lanes meltas a result of global warming.One of Kepler’s early customersis F. Laeisz, one of the world’soldest shipping companies thatoperates an icebreaking vessel,the Polarstern, which cansupport over 100 crewmembers and spends themajority of its operational

#NEWSBLAST #NEWSPACE #KEPLERCOMMUNICATIONS #LEO

Kepler Communications raises US$16 millionto deliver nanosatellite data services in LEO

lifetime outside of traditional satellitecoverage.

“With the Kepler system, for thefirst time we are able to send massivefiles like operational data, scientificdata, videos, or photos. These arebandwidth intensive and we have noother way to send the data if we usedtraditional systems,” said ThomasLiebe, Chief Operator of thePolarstern.

Kepler’s store and forward serviceis designed to work with a widevariety of VSATs, meaning thatcustomers with existing Ku-bandsteerable antennas will be able tomake use of the service without theneed to install new ground antenna.

“We are uniquely excited byKepler as compared with all therecent nanosatellite communicationcompanies because they havedemonstrated that their satellites arefilling global gaps in connectivity,”said Greg Sands, Founder andManaging Partner of CostanoaVentures.

“Kepler has incredible technology,with KIPP having already demon-strated the highest data throughputever achieved in a nanosatellite. Theyhave strong customer traction, withearly polar customers already makinguse of PolarConnect.”

Sands will also join Kepler’s board.After KIPP and CASE, Kepler is

planning to deploy its third satelliteTARS in H2 2019 that will be used to

demonstrate their Internet of Things(IoT) connectivity service. The focuson IoT connectivity led to thestrategic investment by DB DigitalVentures, who has a need for IoTconnectivity amongst their businessunits.

“We are excited about the novelconnectivity solutions that Kepler isbringing to market, and look forwardto implementing their service withinour business units at DB. Keplerrepresents a market leader forconnectivity when compared to othernanosatellite connectivity optionswe’ve explored,” said Boris Kühn,Managing Director at DB DigitalVentures.

Kepler will be using the newcapital to grow revenues, and tolaunch its GEN1 constellation, whichwill be put into service by the end of2020 and includes up to 15 additionalnanosatellites. The focus of theirGEN1 constellation will be ondelivering high-capacity andaffordable store-and-forwardservices beyond the capabilitiesoffered by KIPP, CASE, and TARS.

Everything Kepler does is with aneye towards their ultimate goal of in-space connectivity, and Kepler isintent on doing this sustainably. TheGEN1 and GEN2 constellationspredominantly focus on store-and-forward and IoT services, but willhave the necessary technology tolead to in-space connectivity.

Kepler’s first satellite, KIPP, launched in January 2018from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Image: Kepler Communications



Moon Express has signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) with the Canadian Space Agency(CSA) to explore options for collaboration with the CSAand Canada’s space sector on technologies and payloadsfor missions to the Moon.

Under the agreement, the CSA and Moon Express willexplore the possibilities of using Moon Express lunarorbiter and lander systems for potential CSA payloadsand will promote possibilities for collaboration betweenMoon Express and the Canadian space industry andacademia.

Moon Express is a US commercial space companyfounded in 2010 with the goal of providing low cost,frequent access to the Moon for science, exploration andcommerce while seeking new resources to benefit Earth.Moon Express serves a global base of customers fromits 72 Acre Space Campus headquarters at CapeCanaveral with additional facilities at the NASA KennedySpace Center.

“Moon Express is excited to support the CSA in a newera of lunar exploration,” said Moon Express Founder andCEO Bob Richards. “Successful collaborations betweenthe CSA and private industry have put Canadiantechnology on the surface of Mars, and soon nearasteroids. We look forward to working with the CSA todevelop new opportunities for Canadian science andtechnology in the exploration of Earth’s eighth continent,the Moon, and its vast resources.”

NASA explores LEOcommercialization

Moon Express signs#NEWSBLAST #NEWSPACE #IOT #CONSTELLATION

MoU with CSANASA recently selected 13 companies to study thefuture of commercial human spaceflight in low Earthorbit (LEO). The study will inform NASA's strategy forenabling the commercialization of human spaceflightin LEO and NASA’s long-term requirements for the ISS.

Space Adventures, the only company to havedelivered private human spaceflight missions to theInternational Space Station (ISS), was one of theselected companies.

In December, Space Adventures will submitrecommendations to NASA on how to quantify the LEOmarket opportunity, evaluate technical concepts forlow-cost habitation, and describe a viable andsustainable business case in LEO.

“We are excited to work with NASA and to have theopportunity to provide input into the future ofcommercial activities in LEO and thoughtfulsuggestions on what the agency can do to assist inthe development of the marketplace,” said TomShelley, President of Space Adventures. “Whencommercial crew vehicles are providing regular accessto LEO we will see a great future for space tourism;and we are excited to partner with Made in Space tofurther understand the in-space manufacturing and thematerials processing marketplace.”

“Within 20 years, in-space robotic manufacturingand assembly will be utilized to fabricate and integratefunctional space systems for solar power generation,remote sensing, and communications,” said AndrewRush, CEO of Made in Space (MIS). “Space-enabledmanufacturing of useful products will drive sustainable,commercial operations in LEO. Working with the SpaceAdventures’ team on this study, MIS will conductanalysis of the price points required to meet existingaddressable markets and identify break points forscaling production to larger markets where the costmust be lower to compete with terrestrially producedproducts.”

Space Adventures has also partnered with RadiantSolutions for this project. In related news, SSL, a MaxarTechnologies company (formerly MacDonald,Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.), was also for NASA’sstudy to explore the use of commercial habitats inspace as satellite manufacturing facilities.

In support of NASA’s vision of a vibrant spaceeconomy, and expanded opportunities for Americanindustry, SSL will study the feasibility of habitablespace platforms for building commercial satellites andhow they might unlock new capabilities and businessparadigms.

“Today’s focus on commercial activity in space isundoubtedly accelerating innovation,” said RichardWhite, President of SSL Government Systems. “At SSL,we work closely with NASA to explore concepts thatimplement next-generation business models tostimulate private demand for commercial humanspaceflight. Bringing commercial and governmentinnovation together will be a powerful driver ofcapabilities.”

Goonhilly opensFarnborough officeGoonhilly Earth Station has opened an office at the CodyTechnology Park in Farnborough, Hampshire, in supportof its plans to expand its consultancy, design engineeringand small-scale manufacturing capabilities. The new sitegives Goonhilly more space to expand its designengineering team and attract talented engineers.

The teams in Farnborough and Goonhilly willcollaborate closely. For example, while the Farnboroughteam will be focused on deep space antenna array design,their colleagues in Cornwall will undertake theimplementation. The Farnborough office perfectlycomplements Goonhilly’s teleport facilities in Cornwall,providing a second UK base from which to conductelectronics and systems design operations.

“With offices in both Cornwall and Farnborough, wewill be able to expand and attract a wider pool ofengineering talent, while the Farnborough office will alsoserve as a convenient meeting place for many of ourcustomers and partners. It’s an exciting time to join or workwith the Goonhilly team as we focus on helping to shapethe new space economy with disruptive communicationstechnologies,” said Ian Jones, CEO at Goonhilly.



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ÅAC Clyde has won a follow-onorder with Canada’s KeplerCommunications for a 6U

machine-to-machine communicationsmission. The new platform, TARS, will bethe third built by the company for Kepler'sgrowing constellation, offering satellitecommunication services for Internet ofThings (IoT) and data backhaulapplications. Following on from thesuccess of Kepler’s first mission (KIPP),TARS will determine the capacity andperformance required to delivernarrowband services globally, whileaugmenting the high-capacity store-and-forward capabilities provided by their firstand second satellites, KIPP and CASE.

LeoSat Enterprises, which islaunching the fastest, most secureand widest coverage data

network in the world via a constellationof low Earth orbit satellites, has achievedan important milestone by securingcommercial agreements valued at overUS$1 billion. These pre-launch agree-ments span a wide range of fast-growingdata and mobility sectors including,enterprise, telecoms, government andfinance.

OHB Group has signed a Letter ofIntent for future cooperation withBlue Origin to explore the extent

to which OHB, MT Aerospace and BlueOrigin can work together across theAtlantic. The companies have partneredon a future Blue Moon mission to the lunarsurface – Blue Origin’s lunar landercapable of bringing several metric tons ofcargo to the Moon. The companies willcollaborate on a payload on board BlueOrigin’s reusable New Glenn rocket.

Exotrail, a start-up companydeveloping proprietary electricthruster technology for small

satellites as well as plug-in software forthe operation of satellites equipped withpropulsion, has raised US$4.1m ininvestment.

Azercosmos OJSC and InnovationCenter for Social Innovation Lab(Sil) Are launching a new

NewSpace Business Accelerator tosupport the launch of innovative projectsand products in space and facilitate theirinvestment and finance and marketaccess.

The program offers financial supportfor a development line within four monthsfor start-ups and idea authors.

IN BRIEF...

To facilitate the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, CLS isexpanding and has created Kineis, with CNES’s support. Kineisconnectivity draws on a new innovative satellite constellation of 20nanosatellites with a new communication technology tailor-made forconnected objects.

CLS has entrusted the development of this constellation to ThalesAlenia Space for the prime contractor of the complete system, whichwill rely on Nexeya for the fabrication of nanosatellite platforms andSyrlinks for its support in the design and construction of the instrument.The constellation will be in orbit in 2021.

“With French excellence in space, the unfailing support of CNES,and key accounts who will be participating in a future round table, wedecided to create Kineis to make satellite geolocation and datacollection accessible to as many people as possible,” said ChristopheVassal, Chairman of the CLS Executive Board.

“Kineis is a satellite operator that will provide unique, universalconnectivity fully dedicated to the IoT industry. Any object fitted with aKineis modem can be located and transmit data wherever it is, whateverthe conditions. Kineis connectivity is simple to integrate into third-partydevices, consumes very little power and is reliable. All this will beavailable at a very competitive price, making it accessible to as manypeople as possible, so Kineis will very soon be locating and collectingdata from several million connected objects, in real or near-real time.The company will become the natural partner for all entrepreneursseeking to offer their customers an inexpensive satellite-based Internetof Things,” said Alexandre Tisserant, Kineis Project Leader.

Kineis plans to work closely with terrestrial IoT operators, currentsatellite operators and connected object manufacturers. Kineisconnectivity is positioned as an entry-level service for certain satelliteoperators and as a complement for terrestrial operators wishing to offertheir customers worldwide coverage.

In the 1980s, CLS and CNES created the ARGOS system, laying thefoundations for what would later become IoT. CLS used the ARGOSsatellite system to track connected objects before GPS or Galileoexisted. With Kineis, CLS and CNES are revolutionising ARGOS anddemocratising a system that has enabled the history of animal migrationto be rewritten, marine resources to be managed sustainably, piracyto be fought and the greatest ocean races to be followed. More efficient,easier and affordable, the unique and universal connectivity offeredby Kineis will soon be widely available to the general public (outdoorleisure activities, boating, etc.) and the private sector (logistics, fishing,agriculture, etc.). Kineis will enable IoT use to make the impossible,possible.

Kineis: Europe’s firstnanosatellite constellation

Image: Kineis

Kineis constellation

#NEWSBLAST #NEWSPACE #PRODUCTION #VENTUREUNIT



Airbus has successfully tested stratospheric 4G/5Gdefence applications with a high-altitude balloondemonstration. The technology tested, an Airbus LTEAirNode, represents a key part of Airbus’ securenetworked airborne military communications project,Network for the Sky (NFTS).

With this new generation of long-rangecommunications in the sky, high-altitude platforms(HAPs) such as Airbus’ Zephyr will be able to createpersistent, secured communication cells to relayinformation on a variety of different aircraft platformsincluding helicopters, tactical UAVs and MALE UAVs(Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned AerialVehicles).

With the support of French and Canadian spaceagencies, Airbus flew and testedthe communications solution inCanada at all altitudes up to 21kmabove the Earth’s surface, usinga stratospheric balloon to createa high-altitude airborne cell site.In its payload, the balloon carriedan Airbus LTE AirNode, whichprovided a 30km-wide footprintof coverage for private andsecure communications. TheAirbus team, equipped with twovehicles and two drones, trackedthe balloon over 200km,exchanging 4K video betweenthe different assets – simulatingan ISR mission with real-timetransmission. The data was sentvia a private network at speedsfrom 0.5-4Mbps, which iscomparable to 4G/5G mobilecommunication.

Pushing the boundaries indelivering easily deployablecommunications, this capabilitywill significantly increase

The RemoveDEBRIS satellite has successfully used itson-board net technology in orbit – the firstdemonstration in human history of active debris removal(ADR) technology. The spacecraft began theexperimental phase of its mission on 16 September,when it used a net to capture a deployed targetsimulating a piece of space debris.

RemoveDEBRIS was designed, built andmanufactured by a consortium of leading spacecompanies and research institutions led by the SurreySpace Centre at the University of Surrey. The project isco-funded by the European Commission.

“To develop this net technology to capture spacedebris we spent six years testing in parabolic flights, inspecial drop towers and also thermal vacuum chambers.Our small team of engineers and technicians have done

RemoveDEBRIS nets first space junk

Airbus tests 4G/5G defence balloonoperational flexibility during air missions. An LTE AirNodeallows opportunistic, secure communications betweendifferent aircraft as they fly within range of each other,where operations require permanent and powerfulconnectivity. It will deliver highly secure communicationsfor airborne assets, ground or maritime-basedoperations for several weeks or months at a time –combining the persistence of a satellite with the flexibilityof a UAV. This type of ad-hoc network can be adaptableto all users – from special forces to disaster reliefscenarios.

Airbus’ NFTS solution combines differentcommunication technologies to form one resilient globalmesh network, allowing aircraft to be a fully integratedpart of a high-speed connected battle space. Today,

individual aircraft, UAVs andhelicopters continue tooperate on separate networkswith limited bandwidth andinteroperability, and often littleresilience. NFTS will integratevarious technologies, such assatellite links with geo-stationary, medium and lowEarth orbit (LEO) constellations,tactical air-to-ground, ground-to-air and air-to-air links, voicelinks, 5G mobile communi-cation cells and laserconnections, into a singleglobal secure network.

NFTS is the foundation forthe connected airbornebattlespace, and should offera full operational capability by2020. The NFTS programme ispart of Airbus’ Future Air Powerproject and is fully aligned withthe development of theEuropean Future Combat AirSystem (FCAS).

Airbus LTE balloon

Image: Airbus Defence and Space

an amazing job moving us one step closer to clearingup low Earth orbit,” said Ingo Retat, AirbusRemoveDEBRIS project head.

In the coming months, RemoveDEBRIS will test moreADR technologies: A vision-based navigation systemthat uses cameras and LiDaR technology to analyse andobserve potential pieces of debris; the first harpooncapture technology used in orbit; and a drag-sail thatwill finally bring RemoveDEBRIS into the Earth’satmosphere where it will be destroyed, bringing itsmission to a close.

The US Space Surveillance Network tracks 40,000objects and it is estimated that there are more than 7,600tonnes of ‘space junk’ in and around Earth’s orbit - withsome moving faster than a speeding bullet, approachingspeeds of 30,000 miles per hour.

#NEWSBLAST #NEWSPACE #AIRBUS #BALLOON



Space ‘techpreneur’ to set up over $100million venture unitmu Space Corporation Founder andCEO James Yenbamroong hasrevealed his plan to establish aventure unit in 2019 in a move to gointernational and to create oppor-tunities beyond satellite communic-ations.

The planned venture unit will beset up in 2019 in partnership withprivate investors to provide funds tostartups and medium-sized compan-ies working in NewSpace and deeptech sectors.

“We’ll generate $100 million asinitial fund,” said Yenbamroong,adding that more funds will be raised,if needed, to support promisingstartups and companies. “We’re nowscouting for innovative startups andearly-stage businesses with apotential to disrupt the current marketby developing products or servicesthat are new to the world and canhelp improve the lives of people.These may include, for example,artificial intelligence, robotics, spaceresearch and deep spaceexploration.”

The venture unit will be basedoutside of Thailand. “It can be in anycountry that can offer a conducivebusiness environment for the ventureunit to grow and operate. But for now,the nearest prospect is Singapore,”said Yenbamroong.

Singapore is currently home toover 100 venture units. The country’scompetitive business ecosystem,digital infrastructures, pro-businesslocal policies and sufficient techtalent pool have attracted manyventure units to make Singapore astheir central hub for operations.

The establishment of Yenbam-roong’s planned venture unit comesat a time when investment in space-related activities is skyrocketing.

According to a report frominvestment firm Space Angels, aboutUS$3.9 billion of private fundsworldwide have been invested in2017 in commercial space companies.Of that investment, venture capitalfund accounted for 40 percent orUS$1.56 billion.

The report also found that over 120

venture capital firms madeinvestments in the space industry lastyear, a big jump from about 80 in2016.

“Entrepreneurial space age showsno sign of slowing down. 2017 was apositive year for the space industry,and the momentum continues to2018, with nearly one billion USdollars in private funds invested in thisyear’s first quarter alone,”commented Yenbamroong.

“We’re extremely optimistic aboutthe sustained growth of the spaceindustry. Without a doubt, the marketpotential for space-related activitiesis going up and there’s no stoppingright now. We’ll definitely see the riseof new startups and businesses in thefuture focusing on commercial spaceflights, space tourism and in-spacemanufacturing,” said the Founder andCEO of mu Space Corp.

He added: “The moon is our nextexplorable colony beyond Earth. Sowe set a goal to be there in the next10 years, there along with 100humans.”

Rocket Lab unveils new production facilityRocket Lab has unveiled a new7,500sq/m production facility thatrethinks the way orbital rockets arebuilt. The facility in Auckland isdesigned for rapid mass productionof the Electron rocket. Adding toRocket Lab’s existing productionfacility and headquarters inHuntington Beach, California, the newfacility brings Rocket Lab’smanufacturing footprint tomore than 4.5 acres andenables the company tobuild an Electron rocketevery week.

“Every detail of theRocket Lab launch systemhas been designed toprovide small satellites withrapid and reliable access tospace. This requires theability to manufacturelaunch vehicles at anunprecedented rate, sowe’ve expanded our global

production capability to build andlaunch an Electron rocket to orbitevery week,” said Beck. “We have theteam, the industry-leading launchvehicle, the global productionfacilities and the launch sites toliberate the small satellite market.Rocket Lab has opened access toorbit.”

Electron launch vehicles undergofinal assembly at the new Aucklandfacility, where all parts go through astreamlined process for testing andintegration into the rocket beforelaunch from Rocket Lab’s privateorbital launch pad, Launch Complex1, on the Mahia Peninsula.

All Electron launches, includingthose from Rocket Lab’sUSA launch site, currentlyundergoing final selection,will be commanded fromthe new Mission Control atthe Auckland facility.

The new productionfacility will house more than200 of Rocket Lab’sgrowing team of 330people. Rocket Lab isactively recruiting newpersonnel to supportmonthly launches in 2019,scaling to weekly launchesby the end of 2020.

Image: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab’s new production facility

#NEWSBLAST #NEWSPACE #MOONEXPRESS #GOONHILLY #LEO



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Satellite constellations are big business right now. Gone are the days when constellations werestrictly for Earth observation or telephony services, today’s newcomers plan to bring broadbandInternet connectivity to the masses, bridging the digital divide, or deliver high-quality, enterprise-grade connectivity services with unparalleled security.

Constellations of small satellites have proven extremelynewsworthy in recent years as several privatecompanies have decided to get in on the action. Theattraction is clear; medium Earth orbit (MEO) or low Earthorbit (LEO) satellites can be launched in series to provideubiquitous, global coverage of the Earth, offering fibre-like connectivity speeds and lower latency thantraditional GEO satellites.

We talk about satellite constellations with the samereverence as 5G, 4K and reusable launch vehicles, butthey’re not really that new. The Global PositioningSystem (GPS), Galileo and GLONASS constellations haveall been providing essential services for some time now,while the Iridium and Globalstar constellations havebeen utilised for years to provide telephony services.

Today’s new wave of constellations are more of aconcept revival than a brand new innovation. Arebranding, if you will. We’re moving on from essentialservices, with most of the latest constellations focusinginstead upon delivering next generation fibre-likeservices from space; Internet for everyone, connectingthe unconnected, is the main focus.

MEO and LEO constellations offer a number ofadvantages over GEO satellites. The main advantage,the one that everyone seems to have a very definiteopinion on, is latency. With GEO satellites, latency isaround 125ms, compared with about 1-4ms (in theory)for LEO satellites. Supporters believe that this lowerlatency, delivering ‘terrestrial connectivity from the sky’will be absolutely vital for certain services going

Developments in satellite constellations

forwards, such as banking, betting, and militaryapplications. On the other hand, naysayers argue thatlatency is a red herring, that it is unimportant for mostapplications. Whatever your point of view, there’s nodenying that there is a significant latency difference.

On the flip side, LEO constellations are much morecomplex operationally speaking. Near-global coveragecan be provided by three GEO satellites, whereas forLEO satellites, tens are required to deliver the samecoverage. Of course, with more satellites and smallerbeams, more handovers are required, and moretechnologically-advanced antennas and trackingcapabilities are an absolute must to enable theseconstellations.

Launch opportunities are another significantchallenge. While several small satellites can belaunched simultaneously on the same vehicle, withmore than 5,000 small satellites expected for launch inthe next few years, launch providers are currently unableto meet demand. Additionally, MEO and LEO satelliteshave much higher refresh rates – we’re talking about 1-5 year lifetimes per satellite, compared with 15-20 yearsfor GEO satellites, placing further pressure on launchproviders.

There’s also the known unknowns. A number ofexperts have voiced concerns over the ‘shielding effects’of LEO constellations. In a world where satelliteinterference remains a constant challenge, no one isreally too sure how the introduction of thousands ofsmall satellites into MEO and LEO will affect existing GEO

O3b mPOWER satellite constellation

Image: O3b mPOWER

#CONSTELLATIONS #LEO #MEO



#CONSTELLATIONS #O3B #ONEWEB

satellites. Concerns over signal shielding andinterference have been raised, but accurate modellingof these potential challenges has yet to be completed.

It’s true that bringing new MEO and LEO constellationsinto operations is no simple project. However, that hasn’tput off today’s group of intrepid satellite operators frommaking plans.

O3b Networks prepares for mPOWERO3b Networks Ltd. is a unique MEO satelliteconstellation, and the only modern-day small satelliteconstellation currently operational. O3b (‘the Other 3Billion’) aims to deliver voice and data communicationsto mobile operators and Internet service providers,helping bridge the digital divide. The company wasacquired by SES back in 2016.

The most recent four Ka-band O3b satellites werelaunched to augment the existing constellation in March,bringing the total number of satellites up to 16. Theaddition has added 38 percent more capacity across theglobe, helping to grow O3b’s market from +/- 45 to +/-50 degrees latitude. Like all the other O3b satellitesbefore them, the newest four satellites were built byThales Alenia Space, and are now orbiting some8,062km above the Earth. The next four satellites areexpected to augment the constellation in the first halfof 2019.

In March, ALCAN, Isotropic Systems and Viasat wereintroduced as new technology partners for SES’upcoming next-generation O3b mPOWER constellation.The three companies have been contracted to developsmart, high-throughput terminal solutions, a buildingblock in the system’s ground infrastructure innovationroadmap.

The unique O3b mPOWER system, announced in2017, will be based around seven ‘super-powered’ MEOsatellites, with more than 30,000 dynamic,electronically-generated fully-shapeable and steerablebeams that can be shifted and switched in real time.Delivering multiple Terabits of throughput globally, theBoeing-built fleet is scheduled for launch in 2021 and isscalable to multiple terabits of throughput globally,providing coverage to an area of nearly 400 millionsquare kilometres.

Developed with leading technology partners, O3bmPOWER Customer Edge Terminals (CET) will combineinnovative steerable antenna technology withfunctionality spanning modem, networking and edgecompute capabilities. The O3b mPOWER CET will deliveradvanced network capability in form factors optimizedfor market specific cost, performance and power thatare quick and simple to install.

“O3b mPOWER is designed to provide cloud-scaleconnectivity through a ‘virtual fibre’ network forapplication-aware services on a global scale,” said John-Paul Hemingway, Executive Vice President of Product,Marketing and Strategy for SES Networks. “We believethat working closely with partners like ALCAN, IsotropicSystems and Viasat in a robust development ecosystemwill enable us to introduce the latest innovations andgreatest cost-efficiencies across multiple marketsegments at great scale.”

Further expanding O3b’s reach, in June, SES wasgranted authorization to serve the US market using asignificantly expanded O3b fleet in MEO by the FCC. TheFCC grant opens significant additional frequencies for

use in SES’ NGSO constellation and enables it to deployO3b mPOWER satellites into inclined and equatorialorbits, delivering full global pole-to-pole coverage. Atotal of 26 new O3b satellites are authorized, in additionto the 16 satellites already operational and in orbit. Thegrant allows SES to add four satellites to its existing O3bconstellation, which are scheduled for launch next year,and provides the framework for SES to triple its next-generation O3b mPOWER fleet by giving US marketaccess for another 22 super-powered satellites.

“This important FCC grant provides SES with themeans to grow and scale our network, connecting theplanet and delivering world class solutions to ourcustomers globally,” said Steve Collar, President andCEO of SES. “With the first seven O3b mPOWERsatellites, we will deliver a paradigm shift in performance,bandwidth and service. The FCC grant provides theplatform to exponentially scale the network in responseto surging demand for global data connectivity.”

OneWeb ramps up preparations for first launchesOneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeband Airbus Defence and Space, will see the installationof a constellation of LEO satellites to provide a globalbroadband Internet service to consumers starting in2019. The joint venture aims to bring affordablebroadband to millions of households, schools and otherend users around the world; with more than half of theworld still lacking access to affordable, reliable Internet,OneWeb’s service is demonstrative of its commitmentto bridging the digital divide.

The constellation will consist of around 882 Ku-bandsatellites orbiting some 1,200km above the Earth, at anestimated cost of US$3 billion. According to reports,most of the capacity on the initial 648 satellites hasalready been sold. Launch of the first satellites for theconstellation were expected to start in 2018, withservices starting up in every rural home in Alaska 2019.

Back in June 2017, OneWeb made history with thelaunch of its assembly line in Toulouse, to begin end-to-end validation, testing, and integration of its firstsatellites. The 4,600 square meters Toulouse facility willserve to validate the production methods necessary tomanufacture high-performance satellites at a scalenever achieved before, de-risk any potential issues, andlay the framework for the larger multi-line OneWebSatellites factory near the Kennedy Space Center,Florida. The initial 10 pilot and Toulouse-built satellites,after having undergone a comprehensive set of tests,will become the first of OneWeb’s fleet.

The assembly line includes state-of-the-artautomation, test equipment and data acquisitioncapabilities to shorten assembly times and providemeans to analyze factory performance and processimprovements. The satellites will provide valuable in-orbit data to confirm the design of the spacecraft andproceed with fine tune adjustments if necessary. Theywill also enable nearly real-time detection andcorrection of any anomalies in the manufacturingprocess.

“We have just about nine months until the first of ourfleet launches into orbit,” said Greg Wyler, Founder andChairman of OneWeb. “Then, if all goes well, we willbegin the world’s largest launch campaign, sending newsatellites up every 21 days, and building not just a fleetbut a digital bridge to enable affordable broadband



#CONSTELLATIONS #TELESAT #LEO

access for the billions of unconnected around the world.”As well as building the fleet of satellites, OneWeb

Satellites will provide customized versions of these ultra-high-performance satellites, platforms and coretechnologies to Airbus to support their third party salesto other commercial and government operators globally.The mini satellites, coming from the huge productionline, will enable new cost and performance paradigmsfor those looking to benefit from the advantagessatellites can bring to Earth observation, sensor andtelecommunications markets.

In December 2017, Hughes Network Systems, LLCsigned a US$190 million contract with OneWeb for theproduction of a ground network system to supportOneWeb’s satellite constellation. The contract builds onthe original system development agreement betweenthe companies signed in June 2015, bringing the totalvalue of both to more than US$300 million. It includesproduction of the gateway sites each with multipletracking satellite access points to support operation andhandoff of high-speed user traffic between satellites.

“Designing a ground system capable of supportinghundreds of LEOs with seamless handoff of broadbandtraffic between satellites presented a significant

challenge,” said John Corrigan, Senior Vice President ofEngineering for Hughes. “But our team was up to thetask, and we are proud to be partnering with OneWebon realizing this revolutionary satellite communicationssystem to close the global digital divide.”

Later in March, the shipment of the first gateways wasreported. The Gateways feature multiple trackingantennas to support operation and handoff of high-speed user traffic to and from the LEO satellites, as wellas a custom switching complex, outdoor modems andpower amplifiers. Each gateway will handle up to 10,000seamless terminal hand-offs per second, atechnological and engineering breakthrough.

Telesat takes first steps in bringing constellation to lifeTelesat is developing a global LEO constellation thatwill, according to the company, revolutionize broadbandcommunications services. Telesat’s state-of-the-art LEOconstellation will combine the company’s globalspectrum rights in Ka-band, granted by the FCC inNovember 2017, with Telesat’s proprietary LEOarchitecture to transform global communications.Telesat LEO will offer an unsurpassed combination ofcapacity, speed, security, resiliency and low cost withlatency that is as good as, or better than, the mostadvanced terrestrial networks. The company aims toaccelerate 5G expansion, bridge the digital divide withfibre-like high speed services into rural and remotecommunities, and set new levels of performance forcommercial and government broadband on land, seaand in the air. The initial constellation will consist ofapproximately 120 satellites by 2021 and Telesat isevaluating options to expand its system beyond thisinitial configuration.

Telesat’s first LEO satellite, Telesat Phase 1, wastransported to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in EasternRussia for launch on board a Soyuz-2 vehicle inNovember 2017. However, towards the end of themonth, the SSL-built satellite’s launch vehicle failed.Indeed, it wasn’t until January when Telesat was able toget started with the launch of it first Telesat Phase 1 LEOsatellite on board a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Thecompany’s Phase 1 testing will demonstrate key featuresof Telesat’s LEO system design, in particular thecapability of the satellite and customer terminals todeliver a low-latency broadband experience that MEOand GEO satellites reportedly cannot provide. Telesathas installed ground infrastructure at its teleport in AllanPark in Canada to support testing and has customers ingrowing enterprise segments who will be participatingin trials during 2018.

“Telesat has a long record of industry firsts that havebrought major satellite innovations to market and ourLEO constellation will be another breakthrough thattransforms global communications,” said Dan Goldberg,Telesat’s President and CEO. “The launch of our Phase 1satellite is the starting point in making our nextgeneration LEO system a reality and we thank SSTL andISRO for the success of the mission to date. Telesat isuniquely positioned to deliver the world’s mostadvanced and capable LEO constellation given our deeptechnical expertise, strong track record of innovation,senior spectrum rights, and laser-like focus on customerservice and support. We look forward to beginningcustomer trials on Telesat LEO and continuing to

Telesat satellite

Image: SSTL

Telesat constellation

Image: Telesat



#CONSTELLATIONS #TELESAT #LEOSAT

collaborate with industrial partners as we work to deploya state-of-the-art, high capacity network that will delivertransformative, low latency, fibre-like broadband tocommercial and government users throughout theworld.”

Several companies took part in the testing of theTelesat Phase 1 satellite. OmniAccess and Optus bothcame on board for the trials to test whether the ultra-low latency and high speeds could be successfullyincorporated into their existing infrastructure. In March,Telesat announced that it had completed its orbit raisingand payload testing for the Phase 1 satellite.

“Telesat is pleased to have signed a number of highlyrespected, industry leaders who are eager to participatein live trials on Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite,” said DaveWendling, Telesat’s Chief Technical Officer. “We’reequally pleased to begin Phase 1 LEO testing anddemonstrate the transformative capabilities thatTelesat’s LEO constellation will deliver, including farhigher data rates with superior latency at low cost. Notonly will the broadband experience of Telesat’s LEOsystem be on par with advanced terrestrial networks but,for the first time ever, it will enable the availability ofhigh performing broadband on a global basis. We lookforward to beginning customer trials and continuing tocollaborate with industrial partners in optimizing ourspace and ground capabilities as we work to deploy ahigh capacity network that will deliver low latency, fibre-like broadband to commercial and government usersthroughout the world.”

Later in May, Telesat and Global Eagle Entertainmentagreed to collaborate in optimizing the capabilities ofTelesat’s LEO constellation to serve growing broadbandrequirements of maritime and aeronautical markets. Thecollaboration will include user terminal development,service-offering design, marketing, in-flight testing andat-sea performance testing. Telesat and Global Eaglewill work together on design and testing activities forTelesat’s planned LEO constellation using Telesat’srecently launched Phase 1 LEO satellite. The parties willfocus on airline and large cruise ship applications in polarand high-latitude regions, and passenger use-casesglobally that leverage sub-50ms latency for data-intensive applications. For aviation, Global Eagle will betesting its newly-developed Ka-band antenna.

More recently in August, Telesat entered into anagreement with Airbus Defence and Space to furtherdevelop the system design for Telesat’s LEOconstellation. This followed closely on Telesat’s Julyannouncement that it has signed the consortium ofThales Alenia Space and Maxar to undertake a similarscope of work on Telesat’s LEO program. Telesat nowhas two separate teams, comprised of industry leadingsatellite manufacturing companies, which will work inclose cooperation with Telesat over the followingmonths in a series of engineering activities and technicalreviews. These efforts will culminate in each teamsubmitting a firm proposal for final design andmanufacture of Telesat’s LEO satellites and groundsystem infrastructure. Telesat anticipates deciding bymid-2019 on a prime contractor for Telesat’s LEOprogram – space segment, ground segment and systemintegration.

“Airbus has built a tremendous record in satellitemanufacturing and Telesat is pleased to have concludedthis agreement that will result in Airbus further

developing their design and submitting a final proposalfor Telesat’s full LEO system, both space and groundsegment,” said Erwin Hudson, Vice President of TelesatLEO. “We now have two outstanding teams – Airbus andThales Alenia Space-Maxar – supporting Telesat LEO.Each brings a broad range of technical skills andexperience along with a strong belief in the project anda commitment to its success. Telesat looks forward tothis next phase of the program and to selecting a primecontractor to develop our LEO space and groundinfrastructure.”

LeoSat Enterprises gains global supportLeoSat Enterprises is another start-up companyplanning to launch a constellation of small satellites inLEO. Unlike other LEO constellations, LeoSat’s systemwill feature a unique architecture utilizing inter-satellitelaser links to connect the satellites, creating fibre-likesymmetry at Gigabit speeds, while providing totalsecurity as the data is encrypted and secured from end-to-end across the network, with no terrestrial touchpoints.

“We believe that what we’re doing makes sensebecause we’re trying to replicate what’s happening onthe ground, in space. We’re taking switches, routers, andputting them into space. That’s so unique in this industrythat I’m sometimes surprised to find out that we continueto be the only ones taking that approach. We’re takingrouters into space, and we’re doing all the packetswitching up there – we’re essentially combining thegood things of fibre with the good parts of satellites andturning that into something that I think will be a game-changer in this transition period. It’s a technology that isrelevant for data, and that opens a whole new marketfor satellite that the industry has been struggling to get

LeoSat constellation

Image: Thales Alenia Space



#CONSTELLATIONS #LEOSAT #LEO

Blahinto,” said Ronald van der Breggen, Chief CommercialOfficer at LeoSat.

LeoSat is currently working with Thales Alenia Spaceto finalize the manufacturing plan for the production anddeployment of the entire constellation. According to vander Breggen, the constellation will consist of 78satellites, divided into six polar orbits 20 degree apart.Each orbit will have 13 satellites in it, 12 functioning andone spare – that’s 84 satellites in total. Each satellite canhandle almost 30Gbps of full duplex data. “The reasonwe’re working in duplex is because if you want to berelevant to any terrestrial advancements, you need tobe providing full duplex synchronous capacity,”explained van der Breggen. The full constellation isexpected to provide about 2Tbps of capacity. Launchesare expected to begin in 2021 and be completed in 2022.

Despite still working on its Round A funding, LeoSathas secured two extremely respectable investors. Thefirst came back in May 2017, when it was announcedthat SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (SJC), Asia’s largestsatellite operator, had invested in LeoSat, making it thefirst Asian operator investing in LEO capabilities. Theinvestment in LeoSat and the agreement to jointlymarket this new system allows SJC to pursue newbusiness opportunities in the data and mobility marketsin sectors such as telecommunications, multinationalenterprise, maritime and government services byproviding previously unavailable levels of networkperformance combined with worldwide reach andallows the company to further study the additionalapplications of LEO communications in pursuit of itsglobal ambitions.

“SJC sees the strategic importance of aggressivelyparticipating in the LEO/HTS business and we see theLeoSat solution as a key opportunity to opening up newmarkets and delivering business growth. With thecurrent and future growth of data traffic and the uniquenature of the LeoSat system and its focus on thebusiness market, we believe there will be very strongdemand for the LeoSat solution. This investment anddevelopment partnership with LeoSat will allow SJC toexpand and complement our existing GEO satelliteservices and beyond by enabling us to respond tocustomer needs which are not being met by today’stechnology,” said Koki Koyama, Senior ManagingExecutive Officer of SJC.

The second investment came in July 2018, whenSpanish satellite operator Hispasat announced plans toinvest in LeoSat in order to future-proof itscommunications solutions through the development ofLEO capabilities. With the investment in LeoSat, Hispasatfinds a perfect complement for its geostationary fleet

and expands its scope significantly towards newverticals that will define the data market over the nextyears. The investment in LeoSat underlines its firm beliefin the unique attributes of LeoSat’s new LEO networkarchitecture to ensure further growth in the future.Hispasat will work with LeoSat to accelerate a numberof key activities including, vendor selections forcustomer premise equipment and ground operations,as well as further optimization of the satellite platform.

“With the current and future growth of data traffic,we see the strategic importance of investing in newinfrastructure to enable our existing and futurecustomers to substantially increase their communic-ations capabilities,” said Carlos Espinós, CEO of Hispasat.“LeoSat has distinguishing features from the otherconstellations that makes it especially interesting: Highcapacity, low latency, high security and a meshednetwork that simplifies its architecture. LeoSat’s systemdesign, combining satellite and networking technologyto provide a network in space, is a departure fromexisting solutions today and we see this as a keyopportunity for us to open-up new markets and deliverbusiness growth. This investment in LeoSatdemonstrates our belief that there will be very strongdemand for LeoSat as it is the best solution to addressthe enterprise market. It will allow Hispasat to strengthenand expand our existing GEO satellite services andposition the company at the forefront of the new digitalinfrastructure.”

Considering that LeoSat has yet to make the firststeps in launching its constellation, the company hasan impressive number of deals already lined up.

LeoSat has entered into a strategic agreement withSupernet, Pakistan’s leading satellite network serviceprovider and systems integrator specializing in end-to-end satellite-based GSM backhaul and enterprisenetworks. Through this agreement, LeoSat will provideSupernet with over 3Gbps of capacity on its unique LEOnetwork infrastructure, enabling Supernet to offer a fullportfolio of local to global integrated communicationssolutions to facilitate the key business processes ofcorporate, SME and individual customers.

In December 2017, meanwhile, LeoSat entered intoan agreement with DCS Telecom, a leading telecomsprovider of satellite and networking solutions in theMiddle East, Africa and Asia, to upgrade its existing

satellite solutions, giving customers access to aunique low-latency network which is expectedto revolutionize data connectivity. For DCS’enterprise customers, the key attributes of theLeoSat system can be used for a number ofapplications, for example, to give banks securednetworks with their foreign offices, provideenormous uploading bandwidth for oil and gasexploration, enable seamless connectivity forshipping and fleet management or provide theonly native 4G and 5G satellite backhaulconnectivity for cellular operators. LeoSat cannot only offer competitive advantage in existingsatellite services markets in the MENA region and

beyond, it will help expand these markets by enablingnew opportunities through previously unavailable levelsof performance combined with worldwide reach.

In the same month, LeoSat signed a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU) with Globecomm Systems Inc.,which provides global connectivity services to the

LeoSat has distinguishing features fromthe other constellations that makes it

especially interesting: High capacity, lowlatency, high security and a meshed

network that simplifies its architecture



#CONSTELLATIONS #SPACEX #FACEBOOK

enterprise, oil and has, maritime and governmentmarkets. “We strongly believe in offering the smartestconnectivity solutions to our customers, and withcapabilities beyond satellite and fibre, LeoSat representsthe next generation of high-performancecommunications networks,” said Chief CommercialOfficer Bryan McGuirk of Globecomm.

Another interesting deal was announced in March,when Phasor and LeoSat announced their entry into amilestone agreement to serve a broad range of mission-critical enterprise network markets with an ultra-highthroughput, low latency network infrastructure solution.As part of the collaborative alliance, Phasor will developa powerful Ka-band, Non-Geosynchronous (NGSO) –ready version of its breakthrough low-profileelectronically steerable antenna (ESA), scalable tovirtually any use-case requirement.

“This landmark agreement between LeoSat andPhasor opens the door to a whole new level of high-powered communications networks capable ofunleashing unprecedentedconnectivity for enterprisenetwork markets around theworld,” explained DavidHelfgott, Phasor CEO.“Phasor’s electronically-steered antenna technologyis incredibly versatile andscalable – a perfect matchfor LeoSat’s constellation inmeeting diverse demandsfor big data and high-speedconnectivity.”

In the same month,network solutions providerSignalhorn and LeoSatentered into yet anotherimpressive services agree-ment. “At Signalhorn webelieve in doing everythingwe can to make the networksolutions we offer to ourcustomers better. This drivefor excellence fuels our choice of products and we aretherefore delighted to add LeoSat’s next generationarchitecture to our existing portfolio of innovativecommunications solutions. By combining the best ofsatellite with the attributes of terrestrial networks we seea whole host of new opportunities for our customers,”said Michael Biederer, VP Operations & Customer Careof Signalhorn.

SpaceX launches Starlink demonstration satellitesNever one to be left behind when it comes to the next‘big thing,’ SpaceX too is getting in on the small satelliteconstellation action. The company announced plans forits Starlink constellation back in 2015, and more detailshave emerged over the years.

In 2017, SpaceX submitted regulatory filings for thelaunch of almost 12,000 satellites into orbit by the mid-2020’s. This 12,000 included 4,425 satellites for theStarlink constellation, to orbit at around 1,200km abovethe Earth, and an additional 7,500 V-band satellites, toorbit at around 340km above the Earth, to providecommunications services.

Starlink’s raison d’etre is to support a low-cost,

satellite-based broadband network capable ofdelivering Internet access to the entire world, costingaround US$10 billion in total. Like LeoSat, SpaceX plansto utilize inter-satellite links between its Ka and Ku-bandStarlink satellites, in addition to phased array beamforming technologies. Latencies of 25-35ms areexpected for the so-called ‘mega-constellation.’ SpaceXFounder and CEO Elon Musk has previously commentedthat Starlink’s services will help raise funds to supporthis longer-term mission to Mars.

In February, SpaceX successfully launched Tintin Aand Tintin B, the first two demonstration satellites forthe Starlink constellation. Launched on the Falcon 9vehicle, Tintin A and B are expected to orbit for 6-12months, communicating with three testing groundstations in Washington and California. Following thedemonstration, in March, the FCC approved the officialrequest for the Starlink constellation, with someconditions. SpaceX also has yet to gain separateapproval from the ITU.

Rumours of Facebook’s Athena constellationconfirmedAnother company keen not to be left behind, and nowtalking about planning its own constellation, is Facebook.In July, Facebook announced plans for its firstconstellation of LEO satellites, called Athena.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act requestfiled by American technology magazine WIRED,Facebook’s plans to launch Athena were confirmed. Theconstellation is designed to ‘efficiently providebroadband access to unserved and underserved areasthroughout the world,’ according to an application filedby Facebook with the FCC. Responding directly to arequest for further details from WIRED, a Facebookperson stated: “While we have nothing to share aboutspecific projects at this time, we believe satellitetechnology will be an important enabler of the nextgeneration of broadband infrastructure, making itpossible to bring broadband connectivity to rural regionswhere internet connectivity is lacking or non-existent.”

To date, no further information has been reported,so we’ll have to wait and see what Facebook is cookingup.

SpaceX’s first two Starlink prototype satellites

Image: SpaceX



#SATELLITEVU #EARTHOBSERVATION #POLLUTION

NewSpace pioneer Satellite Vu was recentlylaunched to apply new technologicaldevelopments to monitor plastic, pollutionand pirates from space. In the last decade,humans have produced more plastic than inthe entire 20th century and plastic constitutesapproximately 90 percent of all waste floatingon the ocean surface. By 2050, there couldbe more plastic in the world’s waters than fish,measured by weight. This is just one of thechallenges Satellite Vu means to meet, asCEO, Anthony Baker, explains.

Question: Can you provide an overview of Satellite Vu’scapabilities and expertise?Anthony Baker: Satellite Vu is developing a smallsatellite fleet which will eventually comprise sevensatellites. These satellites will be capable of deliveringconstant, near real-time information on target sites overa 24 hour period, day and night.

Typically, current satellite technology allows a targetre-visit of just once per day, often around mid-morning,and therefore you only get that snapshot for a veryrestricted time period. If you want to carry out patternof life analysis – things that are going on all day and allnight – you must have remote sensing capability thatcan deliver consistent, reliable frequent data. Plus, if youare capturing this imagery every hour, you have todeliver that information in a way that is meaningful toyour customers. Satellite Vu has developed unique

algorithms that help us to analyse data in a timely way.We are harvesting billions of pixels from thousands oflocations - and this all needs to be analysed. We willuse machine learning and automation to enable us toprocess it. The human element is important too, but weneed help to process the data into trends so that wecan look at activity and changes in trends to help us toalert customers when a change is anomalous.

Satellite Vu will offer activity-based intelligence whichlooks at the pattern of life, so we are trying to determinethe economic activity by looking at stationary pictures.This data must then be converted into something thatend users understand, particularly if you’re looking atthe stock market or commodity brokers, for examplethat need to determine what’s going on, on the groundand give it some economic value.

Question: What are the benefits of Satellite Vu’stechnology compared with other satellite operators, orcompeting technologies?Anthony Baker: As I mentioned, as it stands today, Earthobservation (EO) satellites typically re-visit a location justonce a day, mid-morning when the air tends to beclearer and the shadows prominent. These observationscannot deliver the temporal pattern of life insights thatSatellite Vu can deliver. It is the constant stream ofinformation that is required to gain understanding ofchanges that are happening on the ground. Furthermore,our use of algorithms and automation to help to processthe data and bring insights to end users is a realdifferentiating factor. We can also overlay this data onexisting data to provide even more meaningful insightsdedicated to specific customer requirements. If theinformation is rapid, precise, very clear and thereforeactionable, it has a greater commercial value. That isthe most important aspect of what we do – deliveringinformation that is useful to the user in a timely manner.

Question: What can you tell us about Satellite Vu’sfunding arrangements? We understand you’ve lookedat crowdfunding?Anthony Baker: We did look into crowdfunding, but it’sa lot more effort than we expected; to make a successof it we would need to dedicate considerable effort onPR and managing the expectations of the potentialinvestors. To make a meaningful difference, we wouldlikely need several hundred investors which wouldbecome a significant task in itself. We need to focus ourenergy on our technology and more importantly ourcustomers requirements.

Currently, we are funded by seed funds, but weanticipate that we will close on a grant and a largerevenue generating contract this year, thereafter we willseek new investors probably early next year.

Question: Why is Earth observation so important in themodern world?Anthony Baker: There is no better way to look at theworld as from space. EO data provides vital informationon even the most minute changes that happen here onEarth, which means that these changes can be

Observing the Earth from space

Anthony Baker

Image: Satellite Vu



#SATELLITEVU #EARTHOBSERVATION #POLLUTION

monitored and acted upon if necessary. Nothing elsecan give the same perspective, and the developmentsin EO capabilities over the last few years alone have beenphenomenal. Resolution has got much higher so thatwe can see features in great detail and the sensors onboard the satellites have become ever moresophisticated. Algorithms take the Big Data producedby the satellites and convert this into meaningfulinformation that can be used by a plethora of industriesand sectors from environmental, agricultural all the waydown to businesses such as insurance companies.

The other important trend in the EO sector to pointout is that the cost to manufacture an EO satellite hasdropped. This is due to the advent of NewSpaceinnovations. Small satellite technology has skyrocketedin popularity and is at the centre of a paradigm shift inthe EO market which has lowered the cost and timetaken to manufacture spacecraft. This transformation issignificant because it is making space accessible to alland is giving less developed countries the opportunityto tackle some of their greatest problems. Satellites cannow be built in just 6-12 months, yet can give excellentresolution in comparison with their large counterparts.Small EO spacecraft can produce imagery down to onemetre, and in the best cases, up to 30cm resolution.

Earth Observation has a huge amount to offer themodern world, but challenges still remain to providenight and day vision, and to optimise the latency ofinformation in order to make EO information relevant tomore users; Satellite Vu is addressing these challenges.

Question: Looking at the problem of plastic pollutionspecifically, how can Satellite Vu take a role in meetingthis global environmental challenge?Anthony Baker: Plastic is a massive problem. The valueof plastic pollution is reportedly US$139 billion per year.This is the main area of focus for us at the moment.

The technology offered by Satellite Vu significantlydecreases the time in which it takes to measure theplastics problem. We are looking at reducing the processfrom years to weeks. If we can enable rapid identificationof where the plastic is located and where it is originatingfrom, governments and organisations can act. This iswhere our rapid re-visit times are so critical, becausewe build up a real-time picture of where the plastic isbecoming built up, we can track it as it happens.

Measuring the distribution of plastics is also essentialin enabling us to tackle it. We will provide directmultispectral measurement of the plastic contaminationproviding actual, rather than simulated data thereforegiving the true scale of the problem. Infrared sensors,that will be built into the Satellite Vu payload, are ableto detect the presence of floating debris and ultimatelythe type of plastic.

Then there is the data analysis. If the data is notprocessed quickly and precisely, the problem is simplyallowed to grow, costing economies even more andresulting in wasted efforts. Satellite Vu offers both speedand precision, helping users to better identify the source.This early detection aids in more accurate localisationof the plastic before it drifts away. Our fast and reliabledata processing will provide accurate and actionabledata that speeds up decision-making and the deliveryof solutions that can help to tackle what is a huge taskfor humanity. If we start this process now, we can dosomething about it. We can turn it around.

Question: In June, Satellite Vu won first prize in theEuropean Space Agency’s (ESA) Ocean x Spacecompetition. What can you tell us about thecompetition, and this achievement?Anthony Baker: The competition was held during the8th edition of ESA’s annual Business ApplicationsConference, held in Stavanger from 22-24 May, whichbrought together companies, users, experts,entrepreneurs and investors to foster partnerships andnew ideas. The Ocean x Space competition invited smallcompanies of 50 employees or less, to submit ideas forinnovative, space-enabled services in the maritimesector. Amongst other criteria, the judges were lookingfor clarity of value proposition, the problem to be tackled,the use of space assets, technical feasibility and thematurity of the idea.

The award is very important to Satellite Vu as itreinforces the importance of what we are doing andstriving to achieve. Plastic pollution is a massivechallenge for the maritime environment and our solutionprovides a means to tackle it rapidly and affordably.Gaining recognition from ESA meant a great deal to usand further validates what we are doing.

Question: What do you expect Satellite Vu to achievein 2019 and beyond?Anthony Baker: 2019 will be a pivotal year for SatelliteVu. We aim to have our platform operational, we will begenerating revenue and our future satellite sensor willbe in the final stages of completion. It is set to be anexciting and ambitious year and the team is very muchlooking forward to making it a success and seeing ourtechnology doing good things for the planet.

Plastic pollution

Image: Adobe Stock

Turtle with plastic pollution

Image: Adobe Stock



#OPENCOSMOS #SMALLSATELLITES #NEWSPACE

Democratizing satellite

Question: Can you provide an overview of the servicesOpen Cosmos offers and your vision for the company’sfuture?Rafel Jorda Siquier: Open Cosmos provides simple andaffordable small satellite missions to help solve theworld’s biggest challenges. We believe it is time toreduce the three main barriers in the space sector:Complex technology, consuming paperwork andextreme costs. This is achieved with a set of tools andservices such as beeReady and beeOrbital that supportthe development, qualification and validation of all kindof space applications and technologies with full end-to-end mission services. We are democratizing accessto space with mass customisation of space missions sothat everyone can use space as a tool.

Question: What can you tell us about your facilities andcapabilities for satellite manufacturing and launch?Rafel Jorda Siquier: By providing a one-stop-shopsolution to orbit, we are reducing time-consumingprocesses and money.

Customers can focus on developing theirtechnologies with beeKit, our hardware developmentplatform, run simulations with beeApp, our softwareplatform, and then send it over to us to integrate themin our satellite platform beeSat. We take care of theentire process using our new lab with a clean room andother facilities available at Harwell Campus. The satelliteis then delivered to our launching partners, so they canput it into orbit. Once in orbit, we continue to providesupport and assistance, operating the satellites for ourcustomers so they can concentrate on what they need:Space data for their applications.

Question: We understand you’ve signed a PIONEERcontract with ESA: Can you provide us with some ofthe details?Rafel Jorda Siquier: The ARTES Pioneer programmeaims to facilitate the demonstration of new andadvanced technologies, systems, services andapplications in a representative space environment.Following the increasing demand of the space sector

Open Cosmos was founded as aresult of the prestigiousEntrepreneur First incubatorprogramme in 2015. Located inthe ESA Business Incubator inHarwell Campus near Oxford, UK,Open Cosmos plans todemocratize satellites in thesame way that computers weredemocratized after their initialrollout in the 1960s. Founder andCEO, Rafel Jorda Siquier, outlinesOpen Cosmos’ vision for successas well as the company’s recentbusiness deveolopments.

to send assets into orbit in a faster, simpler and morecost-effective way, our objective during the upcomingyears is to contribute having a world empowered byactionable information from space.

Question: Why do you feel the satellite sector needsdemocratizing?Rafel Jorda Siquier: Democratizing satellites is the sameway that computers were democratized in the 60s. Firstcomputers were expensive and huge, there were onlya few of them in the world and they were predominantlyused by big organizations.

Then a few intrepid entrepreneurs in Silicon Valleymade them portable, affordable, and disrupted thewhole industry. Thanks to that, everyone now usescomputers on a daily basis. At first, they didn’t know whatthey would be using them for, but now we all haveindispensable applications in our pockets. The spaceindustry is ripe for the same disruption. We believe thatour end-to-end service based on smaller, moreaffordable and more accessible satellites will enablenew applications to emerge.

The satellites have many uses. They can be used tocollect images of vessels and track the transportationof commodities, pirates, or illegal fishing. They can alsogather images of natural resources to optimize agrotechproduction, efficient use of water, sustainable mining,deforestation control, spillages, and contamination. Theycan also be used to provide telecommunications tonetworks of connected devices. Open Cosmos’ satellitesfollow a standardized modular design that makes it easyto integrate almost any payload, sensor or experiment.Space agencies, corporates, and entrepreneurs can nowuse Open Cosmos set of tools and services todemonstrate new technologies, carry out research, orprovide services to their own customers.

Question: In March, Open Cosmos announced thesignature of two space mission contracts with e2E. Whatcan you tell us about Open Cosmos’ first Simple-ocustomer, and what you hope to achieve together?Rafel Jorda Siquier: This contract with e2E enables us

Rafel Jorda Siquier

Image: Open Cosmos



#OPENCOSMOS #SMALLSATELLITES #NEWSPACE

to expand the building blocks of our one-stop-shop toorbit capabilities while demonstrating execution anddelivery of a full space mission in a simple and affordableway. The combination of in-house manufacturingcapabilities and an ecosystem of partners allows us tobe the single point of contact for satellite serviceproviders, whether in the telecommunication, AIS, orremote sensing verticals. It is what enables us to deliveron our vision for simple and affordable access to space.We are delighted to have e2E as our first Simple-oprogramme customer and look forward to deliveringtheir missions.

Question: It was reported in April that Open Cosmoshad raised US$7 million in its Series A funding round.What are your plans for the money, and what’s next interms of funding?Rafel Jorda Siquier: We have secured enoughinvestment to scale up the number of missions. In thefollowing short term, we are aiming at having between30 and 50 satellites manufactured per year. Putting asatellite into space has traditionally cost several millions,wait for years and jump through many hoops, but OpenCosmos is offering entire missions that start from£500,000 and can be delivered in less than a year.

Question: In June, Open Cosmos was contracted bySatellite Applications Catapult to provide its spacemission service to the In-Orbit Demonstrationprogramme (IOD-6). What can you tell us about thedeal?Rafel Jorda Siquier: The IOD-6 mission offers companiesthe opportunity to trial their service using a larger 6UCubeSat platform in a diverse range of orbit options.

By demonstrating the operational capability of theirservice through IOD-6, companies are in a strongerposition to secure investment and customers.Successful candidates will be able to design, developand launch their IOD-6 mission within 18 months andwe will work alongside the successful candidate tointegrate the payload and simulate the missionperformance on our beeKit and beeApp.

Once the payload is validated, we provide a one-stop-shop mission service integrating the payload in a 6UbeeSat multipurpose nanosatellite, performing fullfunctional and environmental tests, procuring the launchand enabling the successful candidate to operate thepayload in orbit through their beeApp mission controlsoftware.

We are obsessed with making space accessible sothat organizations of all sizes and industries can solvethe world biggest challenges.

We are delighted that the IOD-6 Programme hascontracted our space mission services to bring to orbitthe most competitive service-oriented spacetechnologies.

Question: What are your expectations for Open Cosmosin 2019?Rafel Jorda Siquier: In 2019, Open Cosmos willconsolidate its mission to deliver effective satellite-based solutions for global challenges. We will massivelyincrease the distribution of our set of tools and servicesalready being used to a broader audience. Our tools andservices will be easily accessible with opportunities like‘Call To Orbit.’

The Open Cosmos team

Image: Open Cosmos

Open Cosmos intern working with a printed circuit board

Image: Open Cosmos

Open Cosmos intern Guillem Megias Homar working in the lab

Image: Open Cosmos



#LAUNCH #SATELLITE #NEWSPACE

Modernizing the launch sector

The satellite launch market is a costly place to dobusiness. Designing, developing and manufacturing thelaunch vehicles is just the start of it; then there’s theassociated costs, the insurance, the launch pads, theregulations, the list goes on and on… However, as satellitetrends move beyond traditional GEO satellites and highthroughput satellites (HTS) towards small satellites, thelaunch sector must modernise to keep up with demand.Those companies that are slow to react will be leftbehind, as new start-ups, eager to get in on the action,make a killing.

A US$27.18 billion market (in 2025)It’s clear that the launch market is a great place to bedoing business right now, as demand rises andtechnologies advance, making more launches possiblethan ever before, and with more choice for satelliteoperators.

ResearchAndMarkets’ ‘Space Launch ServicesMarket by Service Type (Pre-Launch, Post-Launch),Payload (Satellite, Human Spacecraft, Cargo, TestingProbes, Stratollite), End User, Orbit, Launch Vehicle Size,Launch Platform, and Region – Global Forecast to 2025,’expects the launch services market to grow at a CAGRof 15.01 percent in 2017-2025 to US$27.18 billion.

North America is expected to lead the launch servicesmarket owing to increased launch service demands forsatellites, human spacecraft, and space probes. Inaddition, the rise in the number of spaceflights to theInternational Space Station (ISS) and increased

The satellite launch industry has had decades to shroud itself in tradition; beyond the standardupdating of vehicles and technology, there was very little change in the sector for many years.All that has changed now that we’ve entered the era of small satellites and constellations, andsignificant opportunities are available for those bold enough to grab them.

investments in space exploration missions are additionalfactors projected to drive the growth of the market inNorth America. However, the Asia-Pacific market isprojected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2017-2025due to the increased demand for launch services fromthe space industry in this region.

More specifically on the small satellite front, Frost &Sullivan’s ‘Small-satellite Launch Services Market,Quarterly Update Q1 2018, Forecast to 2030,’ reportexpects an estimated 11,631 launch demands by 2030for new constellations and replacement missions, whichcould take the market beyond US$62 billion. The currentrideshare capacity, wherein small satellites are launchedas secondary payloads on existing launch programmes,is insufficient to meet upcoming launch demand.

“While North American and European companies willbe the leading developers of flexible, dedicated launchvehicles, players in Asia-Pacific are looking to follow suit,”said Vivek Suresh Prasad, SpaceIndustry Principal,Aerospace & Defense. “Many players are also analysingthe feasibility of the small-satellite spaceport businessmodel to provide dedicated launch services to small-satellite operators.”

Frost & Sullivan expects significant marketopportunities to be created by the high-volume demandcreated by the next wave of satellite constellations.Some 32 small satellite operators are expected togenerate more than 90 percent of launch demand, withsmall satellites in the mass segments of 0-15kg and 150-500kg accounting for 65 percent of the launch demand.

New Shepard on the launch pad the morning of Mission 9, July 18, 2018

Image: Blue Origin



#LAUNCH #SATELLITE #ARIANESPACE

The projected launch capacity of existing and plannedlaunch providers is expected to reach 11,640 smallsatellites, capable of launching 2,473 tonnes.

Arianespace prepares for a new era of satellite launchesOne of the most well-established satellite launchcompanies on the market today, Arianespace has a greathistory in successfully and reliably launching satellitesinto a variety of orbits. The traditional launch providerhas branched out in recent years, and while it has yet tomake any announcements about reusable launchvehicles, Arianespace has proven itself more thancapable of adapting to a new era for the satellite launchmarket, filled with small satellite launches for a wealthof new constellations and technology demonstrators.

In 2018, Arianespace successfully launched fouradditional O3b satellites for the constellation operatedby SES Networks. The launch provider has now placedall of the 16 satellites in the current O3b constellationinto orbit, demonstrating Arianespace’s expertise inNGSO launches. The launch provider also orbited fourmore Galileo satellites for the European Space Agency(ESA); it has now launched 26 satellites for theconstellation, with more to come in 2019.

Arianespace is building up to a Small SpacecraftMission Service (SSMS) Proof Of Concept (POC) flight in2019, due for launch from Europe’s Spaceport at theGuiana Space Center. The Vega POC flight will also bethe first mission of the SSMS, a modular carbon fibredispenser, a program initiated by ESA in 2016, with thecontribution of the European Commission. For all theEuropean partners involved, its purpose is to addressthe burgeoning institutional and commercial smallspacecraft market with a new rideshare concept.Participants of the SSMS POC flight include:

• Spaceflight: The rideshare and missionmanagement provider will launch onemicrosatellite and several CubeSats on board theSSMC POC flight in early 2019. Spaceflight willalso launch further small satellite payloads onsubsequent Vega missions one year later.

• D-Orbit: D-Orbit’s ION CubeSat Carrier, a free-flying CubeSat deployer and technologydemonstrator that will host several CubeSatsonce deployed in orbit, will be launched on theSSMC POC flight. D-Orbit’s InOrbit NOW is arevolutionary launch and deployment servicedesigned to transport CubeSats to space andrelease them into independent orbital slots. Thelaunch contract includes a significant number ofCubeSats with an overall separated mass ofabout 100kg. Positioned in a sun-synchronousorbit at 500km., ION CubeSat Carrier will deploythe hosted CubeSats along the orbit over a periodof approximately one month. After completingthe CubeSat deployment phase, ION CubeSatCarrier will initiate the in-orbit validation phaseof payloads directly integrated on the platform.

• SITAEL: The first small satellite deliveringSTRIVING services will be launched on the SSMCPOC flight. STRIVING is a new one-stop-shopcommercial service offering to both private andpublic entities affordable and effective access tospace for testing, validating and/or operatingtheir innovative technologies and solutions.

SITAEL, the Space Mission Provider (SMP), actsas a single interface to customers, leading anindustrial team composed also of IMT, Planetekand Tyvak International. The serviceinfrastructure is currently under developmentwithin a public-private partnership between ESA/ASI and SITAEL in the frame of the ARTESPIONEER Initiative. Built by SITAEL using its S-75microsat platform, the first STRIVING satellite willweigh approximately 70kg at launch and isdesigned to have a nominal service life of at leasttwo years once positioned in a sun-synchronousorbit at 500km.

• Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS): ISIS’QuadPack deployer for multiple CubeSats will belaunched on the SSMS POC flight, along withoptions for several microsatellites and moreQuadPack deployers for the SSMS POC mission– as well as for subsequent Vega SSMS launches.

• Spire: A multi-launch contract will see severalCubeSats launched on the SSMC POF flight, aswell as options on subsequent Vega flights. Builtin-house by Spire using its LEMUR2 CubeSatplatform, the nanosatellites will weighapproximately 5kg at launch and are designedto have a nominal service life of two to three yearsonce positioned in a Sun-synchronous orbit at500km. Each satellite carries multiple sensors,making them capable of performing datacollection for all of Spire’s data products.

Arianespace is also well on its way with thedevelopment of its new Vega C and Ariane 6 launchvehicles. The first launches are expected in 2019 and2020, respectively. Ariane 6, which comes in twoversions, has already won two launch contracts fromthe European Space Agency (ESA) for four additionalsatellites for the Galileo navigation system, while VegaC has won three contracts; two to orbit satellites for theAirbus Earth observation constellation Pléiades Neo, andone to launch the COSMO-SkyMed satellite for the Italianspace agency (ASI) and Italian Ministry of Defense.

Northrop Grumman: Full steam ahead with OmegAlaunch vehicleNot as ostentatious a player in the satellite launch sectoras some of its competitors, Northrop Grumman’sexpertise stems from the production of the Pegasus,Minotaur and Antares launch vehicles by its FlightSystems Group, as well as the Cygnus spacecraft fromits Innovation Systems group – newly-formed from the2018 acquisition of Orbital ATK.

In addition to its existing capabilities, NorthropGrumman is also developing a new rocket, the OmegA.Originally an Orbital ATK design, OmegA is a newintermediate-and large-class launch vehicle, capable oflaunching the full range of national security missionsrequired by the US Air Force, as well as scientific andcommercial payloads. An Evolvable Expendable LaunchVehicle (EELV), the OmegA will launch from both Eastand West coast launch facilities and will be the largestand most capable of Northrop Grumman’s rocket range.

In April 2018, Northrop Grumman provided a detailedupdate on its OmegA launch vehicle system. In theprevious three years, Orbital ATK and the US Air Forcehave invested more than US$250 million into its



#SPACEMINING #EXTRACTION #ASTEROID

development, and the vehicle is on track to begin groundtests in 2019, and to conduct its first launch in 2021.

The rocket configuration consists of Orbital ATK-builtfirst and second solid rocket stages, strap-on solidboosters and a cryogenic liquid upper stage. OrbitalATK recently selected Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10C tobe OmegA’s upper stage propulsion engine. The RL10has provided reliable upper stage propulsion for morethan five decades and provides a low-risk, affordableengine with outstanding performance. The next phaseof the OmegA program began in the middle of 2018,when the US Air Force awarded Launch ServicesAgreements, including the remaining development andverification of the vehicle and its launch sites. After initialflights of its intermediate configuration in 2021, OmegAwill be certified for operational EELV missions startingin 2022 with initial heavy configuration flights beginningin 2024.

In other news, July 2018 saw the ninth successfulcargo supply mission to the ISS under NASA’sCommercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract. TheCygnus spacecraft removed more than 3,000kg ofdisposable cargo, a new record for Cygnus. The ‘S.S. J.R.Thompson’ Cygnus vehicle also successfully executedsecondary missions that included the demonstration ofCygnus’ ability to reboost the space station and thedeployment of six CubeSats into orbit from a NanoRacksCubeSat deployer.

The mission started on 21 May, when Cygnuslaunched aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocketfrom NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Uponarrival at the orbiting laboratory, Cygnus deliveredapproximately 3,350kg of cargo, supplies and scientificexperiments to the astronauts. The spacecraft remaineddocked for 52 days at the orbiting laboratory anddeparted the ISS on 15 July. The mission officially

concluded on 30 July, when Cygnus performed a safe,destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere overthe Pacific Ocean East of New Zealand.

“From launch to our safe re-entry, the ‘S.S. J.R.Thompson’ performed every phase of this missionperfectly,” said Frank Culbertson, President, SpaceSystems Group, Northrop Grumman. “We now turn ourattention toward final preparations for the next Cygnuscargo mission later this year with a continued focus onsupporting the needs of the crew members aboard theInternational Space Station, as well as enabling crucialresearch programs in space.”

Later in August, Northrop Grumman demonstratedits capability to develop booster systems and key launchcomponents for use in other launch provider systems.The company provided the fully-integrated third stagepropulsion system of the ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket,giving a critical boost for NASA’s Parker Solar Probespacecraft on its journey to study the sun. The spacecraftwas successfully launched aboard a ULA Delta IV Heavyrocket, for which Northrop Grumman also providedseveral large composite structures.

The goal of the Parker Solar Probe mission is toincrease understanding of the sun, where changingconditions can propagate out into the solar system,affecting Earth. The spacecraft required a third stage toprovide the necessary velocity to place it on aheliocentric, Earth escape trajectory toward the sun,making it one of the fastest human-made objects everlaunched with a top speed of over 121mps. At that speed,it could travel from the Earth to the moon in under 30minutes. The third stage system includes a NorthropGrumman STAR 48BV solid rocket motor configured toenable precise insertion of the spacecraft into its finaltrajectory. This mission marks the first time the Delta IVrocket has flown with a third stage.

Electron 'Its a Test' at Launch Complex 1

Image: Rocket Lab



#SATELLITE #TERMINAL #OPTICS

“It has been an honour to work on a historic programthat will provide major advancements in theunderstanding of the sun,” said Phil Joyce, VicePresident, Small Space Launch Systems, NorthropGrumman. “The team was able to draw on its expertisein developing mission-unique stages for our own launchvehicles and applied that knowledge to building the firstever third stage for the Delta IV Heavy.”

Under a subcontract from ULA, Northrop Grummandesigned and manufactured the third stage using thecompany’s flight-heritage components with somemodifications to withstand the higher radiationenvironments unique to the Parker Solar Probe’s Earthescape trajectory. This included all stand-alone avionics,ordnance, structures and flight software. It also includedguidance, navigation and control systems, andinstrumentation, telemetry and the separation systemsfor third stage and spacecraft. Northrop Grumman alsoprovided 14 key large composite structures for ULA’sDelta IV Heavy rocket. These structures include thefollowing on each of the three Common Booster Cores(CBC): A thermal shield that house and protect the RS68engine during flight, the centerbody that connects theliquid oxygen (LO2) tank and the liquid hydrogen (LH2)tank, the nosecones on the strap-on CBCs, the interstageon the core CBC that connect to the Delta CryogenicSecond Stage (DCSS), and the X-panel structures thatconnect the DCSS LO2 tank and the LH2 tank. Additionalcontributions include the approximately 63ft longpayload fairing, payload attach fitting, and payloadattach fitting diaphragm, all of which encapsulate andprotect the payload. These large-scale compositestructures measure up to 15ft in diameter and range fromthree to 63ft in length.

In addition, Northrop Grumman manufactured thepropellant tank for the Delta IV second stage roll control

system and a diaphragm tank for the Parker Solar Probespacecraft and designed and manufactured the nozzlesfor the Delta IV’s RS-68A engines. The company alsodesigned and produced the nozzles’ thermal protectionmaterial, which is capable of shielding the nozzle fromexternal temperatures that can exceed 4,000 degreesFahrenheit during launch. In addition, NorthropGrumman manufactured the eight booster separationmotors for the Delta IV Heavy.

Rocket Lab announces significant contract winsFounded in 2006, Rocket Lab has become a major playerin the global launch sector in recent years, with a missionto open access to space to improve life on Earth. Thecompany develops and launches advanced rockettechnology to provide rapid and repeatable access toorbit for small satellites.

Rocket Lab’s first launch vehicle, the Electron rocket,was explicitly designed to serve the small satellitemarket with dedicated high-frequency launchopportunities, delivering payloads of 150kg to a 500kmSun-synchronous orbit. The two-stage launch vehicleutilizes Rocket Lab’s Rutherford liquid engines in bothstages, using pumps which are uniquely-poweredelectric motors instead of a gas generator, expander orpre-burner. The engine is fabricated largely with 3D-printing methods. January 2018 saw the 500th test fire ofthe Rutherford engine, which saw a 100 second burn.

Although the company remains in its infancycompared with industry stalwarts like Arianespace,Rocket Lab has already signed an impressive numberof launch deals.

In April, Rocket Lab and spacecraft platformdeveloper York Space Systems entered into aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop auniversal Interface Control Document (ICD) and

Rocket Lab Electron 'It's Business Time' on the pad at LC-1

Image: Rocket Lab



#LAUNCH #SATELLITE #ROCKETLAB #BLUEORIGIN

supporting Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) that willstreamline the manifesting process for small satellitelaunch customers.

By removing the time spent in selecting a bus andlaunch provider, and developing the standard productsrequired to get a spacecraft programme off the pad.Rocket Lab and York are establishing a framework toshorten the integration process required for Yorkspacecraft on the Electron launcher. Currently themission integration campaigns take months, adding tothe lead time on top of that required for regulatoryapprovals. By creating standard launch integrationproducts that have already established compatibility,many months of mission integration can be cut. Standardinterfaces, requirements and capabilities will be pre-verified, and a set of operational services andenhancements will also be defined.

“Sending a satellite to orbit used to meancommissioning a large, one-off spacecraft that requireda purpose-built payload adaptor and often a tailoredlaunch vehicle. By developing an optional standardizedlaunch vehicle and bus ICD, we can radically reduce thecustomer costs and speed up the manifesting processto get satellites on orbit faster,” said Rocket Lab CEOPeter Beck.

In June, Rocket Lab announced a partnership withrideshare and mission management providerSpaceflight for three orbital launches across 2018 and2019. The first mission, scheduled for the end of 2019,was for a BlackSky microsatellite and several ridesharecustomers. The missions join a busy manifest which willsee Rocket Lab launch monthly by the end of 2018, andevery two weeks in 2019. All three missions will belaunched from Rocket Lab’s Complex 1 on the MahiaPeninsula in New Zealand, deploying the satellites intolow Earth orbit (LEO). Spaceflight will provide missioncampaign services, while Rocket Lab will assist withvehicle integration on the Electron vehicle.

Later in August, Rocket Lab signed an agreement withCircle Aerospace for ten dedicated Electron launches,with the first scheduled for launch in the fourth quarterof 2019. Circle Aerospace is a new turnkey launch

brokerage and satellite development company fromDubai which aims to catalyse the growth of commercialspace and small satellite industry across the UAE. CircleAerospace’s contract will see most of the missionslaunched from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site.

Blue Origin nears suborbital space tourism flightsBlue Origin was founded by Amazon Founder and CEOJeff Bezos back in 2000 with the aim of providing privatehuman access to space with dramatically lower costsand increased reliability. The company has two launchvehicles; the New Shepard, a reusable suborbital vehiclewith more than a handful of successful flights; and theNew Glenn, an orbital two or three-stage vehicle with areusable first stage, expected to enter the market in the2020s.

In July 2018, the New Shepard achieved its ninthsuccessful flight, which delivered its third round ofcommercial payload customers with the followingmissions:

• Schmitt Space Communicator Xperimental (SC1-x): On New Shepard Mission 8, Solstardemonstrated the first commercial WiFi in space.On this reflight, they will take advantage of theCrew Capsule’s high altitude escape andcontinue testing WiFi access throughout theflight.

• GAGa (Granular Anisotropic Gases): The GAGapayload investigates the statistics of granulargases, dilute collections of solid grains thatinteract by random collisions. Data from GAGaon New Shepard Mission 9 will help validateexisting theoretical models and contribute tounderstanding the dynamics of related systemslike avalanches and cosmic dust clouds.

• Suborbital Flight Experiment Monitor-2 (SFEM-2): SFEM-2 was first flown on Mission 8 of NewShepard and will collect additional data onMission 9. The experiment will record vehicleconditions including cabin pressure, temperature,CO2, acoustic conditions, and acceleration.

• Condensed Droplet Experiment for NASA inSub-Orbital Spaceflight (ConDENSS): ConDENSSwill examine the behaviour of small droplets ofwater in order to support the development ofsmall and efficient heat transfer systems forspaceflight. These systems, called phase changeheat transfer systems, provide more uniformsurface temperatures and higher powercapacities.

• APL Electromagnetic Field Experiment: Thisexperiment marks the first flight of the JANUS2.1 platform with sensors to monitor magneticfields and ambient pressure inside the vehicle.Previous versions of JANUS were flown on NewShepard Missions 6 and 7.

• Vibration Isolation Platform Data Logger: VIP DLis a technology demo for an active stabilizationplatform that aims to allow the most sensitivepayloads flying on New Shepard to be isolatedfrom ambient vibrations, allowing for even higherprecision microgravity studies.

• mu Space-1: The first of Blue Origin’s New Glenncustomers to purchase a slot on New Shepard,mu Space’s payload includes an assortment of

New Shepard Crew Capsule

Image: Blue Origin



#LAUNCH #SATELLITE #SPACEX

scientific and medical items, several textilematerials they plan to use on their future spacesuit and apparel, and other special articles fortheir community partners.

• Blue Origin ‘Fly My Stuff’: A special addition tothe Mission 9 payload manifest is a suite ofpayloads from Blue Origin employees as a partof our internal ‘Fly My Stuff’ program.

Mission 9 also saw the latest launch of its CrewCapsule 2.0, Blue Origin’s first plan for suborbital spacetourism. The capsule seats six astronauts and is largeenough for passengers to float freely. Sitting on top ofthe New Shepard rocket, Crew Capsule 2.0 was ejectedsafely and extensively stress-tested before it wassuccessfully landed back on Earth with the help of aretro-thruster system. The capsule also features threeindependent parachutes for redundancy. According torecent reports, Blue Origin plans to start selling ticketson the Crew Capsule 2.0 in 2019, with prices estimatedanywhere from US$50,000 to US$250,000.

SpaceX sends Tesla into space in world-famous FalconHeavy launchAnother famous business name, Elon Musk’s SpaceXcompany was founded in 2002 in order to reduce spacetransportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars.The company has come a long way in such a short time,with the development of several launch vehicles andcrew capsules. Falcon 9, the world’s most famousreusable launch vehicle, has now successfully launchedhundreds of satellites into orbit, and SpaceX is goingfull steam ahead with its next vehicle: The Falcon Heavy.

Back in February, SpaceX successfully launched the

Falcon Heavy launch vehicle into space for the first time,delivering its cargo, the Tesla Roadster, into orbit. Thethree-stage Falcon Heavy, the first heavy-lift capabilitylaunch vehicle seen in space in decades, is set to changethe path of human space exploration. The vehicleexceeded expectations during the launch: The first twostages were successfully re-landed, while the third waslost during the attempted re-land at sea due to too highspeeds. SpaceX has stated that it expects to cut launchcosts from tens of billions to US$90 million with theFalcon Heavy, compared with US$1 billion for NASA’scomparable SLS rocket (currently under development).

The Falcon Heavy successfully launched itsostentatious cargo, a Tesla Roadster, towards Mars;however, due to slight overthrust, the Roadster isunlikely to orbit Mars as planned. Its current trajectory isuncertain, although it could well end up in an asteroidbelt.

Although no dates have yet been made available,several commercial Falcon Heavy spaceflights are onthe books at SpaceX, for Arabsat (Arabsat 6A), Inmarsat,US Air Force (STP-2) and Viasat.

2018, a hugely successful year for SpaceX, whichachieved a large number of commercial andgovernmental satellite launches – the Merah Putihmission for PT Telkom Indonesia, tens of Iridium NEXTsatellites, Telstar 19 VANTAGE, SES-12, two GRACE-FOsatellites, Bangabandhu Satellite-1, NASA’s TESS,HISPASAT 30W-6, PAZ and GOVSAT-1, in addition toDragon resupply missions for the ISS – pales intocomparison with what the company has planned next.

With the Falcon Heavy nearing commercialization,Elon Musks’ team is rapidly developing its next stepforwards: The BFR, which SpaceX President Gwynne

Tesla Roadster in space

Image: SpaceX



#LAUNCH #SATELLITE #VIRGINGALACTIC

Shotwell has insisted stands for ‘Big Falcon Rocket,’ incontrast with less polite, but more popular, thoughts onthe abbreviation.

The BFR is Musk’ next step in realizing the goal tocolonize Mars; the reusable launch vehicle will becapable of lifting as much as 150,000kg into orbit, andwill ultimately replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavyvehicles, as well as the Dragon spacecraft. Testing isexpected to start in 2019, with cargo flights to Marspegged for an optimistic 2022 launch date.

Virgin Galactic nears suborbital space tourismreadiness2004-founded Virgin Galactic is Richard Branson’sspaceflight company within the Virgin Group. Thecompany plans to provide suborbital spaceflights tospace tourists, as well as for launching science missions.Unique in its approach, Virgin Galactic’s launch vehicle,SpaceShipTwo, is air-launched from a carrier airplanecalled WhiteKnightTwo. Virgin Galactic works inharmony with its sister company, The SpaceshipCompany, an aerospace-system manufacturingorganization.

In April 2018, VSS Unity, the first SpaceShipTwo builtby The Spaceship Company, successfully completedits first supersonic, rocket-powered flight. This flightmilestone was the result of many years of extensivedesign, manufacturing, ground testing and flight testingactivities. The flight starts the final phase of VSS Unity’sflight test program before the vehicle is delivered toVirgin Galactic for commercial service.

VSS Unity was launched from the WhiteKnightTwocarrier when the vehicles had reached 46,500ft over theSierra Neva Mountains. After a few seconds to ensureadequate separation, VSS Unity’s rocket motor wasbrought to life and the pilots aimed the spaceshipupwards into an 80 degree climb, accelerating to Mach1.87 during the 30 seconds of rocket burn. The hybridnitrous oxide/rubber compound rocket motor, whichwas designed, built and tested by The SpaceshipCompany, powered VSS Unity through the transonicrange and into supersonic flight for the first time. Onrocket shutdown, VSS Unity continued an upwardscoast to an apogee of 84,271ft before readying for the

downhill return. At this stage, the pilots raised thevehicle’s tail booms to a 60 degree angle to the fuselage,or into the ‘feathered’ configuration. At around 50,000ft,the tail-booms were lowered again and, while jettisoningthe remaining oxidizer, VSS Unity turned to glide homefor a smooth runway landing.

The flight has generated valuable data on flight,motor and vehicle performance. It also marks a keymoment for the test flight program, now entering theexciting phase of powered flight and the expansion tofull duration rocket burns. Further VSS Unity test flightswere completed throughout 2018, and in July, thespacecraft broke Mach 2 when released from carrieraircraft VMS Eve at 46,500ft. The planned 42 secondsrocket burn took pilots and spaceship through theStratosphere and, at an apogee of 170,800ft, into theMesosphere for the first time. This region, often referredto by scientists as the ‘Ignorosphere,’ is an under-studiedatmospheric layer because it is above the range ofballoon flight, and in the future is an area we can helpthe research community explore further.

Looking ahead, once in commercial service, VirginGalactic’s spaceships are designed to be turned aroundand flown at a higher frequency than has traditionallybeen the case for human spaceflight.

Later in July, Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company,Altec and SITAEL signed a framework agreement tobring Virgin Galactic spaceflights to Italy. The agreementcomes after two years of business discussions,government regulatory analysis, studies on potentialoperations and market assessment.

The agreement envisions a dedicated space vehiclesystem being positioned at the future GrottaglieSpaceport, which will integrate significant technologicaland industrial contribution from SITAEL and the rest ofItalian Aerospace industry, pending regulatoryapprovals.

The space vehicle would be utilized by customers likethe Italian Space Agency as a science platform for high-frequency space research, as well as private individualsto experience space. This dual nature is expected to driveinnovation, spur industrial development, STEM education,as well as promote further investments and economicgrowth in Puglia and Italy as a whole.


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#TELEDYNEE2V #EARTHOBSERVATION #ESA

Question: Can you provide a brief overview ofTeledyne e2v’s solutions and expertise?Paul Jerram: Teledyne e2v is part of the TeledyneImaging group. Teledyne is an important supplier to theworld’s space agencies and satellite producers. Withrespect to imaging sensors for Earth observation, theChelmsford facility is the main Centre of Excellence inEurope and is the biggest presence outside of NorthAmerica.

With Teledyne DALSA (Canada), Teledyne ImagingSensors (California) and Teledyne e2v’s other Centresof Excellence in France and Spain, we as a group providea complete range of detector solutions and expertisefor any satellite application covering the full wavelengthof the electromagnetic spectrum i.e. from infrared to X-ray.

Our value proposition covers space-qualified ChargeCoupled Device (CCD) and Complementary Metal-Oxide- Semiconductor (CMOS) technologies of smalland large format high resolution devices with very highquantum efficiency, and producing these as tailoredsolutions, whether just the detector package or the fullimaging sensor system sub-assembly.

With a trend for products to become morestandardised for NewSpace applications, yet meet theradiation tolerance, qualification and traceabilityrequirements for space missions, Teledyne is leadingthe way in new CMOS technologies such as Time Delayand Integration (TDI) and easy-to-use large formatgeneral purpose imager devices.

Question: Earth observation is one of the oldestsatellite applications; how have capabilities advancedover the years?Paul Jerram: We have progressed from camera filmtechnology through the age of CCDs, and we are nowseeing CMOS image sensors being developed and going

into space! The big change currently is the update timeof satellites. The Pléiades constellation, for example, hasan update or revisit rate of one day, whereas with theadvent of larger constellations, updates are becomingin the order of a number of hours i.e. two or three. Thiscapability clearly comes with many benefits.

There was a reasonably long period of very littlechange, but there is a rapid evolution now, driven byNewSpace, reducing costs and getting small satellitesup into space in larger quantities.

Question: Late in August, the ESA’s Aeolus satellite waslaunched, equipped with Teleydne e2v’s ChargeCoupled Device (CCD) for the Atmospheric LaserDoppler Instrument (ALADIN). What can you tell usabout the device and its design?Paul Jerram: ALADIN works by emitting an ultravioletlaser beam through the Earth’s atmosphere andmeasuring the reflected return signal from particles, oraerosols in the atmosphere.

Teledyne e2v, in collaboration with Airbus Defenceand Space and the European Space Agency (ESA), hasdeveloped an innovative type of detector thatsimultaneously measures the distance of the returnedultraviolet laser pulse to resolve the altitude of aerosolsin the atmosphere, and the Doppler shift that equatesto the wind speed at each altitude. The returned signalis typically extremely weak; however, the detector hasthe capability to add together a number of returnedpulses to improve the accuracy of the measurements.Aeolus is the first satellite of its kind to utilize this typeof technology in space.

Teledyne e2v’s detector consists of a 16x16 pixel CCDwith a novel storage region that accumulates the signalfrom several successive laser pulses. The detector ishoused in a hermetically sealed package with anintegrated Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) that uses the

EnhancingEarthobservationtechnologiesTeledyne e2v delivers RF power solutions,imaging solutions and semiconductor solutions for a wide variety of sectors, including the satellitecommunications industry and government and military defence programmes. The companywas recently involved in supplying critical components for the European Space Agency’s (ESA)new Earth observation satellite, Aeolus. Paul Jerram, Chief Engineer at Teledyne e2v, describesthis groundbreaking new technology and the implications for Earth observation capabilities.

Paul Jerram

Image: Teledyne e2v



#TELEDYNEE2V #EARTHOBSERVATION #ESA

Peltier effect to transfer heat away from the sensor. TheCCD detector is optimized through a back-thinningprocess (a key capability of Teledyne e2v) to provide avery high detection efficiency at the laser wavelengthof 355nm.

Question: How does the ALADIN improve upontraditional methods for gathering wind data profiles forEarth?Paul Jerram: Traditional methods to gather this type ofdata involve deploying weather balloons, cloud tracking,and monitoring temperature and surface winds. Instead,the Aeolus satellite will employ a very powerful laser inan instrument known as ALADIN.

The data collected by this Earth observation systemwill calculate wind speed and atmospheric pressurechanges. Meteorologists will be able to use thisinformation to make significantly more informed globalweather forecasts.

Question: What other Earth observation projects isTeledyne e2v currently working on?Paul Jerram: Recently launched is Copernicus: Sentinel3, and there are the Sentinel 4 and 5 pollution-monitoringmissions yet to be launched – this is planned for 2021.Then there is also ESA’s FLEX mission (vegetationfluorescence) and 3MI (weather and climate monitoringsatellites)…

Teledyne e2v was awarded a multi-million-Eurocontract by OHB System AG to supply customised CCDimage sensors for the Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX)satellite mission, under a programme of and funded bythe ESA. The FLEX mission, which is the eighth in ESA’sEarth Explorer programme, is scheduled to launch in2022. For the first time, it will enable plant photosyntheticactivity to be measured from space by detecting thefaint fluorescent glow emitted when atmosphericcarbon dioxide and sunlight is converted into energy-rich carbohydrates.

The ESA Earth Explorer missions focus on theatmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere andthe Earth’s interior, with emphasis on theinteractions between these components and onthe impact that human activities have on the Earth’sprocesses. The FLEX mission will advanceunderstanding of the functioning of thephotosynthetic machinery and the actual healthand performance of terrestrial vegetation. Themission will deliver a monthly global map with anon-ground spatial resolution of 300x300m. TheFLEX payload consists of the high-resolutionFluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (FLORIS), a‘push-broom’ type instrument with a swath widthof 150km and covering the 500-780nm spectralrange.

The Teledyne e2v CCDs are of custom frametransfer design, meeting the specific requirementsof the ESA-funded FLORIS instrument. Theyfeature large rectangular pixels, high quantumefficiency performance, low noise and the abilityto run at fast transfer speeds. The custom packagefor the CCDs is designed to be compact as well asclosely matching their thermal properties to meetthe thermomechanical requirements. It alsofeatures two flexible cables for electricalconnection and precision alignment of the sensors

in the FLORIS focal plane array.Information from FLEX will help scientists improve

their understanding of the way carbon moves betweenplants and the atmosphere, and how photosynthesisaffects carbon and water cycles. It will also lead to betterinsight into plant health and stress. This is of particularrelevance since the growing global population is placingincreasing demands on the production of food andanimal feed.

Meanwhile, with respect to the 3MI mission, Teledynee2v was awarded a contract by Leonardo-Finmeccanicafor the supply of customised CCD image sensors for theirMulti-viewing, Multi-channel, Multi-polarisation Imager(3MI), an instrument for a series of weather and climatemonitoring satellites. The 3MI instruments will beintegrated by Airbus Defence and Space as the primecontractor on the three Meteorological OperationalSecond Generation (MetOp-SG) ‘A series’ of satellites,being developed by the ESA for EUMETSAT.

The customised CCD design is based on the CCD47-20 image sensor which has been used in many startracker missions and scientific instruments foratmospheric monitoring. The frame transfer imagesensor will be used in the visible and near infraredchannels of the instrument, which will measure aerosolproperties with unprecedented accuracy and resolution,compared to other current optical missions. 3MI has 13spectral channels that are optimised for differentwavelengths and will scan Earth image strips up to2,200km in width, with a ground resolution of 4km. Thepixel size of the sensor has been optimised for highdynamic range in order to increase the accuracy of theradiometry performed.

Teledyne e2v will deliver image sensors for threeinstruments on the MetOp-SG ‘A series’ of satellites,which will be launched in series starting from 2021 for atotal mission lifetime of 21 years.

In addition, we are working on a number ofprogrammes for other large space agencies such as theCNSA, NASA, JAXA, and of course with independentcustomers such as SSTL.

MetOp Second Generation

Image: ESA



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