SatNews

Featured

EM Solutions Completes Development Of Their Antenna Diversity System (ADS) For Naval Comms, Achieving WGS Certification

EM Solutions has completed development of a new satellite terminal antenna diversity system (ADS) by achieving Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) certification, allowing it to be used with terminals accessing the military WGS.

Artistic rendition of a WGS satellite, courtesy of USSF.

The ADS is able to automatically sense and switch traffic between dual antennas when one of them is blocked from satellite view and it can split traffic between the dual antennas – even to different satellites – when both have satellite visibility. The system has previously been certified for operation on the commercial Inmarsat GX network.

With an 18-month order book of satellite terminals to supply to several of the world’s navies, EM Solutions is also doubling its factory capacity to accommodate production of the dual systems that the ADS will require. EM Solutions’ Cobra terminals are the only maritime terminals available globally that can access both the WGS and other commercial constellations, such as Inmarsat GX.

EM Solutions CEO, Dr. Rowan Gilmore, said, “The ADS is an important innovation that has been several years in development for our navy customers in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. If one satellite terminal is blocked from seeing the satellite by the ship’s mast or another structure the system automatically directs traffic to a second terminal on the other side of the ship. It also increases the resilience of the link since two terminals and their channels are normally available”. The ADS is unique technology since it switches the physical path of a channel from multiple modems to the appropriate satellite antenna. Avoiding the use of a router makes switching automatic and prevents any complexities associated with encryption. We believe it will make a step change in the resilience of naval communications.”
Photos of the Australian Defence Force’s SEA 1180 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV).

Fourth Kleos Space Smallsat Cluster Contracts Signed

Kleos Space S.A (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1) has signed new contracts with satellite builder Innovative Solutions in Space B.V. (ISISPACE) and global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc. to build and manage the launch of the company’s fourth satellite cluster of four satellites — the Observer Mission (KSF3) scheduled for orbit in mid-2022.

Kleos’ fourth satellite cluster complements the 37-degree orbit of the ‘Scouting Mission’ and SSO of the ‘Vigilance Mission’ and ‘Patrol Mission’ satellites, with up to a further 119 million km2 data collection capacity per day (Vigilance and Patrol Missions each have similar data collect capacity).

Netherlands-based ISISPACE will provide Kleos with a turnkey solution for the four Observer Mission satellites, including design, development, production, testing, launch integration services, and support for checkout and commissioning”. ISISPACE has more than 15 years’ smallsat experience, successfully built Kleos’ ‘Vigilance Mission’ (KSF1) and is currently building the ‘Patrol Mission’ (KSF2) satellites.

Spaceflight provided the integration, mission management, and launch services for the successful launch of the Vigilance Mission satellites on its SXRS-5 mission in June of 2021 and has already been engaged by Kleos for the upcoming Patrol Mission launch.

Kleos successfully launched its Scouting Mission and Vigilance Mission satellites in November of 2020 and June of 2021 respectively. The company’s Patrol Mission satellites are progressing through the build process and on track for an expected January 2022 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Identical to the upcoming Patrol Mission satellites (KSF2), the Observer Mission will provide increased capacity and more frequent revisit times.

Each new cluster increases Kleos’ sensing and intelligence gathering capacity, generating potential for higher-value data products and tiered subscription licenses. Kleos’ satellites detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to improve the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities. The firm’s independent geolocation data enhances the detection of illegal activity, including piracy, drug and people smuggling, border security challenges and illegal fishing, and is available to qualified subscribers as-a-service. Final mission costs incurred are anticipated to be comparable with publicly available satellite build and space rideshare costs and within the envelope of the cost of a launch advised within the prospectus.

Kleos Space CEO, Andy Bowyer, said, “We are rapidly building our constellation, using funds from our recent capital raise to commit to our fourth satellite cluster build and launch. Each new launch enables us to improve satellite data collection and increase revisits over key areas of interest for our customers. The Observer Mission increases the revenue opportunity from existing subscribers and caters to the needs of our growing global pipeline. Spaceflight and ISISPACE have proven to be effective partners for both our Vigilance Mission and upcoming Patrol Mission launch. We are leveraging their experience to accelerate the build and launch of our Observer Mission.”
Jeroen Rotteveel, CEO of ISISPACE, said, “We are proud to be expanding our strategic partnership with Kleos to build and support the launch of their fourth satellite cluster. Our extensive nanosatellite experience spans design, manufacturing and operation complementing Kleos’ in-house engineering Kleos Space S.A.- 26, rue des Gaulois - L-1618 Luxembourg - ARBN 625 668 733 / RCS B215591 2 expertise. We look forward to continuing to work with Kleos to increase satellite capability, leveraging learnings from earlier launches.”

Marcy Mabry, Spaceflight’s Mission Manager added, “We are delighted to be working with Kleos again to launch its small satellite payload into a 500-600km Sun Synchronous orbit. Our portfolio of frequent launch options provides unmatched flexibility and reliability, ensuring Kleos’ growing constellation gets to orbit when and where they want. Kleos’ satellite technology addresses a real-world need, providing precision geolocation data to improve situational awareness and disrupt illegal activity.”

Gigabit Barrier Ignored — Kratos OpenSpace™ VWR For EO Delivers More Than 1 GBPS Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS) has broken the gigabit throughput barrier with their OpenSpace™ virtualized wideband receivers, delivering more than a gigabit per second performance running solely on Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) x86-based computers. This achievement drastically lowers the cost of downlinks, while raising performance for Earth Observation (EO) and Remote Sensing (RS) missions.

More and more high bandwidth EO and RS data is being beamed from satellites and the infrastructure on the ground must keep up with such advances. This is particularly driven by the challenge of EO/RS applications that rapidly download data on the fly during the short time periods when satellites are over the ground system, as well as the need to process the data as fast as possible.

Kratos breaking the gigabit milestone demonstrates that the high throughput required by EO/RS satellites can be achieved by software receivers running on x86-based general purpose computers that do not require specialized hardware, such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) or Graphics Processing Units (GPU). This level of performance demonstrates that operations can be streamlined by leveraging virtualized solutions or deploying in the cloud without the need for expensive hardware acceleration. Also showcased is the performance of Kratos’ OpenSpace software receivers that are taking advantage of the standard DVB-S2 waveform to make much more efficient use of the spectrum.

The software receiver speeds were achieved by two different virtual receivers that are part of the OpenSpace family: OpenSpace ORX and OpenSpace quantumRX. OpenSpace ORX is deployed as an integrated part of the OpenSpace Platform for highly dynamic operations to provide fully orchestrated and automated end-to-end EO and RS mission downlinks. OpenSpace quantumRX provides greater agility at the device level by replacing traditional hardware with individual virtualized products. Compared to today’s traditional hardware infrastructure, these software receivers offer much faster deployment times, smaller physical footprints, highly optimized resource utilization, and scalability on demand.

OpenSpace is a family of solutions that enable the digital transformation of satellite ground systems to become a more dynamic and powerful part of the space network. The OpenSpace family includes OpenSpace SpectralNet® for digital IF, OpenSpace quantum™ for individual virtualized products, and the OpenSpace Platform for fully dynamic, service-oriented, and orchestrated satellite operations.

OpenSpace accelerates service deliver from weeks to hours through the process of orchestration.
“It’s been difficult for many in the industry to envision a virtualized software receiver handling the growing level of performance needed by Earth Observation missions using only off-the-shelf x86-based computers,” said Christopher Boyd, Senior Director of Product Management from Kratos. “With OpenSpace quantumRX and OpenSpace ORX we have enhanced our support for the DVB-S2 waveform and performance in software, achieving greater than 1.2 Gbps throughput at 32 APSK on a 270 Symbol per second RF carrier running on x86-based generic compute.”

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including proactive research and streamlined development processes. At Kratos, affordability is a technology and we specialize in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training, combat systems and next generation turbo jet and turbo fan engine development. For more information go to www.KratosDefense.com.

Rocket Lab’s Upcoming Launch Of BlackSky Constellation Smallsats To Also Attempt 1st Stage Electron Rocket Ocean Recovery

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will attempt a controlled, ocean splashdown and recovery of the first stage of an Electron rocket during the company’s next launch in November.

The mission will be Rocket Lab’s third ocean recovery of an Electron stage; however, it will be the first time a helicopter will be stationed in the recovery zone around 200 nautical miles offshore to track and visually observe a descending stage in preparation for future aerial capture attempts. The helicopter will not attempt a mid-air capture for this mission but will test communications and tracking to refine the concept of operations (CONOPS) for future Electron aerial capture.

The ‘Love At First Insight’ mission is scheduled to lift-off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand during a 14-day launch window that opens on November 11, 2021, UTC. The mission’s primary objective is to deploy two Earth Observation (EO) satellites for global monitoring company BlackSky, with the secondary objective to splash down and recover Electron’s first stage to further validate Rocket Lab’s recovery operations and hardware.

Rocket Lab will be tracking the stage’s descent from space and as it approaches 19,000 ft (5.7 km) from the ocean surface, a helicopter will be dispatched to conduct reconnaissance of the returning booster. The ‘Love At First Insight’ mission will also include new recovery hardware developments to Electron including an advanced parachute to be deployed from the first stage at a higher-altitude, allowing for a slower drift back to Earth to test communications and tracking for future aerial recovery.

Electron also features improvements to the first stage heat shield which protects the rocket’s nine Rutherford engines while they endure up to 2200 °C heat and incredible pressure on the descent back to Earth. A team of Rocket Lab engineers and technicians will again be stationed at sea with their purpose-built Ocean Recovery and Capture Apparatus (ORCA) to retrieve the stage from the ocean and return it to Rocket Lab’s production complex in New Zealand for analysis and inspection.

The rocket engine, named Rutherford after the famous New Zealand scientist Ernest Rutherford, is a Lox/Kerosene regenerative cooled pump fed engine that is intended to be the future workhorse for Rocket Lab orbital launcher program. Rutherford test firing photo is courtesy of the company.

“As one of only two companies to recover an orbital-class booster from space, we’ve proven it’s possible to make Electron the world’s first orbital-class reusable small launch vehicle,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO. “We’ve perfected Electron’s controlled descent, demonstrated flawless parachute deployment, and successfully plucked stages from the ocean. Now we’re gearing up for the next stage – preparing to use a helicopter to catch a rocket as it descends to Earth from space. It’s ambitious, but with each recovery mission we’ve iterated and refined the hardware and processes to make the impossible ordinary. I’m excited to take what we learn from this launch and put it into practice with aerial capture missions in future.”

The ‘Love At First Insight’ mission follows two previous ocean splashdown recovery missions; the ‘Return to Sender’ mission in November 2020, and the ‘Running Out of Toes’ mission in May 2021. A live stream of the launch and real-time updates of recovery operations for ‘Love At First Insight’ will be available on Rocket Lab’s social media channels and website.

Approximately two and a half minutes after lift-off, the nine Rutherford engines on Electron’s first stage will shut down and Electron’s first and second stages will separate. Electron’s second stage will continue with the customer’s payload to space, where the Kick Stage will separate and deploy the satellites. Following stage separation, Electron’s first stage will begin its descent. A cold-gas reaction control system will position the stage on an ideal angle to re-enter the atmosphere.

While descending, Electron’s first stage is expected to experience intense heat and pressure while traveling up to eight times the speed of sound before significantly decelerating to enable a drogue parachute to be deployed. At approximately seven and a half minutes into the mission, Electron’s drogue parachute will be deployed at around 43,000 ft (13 km) altitude. This drogue parachute both increases the booster’s drag and stabilizes its descent as it approaches the ocean.

Earlier and higher than on previous flights, the large main parachute will be deployed less than a minute after the drogue, at an altitude of 19,000 ft (5.7 km) to further slow the stage and enable a controlled splashdown. A key objective of this mission is to increase the drift-time of Electron’s first stage to test communications and tracking for future aerial recovery efforts.

Upon receiving the all-clear from the recovery team stationed at sea, a nearby helicopter will be deployed to sight the returning stage and observe its descent to record data that will help refine Electron aerial capture CONOPS. Once in the ocean, Rocket Lab engineers will attempt to retrieve the stage onboard their vessel with their purpose-built Ocean Recovery and Capture Apparatus (ORCA), a specialised cradle and winch system manufactured to Electron specifications and dimensions, before transporting the stage back to Rocket Lab’s production complex for analysis and inspection.

The ‘Love At First Insight’ mission is the latest in a multi-launch agreement signed earlier this year for BlackSky between Rocket Lab and Spaceflight Inc., which is providing integration and mission management services for BlackSky. This mission will deploy the eighth and ninth satellites of BlackSky’s planned constellation as part of that rapid-launch agreement, with another four Gen-2 smallsats across the two additional Electron dedicated missions to follow.

The First Commercial Order For Creotech’s HyperSat Smallsat Platform Is Received

Creotech Instruments S.A., in cooperation with the Military University of Technology in Poland, recently initiated the process of building a constellation of three satellites.

The cooperation takes place as part of the PIAST project, which is an element of the plan to create a national system for the Polish Armed Forces EO needs. This will be the first commercial implementation of the HyperSat satellite platform that was developed by the Company.

PIAST (Polish ImAging SaTellites) is a project conducted as part of the Szafir program, the main task of which is an even better use of the potential for cooperation between scientific institutions and private entrepreneurs in the field of developing modern and innovative solutions key to the safety and defence of the state. Financed from resources of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) the project is realized by a consortium of companies and research institutions (Creotech Instruments S.A., the PAN Centre for Space Research, Scanway Sp. z o.o., the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation, PCO S.A. (a company owned by the Polish Armaments Group)) under the leadership of the Military University of Technology.

Thanks to this synergy, they will be able to construct a complete satellite system of imagery intelligence that consists of satellites, a ground segment for control and obtaining data and a data processing segment. During the realization of the project, a group of technologies that will allow the building of considerably larger satellite constellations will be developed. At the same time, the creation of critical components in Poland will allow for complete control over the imagery acquisition process.

As part of the PIAST project, the company will build and deliver three satellite platforms, fully based on the firm’s original HyperSat standard. The task at hand will also consist in integrating the function of the satellites with optical telescopes and a propulsion system developed specifically for use in this undertaking.

This will be the first commercial implementation of the firm’s platform and directly from the start as a constellation. The end recipient of this project will be the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland.

Completion of the project will take roughly 48 months. The satellites – each weighing around 10 kg – will be placed in space in the year 2024 and will be the first Polish satellites, with the end recipient being the Polish military.

Creotech Instruments is the largest Polish company manufacturing and delivering space technology and specialized electronics and devices, for use in, among other areas, quantum computers, quantum cryptography, or quantum physics or high energy laboratories to the world market. Devices created by the Company have been part of 26 space sector projects, including 10 space missions – 4 of which have been realized for the European Space Agency (ESA). One of the most important Creotech projects now in development is the HyperSat satellite platform, which positions the Company among only around a dozen of companies in the world capable of offering smallsats and entire constellations of smallsats adapted to the client’s needs. In April of this year the company successfully launched its initial public offering, which raised PLN 11,285,000. The funds have been dedicated to continuing development of the EagleEye EOsatellite and raising the technological development of the HyperSat smallsat platform to the highest, technology readiness level. The company plans to create its own offer of modular satellite platforms as well as purchase a third electronics assembly line, which will allow the firm to scale up this activity. Creotech Instruments S.A. is planning to debut on the New Connect market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which is to occur on the verge of the 3rd and 4th quarter of this year.

Webb Space Telescope Scientific Instruments To Start Functional Testing In Kourou

The Webb Space Telescope (WST) has arrived at the European space port in Kourou, French Guiana. The spacecraft will now be prepared for its launch, scheduled for December 18, on an Ariane 5 launcher.

One of the four instruments in the scientific suitcase is the Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) built by Airbus in Germany.

The Near Infrared Spectrograph is shown during integration in the Ottobrunn cleanroom. Photo is courtesy of Airbus Germany.

Prior to launch, a complete functional test campaign will be carried out in October to make sure that every part of the spacecraft is still working as expected following its journey to Kourou. Airbus will actively support the final electrical functional tests of the four science instruments (including NIRSpec) that will last approximately six days.

Once on-orbit, Webb will start a month long journey, traveling four times the distance to the Moon, until it reaches its final destination, the Lagrange point L2, some 1.5 million km behind the Earth as viewed from the Sun.

Airbus will support NIRSpec from launch to commissioning (until the second quarter of 2022) by monitoring its parameters 24/7. This includes the period during the critical cool-down phase and then the initial functional testing when the NIRSpec instrument is turned on. Finally, the Airbus engineering team will also continue to support during performance check out and calibration until the end of commissioning.

The NIRSpec instrument, weighing 200 kg, is a multi-object spectrograph capable of simultaneously measuring the near infrared spectrum of at least 100 objects like stars or galaxies with various spectral resolutions down to 0.3 nanometer. The observations are performed over the wavelength range from 0.6 to 5.0 micrometer.

Once in operation, NIRSpec, known as the ‘super eye,’ will operate at a temperature of -230°C. A team of more than 70 people at the Airbus sites Ottobrunn, Friedrichshafen and Toulouse worked on the design, development and finally the integration and test of NIRSpec, supported by 17 European subcontractors and NASA. The instrument was developed by Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA).

Due to its excellent sensitivity, its high resolution and its wide wavelength coverage, NIRSpec is a key instrument to achieve a deeper insight into the evolution of the universe. It uses a highly a-thermal concept with all mirrors, the mirror mounts and the optical bench base plate all made from Silicon Carbide Ceramic SiC 100®.

Another instrument, called Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI), is also part of Europe’s contribution to the Webb mission. Airbus in the UK provided management, engineering and quality management for the European consortium that built MIRI to ensure there was a consistent approach to the design, build and test process.

MIRI covers the mid-infrared wavelength range from 5 to 28.3 microns. MIRI will be capable of penetrating thick layers of dust obscuring regions of intense star birth. It will see the first generations of galaxies to form after the Big Bang, and it will study sites of new planet formation and the composition of the interstellar medium. To ensure the signal from faint objects isn’t drowned out by the instrument’s own infrared glow, MIRI will be cooled down to -266°C, just 7°C above absolute zero.

With the NIRSpec instrument, Webb will study the formation of the first stars and galaxies in our Universe when it was only a few hundred million years old. NIRSpec will be able to capture the spectra of typically 60 to 200 galaxies at a time, allowing scientist to observe in exquisite details how they formed and evolved. Much closer to us, NIRSpec will also be able to study the atmosphere of exoplanets, these planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. It will, in particular, search for the signature of key molecules like water.

Webb prior to shipment to Kourou, French Guiana, for a December launch. Photo is courtesy of NASA.

Webb, the follow on mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), with its set of scientific instruments, will allow looking further back in time compared to HST, mainly due to its higher sensitivity and a wider wavelength band, ranging between 0.6 and 27 micrometer. It is expected to yield astonishing breakthroughs in infrared space science. The $10 billion Webb Space Telescope is a joint venture between the US, European and Canadian space agencies.

“The Webb telescope will change the way we see the Universe,” said Jean Marc Nasr, Head of Airbus Space Systems. “Our contributions to NIRSpec and MIRI instruments are a testament to Airbus’ expertise and the value we can bring to modern astronomy. We are proud to have played a key part in the future discoveries of the Webb mission.”

UPDATE: Lucy Launched

Humankind is one step closer to unlocking new knowledge about the formation of our solar system, thanks to a spacecraft named Lucy built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). The NASA mission successfully was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by United Launch Alliance at 5:34 a.m. ET on October 16, 2021.

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft launched aboard an Atlas V rocket starting it 12-year mission to the Trojan asteroids.

The spacecraft was designed, built and tested in Lockheed Martin’s Littleton facility, using transformative technology. The company’s mission operations team is now in communications with the spacecraft and will operate it through the end of its mission.

The Lucy mission is a joint mission of NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, the Southwest Research Institute and NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) based at Kennedy Space Center.



The ULA Atlas V 401 configuration rocket delivered the Lucy spacecraft into an interplanetary trajectory, which included a 14 ft. (4-m) large payload fairing (LPF). The Atlas booster was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. Aerojet Rocketdyne provided the RL10C-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage.

RD AMROSS RD-180 engine.


This was the 89th launch of an Atlas V rocket and 21st mission launched on an Atlas V and follows the launch of Landsat 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base last month — ULA has launched 146 times with 100 percent mission success. ULA’s next launch is STP-3 for the U.S. Space Force, planned for November 22, 2021, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Lucy in the cleanroom. Photo is courtesy of Lockheed Martin.

Lucy will be the farthest solar-powered mission from the Sun and will visit a record-breaking number of asteroids — all in the name of studying them for clues about our own origins. Lucy’s 4-billion-mile odyssey through the solar system will last 12 years and fly by eight objects: one Main Belt asteroid and seven Trojan asteroids that lead and trail Jupiter in its orbit. Scientists are keen for an up-close look at these ancient rocks, which are believed to be pristinely preserved leftovers from the formation of our outer solar system 4 billion years ago.

These asteroids — which draw their name from a similarly epic story in Greek mythology — may contain carbon, water and other volatile compounds necessary for life and could possibly give us a glimpse into the physical environment that existed when the planets formed, as well as the conditions that fostered their formation.

Until now, scientists have only been able to study these small, primitive bodies with ground-based and Earth-orbiting telescopes. That changes with Lucy.

Lucy’s orbital trajectory is one of the most complex of any Discovery mission: 12 years, eight asteroids and two Earth-gravity slingshots. Southwest Research Institute’s Brian Sutter spent hours of work figuring out how to do this. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute

Key features of the Lucy spacecraft include:

  • Some 430 unique components, brought together by more than 2 miles of wire, 170 square feet of composite structure and more than 12,800 electrical connections
  • Three powerful, primary instruments to study the geology, composition and structure of the Trojan asteroids
  • Two 24-foot diameter solar arrays built by Northrop Grumman, spanning more than a four-story building when unfurled
  • A robust thermal design that protects Lucy from extreme space temperatures ranging from -250⁰F to +300⁰F
  • Autonomous software that enables Lucy to track asteroid targets as it flies by at an average speed of 15,000 mph
  • Advanced production parts like 3D-printed brackets and harness clamps, made from three different materials

The team also made use of the latest collaborative tools and digital engineering techniques on Lucy, including automated testing, digital test review capability and remote collaboration. These tactics helped the team continue production without missing a shift throughout the pandemic.

The spacecraft carries updated versions of three heritage instruments…

  • L’Ralph, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center – This camera is capable of taking images of the Trojan asteroids on the visible and infrared spectrums. Its images will help scientists determine what the Trojans’ surfaces are made of as they look for the presence of things like ice, hydrated minerals and other organic materials.
  • L’LORRI (Long Range Reconnaissance Imager), Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory – Functioning like the Hubble Space Telescope, this telescopic camera will take black and white images of the Trojans from afar and produce incredibly detailed, high resolution visuals of things like craters on their surfaces — even though the asteroids are not illuminated by any light source. If you were standing on one end of a football field, you’d be able to see a fly on the other end of the field with L’LORRI.Thanks to its ability to look across large distances, L’LORRI will also help Lucy orient itself and navigate through space. 
  • L’TES (Thermal Emission Spectrometer), Arizona State University –Think of this as the world’s most sophisticated thermometer. It will measure the infrared energy emitted by the asteroids as the sun warms them and detect unique spectral signatures of individual minerals and other surface properties.  

Lucy builds on years of technology from numerous Lockheed Martin planetary missions, such as Mars Odyssey, OSIRIS-REx and InSight, among others.

“Seeing Lucy start her journey reinforces the strength of the 500 team members from NASA, Lockheed Martin, the Southwest Research Institute and many other teams who worked together to bring this mission to life,” said Rich Lipe, Lockheed Martin Lucy program manager. “It’s a tale centered on flexibility, collaboration and ingenuity, which is fitting for the voyage that lies ahead for this advanced spacecraft.”

“We are honored to partner with NASA to launch this one-of-a-kind mission and are proud to add the Lucy mission to the Trojan Asteroids to our list of exploration launch successes,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. “We are very proud to launch this spacecraft on its historic 12-year journey to eight different asteroids, and thank our mission partners for their teamwork.”

More About the Mission

Lockheed Martin Space designed, built, tested and operates Lucy out of its Littleton, Colorado, facility. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance. The Boulder, Colorado branch of Southwest Research Institute, headquartered in San Antonio, TX, is the principal investigator institution. Instruments were contributed by NASA Goddard, Arizona State University and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

Arianespace’s Successful Soyuz Launch Ensures OneWeb’s Constellation Is Halfway To The Firm’s Constellation Deployment Goal

Arianespace’s tenth launch of 2021 with the seventh Soyuz rocket launched this year will place the OneWeb satellite passengers into LEO — the launcher will be carrying a total payload of approximately 5,797 kg. The launch was performed at Vostochny, in Russia.

Flight ST36, the sixth commercial mission from Vostochny in Russia, placed 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit. That brings the total fleet number to 358 satellites in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 450 kilometers. After separation, the satellites raised themselves to their operational orbit.

“Congratulations to all the teams who made this eleventh launch dedicated to OneWeb’s satellites a success,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “ST36 marks a new milestone in our common history. Precisely one hour and eighteen minutes after liftoff, during the first separation sequence, we officially crossed the halfway mark for OneWeb’s constellation deployment. By the end of 2022, we will proudly operate eight more Soyuz launches in order to complete full the deployment of the constellation.”

OneWeb’s mission is to deliver internet everywhere to everyone through the creation of a global connectivity platform via a next generation satellite constellation in LEO. OneWeb’s constellation of 648 satellites will deliver high-speed, low-latency enterprise grade connectivity services to a wide range of customer sectors including enterprise, government, maritime and aviation customers. Central to its purpose, OneWeb seeks to bring connectivity to every unconnected area where fiber cannot reach and, in so doing, bridge the digital divide.

The satellite prime contractor is OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture of OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space. The satellites were produced in Florida, USA, in the company’s satellite manufacturing facilities that can build as many as two satellites per day on a series production line that is dedicated to spacecraft assembly, integration and testing.

This launch was operated by Arianespace and the firm’s Euro-Russian affiliate, Starsem, under contract with Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Arianespace is responsible for the overall mission and flight-worthiness, with the support of Starsem for launch campaign activities including management of their own launch facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

RKTs-Progress (the Samara Space Center) is responsible for the design, development, manufacture and integration of the Soyuz launch vehicle as well as for the 3-stage Soyuz flight. NPO Lavotchkin is responsible for the launch preparation operations and flight of the Fregat orbital vehicle.

Once deployed, the OneWeb constellation will enable user terminals that are capable of offering 3G, LTE, 5G and Wi-Fi coverage, providing high-speed access globally & by air, sea and land.

As OneWeb’s constellation will ultimately consist of 648 satellites — this launch hits the mark of more than half of the constellation being on-orbit. The 324th satellite, deployed during the first separation, marked this milestone.

SpaceLink Selects OHB To Manufacture Four High-Capacity, Optical Relay Satellites

SpaceLink has reached a significant milestone in the manufacture and launch of their initial constellation of four, high-capacity, optical relay satellites.

Following a comprehensive tender process, OHB Systems AG (OHB) has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the initial constellation.

The parties are currently in advanced negotiations in relation to a contract for the manufacture and delivery of the initial constellation and expect to sign an “Authorization to Proceed” next week, which is the legal basis for the commencement of the project as well as the finalization of the Contract, the total value of which is expected to exceed $300 million.

Negotiations with OHB have reached an advanced stage and the relevant terms and conditions of the Contract are expected to be legally finalized in the coming week. In addition, OHB intends to invest $25 million into SpaceLink as the cornerstone investor in the first tranche of financing for the project.

“Following an in-depth review of multiple manufacturing proposals, we found that OHB excelled at meeting our requirements,” said David Bettinger, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceLink. “OHB provided an advanced technical solution, based on its experience with Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, processed payloads, and secure optical communications.”

The UK MOD’s Skynet 6A MILSATCOM Satellite Production Is Initiated By Airbus

The UK’s Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin MP, visited Airbus in Stevenage and pushed the button to start production of the first panel skin for the UK MOD’s next generation military communications satellite (MILSATCOM), Skynet 6A.

The Defence Minister started the high precision cutting machine to profile the first aluminum panels of the near six ton, Skynet 6A satellite, which is based on Airbus’ Eurostar Neo telecommunications spacecraft and he also visited the extensive cleanroom facilities on site. Airbus was awarded the more than £500 million contract to design and build Skynet 6A in July of 2020 and the program achieved its Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in December of 2020.

Artistic rendition of the Skynet 6A MILSATCOM satellite, courtesy of Airbus UK.

Skynet 6A will extend and enhance the Skynet fleet. The contract signed with the UK involves the development, manufacture, cyber protection, assembly, integration, test and launch, of the military communications satellite, Skynet 6A. The contract also covers technology development programs, new secure telemetry, tracking and command systems, launch, on-orbit testing and ground segment updates.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said, “Secure military satellite communications are vital for our ability to conduct operations on a global scale. Seeing the first hardware for the next generation Skynet 6A satellite shows we are on track for launch in 2025 and ready to upgrade and enhance the UK’s global military communications network.”

Richard Franklin, Managing Director of Airbus Defence and Space, said, “Airbus in the UK is a world leader in the design and manufacture of military and commercial telecommunications satellites, and working hand in hand with the Defence Digital team we have overcome the challenges of Covid and are on track with the program. We also look to future export opportunities which will benefit the wider space ecosystem and are actively engaged with bringing on board a wider spread of UK SMEs to deliver this essential sovereign capability.”

The Skynet 6A satellite will use more of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum available for satellite communications and the latest digital processing to provide more capacity and greater versatility than Skynet 5 satellites. The satellite will feature electric orbit raising propulsion as well as electric station keeping systems for maximum cost effectiveness.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin MP (right) starts production of the UK MOD’s Skynet 6A satellite. Photo is courtesy of Airbus.

Complete satellite integration will occur at Airbus facilities in the UK followed by testing using National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF) at Harwell in Oxfordshire supporting the UK Space Agency initiative for sovereign UK end-to-end satellite production and support. The Skynet 5 program, provided by Airbus as a full service outsource contract, has provided the UK MOD with a suite of highly robust, reliable and secure MILSATCOM services, supporting global operations since 2003.

Airbus has been involved in all Skynet phases since 1974 and this phase builds on a strong UK commitment to space manufacturing in the UK. The program commenced by using the legacy Skynet 4 satellites and then augmenting them with a fully refurbished, ground network before launching the Skynet 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D satellites between 2007 and 2012. The Skynet 5 program has reduced or removed many of the technical and service risks for the MOD, while ensuring unrivaled, secure MILSATCOM and innovation to UK forces.