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Open Cosmos’ MANTIS satellite prepped for upcoming launch

Open Cosmos provides a new generation 12U spacecraft platform, MANTIS. This platform hosts the Integrated Standard Imager for Microsatellites (iSIM-12U), an innovative, high-resolution, optical payload for EO missions developed by Satlantis Microsats SL.

Open Cosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA) have announced plans for the launch of the MANTIS satellite aboard the upcoming SpaceX Transporter-9 mission — this mission was arranged jointly by SAB Launch Services and Exolaunch.

MANTIS was successfully integrated with its EXOpod Nova deployment system in Berlin, provided by Exolaunch as part of their mission management and integration service, prior to completing its integrations with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 before lift-off from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

MANTIS, which stands for Mission Agile Nanosatellite for Terrestrial Imagery Services, will be the first satellite launched as part of ESA InCubed, the co-funding program run by ESA Φ-lab which focuses on commercial development activities across the entire Earth Observation (EO) value chain, including satellites, ground applications, downstream applications and new EO business models.

As a participating member state, the UK Space Agency has contributed £2.2 million of funding to this initiative in order to support the advancement of space-related innovation within the UK.

The satellite will host an innovative multispectral, high-resolution optical payload for EO and a secondary payload, a high-performance and reconfigurable processing unit aimed at exploiting the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to derive insights onboard. 

It will also further sustainability by addressing the challenges of accessibility and periodicity in the energy and mining sector. Approximately 60% of the resources required within these supply chains can be found in remote and inaccessible locations necessitating ground stations with high costs to climate and biodiversity. EO data from MANTIS will reduce this requirement and create an efficient solution over a widespread area. 

Outside of this sector, the data from MANTIS can be applied to further applications that will contribute to addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development, such as climate change monitoring, deforestation and land use monitoring, water resource management, biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture.

As the prime contractor for MANTIS, Open Cosmos will oversee the end-to-end space mission service. This includes satellite design, integration of the payloads, build,  launch, operations and dissemination of the data through their DataCosmos platform. Once operational, MANTIS will join the OpenConstellation, a global, shared Earth Observation (EO) satellite infrastructure built and managed by Open Cosmos which will enable anyone to access satellite data to address challenges around the climate crisis, energy, natural resources and more.

Deploying satellite infrastructure has, in the past, been prohibitively expensive. The OpenConstellation will allow national and regional governments, as well as businesses and organisations with more conservative budgets, to participate and access insightful, actionable data from space for the first time while keeping high levels of governance and security.

“MANTIS is an ambitious program and we’re excited to work with ESA to get this satellite into orbit in 2023. Once operational, MANTIS will allow us to better monitor our use of natural resources, allowing governments and organisations to make more informed decisions to support sustainable resource management practices. And by joining the OpenConstellation, the Earth Observation data derived from MANTIS will allow many other organisations to improve their impact, too.” — Aleix Megias, VP of Operations, Open Cosmos

“As the first InCubed co-funding of an end-to-end mission, MANTIS is a milestone for us and a salient example of the burgeoning commercial Earth observation sector in Europe, one of the priorities of ESA’s Agenda 2025. Open Cosmos has demonstrated a combination of technical excellence and customer focus that is sure to make the mission a success.”— Michele Casrtorina, Head of ESA Φ-lab Invest Office

“Observations of the Earth from space are helping us to monitor climate change, map our environment, forecast the weather and now, with this mission, finding new resources in a more sustainable way. MANTIS is an excellent example of how Earth observation satellites can provide novel solutions for a range of sectors. We’re delighted to have been able to support Open Cosmos and partners across the UK and Europe to deliver an innovative mission and drive growth in the sector.” — Harshbir Sangha, Missions and Capabilities Delivery Director, UK Space Agency

Planet’s Pelican tech demo satellite ready for launch

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) has announced that the company’s Pelican tech demonstration satellite, Pelican-1, along with 36 SuperDoves, have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in preparation for launch next month.

Pelican-1, designed and manufactured by Planet, is the first tech demonstration of Planet’s next-generation, high-resolution fleet, which is expected to replenish and improve upon Planet’s existing high-resolution systems on-orbit today. The 36 SuperDoves, Planet’s Flock 4q, will contribute to Planet’s daily monitoring PlanetScope mission.

Pelican-1 is a technology demonstration, built to test Pelican’s integrated design and Planet’s common bus platform. This common bus platform, designed and built by Planet, will also host the Company’s future hyperspectral Tanager mission. Planet launches tech demonstrations across all of its new satellite fleets in order to prove out nexgen systems, test its latest technology, and learn from its performance, improving the scalability of its systems along the way.

Pelican-1 is not expected to produce commercial data, but rather obtain critical information and learnings needed to iterate the Pelican design and rapidly scale to a fleet using Planet’s agile aerospace approach. When fully operational, the Pelican constellation is planned to improve upon every dimension of Planet’s existing high-resolution SkySat constellation – faster acquisition and delivery of data, better spatial resolution to see finer details, higher revisit to catch fleeting events, and more ways to combine insights with other analytics and sensors.

The 36 SuperDoves launching will contribute to Planet’s flagship daily, global monitoring mission. This data is used by hundreds of customers in defense, civil government, and commercial markets to take informed action, and better contextualize events they’re seeing on the ground today. Planet’s daily scan and deep archive of data for every point on Earth is unique within the industry and provides customers with a continuous and complete view of their areas of interest. Further, the archive acts as a rich training ground for predictive machine learning and advanced artificial intelligence models, accelerating users’ ability to draw insights from the terabytes of data collected by Planet each day.

“The launch of our first Pelican tech demonstration marks an exciting milestone for us,” said . “This new spacecraft bus is an exquisite system that will underpin both our Pelican and Tanager fleets and we can’t wait to learn and iterate in our agile aerospace model. The 36 SuperDoves also launching are not to be overlooked. They will join the flock we have in-orbit today, which remains the largest earth imaging fleet, providing our unique daily scan that is helping to unlock new markets.” — Will Marshall, Co-Founder and CEO, Planet

SSC taking applications for Project Apollo to accelerate advances in SDA

Space Systems Command (SSC), the United States Space Force (USSF) field command responsible for acquiring, developing, and delivering resilient space capabilities, is now accepting applications for the organization’s inaugural Project Apollo cohort. Details and on-line applications can be found at this direct infopage… .

The Space Domain Awareness TAP Lab ensures space superiority missions succeed by rapidly onboarding apps to close gaps. We decompose kill chains, prioritize needs with operators, map needs to technologies, and onboard technology to existing platforms — getting solutions into operations quickly. Photo of the lab is courtesy of SSC.

Project Apollo is a voluntary, collaborative, tech accelerator that brings U.S. companies, University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), industry experts, and Space Force Guardians together to solve critical challenges in space domain awareness. Collaborations are facilitated in three-month innovation cycles taking place at SSC’s newly opened Space Domain Awareness Tools, Applications and Technology (TAP) Lab in Colorado Springs. The first cycle starts on October 26th.

Filling gaps in space domain awareness is a top Department of Defense priority. According to Maj. Sean P. Allen, SSC TAP Lab chief, Project Apollo intends to fill those gaps quickly by providing a tools- and data-rich “sand box” for industry, academia and government to quickly formulate, test and prove solutions.

“Each innovation cycle is designed to target solutions at a Technology Level Readiness (TLR) of 4 or above that are scoped to address specific challenge statements provided to each cohort in advance,” said Allen.

Challenge statements for Project Apollo’s first cohort address space launch custody, object identification, and decision tools as follows:

Space Launch Custody: Using unclassified novel data, fusion, and analytic techniques (seismic, ionospheric, infrasonic, GPS telemetry, RF, neutrino, other), to detect space launches within seconds. Upon detection of a launch, predict the ascent trajectory, intermediate and final orbits. Provide these predictions to a space domain awareness sensor as a “cue” to reacquire and track the launch vehicle within seconds-to-minutes. Investment in this technology is warranted as no launch detection or early “cueing” capability exists for the commercial Space Domain Awareness Enterprise. Such a capability would enable rapid target acquisition, ID, and threat assessment of launches.

Object Identification (ID): From a set of features (behaviors, orbital data, photometry, radar cross section, RF emissions, other), classify and identify space objects within seconds. Evaluate potentially misidentified objects which may be adversary intelligence payloads or weapons. Nominate these for further investigation. Attempts to evade detection, tracking, and ID complicate defense from an attack. Examples may include covert operations or payloads, active satellites appearing dead, inactive, as debris, or otherwise plausibly deniable operations. Investment in this technology is warranted as camouflage, concealment, and deception are fundamental to warfare. Such a capability would aid in hostility assessments, response options, and prevent operational surprise.

Decision Aids: Given knowledge of the environment, status of assets (space, ground, links), and an evolving understanding of a threat, provide semi-automated, real-time, data-centric decision aids for an Operation C2 center. Decision aids should be simple and intuitive with little to no training needed. Decision aids may consider many factors such as: Objectives within an “OPLAN”, legal authorities, hostile act and intent criteria, engagement conditions, targeting criteria, collateral damage estimation, reporting requirements, coordination or liaison protocol with external organizations. This problem in particular is well suited for Artificial Intelligence.

Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for acquiring, developing, and delivering resilient capabilities to protect our nation’s strategic advantage in, from, and to space. SSC manages a $15 billion space acquisition budget for the Department of Defense and works in partnership with joint forces, industry, government agencies, academic and allied organizations to outpace emerging threats. Our actions today are making the world a better space for tomorrow.

SFL celebrates 25 years of smallsat development

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) is celebrating 25 years of building smallsats that provide big returns for commercial, government, and research clients — established in 1998, SFL has built 70 operationally successful satellites. recording 270 years on-orbit for dozens of distinct smallsat missions.

This year alone, the Toronto, Canada-based smallsat developer has seen 13 of the firm’s satellites launched and deployed, with another 26 satellites under development or awaiting launch. SFL’s record of accomplishments includes developing microspace missions for applications related to EO, atmospheric monitoring, ship tracking, telecommunications, RF geolocation, and space astronomy.

Pushing the envelope of what smaller satellites can accomplish, SFL has achieved microspace breakthroughs in space technology miniaturization including advanced attitude control for precise sensor pointing, drag sail deorbiting, autonomous formation flight, modular power systems, and custom deployables (e.g., antennas, solar panels, instrument shutters and doors) for small spacecraft. 

Notable SFL missions include the following:

  • HawkEye 360 Commercial Constellation – SFL has developed 18 formation-flying radio frequency geolocation microsatellites and guided integration of three others by HawkEye 360, all launched since 2018. Additional three-satellite clusters are under development at SFL’s Toronto headquarters and at HawkEye 360’s U.S. facility under SFL’s Flex Production Program.
  • GHGSat Commercial Constellation – Since 2016, SFL has developed nine greenhouse gas monitoring microsatellites, achieving remarkably precise attitude control and sensor pointing for the commercial GHGSat of Montreal, in addition to sustained detection and measurement of methane emissions at double the design capacities of the satellites.
  • Telesat LEO 3 Communications Microsatellite – Built on SFL’s scalable and versatile DEFIANT platform, this 30 kg demo spacecraft was launched in 2023 and will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
  • NEMO-HD Earth Observation (EO) Microsatellite – Built at a fraction of the cost of a traditional EO spacecraft, Slovenia’s first satellite captures 2.8-meter multispectral optical imagery and high-definition video used in a variety of applications since its 2020 launch.
  • Commercial Communications Constellation – Eighteen CubeSats have been deployed on orbit and are successfully operating using the SFL 6U-XL SPARTAN design for a Toronto-based company.

“For 25 years, SFL has focused on developing quality smaller satellites that achieve high levels of performance at price points affordable for customers in all sectors. By adhering to rigorous microspace development practices, we have stood the test of time, becoming a leading innovator of small satellites and cutting-edge technologies.”At SFL, we have built our reputation on developing smaller satellites that not only work the first time but exceed expectations both in terms of operational performance and lifespan.” — Dr. Robert E. Zee, Director, SFL

SFL offers a complete suite of nano-, micro- and small satellites – including high-performance, low-cost CubeSats – that satisfy the needs of a broad range of mission types from 3 to 500 kilograms. For a comprehensive list of SFL high-performance satellite platforms, please visit www.utias-sfl.net/satellite-platforms/overview/. 

The launch of Arianespace Flight VV23 is a smallsat deployment success

On Friday, October 8, 2023, at 22:36 p.m. local time (01:36 a.m. UTC), Arianespace’s Vega mission successfully lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the optical observation satellite THEOS-2, the weather satellite FORMOSAT-7R TRITON as well as ten auxiliary passengers.

The Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. Photo is courtesy of Arianespace.

After liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport, the Vega launcher was powered by the first three stages for a little over six minutes before the separation of the upper stage from the third stage, ZEFIRO-9.

The AVUM upper stage ignited twice before releasing simultaneously the two main satellites at an altitude of 601 km. Following two other ignitions of the AVUM, the ten cubesats composing the auxiliary payload all successfully separated, thus marking the end of mission VV23, one hour, 43 minutes and 58 seconds after liftoff. A fifth and last AVUM ignition de-orbited the launcher.

With this launch, Vega successfully orbited: THEOS-2 (THailand Earth Observation System-2), a very-high-resolution Earth observation optical satellite, provided by Airbus Defence and Space to support the Kingdom of Thailand’s key development priorities.

Artistic rendition of the Kingdom of Thailand’s THEOS-2 smallsat on-orbit. Image is courtesy of satellite manufacturer, Airbus.

FORMOSAT-7R/TRITON, an experimental satellite designed and manufactured by TASA (Taiwan Space Agency). FORMOSAT-7R/TRITON plays two roles: it is both a weather satellite and a scientific satellite.

Taiwan Space Agency’s artistic rendition of the FORMOSAT-7R / TRITON satellites on-orbit.

Arianespace is responsible for operating the new-generation Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers, developed by ESA, with respectively ArianeGroup and Avio as industrial primes. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore.

Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the Ariane and Vega European launcher industry, and ESA and CNES as censors.

Regarding the cubesats for institutional missions and the European Commission, all separation commands were properly executed; the confirmation of the separation was acquired for 8 satellites; the separation of the last 2 cubesats is still to be confirmed. As prime contractor for the Vega, in charge of development and production, AVIO Spa (Colleferro, Italy) delivers a flight worthy launcher on the launch pad to Arianespace, which sells and operates the launcher from the Guiana Space Center (CSG). During the launch campaigns, Arianespace works closely with CNES, the French space agency and the launch range authority at the European Spaceport in Kourou, who is notably looking after the satellite preparation facilities.

”Congratulations to Arianespace teams and their partners, amongst them Avio, ESA and CNES, for this successful Vega launch, commented , after the separation of the last satellite. By delivering multiple satellites to orbit, Vega again has demonstrated its unique versatility. I wish to thank our customers, Airbus Defence and Space for Thailand, Taiwan Space Agency, and the operators and sponsors of the cubesats, amongst them the European Commission, for their trust.” — Stéphane Israël, CEO, Arianespace

”We are very happy about the success of the mission, said . The joint work of Avio, Arianespace and ESA teams has allowed to leverage the Vega launcher, in order to minimize schedule changes for customers, demonstrating resilience and commitment.” Giulio Ranzo, CEO, Avio SpA

PLD Space successfully completes 1st private space rocket launch in Europe

PLD Space has made history after successfully completing the launch of the first private European rocket, MIURA 1 — this milestone achievement reinforces PLD Space’s position in building national and European strategic capabilities.

The first launch of MIURA 1 occurred at 02:19 CET (00:19 UTC) on Saturday, October 7th, at the facilities of the El Arenosillo Experimentation Centre (CEDEA), belonging to the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA). PLD Space has fulfilled the primary mission objectives related to engine thrust, trajectory tracking and launcher behavior.

The flight lasted 306 seconds in which MIURA 1 reached apogee at an altitude of 46 kilometers. The mission concluded with the rocket landing in the Atlantic Ocean and the company will proceed with the work of recovering the rocket during the next few hours.

The launch also tested a technological device from the German Centre for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) under microgravity conditions. The data gathered during the flight will inform future experiments.

Following an in-depth analysis of the mission, PLD Space will publicly release the data collected during the inaugural MIURA 1 flight test. Miura 1 is the first rocket created by a private company in Europe. PLD Space has achieved something which only three companies in Europe has achieved, that being the development of rocket technology that is recoverable and reusable.

The launch of the MIURA 1 suborbital rocket comes 12 years after the creation of PLD Space. With this maiden flight, the Spanish company marks a turning point in the European space race, where small satellites are revolutionizing access to information to accelerate innovation in multiple sectors on Earth. With this launch, Spain becomes the tenth country in the world to have direct space capability. With this launch, Spain has become the tenth country in the world with the capacity to reach space.

The inaugural suborbital flight of MIURA 1 marks a pivotal moment for the MIURA 5 orbital launcher’s development. The data gathered will enable validation of nearly 70% of the design and technology set to be incorporated into MIURA 5.

At present, over 90% of the PLD Space team is dedicated to developing MIURA 5 with the maiden launch scheduled for 2025 at the European spaceport CSG in Kourou, French Guiana, with commercial operations set to begin in 2026.

“This launch culminates over 12 years of relentless effort, yet it marks just the start of our journey. This test flight has yielded valuable data, enabling us to validate crucial design elements and technologies that will underpin the development of our MIURA 5 orbital launcher.” — Raúl Torres, Launch Director and Co-Founder, PLD Space.

“This launch establishes PLD Space as the frontrunner in the European space race. We ventured into space fueled more by determination than resources, yet we triumphed. The team’s elation is visible. Indeed, the mission’s success is a collective accomplishment, encompassing our investors, partners, and suppliers.” — Ezequiel Sánchez, CEO, PLD Space

“Looking to the immediate future, the success of a test flight like this is gauged by the insights we gain, insights that enhance our future reliability and success rate. We developed MIURA 1 as a stepping stone to accelerate the technological advancement of MIURA 5. With this mission’s success, our team is poised to rapidly progress towards the inaugural flight of MIURA 5 – our ultimate goal.” — Raúl Verdú, Business Development Manager and Co-Founder, PLD Space

United Launch Alliance’s successful launch of Amazon’s Protoflight mission

Liftoff!: Atlas V Project Kuiper Protoflight
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 2:06 p.m. EDT on October 6.
Photo by United Launch Alliance

Success. A picture perfect launch as Atlas V precisely delivers initial Project Kuiper prototype satellites. 

A ULA Atlas V rocket carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 2:06 p.m. EDT on October 6. Photo by United Launch
Alliance

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., (October 6, 2023) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper lifted off on Oct. 6 at 2:06 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. To date, ULA has launched 158 times with 100 percent mission success. The Protoflight launch is the first mission in a broader commercial partnership between ULA and Amazon to launch the majority of the Project Kuiper constellation.    

“This initial launch is the first step in support of deployment of Amazon’s initiative to provide fast, affordable broadband service to unserved and underserved communities around the world,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. “We have worked diligently in partnership with the Project Kuiper team to launch this important mission that will help connect the world. We look forward to continuing and building on the partnership for future missions.” 

ULA’s next launch is the inaugural Vulcan mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The next generation Vulcan rocket will offer unprecedented flexibility in a single system with streamlined operations and greater affordability, while continuing to provide unmatched reliability and orbital precision.  

Amazon purchased nine Atlas 5 launches for its internet constellation along with 38 flights aboard the forthcoming Vulcan rocket.

The Atlas V’s missions is used for interplanetary missions, military payloads and cargo deliveries to ISS. ULA’s Atlas V’s record includes more than 75 successful launches (as of March 2018) with no failures and is credited as one of ‘the most reliable in the world’ having launched the Pluto-bound New Horizons mission, the top-secret X-37B space plane and the Mars Curiosity rover.

In the future the Atlas V rocket will also be used to launch the Boeing CST-100 spacecraft to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

Roll to Pad: Atlas V Project Kuiper Protoflight
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is transported from the Vertical Integration Facility to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in preparation to launch Amazon’s Project Kuiper Protoflight mission. Photo by United Launch Alliance

LAUNCH-1: Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The mission is planned to lift off on Fri., October 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two-hour launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT. Today’s forecast shows a 70 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. 

Launch Forecast Summary:

Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 30%

Primary concerns: Thick Cloud Layers Rule, Cumulus Cloud Rule

Overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24-hour delay: 15%

Primary concern: Thick Cloud Layers Rule

Mission Overview

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 501 rocket is launching the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. ULA’s Atlas V rocket will deliver two prototype satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) for Project Kuiper, a LEO satellite network that will provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world.

Atlas V Project Kuiper Protoflight: Payload hoist
United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists Amazon’s Project Kuiper Protoflight mission payload atop the Atlas V rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

LAUNCH 2: Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The mission is planned to lift off on Friday, October 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The two-hour launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT. Today’s forecast shows an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. 

Launch Forecast Summary:

Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20%

Primary concerns: Cumulus Cloud Rule, Thick Cloud Layers Rule

Overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24-hour delay: 15%

Primary concern: Cumulus Cloud Rule

Launch visibility
Wondering if you can see the Atlas V launch of Project Kuiper Protoflight? This visibility map shows when and where your best chances are to see the rocket as it lifts off Friday at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) from Cape Canaveral.

The Launch Readiness Review (LRR) is GO for Friday’s liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on the Project Kuiper Protoflight mission to place prototypes of Amazon’s satellite design into space for real-world testing.

Liftoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The available launch window extends for two hours.

The LRR, led by ULA Launch Director James Whelan, was completed this morning at the Advanced Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC).

Leadership from ULA, Amazon and the Space Force assessed the readiness of the rocket, payload and mission assets, discussed the status of pre-flight processing work, heard technical overviews of the countdown and flight, and previewed the weather forecast that projects an 80 percent chance of meeting the launch rules.

At the conclusion of the meeting, senior leaders were polled and gave a ready status for launch, then signed the Launch Readiness Certificate. 

The Atlas V 501 rocket, designated AV-104, stands 196 feet (59.7 meters) tall and will weigh 748,149 pounds (339,355 kg) when fully fueled at liftoff.

The Protoflight launch is the first mission in a broader partnership between ULA and Amazon to help deploy Project Kuiper’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. Amazon will use nine launches of the Atlas V rocket and 38 launches of Vulcan Centaur to deploy its satellites. The prototype mission gives ULA and Amazon practical experience working together ahead of full-scale launches, including processing procedures, payload integration and mission management.

ULA will offer live reports from launch control in our automatically-refreshing blog beginning Friday at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC). The launch webcast starts at 1:40 p.m. EDT (1740 UTC).

The Protoflight mission payload arrives at the VIF. Photo by United Launch Alliance

L-3 UPDATE: Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The mission is planned to lift off on Friday, October 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT. Today’s forecast shows an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. 

The forecast from the Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 weather squadron and Launch Weather Officer Melody Lovin for Friday’s launch of Atlas V indicates an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

“By Friday, the ridge across the eastern Continental U.S. weakens and shifts into the north Atlantic, loosening the pressure gradient and thereby our winds and moisture levels in time for launch day. Showers and thunderstorms cannot be completely ruled out but should be on the isolated side Friday afternoon,” the weather team says.

The launch time forecast for 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) includes scattered clouds, possible isolated showers, good visibility, northerly winds 8 to 12 knots and a temperature near 81 degrees F.

If the launch moves to the backup opportunity on Saturday for some reason, there is an 85 percent chance of meeting the weather rules with similar but drier conditions expected.

Launch Forecast Summary:

Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20%

Primary concerns: Cumulus Cloud Rule

Overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24-hour delay: 15%

Primary concern: Cumulus Cloud Rule

Standing nearly 20 stories tall, the Atlas V 501 rocket will deliver its payload into low Earth orbit as part of the Project Kuiper Protoflight mission for Amazon. The prototypes of the final Kuiper satellite design will allow Amazon to test its technology in space before beginning full-scale production launches next year.
 
The Protoflight launch is also the first mission in a broader partnership between ULA and Amazon to help deploy Project Kuiper’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. Amazon will use nine launches of the Atlas V rocket and 38 launches of Vulcan Centaur to deploy its satellites. The prototype mission gives ULA and Amazon practical experience working together ahead of full-scale launches, including processing procedures, payload integration and mission management.
 
Atlas V will place two spacecraft — Kuipersat-1 and Kuipersat-2 — in 311-mile (500-km) orbits with an inclination of 30 degrees. Centaur uses a single burn to place the satellites into their desired perch and deploys them approximately 18 minutes after liftoff, at which point Amazon will assume control of the satellites and proceed with testing.
 
The Protoflight mission will add real-world data from space to Amazon’s results from its extensive lab testing, fieldwork and simulation, and help Amazon finalize plans ahead of a full-scale satellite deployment beginning in 2024.

Centaur Stack: Atlas V Project Kuiper Protoflight
The Centaur upper stage is brought to the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and placed atop the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in preparation to launch Amazon’s Project Kuiper Protoflight mission. Photo by United Launch Alliance

L-4 UPDATE: Everything continues to progress towards the ULA Atlas V launch carrying the Protoflight mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The mission is planned to lift off on Fri., October 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. 

The launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT. Today’s forecast shows an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. 

Launch Forecast Summary:

Overall probability of violating weather constraints: 20%

Primary concerns: Cumulus Cloud Rule, Surface Electric Fields Rule

Overall probability of violating weather constraints for 24-hour delay: 15%

Primary concern: Cumulus Cloud Rule

The launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 501 rocket carrying Amazon’s Project Kuiper Protoflight mission is planned for Fri., Oct. 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT.Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Launch Date: October 6, 2023
Launch Window: Opens at 2 p.m. EDT

GO Atlas V! GO Centaur! GO Project Kuiper! GO Protoflight!

The Atlas V booster stage is hoisted into the VIF. Photo by United Launch Alliance

Launch status update

(Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., Sept. 28, 2023) – The launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 501 rocket carrying Amazon’s Project Kuiper Protoflight mission is planned for Fri., Oct. 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch window opens at 2 p.m. EDT.

Protoflight: Atlas V stacked ahead of first Kuiper launch

United Launch Alliance (ULA) uses heavy-duty cranes, teamwork and a lot of coordination to assemble our massive rockets before they head into space. That art of rocket stacking is both time-tested and an obligation to some passengers who require vertical integration of their payloads.

This week, engineers and technicians at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, completed the initial buildup of the Atlas V 501 rocket that will launch prototypes of the Project Kuiper broadband system for Amazon.

The satellites will add real-world data from space to results from Amazon’s extensive lab testing, fieldwork, and simulation. This Protoflight mission also helps Amazon finalize design, deployment and operational plans ahead of a full-scale deployment beginning in 2024.

Preparations for this first launch began Sept. 16 with the Launch Vehicle on Stand (LVOS) milestone.

Before sunrise, the move crew arrived at the Advanced Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) to configure the Atlas V first stage for its delivery to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF), located about four miles up the road.

more information follows at this blog...

Virgin Galactic has completed their 5th spaceflight in 5 months

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE), on October 5th, completed the company’s fifth successful human space mission in five months — ‘Galactic 04.’

The three private astronauts aboard ‘Galactic 04’ bring different backgrounds and cultures to the mission, along with a shared passion for space, exploration and adventure.

Onboard ’Galactic 04’:

· Astronaut 017 Ron Rosano from the United States of America.

· Astronaut 018 Trevor Beattie from the United Kingdom.

· Astronaut 019 Namira Salim from Pakistan, marking the first person to fly to space from that country. Salim is also a resident of the United Arab Emirates and of Monaco.

VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Kelly Latimer and Pilot CJ Sturckow, with Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses on board. VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Jameel Janjua.

The Company will now proceed with post-flight inspections and analysis in preparation for the next commercial space mission, ‘Galactic 05’.

“Our teams in New Mexico and California have delivered on our monthly spaceflight objectives. Three new astronauts journeyed to space today and brought back incredible memories and stories of their experience above the Earth. These early missions with our initial ship, VSS Unity, have informed and confirmed the design and maintenance objectives for our Delta class spaceships, and the production tooling for those ships is on track to commence later in the fourth quarter.” — Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic

SpaceX launches 22 Starlinks making this the 70th successful launch of the year

The cameras at the launch site were visibly shaking due to the strong winds, but the launch took place to everyone’s relief.

THURSDAY UPDATE: SpaceX launches … After numerous delays beginning on the evening of October 4th the launch took place in the wee hours of Thursday, October 5th.

SpaceX did not give a reason for the delay but high winds are buffeting the area.

The U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron, based at Cape Canaveral, is warning of scattered showers rolling in off the Atlantic and breezy winds. They predict a 50-50 chance of a weather rule violation, with cumulus clouds and liftoff winds being the major concerns.

Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX photo from Friday, September 29 launch

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, October 4 at 10:45 p.m. ET for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is the 70th mission of the year.

If needed, four backup opportunities are available starting at 11:38 p.m. ET until 1:57 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 5. Six backup opportunities are also currently available on Thursday, October 5 starting at 10:29 p.m. ET until 1:49 a.m. ET on Friday, October 6.

This is the eighth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, and four Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX Starlink launches for October currently reveal only one on Wednesday, October 4, at 7:16 PM from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida. The $67.0 million launch on Falcon 9 will carry a batch of Starlink v2-mini satellites for their second generation high-speed Low Earth Orbit internet satellite constellation.

According to Wikipedia, as of August 2023, Starlink consists of over 5,000 mass-produced small satellites in Low Earth Orbit which communicate with designated ground transceivers providing internet to more than 2 million subscribers.

SpaceX Starlink launch just hours away

SpaceX photo from Friday, September 29 launch

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, October 4 at 10:45 p.m. ET for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. If needed, four backup opportunities are available starting at 11:38 p.m. ET until 1:57 a.m. ET on Thursday, October 5. Six backup opportunities are also currently available on Thursday, October 5 starting at 10:29 p.m. ET until 1:49 a.m. ET on Friday, October 6.

This is the eighth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, and four Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff.

SpaceX Starlink launches for October currently reveal only one on Wednesday, October 4, at 7:16 PM from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida. The $67.0 million launch on Falcon 9 will carry a batch of Starlink v2-mini satellites for their second generation high-speed Low Earth Orbit internet satellite constellation.

According to Wikipedia, as of August 2023, Starlink consists of over 5,000 mass-produced small satellites in Low Earth Orbit which communicate with designated ground transceivers providing internet to more than 2 million subscribers.