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EUTELSAT 10B satellite enters service

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has successfully entered into service the company’s multi-mission, high-capacity, EUTELSAT 10B satellite (built by Thales Alenia Space), slotted at the 10°East orbital position.

EUTELSAT 10B is carrying two, multi-beam, High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) Ku-band payloads: a payload covering the North Atlantic corridor, Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and the Middle East, offering significant throughput in the busiest air and sea traffic zones, and a second payload to extend coverage across the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and the Indian Ocean.

Firm multi-year capacity commitments are secured with several leading maritime and in-flight connectivity service providers – and discussions with others are well advanced. These partners, such as Panasonic and Intelsat, will rely on EUTELSAT 10B to provide ships and airlines with mobile connectivity services, in air and at sea, for passengers and crews.

EUTELSAT 10B will also cater Eutelsat ADVANCE services, a global network of unparalleled coverage providing high-end connectivity to users beyond the range of terrestrial networks, through an innovative satellite network-as-a-service experience.

EUTELSAT 10B is also carrying two widebeam payloads in C-and in Ku-band to ensure continuity of the video services on the EUTELSAT 10A satellite, whose operational life is scheduled to end later this year. The 10° East location that EUTELSAT 10B occupies has been operated by Eutelsat since 1987 and provides unrivaled coverage of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for video services. Historic clients such as Arqiva and Eurovision will be able to benefit from the newest resources and enhanced services at 10° East.

“EUTELSAT 10B satellite will boost our global connectivity services with High Throughput capacity, to meet increasing in-flight and maritime demand. EUTELSAT 10B’s Ku-band payload complements the Ka-band of the EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite, that will enter into service progressively in Autumn, reflecting our ability to serve our customers in both Ka- and Ku-bands with the best-in-class space assets. Moreover, this satellite brings innovative new resources that will be able to complement Eutelsat’s GEO-LEO offering.” — Cyril Dujardin, General Manager for the Connectivity Business Unit, Eutelsat

“With EUTELSAT 10B we are bringing the newest resources and enhanced services to 10° East, one of Eutelsat’s long-standing, leading orbital locations and a key position for professional video networks. Satellite maintains an integral role in the media supply chain, particularly to support the live transmission of major news and sporting events. Our clients can look forward to an ever-better service with this powerful new satellite.” — Laurence Delpy, General Manager for the Video Business Unit, Eutelsat

Smallsat market continues growth

Approximately 26,104 smallsats (satellites <500 kg) will be launched between 2023-2032, representing a daily launch mass of 1.5 tons over the 10 year period, according to Euroconsult.

Two constellations – Starlink (SpaceX) and GuoWang (China SatNet) – will collectively account for nearly two-thirds of the smallsats to be launched throughout the next decade and more than four-fifths of smallsat launch mass. This significant prominence is largely a consequence of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) partial approval of Starlink Gen 2 filings, alongside SpaceX’s launch of 1G satellites on 2G orbital planes and the substantial expansion of GuoWang activities in China. However, the two mega-constellations will only represent less than a quarter of market value, due to the considerable cost efficiencies of mega-constellations, leaving significant opportunities for other market participants.

Euroconsult’s latest ‘Prospects for the Small Satellite Market’ market intelligence report, now in its 9th edition, anticipates that the smallsat industry will accumulate around $110.5 billion in market value over the next decade, driven by the replenishment cycles of constellations around the world but also by more complex and costly single satellite missions for government users. Yet, the high-volume market keeps presenting several challenges, including limited market addressability for suppliers, difficult profitability, oversupply, and dominance of commercial activities by a handful of established players.

Regional demand retention rates and vertical integration are expected to only increase in the future, according to Euroconsult, as more emerging countries and operators seek to procure their own smallsat systems and develop their manufacturing or launch capabilities.

However, this will impose constraints on the addressable markets for many commercial smallsat players, with emerging launch operators also actively exploring opportunities to diversify into subsystems and satellite manufacturing, enticed by the higher profit margins offered compared to the launch industry. Some launch providers are even venturing into satellite operations and downstream services to further expand their business horizons. Several players are thus considering >500 kg constellations, including Starlink 2G, Project Kuiper, Telesat Lightspeed, Rivada, Intelsat MEO, and O3b mPower.

Though, as some constellation operators transition to larger satellites in a quest for more performance and lower capacity costs, this may create the impression of a shrinking smallsat market towards the end of the decade. SpaceX’s shift alone, powered by Starship’s entrance to the launch market, can lead to a perceived deficit in the industry. However, Euroconsult indicates that the industry’s growth is forecasted to continue at a steady rate when removing Starlink and GuoWang from the equation.

Long-term government agency contracts will continue to serve as a pivotal driver for this growth by offering reassurance and resilience to investors, including ESA’s commercial additions to its Copernicus program, Starlink’s government support, and the National Reconnaissance Office’s 10 year contract with Maxar, BlackSky, and Planet Labs.

Euroconsult will provide an even more in-depth overview of the next decade’s outlook for the smallsat market at the Small Satellite Conference in Utah on August 8th in a one-time-only presentation. Their ‘Prospects for the Small Satellite Market’ report, now available with a free extract, includes a comprehensive analysis of market drivers and inhibitors across five mass categories, six regions, seven satellite applications, five manufacturer typologies, and four types of operators.

The intelligence report also carries a unique and exhaustive database of over 325 projects featuring tens of thousands of satellites, as well as Euroconsult’s brand new “Data Behind the Graphs” feature, which enables access to data from all the graphs in the report and a complete understanding of smallsat market trends.

‘Prospects for the Small Satellite Market’ is the ninth edition in the series and presents the various factors that will drive/inhibit growth in demand for small satellites (<500 kg) over the next 10 years. It considers satellites by five mass categories, six regions, seven satellite applications, five manufacturer typologies, four types of operators, and much more. Consolidated figures for three metrics (units, mass, value) over two decades, including Euroconsult’s forecast for the next decade, are broken down by application, orbit, operator type, mass category, region of the operator as well as integrator and launch provider, type of integrator and type of launcher.

“New constellations are expected to face scope reductions and consolidation, as inflation will keep impacting their materialization probability, alongside supply chain issues and growing costs or limited availability of semiconductors and raw materials. Nonetheless, smallsats still represent a significant capability-building opportunity for new entrants in the space sector, with the conflict in Ukraine spotlighting the merits and value of commercial satcom and Earth observation smallsat constellations.” — Alexandre Najjar, Lead Report Author

Space and Satellite Market Intelligence and Data

Teledyne FLIR Defense’s $94 Million IDIQ U.S. Army contract for Black Hornet® 3 nano-drones

Total Army investment in Black Hornet likely to exceed $225 million by 2028

Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY), has won a five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract worth up to $93.9 million to provide its Black Hornet® 3 Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS) to the United States Army. The initial award under this IDIQ will cover delivery of the nano-unmanned aerial systems (UAS), as well as controllers, spare parts, and training.

In 2018 the U.S. Army began acquiring Black Hornet 3’s as part of its Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program. Since then, the Army has placed orders totaling more than $125 million for the multi-faceted drone. Soldiers are using the advanced nano-UAVs to augment squad and small unit surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

Per image above Black Hornet drones are currently being used by Ukrainian forces through donations made by the British and Norwegian governments.

Weighing just 33 grams, nearly silent, and with a flight time up to 25 minutes, the combat-proven, pocket-sized Black Hornet PRS transmits live video and HD still images back to the operator. Well suited for operations in contested environments, the Black Hornet provides soldiers with immediate covert situational awareness to help them perform missions more safely and effectively.

Black Hornet drones are currently being used by Ukrainian forces through donations made by the British and Norwegian governments. This month, Norway’s Ministry of Defense ordered 1,000 more UAS systems. They have performed successfully in numerous operations under the harshest of environments. FLIR Defense has delivered more than 20,000 Black Hornet PRS systems to military and security forces in over 40 countries.

“The Black Hornet 3 gives warfighters up-to-the-minute situational understanding before and while they conduct missions,” said Dr. JihFen Lei, executive vice president and general manager of FLIR Defense. “We are proud to provide this unique capability to our soldiers and honored by the U.S. Army’s long-term commitment through the new IDIQ, building on its previous orders under the SBS program.

“FLIR Defense will continue to invest in developing unmanned platforms and smart sensors that are proving their worthiness in operational theaters worldwide,” Lei added. “These technologies are reshaping the modern battlefield.”

The award-winning Black Hornet 3 is designed and built by FLIR Defense in Norway.

Iridium launches Iridium Certus for aviation connectivity

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) has introduced their Iridium Certus® aviation commercial service, providing a secure cockpit domain with reliable voice and data capabilities.

Using L-band satellite frequencies that are superior for cockpit communications, Iridium Certus for aviation is an ideal complement to commercial transport passenger cabin connectivity Ka-/Ku-band services and can be a primary service for small-to-mid-size business jet cabins. It would also be preferred to HF/VHF for electronic flight bag (EFB), flight critical data, and passenger communications during oceanic flights.

Artistic rendition of Iridium’s LEO network.

Iridium’s partners are introducing a range of multi-tier Iridium Certus solutions that complement other in-flight connectivity (IFC) systems installed on aircraft. Multiple Iridium Value Added Manufacturers (VAMs) and Value-Added Resellers (VARs) are providing a spectrum of Iridium Certus 100 and Iridium Certus 700 solutions. Safety certifications are currently in progress, with flight trials expected to begin by the end of 2023 and approvals expected in 2024, making it a valuable short-term and long-term investment for aircraft operators.

With its LEO satellite network, Iridium offers weather-resilient L-band connectivity and unparalleled global coverage versus GEO systems. The flexibility of Iridium Certus service to scale device SWaP requirements both up and down allows users to cater to various mission needs, offering different price points and versatility for diverse aircraft types and operational requirements. Iridium Certus also makes it affordable for aircraft operators to obtain real-time data from the cockpit, enabling better decision-making and improved operational efficiency.

The success of Iridium Certus technology in maritime and land applications has paved the way for its entry into the aviation realm. With thousands of subscribers currently using the Iridium Certus service, its deployment has been extensive and highly regarded. The aviation industry now benefits from the robust suite of solutions provided by Iridium Certus, supporting Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV)/Urban Air Mobility (UAM), business jet cabin connectivity, and paving the way for future flight deck applications. Iridium and its ecosystem of partners are continually developing new offerings, with additional announcements and terminal launches planned for later this year.

“The aviation industry is forecasting a period of unprecedented growth, where reliable connectivity has become crucial for both passenger and cockpit communications. Iridium Certus perfectly fits these applications due to the combination of its Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) as well as the outstanding reliability of our global network. With our upgraded constellation, we have significantly improved and expanded our offerings, delivering air traffic control services, weather, and critical information to cockpits worldwide more affordably than ever before.” — Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium

“Iridium’s first generation voice and data solutions are installed on over 60,000 aircraft today and have been critical for flight safety and relied upon by pilots and airlines for years. As the preferred solution for a wide range of aviation applications, from drones to airliners, Iridium Certus is ready to support the industry’s evolving connectivity needs.” — John Peterson, Executive Director of Aviation, Iridium

Maxar’s Critical Design Review for first Maxar 300™ platform developed for the Space Development Agency is completed

The first program to benefit from the Maxar 300™ platform is the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer, which will begin production this year. (Credit: Maxar)

Maxar Technologies, provider of comprehensive space solutions and secure, precise, geospatial intelligence, completed the first Critical Design Review (CDR) of the Maxar 300™ series bus for L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) in support of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TRK) program. The T1TRK program is designed to provide global warning and tracking of conventional and advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems.

Maxar’s inaugural Maxar 300 series bus is designed for eight or more space vehicles per launch while delivering the low jitter and high power required for the missile defense mission.

“We designed the Maxar 300 series platform to be quickly scalable,” said Chris Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Space at Maxar. “The team completed CDR just ten months from award, and we’re on schedule to begin production of our platforms later this year with initial deliveries in early 2024. Our customers need speed and agility while ensuring a superior technical product, and that’s what Maxar’s commercial experience can deliver.”

The comprehensive review examined all the principal elements of the new system, including structural design, power, attitude control and command and data handling. Maxar will build 16 platforms for the T1TRK program, each about the width of a conventional oven. Those dimensions help the SDA achieve its goals to significantly reduce size, weight, power and cost compared to traditional missile detection satellites. The SDA mission will also adapt and extend Maxar’s deep commercial communications satellite experience for new uses.

Designed, engineered and built in-house in California, the Maxar 300 buses are modular platforms that benefit from the company’s decades of experience building more than 90 spacecraft for low Earth orbit. Both the platform and Maxar’s production capacity are scalable, with the ability to address multiple missions with flexible production rates that meet delivery timelines.

ESA: New Galileo station goes on duty

This week marks another important milestone for the Galileo project with the ground segment formally gaining a brand-new asset.

Galileo’s new Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) facility is a 13.5-meter diameter parabola dish mounted on top of a 10-meter-high building structure of steel and concrete.

Known by the acronym TTCF-7, it is based within the premises of Europe’s launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, beside its older sibling, TTCF-2.

Photo of the Kourou, French Guiana, space center.

Rocket Lab’s next mission is for Capella Space

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has scheduled the company’s next Electron launch during a window that opens July 30, 2023, NZST/UTC.

The ‘We Love the Nightlife’ mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula for Capella Space (Capella), a provider of commercial, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery.

Artistic rendition of Capella Space’s Acadia SAR satellite, courtesy of the company.

‘We Love the Nightlife’ will be Rocket Lab’s third launch for Capella following the successful “Stronger Together” mission launched in March 2023 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, USA, and the “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical” mission in August 2020 from Launch Complex 1, which deployed the first satellite in Capella’s SAR constellation.

The launch windows, according to time zones, are:

  • NZST: 17:00 – 19:00, July 30
  • UTC: 05:00 – 07:00, July 30
  • EDT: 01:00 – 03:00, July 30
  • PDT: 22:00 – 24:00, July 29

The live launch webcast may be viewed at this direct link…

‘We Love the Nightlife’ will be the first of four, new, dedicated launches on Electron for Capella, announced in February of 2023, to deploy Capella’s next-generation SAR Earth-imaging satellites called Acadia.

Payload integration is completed for Capella Space on Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle. Photo is courtesy of Capella Space.

Capella’s satellites deliver high quality, high resolution SAR imagery capable of penetrating all weather conditions and capturing clear imagery 24-7, day and night, anywhere on Earth, delivered through Capella’s fully-automated ordering and delivery platform.

The next-generation Acadia satellites include a number of enhancements to Capella’s existing constellation, including increased bandwidth and power and faster downlink speeds. When combined with Capella’s existing long-dwell imaging capability and extended duty-cycle – which results in more images collected per orbit than other SAR systems – Acadia will continue to set the benchmark within the SAR industry.

All four upcoming Electron missions will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, each deploying a single Acadia satellite to a 640 km mid-inclination orbit, expanding the existing Capella Space SAR constellation and providing more rapid revisit across diverse regions around the Earth.

Photo of Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand, courtesy of the company.

Each Capella Space satellite will also be supported by a Rocket Lab-manufactured Advanced Lightband: separation systems for each satellite to attach to and deploy from Electron once launched to orbit.

Rocket Lab’s Advanced Lightband system.

“Electron was the trusted launch vehicle for Capella’s first publicly available satellite when we launched their mission in 2020, so it’s an honor once again to be entrusted with launching the first of their next generation Acadia satellites. Reaching 40 Electron launches is a wonderful milestone for our team members who have built the most reliable small launch vehicle in history and we’re delighted to share such a significant launch with our long-standing mission partner Capella.” — Peter Beck, CEO, Capella Space

“We are proud to partner with Rocket Lab to introduce Capella’s third-generation Acadia satellite technology to the world,” said . “Acadia is a reflection of our commitment to technology innovation and will preserve our track record of delivering high-quality and low latency SAR imagery to customers anywhere in the world.” — Payam Banazadeh, Founder and CEO, Capella Space

SpaceX sends 15 Starlinks to orbit

On Wednesday, July 19th., at 9:09 p.m., PT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 15 Starlink satellites to LEO from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

This was the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, and now five Starlink missions.

Both fairing halves of this launch were recovered by the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” that was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

This was SpaceX’s 48th mission in 2023 and 247th overall mission.

Mission’s Falcon 9 Stage 1 landing on the droneship.

Fleet Space Technologies acquires European frequency assets and continues the company’s global expansion

Fleet Space Technologies has expanded its global footprint with its acquisition of rights to new, long-term, frequency filings in Europe — in the firm’s first commercial venture on the European continent, Fleet has purchased the frequency of assets of a Luxembourg-based company, giving the company effective, operational control over an existing frequency filing, adding to its already substantial holding of these mission-critical assets.

A filing provides a claim over spectrum and orbital resources for satellite networks with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Fleet’s newly acquired filing rights have seniority and that means means they will take priority over those that have been submitted more recently. The filings have been brought into use and Fleet will be able to use the new frequencies indefinitely, as long as it maintains a satellite on-orbit capable of using them.

The rapid growth in the global smallsat industry and LEO constellations — such as Fleet’s — has put increasing pressure on the limited radio frequency spectrum available for data transmission. The ITU frequency filing system is designed to support coordination among satellite operators and prevent interference between spacecraft using the shared resources.

In this context, the new frequency filings help secure Fleet’s access to uplink and downlink resources in the targeted frequency band, maximizing service availability to its satellite customers worldwide. Having a presence in Europe will also stimulate the recruitment and exchange of highly skilled talent between Europe and Australia as well as further improve established relationships with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The requirement to incorporate assets from other companies leaving the industry is driven by sustained growth for Fleet across a multitude of sectors. This includes the signing of long-term, satellite aided, critical Earth transition mineral agreements with some of the world’s largest and most innovative miners.

Fleet also confirmed the firm’s first defence contract in April of 2023, signing a AUD$6.4 million contract with Australia’s Defense Space Command, a Series C funding round of $50 million in May and was recently awarded A$4 million Demonstrator Program contract by the Australian Space Agency to harness seismic data at the Moon’s South Pole. This key strategic acquisition will underpin further growth.

“As Fleet Space Technologies company is now providing innovative universal connectivity solutions through its network of satellites across the globe to sectors as diverse as critical mineral exploration and defence. To meet this sustained demand, we depend on access to the shared but limited radio frequency spectrum to operate our services. Securing access to these new frequency filings puts us in a strong position globally and gives us and our customers a real competitive advantage. It also represents another important step in our international expansion, by giving us a commercial foothold in Europe to complement our operations in Australia, USA, Canada and Chile.” — Flavia Tata Nardini, CEO and Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies

Rocket Lab Electron launches satellites for NASA, Space Flight Laboratory + Spire Global

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) successfully launched their rideshare Electron mission that carried seven smallsats to LEO.

Named the “Baby Come Back” mission, Electron lifted the smallsats from Pad A at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand (photo below), to their assigned orbits.

Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1, Mahia, New Zealand.

Rocket Lab is also planning to conduct a marine recovery of Electron’s first stage as part of this mission, with the recovery team aboard the vessel Seaworker.

Map showing the position of the Seaworker vessel for the Electron 1st stage recovery effort. Map and image are courtesy of MarineTraffic.

Payloads aboard the ‘Baby Come Back’ mission include…

  • NASA
    NASA’s Starling mission is a four CubeSat mission (built by Blue Canyon Technologies) and are designed to test technologies to enable future “swarm” missions. Spacecraft swarms refer to multiple spacecraft autonomously coordinating their activities to achieve certain goals. Starling will demonstrate technologies for in-space network communications, onboard relative navigation between spacecraft, autonomous maneuver planning and execution, and distributed spacecraft autonomy — an experiment for small spacecraft to autonomously react to observations, paving the way for future science missions.
  • Space Flight Laboratory (SFL)
    Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) selected Rocket Lab to launch Telesat’s LEO 3 demonstration satellite that will provide continuity for customer and ecosystem vendor testing campaigns following the decommissioning of Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite.
  • Spire Global
    Spire will launch two LEMUR (Low Earth Multi-Use Receiver) 3U satellites carrying Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) payloads to replenish its fully deployed constellation of more than 100 multipurpose satellites. Spire’s satellites observe the Earth in real time using radio frequency technology. The data acquired by Spire’s GNSS-RO payloads provide global weather intelligence that can be assimilated into weather models to improve the accuracy of forecasts. Spire is the largest producer of GNSS-RO weather data, collecting over 20,000 RO profiles a day.