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Capella Federal receives U.S. Space Systems Command award

August 21, 2023

Capella Federal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capella Space, has received an award for the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based Services (PLEO) contract through U.S. Space Systems Command (SSC).

With this award, Capella will be able to partner more quickly with SSC and the U.S. Space Force (USSF) to broaden access to global 24/7, all-weather imagery for key missions.

This award makes Capella one of the first commercial EO companies to work with a new government commercial satellite services procurement model intended to leverage advanced, commercial technologies to boost U.S. resilience in space. The period of performance spans five years from July 2023 to July 2028, with an additional five-year option.

The contract was awarded by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) through the Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO), a central marketplace for SATCOM services operated by Space Systems Command (SSC), a field command of the U.S. Space Force.

“As the first American company to own and operate a commercial SAR constellation, we are excited to expand our collaboration with the U.S. government,” said . “Through this award, we will be able to provide more timely, high-resolution SAR data to support U.S. Space Force missions through our rapidly growing constellation.” — Payam Banazadeh, CEO and Founder, Capella Space

UPDATE: Hilary impacts new launch of Starlinks depending on SpaceX’s rocket recovery

August 20, 2023

UPDATE: SpaceX is targeting Monday, August 21 at 11:04 p.m. PT (6:04 UTC on August 22) for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The storm has created massive landslides and an earthquake in Southern California.

On Thursday: The impact of Hurricane Hilary on rocket recovery operations forced four more days of delay. The reusable first stage booster is usually recovered by a barge in an area of the eastern Pacific which is in the path of Hilary.

“Due to Hurricane Hilary impacting recovery operations in the Pacific, we are standing down from tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of Starlink,” SpaceX wrote on X (formerly Twitter) late Thursday. SpaceX recovers its first-stage Falcon 9 boosters by landing them on a drone ship in the Pacific about 8 minutes after launch.

Additionally: A magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred in Ventura County’s town of Ojai, California.

If needed, four additional opportunities are available starting at 11:54 p.m. PT (6:54 UTC on August 22) until 2:26 a.m. PT on August 22 (9:26 UTC). Four backup opportunities are also currently available on Tuesday, August 22 starting at 10:42 p.m. PT (5:42 UTC on August 23) until 2:05 a.m. PT on August 23 (9:05 UTC).

This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff

PREVIOUSLY: SpaceX scrubs scheduled launch due to approaching Hurricane Hilary.

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, California — Despite the multiple launch options provided for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites, all of those options have been scrubbed ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Hilary.

Tropical Storm Hilary strengthened into a hurricane Thursday, with forecasters warning it could potentially bring devastating rainfall and high winds to Southern California this weekend.

***Forecast rainfall totals as of August 21, from the National Weather Service.***
***Image: Weatherbell.com***

“Hilary is forecast by AccuWeather’s hurricane experts to become a major (Category 3) hurricane and peak as a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale while spinning just off the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja peninsula this weekend.”

The last tropical storm to impact the state was 84 years ago, according to official records.

Under some forecast scenarios, Tropical Storm Hilary could bring a year’s worth of rain to typically dry locations in just two to three days, which would cause extensive flooding.

The NWS forecast office in Phoenix said the amount of atmospheric water vapor surging into the Southwest ahead of the storm may reach levels “almost never experienced this time of year.”

The National Hurricane Center said Hilary was about 475 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as of 5 p.m. Thursday ET, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. While Hilary is likely to weaken as it travels northward, it could bring heavy rainfall to the southwestern United States, along with large swells and high surf along the coast.

When the launch takes place this is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, and five Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff

PREVIOUSLY: SpaceX is targeting Thursday, August 17 at 1:42 a.m. PT (8:42 UTC) for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

If needed, two additional opportunities are available at 2:33 a.m. PT (9:33 UTC) and 3:26 a.m. PT (10:26 UTC). Two backup opportunities are also currently available on Friday, August 18 at 12:30 a.m. (7:30 UTC) and 1:20 a.m. PT (8:20 UTC).

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff

BAE Systems plc announces the proposed acquisition of Ball Aerospace

August 17, 2023

BAE Systems plc has entered into a definitive Stock Purchase Agreement to acquire the Ball Aerospace business from Ball Corporation for c.$5.55 billion in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments.

The proposed stock transaction will be treated as an asset purchase for federal tax purposes, with an expected net present value tax benefit of c.$750 million, making the underlying economic consideration for the business c.$4.8 billion. The proposed acquisition will be funded by a combination of new external debt and existing cash resources. The business is headquartered in Colorado, with more than 5,200 employees, of whom more than 60% hold U.S. security clearances.

Ball Aerospace is a unique opportunity to strengthen BAE Systems’ world class multi-domain portfolio…

Leading provider of mission critical space systems and defence technologies across air, land and sea domains
Strong growth potential in areas aligned with the U.S. Intelligence Community and Department of Defense’s highest priorities
Attractive positioning and outlook across military and civil space, C4ISR and missile and munition markets
Highly complementary fit adding material scale of high caliber space, optical and antenna solutions
Excellent cultural fit with a long and distinguished track record of innovation and product development
Substantial investment in world class facilities and capabilities in the last five years to support growth
Substantial increase to our U.S. classified revenues, offerings and embedded customer relationships

Value enhancing financial effects

Expected revenue CAGR of c.10% over the next five years with scope to expand margins
Accretive to margins and earnings per share in the first year post completion including run-rate cost synergies
Accretive to cash flow per share in the first year
ROIC expected to exceed WACC within five years post completion
Multiple of ~13x 2024E EBITDA net of the tax benefit and run-rate cost synergies
Proposed acquisition to be funded by a combination of new external debt and existing cash resources

BAE Systems structurally compounding investment case

Attractive and strengthened revenue outlook
Improved margins and continued expansion potential
Strong cash conversion
Consistent with capital allocation policy and allows for continued share buyback activity as announced with the Half Year 2023 results

“The proposed acquisition of Ball Aerospace is a unique opportunity to add a high quality, fast growing technology focused business with significant capabilities to our core business that is performing strongly and well positioned for sustained growth. It’s rare that a business of this quality, scale and complementary capabilities, with strong growth prospects and a close fit to our strategy, becomes available. The strategic and financial rationale is compelling, as we continue to focus on areas of high priority defence and Intelligence spending, strengthening our world class multi-domain portfolio and enhancing our value compounding model of top line growth, margin expansion and high cash generation.We couldn’t be more pleased to have reached this agreement and we look forward to welcoming the employees of Ball Aerospace to BAE Systems as we work together to support our customers and create value for shareholders.” — Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, BAE Systems

UPDATE: Thursday, Hurricane Hilary causes a SpaceX launch scrub of 21 smallsat Starlinks

August 17, 2023

UPDATE: SpaceX scrubs scheduled launch due to approaching Hurricane Hilary.

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, California — Despite the multiple launch options provided for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites, all of those options have been scrubbed ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Hilary.

Tropical Storm Hilary strengthened into a hurricane Thursday, with forecasters warning it could potentially bring devastating rainfall and high winds to Southern California this weekend.

The last tropical storm to impact the state was 84 years ago, according to official records.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff

Rocket Lab inks dedicated launch deal with iQPS

August 17, 2023

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has signed a deal to launch an Earth Observation (EO) satellite on Electron for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS), a Japan-based, Earth imaging company.

iQPS was originally manifested on another launch vehicle — iQPS has now selected Rocket Lab to launch QPS-SAR-5 on a dedicated Electron mission to expedite the deployment.

The launch is scheduled for lift-off in September 2023 and will carry iQPS’s QPS-SAR-5 satellite — named TSUKUYOMI-I — into orbit on a dedicated Electron mission from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. The mission has been named “The Moon God Awakens” in acknowledgement of Tsukuyomi, the Japanese God of the Moon.

QPS-SAR-5 is a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite that will join a constellation after QPS-SAR-6 already on-orbit. iQPS’s satellites are small, high-performance SAR satellites that use a lightweight, large, stowable antenna to collect high resolution images of Earth, even through clouds and adverse weather conditions. Ultimately, the iQPS constellation is planned to have 36 satellites capable of monitoring specific fixed points on Earth every 10 minutes.

In addition to being launched by Electron, the QPS-SAR-5 satellite will use Rocket Lab’s Mark II Motorized Lightband (MLB) as its separation system, demonstrating the Company’s vertically integrated, space systems strategy.

“This is exactly the kind of mission Electron was designed for and has delivered on time and time again – a customer urgently seeking dedicated launch to a unique orbit on a rapid timeline. We’re delighted to deliver that capability to our new partners at iQPS and keep their mission on schedule. iQPS’ SAR technology can play a vital role in disaster prevention, marine monitoring, infrastructure management, agriculture, and more. The sooner their spacecraft is in orbit, the faster those capabilities can be delivered, so we’re grateful for the opportunity to make iQPS’ mission possible with a dependable launch service.” — Peter Beck, Founder and CEO, Rocket Lab

“We are very pleased to announce the new launch plan for QPS-SAR-5 following the successful QPS-SAR-6 launch in June, despite the delay due to status changes since our announcement of contract for QPS-SAR-5 in May last year. We highly appreciate Rocket Lab and our team for all their efforts in arranging this new launch contract as it is very meaningful for us to quickly deploy the satellites into orbit and build a 36-QPS-SAR constellation that will enable near real-time observation almost anywhere in the world, which we are aiming for. We believe that this collaboration with Rocket Lab for QPS-SAR-5 will evolve our SAR image data services and expand our business.” — Dr. Shunsuke Onishi, CEO, iQPS

NGA deploys to support Hawaii wildfire recovery

August 17, 2023

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is providing geospatial intelligence support to combined search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of the Hawaii wildfires as part of a Federal Emergency Management Administration Incident Support Team in Maui.

As part of the Incident Support Team, NGA deployed a team of two, geospatial analysts with mobile satellite communications to Maui, and established reach-back support from NGA Washington, NGA St. Louis and NGA USINDOPACOM.

NGA and FEMA are jointly developing geospatial products to identify search areas that FEMA and local responders can use to drive rescue operations.

NGA is also providing FEMA and local responders commercial remote sensing data to assist with recovery efforts, including commercial synthetic aperture radar, panchromatic and multispectral imagery, used by first responders to more effectively understand the impact on the ground.

NGA is closely monitoring the situation and will deploy additional personnel and equipment if requested by FEMA.

NGA has a decades-long history of providing geospatial intelligence support to HADR efforts, including support to federal search and rescue efforts for natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes.

For more information on Department of Homeland Security and FEMA Hawaii wildfire efforts, please visit this direct infolink…

For more information on U.S. government Hawaii wildfire efforts, please visit this direct infolink…

SpaceX to have second launch in 24 hours on August 17 of 21 Starlinks

August 16, 2023

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, August 17 at 1:42 a.m. PT (8:42 UTC) for a Falcon 9 launch of 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff

UPDATE: SpaceX launches 22 Starlink smallsats on Wednesday and another Starlinks launch scheduled for Thursday

August 16, 2023

UPDATE: Another successful SpaceX launch of 22 Starlink satellites on Wednesday, August 16 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:36 p.m. EDT. This was the Space Coast’s 42nd launch this year.

Following stage separation, the rocket’s 162-foot first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, that is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Previously: SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, August 16 at 1:42 a.m., ET, (08:42 UTC on August 17) for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

If needed, four additional opportunities are available starting at 9:07 p.m. ET (1:07 UTC on August 17) until 12:00 a.m. ET on August 17 (4:00 UTC). Four backup opportunities are also currently available on Thursday, August 17 starting at 7:49 p.m. ET (23:49 UTC) until 11:11 p.m. ET (3:11 UTC on August 18).

This is the 13th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, mPOWER-a, PSN SATRIA, and four Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

LICIACube named AIAA Small Satellite Mission of the Year

August 16, 2023

Argotec has been honored for the reliability and technical excellence of the company’s LICIACube mission with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Small Satellite Mission of the Year award.

Announced annually at the AIAA and Utah State University Small Satellite Conference, this award recognizes missions that demonstrate a significant improvement in the capability of smallsats.

LICIACube, funded by the Italian Space Agency, was part of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, the first attempt to target, impact and move an asteroid in space, in September 2022. The smallsat was the only secondary mission aboard NASA DART and its objective was to document the impact between the DART probe and the asteroid Dimorphos. LICIACube is the first deep space smallsat to attempt such a mission.

Argotec’s Mission Control Center recorded LICIACube performing an asteroid fly-by at 4.35 miles per second, or more than 15,650 m.p.h., under fully autonomous navigation. The smallsat took 627 photos showing debris streaming from Dimorphos.

Argotec recently announced a multimillion-dollar investment to start operations and build a facility in Largo, Maryland. The AIAA award speaks to Argotec’s commitment and the results the company is already achieving in the U.S. market.

Furthermore, Argotec has begun construction on the firm’s new SpacePark in Turin, Italy, to be completed by early 2025. The new facility will include nearly 120,000 square feet of covered space for a highly automated production plant and more than 180,000 square feet of green space as part of Argotec’s commitment to sustainability.

“With LICIACube, we once again demonstrated the incredible performance and reliability of our platform. This award recognizes the hard work and technical expertise of the Argotec team. And we are excited for our continued work on projects and missions in LEO and deep space, especially as we expand our presence in the United States.” — David Avino, Argotec CEO and founder

Equatorial Launch Australia signs a multi-launch contract with INNOSPACE

August 16, 2023

Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) the developer, owner and operator of the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) on the Gove Peninsula in Australia’s Northern Territory, has signed a multi-year, multi-launch contract with Korean aerospace company, INNOSPACE, for a series of orbital launches from the Australian spaceport.

The agreement will see the launch of several INNOSPACE rocket variants each carrying between 50 and 500 kg. payloads into LEO from the ASC across a five-year timeframe until December of 2028.

The signing of this contract has validated the business concept and development plans of ELA by securing INNOSPACE – the only hybrid-fueled rocket company worldwide to have successfully launched into space – as the first commercial company to become a ‘resident launcher’ (long term tenant and regular launcher) at the Australian spaceport. The first launches by INNOSPACE from the ASC are expected to commence in early 2025. ELA previously had a three-launch contract with NASA.

ELA has been working with the Australian Space Agency (ASA) to expand its existing Launch Facilities Licence (LFL) to support orbital launches from the ASC with a range of orbital rockets, differing azimuths and trajectories and a much wider array of propellant mixes and rocket configurations as part of its Phase 2 Development Plan. This work with the ASA will now expand to assist INNOSPACE to obtain its first Australian Launch Permit (ALP). This ALP approval process is expected to take between 6 and 14 months commencing later his year.

As one of up to seven planned ‘resident launchers,’ INNOSPACE will be allocated a Space Launch Complex (SLC), comprising two, modern, ASC launch pads customized to INNOSPACE’s rocket requirements, plus an extensive Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) that allows for rocket assembly, payload integration (in an ISO 8 clean room) and has overhead cranes, offices, workshops and system test facilities in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Each SLC is fully enclosed and encompasses a range of ITAR compliance measures including video and movement sensor security, extensive fencing, and access control.

“We are delighted to announce this multi-launch and long-term agreement with INNOSPACE and what we hope is the first of several launch agreements which we have been developing for some time. INNOSPACE is a truly innovative company with outstanding technology and is one of the leaders in the emerging market of smaller launch providers. INNOSPACE is one of the first of the next batch of “new space” rocket companies to launch and with increasing congestion at major spaceports globally, INNOSPACE has recognized the unique launch/geographic, infrastructure and commercial benefits of launching from the ASC.

“The launch contract and associated space launch complex agreement which we have been discussing for over a year provide INNOSPACE with the flexibility they require around launching a range of launch vehicles at an increasing cadence over the next five years. This contract demonstrates the potential for the ASC to deliver on our goal of being the pre-eminent commercial launch site globally. With the combination of our launch pad design/technology, launch inclination options, geopolitically stable base, infrastructure, logistics and engineering support solutions we have developed, we know we offer a highly competitive and attractive spaceport solution.

“Last year’s three successful launches with NASA allowed us to showcase the skill and capabilities of both the ELA team and the Arnhem Space Centre to the world. We’re excited to embark on that journey again – this time with INNOSPACE. It is a very important part of our ethos and culture to be known for what we achieve and not what we predict, and this contract again shows this aspect of ELA.” — Michael Jones, Executive Chairman and Group CEO, ELA

“We are thrilled to have secured an optimal launch spaceport, the ASC, which has the benefits of launching from an equatorial spaceport and brings launch efficiencies through this multi-launch agreement with ELA. Our goal is to offer customers greater flexibility for their launch schedule and orbit access with frequent dedicated launch opportunities. We expect to enable our satellite customers to achieve significant innovation with our orbital launch services by launching from the ASC.” — Soojong Kim, CEO, INNOSPACE