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EM Solutions signs acquisition contract to deliver Naval SATCOM solutions

The Australian Commonwealth’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) has selected EM Solutions to upgrade the Royal Australian Navy’s SATCOM systems across the existing fleet of vessels.

This is, by far, the largest contract ever signed by EM Solutions and demonstrates how support for the Sovereign Defence Industry, particularly Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), can deliver world leading capability and enhance sovereign capability. EM Solutions enters this contract as the Prime Contractor that will initially result in around 30 new positions, some of which have already been filled, at the company’s head office in Brisbane.

The fifth evolved Cape-class patrol boat, the future ADV Cape Woolamai, after being launched. Photo is courtesy of Australian Government Defence.

EM Solutions is also expanding its local industry supply chain to support, develop and deliver programmatic, integrated logistics services (ILS) and training. The company will continue to work with existing partners and develop new sovereign component and subsystem suppliers for its Naval maritime SATCOM systems.

The acquisition contract is initially valued at approximately $150 million over the next seven years and provides up to a further $50 million in material and service purchases by CASG once the initial program deliverables are approved.

The goal of the contract is to modernize the Primary and Alternate SATCOM for the existing RAN Fleet using EM Solutions’ King Cobra and Cobra SATCOM terminals. The development of each of these terminals has been supported by Australian Defence through the Defence Innovation Hub and earlier Concept Technology Demonstrator (CTD) programs.

Photo post contract signing by EMS Solutions

This contract does not include ongoing support and sustainment services, however as previously announced in October 2022, EM Solutions already has an existing contract with CASG to support the deployed Cobra systems and those previously acquired for new ship builds.

While the future support of equipment provided under the SEA1442 Phase 5 acquisition contract may lead to additional ongoing revenue to EM Solutions, it will be subject to separate procurement processes and decisions by Defence. EM Solutions has already achieved significant success securing export contracts for its Naval Maritime SATCOM solutions, and with this further vote of confidence from the ADF they are well placed to continue expanding their business with allied Navies globally.

“The signing of this contract is the result of a close collaboration between EM Solutions and CASG since the announcement in early 2022 that EM Solutions had been selected to respond to a limited release tender for Work Package 1 of the SEA1442 Phase 5 program. It has been a learning journey to ensure the delivery of optimised, cost-effective capability to our sailors in the future. Through a technology evolution program EM Solutions aims to support Navy in managing SATCOM technology evolution and obsolescence management continuously. The trust shown by the ADF in EM Solutions, transitioning from a component supplier to a prime contractor, is a credit to everyone who has contributed to our business to achieve this significant milestone, as with our previous contract negotiations with CASG.” — John Logan, Vice President of Programs, EM Solutions

Ariane 5 flight VA261 — launch delay

The Ariane 5 flight that was scheduled for June 16th has been delayed.

Arianespace offered the following information regarding this launch delay via the company’s Twitter account…

“It has come to light that there is a risk to the redundancy of a critical function on the Ariane 5. Consistent with safety requirements, Arianespace has decided to postpone the roll-out of the VA261 launch vehicle. Analyses are underway to determine a new launch date.“

More information will follow, when available.

Artistic rendition of the Heinrich Hertz satellite on-orbit. Image is courtesy of the German Space Agency

Flight VA261 will carry to space two payloads — the German Space Agency (DLR)’s experimental communications satellite, Heinrich Hertz, and the French communications satellite, Syracuse 4b.

The Syracuse IV (artistic rendition above) satellite-based telecommunications program is equipping the French Armed Forces with secure means of communications that are accessible in all scenarios (crises, major disasters, etc.). This program is comprised two military satellites – Syracuse 4A and 4B – and ground stations for users in the three services (Army, Navy, and the country’s Air and Space Force), enabling long-range communications between areas of operations and the decision-making centers in mainland France.

The flight will be the 117th mission for Ariane 5, a series which began in 1996. Notable Ariane 5 payloads have included ESA’s comet-chasing Rosetta, a dozen of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites — orbited with just three launches — and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

Ariane 5’s next-to-last launch sent ESA’s Juice mission to Jupiter.

This heavy launcher more than doubled the mass-to-orbit capacity of its predecessor, Ariane 4, which flew from 1988 until 2003 as a favorite of the telecommunications industry which required large payloads sent into very high geosynchronous orbits. Ariane 5’s capacity enables it to orbit two large telecommunications satellites on a single launch, or to push large and heavy payloads into deep space.

UPDATE: A SpaceX Falcon 9 dispatched 72 smallsats to orbit including 3 experimental smallsats for Space Systems Command + dozens of additional payloads

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of the Transporter-8 mission to LEO occurred at Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, and four Starlink missions.

Following 1st stage separation, Falcon 9 landed on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Transporter-8 is SpaceX’s eighth dedicated smallsat rideshare mission. There are 72 payloads on this flight, including smallsats, a re-entry capsule and orbital transfer vehicles (OTV) carrying spacecraft for orbit deployment at a later time.

As a member of this mission, Space Systems Command (SSC)’s Space Domain Awareness & Combat Power (SDA&CP) and partner Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have now launched the Department of Defense‘s Space Test Program (STP)-CR2301 mission, with three, experimental satellites delivered to LEO.

The three experimental satellites built by Blue Canyon Technologies were delivered by STP-CR2301 to LEO include two Modular Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (MISR) CubeSats and an XVI military communications spacecraft. The MISR CubeSats demonstrate two-way communications with ground devices as well as experiment with novel methods for the DoD to tactically leverage smallsat capabilities. The XVI CubeSat will test the capacity of the Link-16 network to communicate to space.

Official confirmation of satellite deployment was received from the SDA&CP program office 90 minutes after orbital insertion. In the next few days, satellite operators will make initial contact with the deployed satellites ensuring nominal functionality.  

STP-CR2301 is another example of demonstrating commercially available rideshare solutions for placing USSF satellite capabilities on-orbit, providing flexibility and resiliency for the USSF, and supporting warfighter requirements in an increasingly contested environment.

STP-CR2301 is managed by the DoD STP office located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SSC’s SDA&CP headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, administers the DoD STP which delivers experimental demonstrations of new capabilities and expedient space access solutions for research and development experiments.

SDA&CP is the program executive office within SSC that is responsible for delivering ground- and space-based infrastructure and systems that identify threats to national, allied, and commercial space systems. Its innovations integrate seamlessly across the space enterprise and promote deterrence by providing advances in space-enabled warfighting capabilities to our joint military forces.

“We are proud of our continued partnership with the Air Force Research laboratory and the Department of Defense and commend them on achieving this milestone. Proving these new technologies in the space environment is a vital step for future deployment in operational Space Force systems. This 306th mission continues the Space Test Program’s 56-year history of providing access to space and testing these experiments and I’m honored to be part of this team launching these payloads today.”
— Lt. Col. Jonathan Shea, SSC’s director of the DoD’s Space Test Program

SSC is the U.S. Space Force’s field command responsible for acquiring and delivering resilient war fighting capabilities to protect our nation’s strategic advantage in and from space. SSC manages an $11 billion space acquisition budget for the DoD and works in partnership with joint forces, industry, government agencies, academic and allied organizations to accelerate innovation and outpace emerging threats. Our actions today are making the world a better space for tomorrow.

Photo of a Falcon 9 rocket on launch pad courtesy of SpaceX

Additional deployed payloads included…

D-Orbit manifested, ION SCV-011 to be deployed by Savvy Simon

Exolaunch manifested, AFR-1 | All-DELTA | Ayris-1, -2 | Droid.001 | EIVE | GEISAT | Grégoire | ICEYE-1, -2, -3, -4, deployed for ICEYE | LEMUR 2 AADAM-ALIYAH, LEMUR 2 EMBRIONOVIS, LEMUR 2 NAZIYAH | MuSat-1 | Spacebees [Swarm] |

iQPS: QPA-SAR-6 AMATERU III

Launcher: Orbiter SN3

Lockheed Martin Corporation: Blackjack Aces-1, -2, -3 and -4

Maverick Space Systems: FOSSASAT-FEROX | GHOSt-3 | MISR-A, MISR-B | Tomorrow-R2 | Tiger-4 | XVI |

Satellogic: NewSat 40, 41, 42, 43

SatVu: HotSat-1

Skykraft: Skykraft-3

Terran Orbital: Runner-1

Varda: W-Series 1

SpaceX maneuvers 52 Starlinks to LEO

The first SpaceX launch of the day and this one occurred on Tuesday, June 12th., at 3:10 a.m. ET (07:10 UTC) and a Falcon 9 carried 52 Starlink satellites to LEO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1, Hispasat Amazonas Nexus, CRS-27, and four Starlink missions.

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

SES announces Steve Collar, CEO, to step down

SES has announced that Steve Collar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will be stepping down at the end of June 2023 to pursue other professional and personal endeavors — the search for a successor is underway and Ruy Pinto, currently Chief Technology Officer of SES, will assume the role of CEO until a permanent successor is announced.

Frank Esser, Chairman of the SES Board of Directors, said, “We would like to thank Steve for his significant contribution to SES over a period of more than 20 years. As CEO, Steve successfully steered SES, leaving the business in a strong position for the future with a differentiated multi-orbit capability, world-class set of customer solutions, a simplified and market-centric organization, and a strong balance sheet set to be further strengthened from the execution of C-band clearing. The current market environment is rapidly changing, and I welcome Ruy Pinto, who leads over half of the SES workforce today and has substantial industry experience, as we address the challenges and capture further opportunities in the market. The Board has full confidence in Ruy and our management’s engagement on continued strong execution as we embark on a new phase of success for SES.”

Steve Collar commented, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to lead the incredible people at SES. SES has been the benchmark in the industry for decades and I leave the company as its leader and go back to being a huge supporter, admirer and fan and will be cheering Ruy and the Management Team on from the side-lines. With O3b mPOWER launching, the company performing well and C-band all but delivered, the future is bright, and I wish the Board and everyone at SES every success.” 

Ruy Pinto joined SES in February 2017 and was appointed Chief Technology Officer in January 2019, driving the differentiation in multi-orbit capabilities and the cloudification of SES. Prior to SES, Ruy spent over 25 years at Inmarsat in various lead technical and managerial roles.

Ruy Pinto commented, “I am delighted to be leading SES and working with our teams around the world through a transition period, progressing SES into a phase where we will continue to grow on a strong value creation trajectory for our stakeholders, executing strongly, simplifying our business and optimizing our cost base.”

Firefly Aerospace acquires Spaceflight Inc.

Firefly Aerospace has acquired Spaceflight Inc. to strengthen the company’s on-orbit solutions and service for the entire lifecycle of customers’ satellites and spacecraft.

The acquisition further supports Firefly’s robust portfolio of low-cost, space transportation services, including responsive launch and in-space mobility, on-orbit hosting and servicing, and lunar delivery operations. Terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

Spaceflight’s flight-proven orbital vehicles provide payload deliveries, hosting, and transfer services. With extensive expertise in mission management and selling and filling manifests, the company has also supported the deployment of more than 460 payloads into space. Spaceflight operates manufacturing and payload processing facilities in Bellevue, Washington, including state-of-the-art clean rooms, environmental testing capabilities, and large high bays for concurrent spacecraft production.

The addition of Spaceflight brings added capabilities that complement Firefly’s vertically integrated product line, including launch, lunar, and in-space vehicles. Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle is manifested through 2023 with the U.S. Space Force, NASA, and other commercial customers, as the Company concurrently builds a new medium launch vehicle in collaboration with Northrop Grumman.

Artistic rendition of the Firefly Aerospace BlueGhost lunar lander and the moon.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander is scheduled to complete the first of two missions to the Moon next year with NASA as the anchor customer, and Firefly’s Space Utility Vehicle has a mission scheduled early next year to demonstrate the vehicle’s on-orbit capabilities.

“This acquisition is the result of Firefly’s business plan to strengthen the company through organic growth in addition to accelerating its capabilities with strategic acquisitions. The combination of Spaceflight’s on-orbit experience with Firefly’s launch vehicles, Blue Ghost landers, and Space Utility Vehicles is an overnight game changer for our customers and investors. With a high market demand for our on-orbit services and rapid response missions, this acquisition uniquely positions Firefly to respond immediately to our customers’ needs. We look forward to welcoming this team into our incredible Firefly family.”
— Bill Weber, CEO, Firefly Aerospace

Firefly is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners (“AEI”), a U.S.-based private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense and government services, space, power and utility services, and specialty industrial markets.

Space Systems Command assigns 12 missions for National Security Space Launch Phase 2 FY23 Order Year

Space Systems Command (SSC) recently assigned 12 National Security Space Launch (NSSL) service missions under the NSSL Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement contract for Fiscal Year 2023.

Six missions were awarded to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) for the Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Tracking Layer (T1TL)-B, SDA T1TL-C, SDA T1TL-D, SDA T1TL-E, SDA T1TR-C, and U.S. Space Force (USSF)-31.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. Photo courtesy of the company.

Six other missions were awarded to United Launch Alliance (ULA) for the National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO)L-64 and NROL-83, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) III-08, SDA T1TR-B, SDA T1TR-D, and USSF-114.

Recent test firing of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Photo is courtesy of the company.

NROL-64 and NROL-83 are missions conducted with SSC’s NRO partners. NROL-64 will be launched onboard ULA’s Vulcan rocket from the Eastern range. NROL-83 will launch using ULA’s Vulcan rocket from the Western range.

There are four SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer launches. SDA’s Transport Layer will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms. These are the second through fifth launches planned for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer. They will launch using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets from the Western range into polar orbit.

The USSF is also ordering three SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer launches. SDA’s Tracking Layer will provide global indications, warning, tracking, and targeting of advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems. They will launch using ULA’s Vulcan and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets from the Western range into polar orbit.

The GPS III-8 mission, assigned to launch onboard a ULA Vulcan rocket from the Eastern range into MEO, is the eighth of ten projected GPS III missions.

USSF-31 is a classified mission that will launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket from the Eastern range. USSF-114 is a classified mission that will launch using a ULA Vulcan rocket from the Western range.

“The Space Force’s formidable record of 97 consecutive successful NSSL launches to date is one of the most effective tools we can employ to face the pacing challenge. With this unwavering commitment to maintaining the high ground in the space domain, we send a powerful message to our strategic competitors that we are determined to protect our nation and allies. Our ongoing commitment to successfully launch our secure communications, GPS, and space awareness satellites, and place them into their orbits, continues to provide our warfighters and nation’s decision-makers with the assets and vital information they need every day to stay ahead of and deter adversarial forces.”
— Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, SSC’s program executive officer for Assured Access to Space

“We partner closely with our launch service providers and mission customers to deliver critical payloads to orbit precisely, on-time and without failure. ULA and SpaceX continue to provide outstanding launch services with their reliable and innovative launch systems, and we are confident in their ability to maintain the unprecedented 100 percent program success for the NSSL missions assigned for launch in FY25.”
— Col. Chad Melone, SSC’s chief of the Launch Procurement and Integration Division

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

HawkEye 360’s 7th satellite cluster starts operations in record time

HawkEye 360 Inc. has announced that the company’s Cluster 7 satellites have begun operation.

This latest satellite trio achieved initial operating capability in record time after successfully launching into orbit on April 15, 2023. A new 300 MHz whip antenna provides better coverage in the 270MHz – 330 MHz range, fueling more robust data collection.

The company’s rapidly growing constellation can collect data up to 24 times per day – as often as once every hour – over a region of interest, allowing HawkEye 360 to offer the most timely, actionable, and broadest commercial RF data and coverage on the market.

HawkEye 360 operates a growing constellation of 21 satellites that detect, characterize and geolocate radio frequency signals from a broad range of emitters used for communication, navigation and security. HawkEye 360 has geolocated more than 200 million RF signals, providing situational awareness to an array of activities, including early-warning radar activity, military activities, illegal fishing, illegal mining, and indicators of GPS interference.

HawkEye 360 will continue expanding the constellation to address clients’ increasing demands for RF Intelligence, aiming for a total of 60 satellites (20 clusters of three) in 2025. HawkEye 360 anticipates the launch of two additional clusters in Q4 2023.

“With the introduction of our seventh satellite cluster, HawkEye 360 showcases the profound impact that commercial space can have on national defense and global security while enabling us to uncover unprecedented insights into human activities and behavior,” said . “Our invaluable collaborations with the U.S. government and allied nations across the globe play a pivotal role in cultivating a safer planet, including safeguarding the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions.”
— Rob Rainhart, COO, HawkEye 360

“As geopolitical tensions continue to increase around the world, Cluster 7 is extending and improving data collection in the 30MHz – 18 GHz frequency range to meet growing demand. With this latest satellite cluster operating in a polar orbit, HawkEye 360 will further enhance the global RF situational awareness we provide to our clients.”
— Alex Fox, Chief Growth Officer, HawkEye 360

Sidus Space to launch LizzieSat™ via SpaceX

Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU) will launch hyperspectral and multispectral imaging as well as Edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) incorporated into the company’s LizzieSat™ satellite via SpaceX Transporter missions starting in 2024.

Raptor Photonics’ OWL (left) + Hawk (right) HD cameras

LizzieSat’s hyperspectral and multispectral imaging capability will be provided by the Owl 1280 and Hawk 1920 HD cameras made by Raptor Photonics. Sidus is building its space-based infrastructure of multi-mission satellites with hyperspectral, multispectral and other sensors to provide monitoring services and solutions to multiple sectors and industries.

Sidus’ sub-5m ground sampling distance (GSD) multispectral SWIR, coupled with sub-10m hyperspectral imagery capabilities provides the Company with a competitive advantage in serving the $55.6 billion smallsat market. Additionally, the Company’s robust ground coverage and Edge AI accelerates the receipt of actionable data sent to the ground by parsing key identifying information before transmission.

Sidus’ satellites are expected to circle the Earth every 95 minutes, with communication gaps less than 10 minutes on each orbit. This gap can be closed completely as additional ground stations are secured. This provides customers with satellite access near-real-time data transmission.

The Company plans to monetize its imagery both through previously negotiated contracts and through its agreement with Skywatch and others to sell imagery on their storefront. This hyperspectral and multispectral capability is also key to the Sidus’ strategy to generate recurring revenue streams from new customers as Sidus builds its LizzieSat constellation.

Sidus plans to launch its first LizzieSat on the SpaceX Transporter mission scheduled for later this year and has contracted with SpaceX to launch on four additional flights, with two currently scheduled for 2024 and two more scheduled for 2025, allowing the Company to establish a regular launch cadence for its customers. The Company plans to begin offering hyperspectral and multispectral imaging from its LizzieSats scheduled for launch on SpaceX’s transporter mission in the first quarter of next year.

“LizzieSat’s hyperspectral and multispectral imaging capability will provide potential data solutions for a variety of market verticals within the estimated $1 trillion space economy anticipated by 2040. Key industries that will benefit and provide markets for this imaging include agriculture, climate change, renewables, mining, and oil and gas. We look forward to further development of our LizzieSat constellation as we seek to develop and provide access to space-based data on-demand for any problem set or business need.”
— Carol Craig, Founder & CEO of Sidus Space

The Satellite Applications Catapult + Open Cosmos sign agreement for an OpenConstellation satellite

The Satellite Applications Catapult and Open Cosmos have signed an agreement to build and launch a key demo satellite to join the Open Cosmos OpenConstellation — the satellite will be launched as early as Q1 of 2024

The satellite will host a miniaturized Earth Observation (EO) payload, with integrated onboard processing capabilities able to acquire, process, compress, store and forward medium-resolution hyperspectral imagery for Atlantic coastal and maritime areas. The mission will demonstrate a concept of operations for a constellation performing pole-to-pole observation of the Atlantic Ocean involving systematic acquisition of images from pre-defined land and maritime targets, and on-board image processing.

The OpenConstellation is a global shared satellite infrastructure built and managed by Open Cosmos to provide diverse, frequent and reliable data of our changing planet. Countries, institutions and companies are contributing satellites to create the world’s biggest, mutualized constellation. Open Cosmos is already delivering satellites to the OpenConstellation, which have been contributed by leading space organisations in the UK, Spain and Portugal, and with Satellite Applications Catapult being a key UK partner. The constellation will provide key insights to address the climate emergency and monitor a sustainable use of natural resources.

This satellite will also demonstrate, on-orbit, some of the capabilities and solutions that a future constellation to monitor the Atlantic will deploy at scale. This constellation is an ambitious project to use data collected from satellites to deal with the challenges in the Atlantic Ocean from ocean pollution to illegal fishing. Data and imagery gathered from this satellite and others in the constellation will be used for marine ecosystem research and climate change monitoring, based on fast coverage and frequent revisits of areas of interest. Scientific organisations, commercial businesses and national and international governments will all be able to access this essential data.

The satellite is part of the Catapult’s In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) program that is funded by Innovate UK and the UK Space Agency. The IOD program offers partners a fast-track, low-cost opportunity to test their service or technology on a CubeSat mission launched into LEO, accelerating the time to market for innovative products and services from space.

Open Cosmos had previously been selected as the satellite platform provider for IOD. Today’s announcement confirms that Open Cosmos will also provide the payload, ground segment, operations systems and data processing and distribution for the mission.

“We are delighted to have the Satellite Applications Catapult joining the OpenConstellation. This satellite will be instrumental in better understanding global environmental challenges – especially the ones affecting the Atlantic Ocean and coastal areas. Our mission is to make space more accessible and I am sure that together with the Catapult we can help a lot more organisations to have access to this critical information.”
— Rafel Jordá Siquier, CEO, Open Cosmos

“Open Cosmos continues to innovate and make exceptional progress as one of our leading small satellite companies. It’s testament to their success that they have not only been selected to provide the platform for this mission, but the payload as well, and that is down to the strength of their idea and their long-term goals for the OpenConstellation project. The IOD programme was designed for exactly this kind of mission and for companies leading the evolution of the sector like Open Cosmos.”
— Stuart Martin, CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult