Rocket Lab has officially opened Launch Complex 2, the company’s first U.S. launch site, and confirmed the inaugural mission from the site will be a dedicated flight for the U.S. Air Force.

Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 located at
NASA’s Wallops Island, Virginia.

Photo is courtesy of the company.

Located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 represents a new national launch capability for the United States. Construction on the site began in February of 2019, with the site completed and ready to support missions just 10 months later. Designed to support rapid call-up missions, Launch Complex 2 delivers responsive launch capability from home soil for U.S. government smallsats. The ability to deploy satellites to precise orbits in a matter of hours, not months or years, is increasingly important to ensure resilience in space.

At a press conference held at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program has been announced as the first customer scheduled to launch on an Electron vehicle from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2. The dedicated mission will see a single research and development micro-sat launched from the site in Q2 2020.

Rocket Lab’s Founder and Chief Executive, Peter Beck, says the completion of Launch Complex 2 represents a new era in frequent, reliable and responsive space access from the United States.

Press conference participants at the Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 on opening day.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be launching a U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program payload as the inaugural mission from Launch Complex 2. We’ve already successfully delivered STP payloads on Electron from Launch Complex 1, and we’re proud to be providing that same rapid, responsive, and tailored access to orbit from U.S. soil,” says Mr. Beck. “With the choice of two Rocket Lab launch sites offering more than 130 launch opportunities each year, our customers enjoy unmatched control over their launch schedule and orbital requirements. Rocket Lab has made frequent, reliable and responsive access to space the new normal for small satellites.”

“Rocket Lab’s launch site at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, strengthens the United States’ ability to provide responsive and reliable access to space.  We look forward to Rocket Lab successfully launching the STP-27RM mission from Launch Complex 2 next spring, which will test new capabilities that we will need in the future,” said Col. Robert Bongiovi, Director of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise.

Virginia Space CEO & Executive Director, Dale Nash, said, “The opening of Launch Complex 2 is a significant milestone and a remarkable achievement made possible by the strong partnership with Rocket Lab and NASA.  Almost immediately after Rocket Lab’s selection of MARS as its U.S. launch site; engineers, managers and technicians worked tirelessly together across multiple time zones and two continents to make LC-2 a reality.  Also, the strong support from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Air Force, as well as the skilled contractor team have contributed greatly to this success.  We look forward to a busy manifest of Electron launches coming off LC-2.”

Rocket Lab’s VP of Launch, Shaun D’Mello, said the rapid pace of construction was made possible by the tireless support of teams from Virginia Space, which owns and operates MARS, and NASA Wallops Flight Facility. “The fact that we have an operational launch site less than a year after construction began is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Virginia Space and NASA teams, as well as the unwavering support of our local suppliers. Thank you for being a huge part of enabling us to open access to space. We’re excited to embark on the next phase of working together – regular and reliable Electron launches from the United States.”

SpaceX’s Starlink satellites were brighter than many expected.SPACEX

SpaceX has said it is taking measures to tackle some of the concerns raised by astronomers about its Starlink constellation, as it gears up to launch more than a thousand satellites in the next 12 months.

The company’s Starlink mega constellation, which will add up to 42,000 satellites to orbit (only 2,000 active satellites in total orbit Earth today) to beam high-speed internet around the globe, has been taking shape in 2019. The company launched its first 60 satellites in May, followed by a second launch in November.

A third launch is planned in late December, and a fourth in January – with 24 in total planned by the end of 2020. The company hopes to launch 60 Starlink satellites roughly once every two weeks, adding more than 1,500 satellites to orbit by the end of next year alone.

While this has raised considerable concerns about space debris, it has also rankled astronomers. Already, some have reported that their observations of the night sky have been ruined by passing Starlink satellites. As more launch, many fear that the views of the universe could be changed forever.

One issue is that each Starlink satellite, weighing about 225 kilograms, is brighter than expected, and clearly visible at dusk and dawn. However, in a meeting with reporters on Friday, December 6, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company wanted to do “the right thing”, and prevent such an impact on the night sky.

Shotwell said that one of SpaceX’s next Starlink satellites launched in December would be “treated with a special coating designed to make the spacecraft less reflective and less likely to interfere with space observations”, reported SpaceNews. 

“We are going to get it done.”

Starlink trails seen in an astronomical observation of nearby galaxies.
CLIFF JOHNSON/CLARAE MARTÍNEZ-VÁZQUEZ/DELVE

In the meeting, Shotwell said there would be “a coating on the bottom” of one of the satellites, and the company would “do trial and error to figure out the best way to get this done.”

“We want to make sure we do the right thing to make sure little kids can look through their telescope,” she added. “Astronomy is one of the few things that gets little kids excited about space.”

Shotwell noted that lowering the reflecitivity of the satellites “definitely changes the performance of the satellite, thermally,” according to Business Insider. However, they would experiment with different ideas to see what works best.

And she noted, too, the impact this could have on professional astronomy. “There are a lot of adults that get excited, too, who either depend on [the night sky] for their living or for entertainment,” she said, reported SpaceFlight Now.

“There are lots of people that have looked at Starlink and looked at the satellites, lots of people knew what we were doing, and no one thought of this,” she added. “We didn’t think of it. The astronomy community didn’t think of it. It happened… Let’s go figure that out.”

Several astronomy groups are currently in contact with SpaceX, including the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS), to work out better solutions to the problem. The latter, in a recent statement, said that things were “moving in a hopeful direction after our last two telecons [with SpaceX].”

Now, many astronomers will be hoping SpaceX’s efforts can ensure the night sky is not permanently altered. While about 120 Starlink satellites have already launched, with 120 more to follow in the coming weeks, it may well be a case of “better late than never” if a solution can be found.

Jonathan O’Callaghan, Forbes

Isar Aerospace has closed a 15 million euros Series A investment round led by Earlybird and Airbus Ventures to develop low-cost launch vehicles dedicated to deploying and resupplying satellite constellations.

Existing investors Vito Ventures and UVC Partners participated in the round with Bulent Altan, who served 12 years at SpaceX including Vice President positions as well as Christian Angermayer’s Apeiron Investment Group.

Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 by Daniel Metzler, Josef Fleischmann, and Markus Brandl, all of them having studied at the Technical University of Munich and all have backgrounds in Aerospace Engineering. The company is leveraging advanced manufacturing to enable high performance, yet low-cost, access to space, serving small and medium satellite manufacturers who drive innovation and digitization with data from space.

Over the past year, Isar Aerospace has been developing its Spectrum rocket, with the development fully on track for a first launch in late 2021, while key milestones such as propulsion system hotfire testing and agreements for launch site access have been achieved.

The Isar Aerospace launch manifest is also picking up momentum with governmental and commercial customers including a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus Defence and Space for multiple satellite constellations launches.

Daniel Metzler, CEO of Isar Aerospace, said that space is becoming the new internet and its commercialization is in full swing. This funding round enables the company to progress substantially in the development of sustainable, environmentally-friendly launch vehicles and further deliver on the firm’s vision to make space access affordable for everyone.

Airbus Ventures Financial Officer and EMEA team member, Claas Carsten Kohl, at Airbus Ventures stated the company is de Isar Aerospace to the firm’s global portfolio of innovative launch systems.

Mathieu Costes, also at Airbus Ventures Partner, added the firm is pleased to entrust Daniel and his outstanding team, bringing impressive new technologies and approaches to the challenges of Low Earth Orbit, to represent this first deal in Germany for the company. Together with this investment round co-leader Earlybird, and under the continuing guidance of Bulent Altan, Airbus Ventures Partner is pleased to help draw together the ecosystems of new space excellence in both Germany and in the wider Airbus universe.

Bulent Altan noted that he has been able to watch Isar Aerospace’s progress closely and they have made impressive progress in their quest of building a cost-effective medium-sized launcher and differentiating themselves in this ever-growing launcher market by targeting the correct segment with solid engineering. As such, this investment decision was an easy one to make.

Hendrik Brandis, partner at Earlybird, commented that there is a new spirit of optimism in aerospace. The firm sees the New Space segment as a business of the future around rockets and satellites. Isar Aerospace convinced Earlybird with its professional, motivated and highly talented team. This is the company’s first investment in this field are proud to support Isar Aerospace as their Series A lead investor and look forward to accompanying them on their journey as investors and supporters.

Spaceflight successfully executed nine missions during 2019, the most rideshare launches the company has performed in a single year, representing a 300 percent growth from the previous year.

The Spaceflight SSO-A mission aboard a SpaceX Dragon launch vehicle.

The company ended last year with its historic dedicated rideshare mission, SSO-A, and continued to execute many more firsts during 2019. This includes the most recent accomplishment of manifesting and managing three rideshare launches in one week on three continents.

The final missions of 2019 were SEOPS-2 (ISS SpX-19/NG-12) launched in the U.S., RL-2 (Rocket Lab’s “Running Out of Fingers”) launched in New Zealand, and PSLV-C48 launched in India.

The nine missions in 2019 were executed across four different launch vehicles, including the ISRO PSLV, SpaceX Falcon 9, Rocket Lab Electron and Northrop Grumman Cygnus. Spaceflight managed the launch and integration services of nearly 50 spacecraft from customers in Japan, Israel, Switzerland, Egypt, Australia, Mexico and the U.S., representing both commercial and government organizations, growing constellations, the first commercial lunar lander, technology demonstrations, university spacecraft, and more.

Other important milestones for Spaceflight during 2019 included:

• The first-ever rideshare mission to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), launching the first privately funded lunar lander, developed and operated by SpaceIL. (GTO-1)
   
• The execution of its first three missions with Rocket Lab, launching more than 10 customer spacecraft. (RL-1, RL-2, RL-4)
   
• The purchase of the first commercial launch of NSIL’s new small launch vehicle, SSLV, for a dedicated rideshare mission in 2020.
   
• Spaceflight’s first deployments with Hypergiant from the International Space Station. (SEOPS-1, SEOPS-2)
   
• Four launches across three continents in the span of 16 days. (PSLV C47, SEOPS-2, RL-2, PSLV C48)

For its achievements, both in 2019 and the record-breaking launch of SSO-A in 2018, Spaceflight and CEO Curt Blake received numerous industry awards and recognition. In 2019, Blake was selected as an Innovator of the Year by the Puget Sound Business Journal and named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People by Seattle Magazine.

Spaceflight was also awarded a Laureate for Launch Services in recognition of its pioneering work in bringing the rideshare business into the mainstream by Aviation Week.

During 2020, Spaceflight plans to manage approximately 10 rideshare missions across five different launch vehicles. The company anticipates reaching a cadence of monthly launches and remains dedicated to maximizing launch capacity on available missions and assisting its customers achieve their missions on time and on budget.

Curt Blake, CEO and President of Spaceflight, stated the firm’s team has supported a record number of missions, resulting in a busy and rewarding year. 2019 made it clear that the ‘new normal’ of rideshare is a high cadence of launches. With the variety and complexity of Spaceflight missions, the company has demonstrated its expertise and experience in mission management and integration services. Looking to the coming year, more launch vehicles will be added to the company’s portfolio to meet growing launch demand, while delivering increased launch flexibility through a breadth of launch options. Ultimately, Spaceflight aims to minimize the pain points of launch delays and ensure customers’ mission goals are achieved.

Robert Sproles, Director of Ground Stations and Launch at Spire Global, noted that Spaceflight continues to provide smallsat operators frequent access to space, proving the importance of rideshare in the space industry. Spaceflight’s diverse launch portfolio, depth of skills and knowledge and commitment to providing a first-class launch experience has helped many smallsat organizations such as Spire successfully achieve their missions.

SA Catapult CEO Stuart Martin (l) and TriSept CEO Rob Spicer (r) seal the deal with a handshake.

Photo is courtesy of Tom Deininger.

TriSept Corporation has signed a comprehensive teaming agreement with Satellite Applications Catapult to explore and accelerate new innovations, missions and space access across the UK space industry and beyond.

Satellite Applications Catapult, part of The Catapult network and one of dozens of firms based at the Harwell Space Cluster, provides facilities and expertise for the benefit of the UK space sector. TriSept also announced its alliance with SA Catapult includes a full-time presence on the Harwell campus, where TriSept will expand its global launch integration services business in 2020. 

As part of the collaborative alliance, the two companies will leverage their complementary strengths to package TriSept’s deep launch integration, planning, engineering and brokerage competencies with Catapult’s engineering expertise and growing test, clean room and logistics coordination facilities. Together, the duo expects to build a mission manifest for new vertical and horizontal launch sites in England and Scotland.

TriSept has enabled the launch of more than 200 satellites on 70 different missions and 20 different launch vehicles from 13 launch sites around the world, including the NASA VCLS ELaNa XIX mission that lifted 10 cubesats into orbit aboard the Rocket Lab Electron from Mahia, New Zealand in December of last year.

Satellite Applications Catapult is keenly focused on driving new space infrastructure and applications that support and accelerate the growth of the UK space industry, projected to capture a 10% share of the global space market by 2030.

Rob Spicer, TriSept President and CEO, said the company is going global to help drive space access in promising new space markets like the UK, where the firm can join its proven and trusted launch integration and brokerage skillset with companies like Catapult to contribute to new possibilities in space. By launching this international presence with Catapult within the Harwell Space Cluster, TriSept is extremely well positioned to broker and support exciting new missions in the UK. This partnership with Catapult will ultimately have a significant impact on the traditional and new space industries in the UK, Europe, and the U.S.

An aerial view of the Harwell Space Campus in Oxford, UK.

Photo is courtesy of the Harwell Space Campus.

Stuart Martin, CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult, said this collaborative partnership between Catapult and TriSept is a significant milestone in the firm’s overall mission to stimulate innovation and economic growth across the UK space industry. TriSept’s decades of launch integration and brokerage experience combined with Catapult’s rapid-prototyping, manufacturing and testing facilities will bring unparalleled benefits to the UK space market.

Deployment of a CubeSat from ISS. JAXA/NASA

It’s a first for the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala as their team prepares for the university’s first satellite under the KiboCUBE program run by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

These are the winners of the second round of the program handed over the cube satellite (cubesat) to JAXA on December 3, 2019 to be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) in Spring 2020. 

Guatesat 1 (Quetzal 1) [UVG]

The Guatemalan satellite, called Quetzal-1, will be used for multispectral remote sensing. This can lead to the acquisition of data for a variety of peaceful and natural resource management purposes. The sustainable management of natural resources and the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity are essential for fighting climate change and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

KiboCUBE offers institutions from developing countries the opportunity to deploy cubesats from the Japanese Kibo module of the ISS.

In 2018, the program led to the successful deployment of Kenya’s first ever satellite. Now Guatemala is set to follow Kenya’s footsteps, joining the community of space-faring nations.

The KiboCUBE initiative, launched by UNOOSA and JAXA in 2015, introduces new entrants to the space sector leading to innovation and capacity building in the development and deployment of cubesats. The program is now in its fifth round, for which applications recently closed. The sixth round of KiboCUBE is expected to open soon.

Rocket Lab has flown a fully Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) for the first time on an Electron launch vehicle.

The AFTS flown on the company’s most recent mission, ‘Running Out Of Fingers,’ makes Rocket Lab one of only three U.S. launch companies to fly with an autonomous system.

The Electron launch of Rocket Lab’s “As the Crow Flies” mission. Photo is courtesy of Sam Toms and Simon Moffatt.

AFTS is a GPS-aided, computer-controlled system designed to terminate an off-nominal flight, replacing traditional human-in-the-loop monitoring systems. AFTS is crucial to increasing launch frequency and providing responsive launch capability, while maintaining the highest industry safety standards. It reduces the turnaround time between missions and provides greater schedule control by eliminating reliance on ground-assets and human flight termination operators.

‘Running Out Of Fingers’ hosted the first fully autonomous system on Electron. The launch followed four ‘shadow’ flights where the AFTS unit was flown on the vehicle for testing while traditional ground-based flight termination infrastructure remained in place. With the first fully autonomous mission now complete, all future Electron missions from Launch Complexes 1 and 2 will fly with the AFTS.

Flight termination systems are a vital part of launch operations. Traditionally, flight termination infrastructure is a ground-based system that involves a human making the decision to terminate a mission in the event of a launch vehicle straying from a pre-determined flight path. By contrast, the AFTS is an independent, self-contained subsystem mounted on-board the Electron launch vehicle. It eliminates the need for a ground-based infrastructure by moving the flight termination function to the launch vehicle.

The system makes flight termination decisions autonomously by using redundant computers that track the launch vehicle using Global Positioning System and on-board sensors, combined with configurable software-based rules, that identify where the rocket can safely fly. If a rocket goes off course the AFTS will issue a command to terminate the flight by shutting down the engines. The AFTS also delivers faster response times and improved monitoring as launch vehicle travels downrange, providing over-the-horizon tracking capabilities that are not limited by line-of-sight tracking such as that required by ground-based instrumentation at the launch site.

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Peter Beck, said the AFTS is yet another way Rocket Lab is innovating to increase the pace of launch and support responsive launch capability for small satellites. As the company moves to an autonomous system, Rocket Lab thanks the dedicated teams from White Sands Missile Range and Alaska Aerospace Corporation who have provided ground-based flight termination system support for Electron missions since the firm’s first launch in 2017. Their support has ensured the safety of every Electron mission and they have contributed to Rocket Lab’s record of mission success for customers.

Naomi Altman, Rocket Lab’s Avionics Manager and Project Lead for the AFTS program, added that for AFTS to be part of Electron’s 10th launch was the cherry on top of a monumental year for the entire team. Reaching this milestone is also testament to the ongoing support of government agencies and contractors who worked closely with Rocket Lab to bring the AFTS online.

Exos Aerospace has officially opened an office in Adelaide Australia on December 5th — the Adelaide office setup is an enabling step to developing a second National Charter Enterprise, this time in South Australia.

A launch of the Exos Aerospace SARGE rocket.

Image is courtesy of the company.

Exos Aerospace developed the Exos National Charter Enterprise program with PricewaterhouseCoopers and INVITALIA as a way to bring reusable space hardware technologies to the world through a high-tech apprenticeship program. Exos Aerospace has targeted four National Charter Enterprise locations to mitigate risk as their transition from the SARGE (SRLV) Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle program to their Jaguar LEO launcher.

The Australia National Charter Enterprise is key to bringing reusability to the launcher business and is enabled by the strong technical training environment in Southern Australia. Exos Aerospace AU targeted LOT 14 to be the training center with mission support at Equatorial Launch Australia (for vertical launch) and the planned South Australia Spaceport for horizontal launch capability. Exos Aerospace AU and Fenix Space, Inc. intend to serve both commercial and government customers to refine the world of horizontal launch capability.

Shortly, Exos Aerospace AU will apply for a grant to support opening a training facility to supply Australians with technical, operational training for building and operating liquid-fueled rocket technologies. While primarily focused on providing additional skilled workers to the Australian aerospace industry, the machining skill sets taught for aerospace will cut across many industrial sectors.

In the first year, Exos Aerospace aims to train 24 people and commence growth with a year five target to train 200 high-tech workers per year. Educational growth will all be made possible by working with universities and educational facilities. The training will directly support ELA’s weekly launch initiatives and, naturally, make space research an integral part of core curriculums. The company envisions students seeing their training through to a hands-on launch experience through a proposed launch services agreement with ELA.

Fenix Space, Inc., is an offshoot of Kelly Space & Technology, Inc., a privately-held aerospace, defense, technology, and testing services company. Fenix is co-located with Kelly Space at its Aerospace Research and Development Center at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California. Fenix Space’s training model, coupled with the Exos Aerospace rocket training experience, will blend together a “space twist” hands-on technical training. Fenix Space, Inc. will also support advancing airborne launches using a tow plane and autonomous glider as a way to increase the rocket’s capability and launch flexibility.

Government policymakers don’t always know how to integrate commercially available capabilities, but they have brilliantly set the stage for us at LOT14, said John Quinn, the COO of Exos Aerospace. Exos Aerospace AU has commenced the ITAR work to bring a proven technical training center (partnered with Fenix Space) that will leverage Australia’s highly technical industrial base, Quinn said, adding that the company wants Australia to see how a small company can join with select Nations to “Charter” their way around the world, relying on key core strengths of the strategically selected Nations to bring us all together in the name of Space.

On its ninth and final mission of 2019 — the third this year with the Soyuz medium-lift launcher from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana — Arianespace will perform a multiple launch for European institutional needs.

The COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite for the Italian Space Agency and Minister of Defence will be the primary passenger of this flight, along with the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS) on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). Three auxiliary payloads also will be on board: ANGELS and EYESAT for the French CNES space agency; and OPS-SAT for Tyvak on behalf of ESA.

Flight VS23 will be performed from the Soyuz Launch Complex (ELS) in Sinnamary, French Guiana. Liftoff is scheduled for Tuesday, December 17, at exactly:

03:54:20 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
05:54:20 a.m. in Kourou, French Guiana
08:54:20 Universal Time (UTC)
09:54:20 a.m. in Paris
09:54:20 a.m. in Rome
11:54:20 a.m. in Moscow

The nominal duration of the mission (from liftoff to separation of the satellites) is: 4 hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds.

The targeted orbits are…

• COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite in SSO with a semi-major-axis at 6,997 km. with an inclination of 97.81 degrees
   
• CHEOPS in SSO with a semi-major-axis at 7,078 km. with an inclination of 98.22 degrees
   
• Three auxiliary payloads: OPS-SAT / EYESAT / ANGELS, in SSO at an altitude of approximately 500 km.

The Launch Readiness Review (LRR) will occur on Saturday, December 14, 2019, in Kourou to authorize the start of operations for the final countdown.

The satellites…

COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation

Artistic rendition of one of two, second-generation Cosmo-SkyMed radar reconnaissance satellites. Image is courtesy of Thales Alenia Space.

This satellite is an Earth Observation (EO) spacecraft and will be the fourth satellite launched by Arianespace for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the ninth performed in total for Italy (comprising ASI, the Italian Ministry of Defence and Telespazio). Manufactured by Thales Alenia Space (Italy), COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation will be the 162nd satellite manufactured by this constructor to be launched by Arianespace.

An artistic rendition of the CHEOPS satellite. Image is courtesy of ESA.

The  is an ESA mission implemented in partnership with Switzerland. This 74th satellite to be launched by Arianespace for ESA will mark the 52nd mission conducted by the launch services provider at the service of this space agency.
     CHEOPS is the first mission dedicated to studying bright, nearby stars that  are already known to host exoplanets to make high-precision observations of the planet’s size as it passes in front of its host star. The spacecraft will focus on planets in the super-Earth to Neptune size range, with its data enabling the bulk density of the planets to be derived — a first characterization step toward understanding these alien worlds. Airbus in Spain is prime contractor for the mission, with the University of Bern being responsible for the telescope.

Three, auxiliary, smallsat payloads will also be on board the Soyuz launcher for Flight VS23:

ANGELS

(Argos Néo on a Generic Economical and Light Satellite)
Angels is a12U cubesat, and is the French industry’s first smallsat.
     It is jointly financed and developed by the French CNES space agency (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) and Hemeria, an innovative industrial group active in the aerospace, defense, energy, rail and automotive markets (which is an affiliate of Nexeya).

EyeSat

EyeSat is a 3U cubesat designed to study the zodiacal light and image the Milky Way. The EyeSat is being financed and developed by the French CNES space agency within the scope of the Janus project (Jeunes en Apprentissage pour la réalisation de Nanosatellites des Universités et des écoles de l’enseignement Supérieur), which is designed to encourage students in universities and engineering schools to develop their own smallsats.

OPS-SAT

This smallsat is a 3U CubeSat, is the world’s first free-for-use, on-orbit testbed for new software, applications and techniques in satellite control. OPS-SAT was developed by the Graz University of Technology with subcontractors from Austria, Germany, Poland and Denmark. The smallsat will be operated by ESA from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany.

With thoughts of Electron rocket re-use firmly in mind, Rocket Lab successfully launched their “Running Out of Fingers” mission on December 6 at 3:19 a.m., EST, from the firm’s Mahia Peninsula launch site in New Zealand.

An Alba Orbital smallsat.

Photo is courtesy of the company.

Six smallsats manufactured by Alba Orbital were passengers on this tenth expulsion of the Electron launch vehicle from Earth’s gravitational forces.

Of interest to the smallsat’s creators are the smallsat’s data collection regarding comms between satellites, the viability of thermal insulation in space as well as studying electromagnetic leakage from Earth.

Also a passenger scheduled for orbit ejection aboard the Electron was the 75 kg. ALE-2 satellite from, appropriately enough, the ALE company based in Japan. The goal of this smallsat is to create a five color shooting star panorama in the sky during the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2020 — this mission is known as the Sky Canvas Project.

Artistic rendition of the ALE-2 smallsat.

Image is courtesy of ALE.

Rocket Lab continues to expand their operations with a new launch site to be commissioned in the U.S. If, and when, rocket reusability is viable, the firm plans to increase the frequency of their launches to a weekly schedule. There were several sensors aboard the Electron to gather re-entry data to continue the formulation of rocket re-use in the not-too-distant future.