The Scottish Highlands are undergoing environmental impact studies for a proposed Space Hub in Sutherland. The following is from a statement explaining the company’s plans. 

Preparatory work is getting under way to agree the scope of environmental impact studies that should be carried out in relation to the site of a proposed space center in Sutherland. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is currently developing plans for Space Hub Sutherland, which is expected to begin vertical launches of small satellites from the A’Mhoine peninsula, near Tongue, early in the next decade.

The project has attracted support from the UK Space Agency, which is also funding two launch companies that plan to set up in Sutherland, Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Orbex.

Space Hub Sutherland is planned as a key component of Scotland’s growing space sector. The development agency expects 40 high quality jobs will be created locally, part of a total of more than 400 across the wider Highlands and Islands.  Orbex has already opened a new manufacturing facility in Forres.

The potential launch site at A’Mhoine is next to the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation, and the Ben Hutig Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Understanding the environmental impacts of satellite launches, as well as the economic benefits, will be crucial factors in determining the outcome of a future planning application to the Highland Council for design and construction of the space hub.

That application is currently being prepared by HIE and will be accompanied by an extensive round of public consultation so that local people have opportunities to view the plans and put questions to the developer.

As a first step towards determining environmental impacts, HIE now seeking agreement on the scope of environmental issues that will need to be examined.  The development agency is consulting the Highland Council, statutory consultees Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Historic Environment Scotland, and a wide range of other interested parties.  

Scotland’s enterprise agencies have launched ambitious plans to help build a more economically vibrant country.

In line with the EU’s environmental impact assessment directive, HIE is proposing to examine potential impacts on the local area, specific habitats and the marine environment.

Roy Kirk, Space Hub Sutherland Project Director with HIE, said:  

“As our plans develop, it is absolutely vital that we gain a thorough understanding of the potential environmental impacts that a launch facility could have, including around the location of the site itself. We have been carrying out bird studies, for example, for well over a year now, so there is already a stock of robust data regarding that aspect.

“The new proposal will help us scope out the full range of environmental issues that we need to examine and that will inform the development of the project as we head towards a future planning application.

“Space Hub Sutherland is an evolving project and the plans need to be very forward-looking.  For the purpose of the scoping exercise, we’ve used figures that range from current expectations to the absolute extreme end of any potential activity that could take place there.  This will make sure that environmental assessments are as robust as possible, by being based on maximum possible impacts.”

Papers associated with the initial scoping exercise are available online at The Highland Council website.

“It is very positive to see the first scoping documents for the launch site at Sutherland Spacehub, representing the work of dozens of people and numerous industry and environmental experts over the past years to examine the challenge of taking Britain back in to space.  

This document is a first — giant — step towards a formal planning application. It’s a very detailed and careful alignment between the project and planning stakeholders on what aspects might have environmental or other impacts.  However, it is very important to note that there is still a lot of design work and refinement ongoing to finalize requirements to ensure minimal impact.

Those that are unfamiliar with planning procedures may not be familiar with the rigor of the environmental impact assessment required, and which has been ongoing at Sutherland since 2017. It’s important that this understanding is based on facts rather than speculation or misinformation. This is a multi-year process involving dedicated studies from dozens of industry and agency experts, as well as engagement with multiple stakeholders and authorities.  

As an example, a two-year study detailing the local bird populations at the A’Mhoine site is now nearing completion. It’s worth noting that any launch site of this nature — including those in other regions of Scotland near sensitive areas of natural heritage — will face similar requirements to present multi-year studies to Scottish National Heritage and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, among other stakeholders.

The economic impact of the spaceport in the Highlands and Islands region is expected to deliver around 400 jobs in various activities, and around 40 locally at the spaceport, including roles in administration, finance, licensing, insurance, maintenance, fueling, engineering, communications, public relations, housekeeping, security and community relations.

For our part, Orbex is committed to operating the A’Mhoine site in a compatible and “green” manner, and will be using a site-compatible small launch vehicle with an ultra-low carbon bio-propane fuel. We are already investing strongly in the Highlands region at Forres, and we will be making some more announcements about developments at other locations in due course.”

Chris Larmour, CEO of Orbex

The successful launch on June 24, 2019 ,EST of six satellites for the FORMOSAT-7 joint US-Taiwanese weather forecasting constellation marks the start of another SSTL-enabled space mission.

The launch on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre was attended by SSTL staff including Managing Director, Sarah Parker, who said the company is proud of their role as space mission enablers and, hot on the heels of TeleSat LEO Phase 1 satellites’ first ever demo of 5G connectivity, SSTL is delighted that the firm’s smallsats expertise has — once again — helped the firm’s customers achieve their ambitions.

The company congratulates their customers, NSPO in Taiwan, and NOAA in the United States, on the successful launch of their constellation and look forward to following their mission journey as they move through commissioning and into start of operations.

Artistic rendition of the Fomosat-7 smallsat.

Image is courtesy of SSTL.

FORMOSAT-7, also known as COSMIC-2 in the U.S., is a joint constellation meteorological satellite mission between Taiwan and the United States for observing and monitoring the global meteorology, climate, and ionosphere. In addition to two science payloads for detecting ionospheric data, each of the six satellites in the constellation is carrying an advanced GNSS receiver to low-inclination-angle orbits and will collect atmospheric data at low and mid latitudes to provide sounding data to improve regional and global weather forecasting. The processed data will be provided by two data processing centers located in Taiwan and USA.
 

Photo of Formosat-7 smallsat with the solar panel deployed.

Image is courtesy of SSTL.

SSTL provided the platforms for this next-generation Global Navigational Satellite System Radio Occultation data constellation, enabling our customer, NSPO of Taiwan, to continue its participation in an internationally recognised science mission at the best possible value for money. Collaborating with SSTL also enabled NSPO’s engineers to work hand-in-hand with SSTL’s engineering team throughout the program, gaining world-class small satellite expertise in the full range of satellite mission capability including design, assembly, test and in-orbit operations.

As a continuation of this program, NSPO is now developing their own FORMOSAT-7 platform, named TRITON, using some of SSTL’s hardware under license in their own satellite structure and avionics. The satellite is scheduled for launch in 2021.

The first fully integrated and tested satellite for the FORMOSAT-7 constellation was completed at SSTL in the UK and delivered to NSPO in Taiwan in 2015. The other five satellites in the constellation were manufactured and assembled by SSTL in the UK and delivered to Taiwan where payload assembly and testing was completed at NSPO’s facility as part of the knowledge transfer program.

The payloads for the satellites were provided by NASA (JPL), the U.S. Air Force and the University of Texas and were integrated to the completed platforms by the NSPO team, with support from SSTL. SSTL engineers also provided launch site support and are providing technical on-orbit operational support to NSPO’s team who will be performing on-orbit commissioning of the spacecraft from the company’s control center in Taiwan.

The launch of the FORMOSAT-7 satellites was managed by the U.S. Air Force STP-2 program.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has selected K-12 student “payloads” to launch atop the company’s intern-built sport rocket at this summer’s Student Rocket Launch.

The event, sponsored by ULA and Ball Aerospace, offers a unique, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experience centered on inspiring the next generation of rocket scientists. ULA and Ball selected the July 20 launch date in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. 

The Student Rocket Launch program offers students from kindergarten through graduate school hands-on experience working with rockets and payloads. Payloads are objects, experiments or instruments launched on and deployed (if desired) from the rocket. A payload can be almost anything a team can create within the provided guidelines. Projects this year include data sensors, drones, rovers and a scale model of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module.

ULA intern volunteers design, build and refurbish the high-power sport rocket — dubbed “Future Heavy Super Sport” — while volunteer interns from Ball Aerospace and K-12 students design and build payloads that launch on the rocket.

The 2019 Student Rocket Launch will take place July 20 at Fort Carson, Colorado, which is located south of Colorado Springs. The payloads will launch on the Future Heavy Super Sport rocket, a high-power sport rocket built and refurbished by ULA interns.

Since 2009, ULA’s summer interns built and launched high-power sport rockets carrying payloads designed and built by Ball Aerospace interns as part of the Ball Intern Remote Sensing Team (BIRST) program. In 2010, ULA opened the opportunity up to K-12 student teams, and the company introduced a competition element in 2018. ULA and Ball interns volunteer to participate in the program in addition to their “day jobs” at the aerospace companies.

When submitting their proposals, teams selecgted whether they wanted to compete for a chance to win up to $5,000 for their school or sponsoring nonprofit organization by guiding their payload closest to a designated ground-based target. Teams choosing not to compete create a payload with a mission objective of their choosing. 

2019 Student Rocket Launch K-12 Payload Teams

California

• Ann Sobrato High School (Morgan Hill) — Generic Drone Name*
• Destiny Christian Elementary School (Rocklin) — Roaring Chicken
• Brookside Elementary School (Oak Park) — The Order of the Eggs
• Downey High School (Downey) — The RC Paraglider*
• Newport Christian School (Newport Beach) — NCS Weather Radar

Colorado

• Boulder High School (Boulder) — Curio*, The Sky Crane*, Cole*
• Impact Tae Kwon Do (Highlands Ranch) — In-flight Dynamic Environments Measurements
• Monarch High School (Louisville) — Tanky McTankface
• Peak to Peak Charter (Lafayette) — Capturing the Moment, Greenhouse Gas Assessment Apparatus, Kinderducks*, Operation Falling Weather, Smorgasbord
• Ralston Valley High School (Arvada) — The Fruits of Labor, The Egg-Ceptional Payload
• Silverton School (Silverton) — Can You Dig It?
• Smoky Hill High School (Centennial) — Apollo LM Tribute
• STEM School Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch) — Gone Home*, Lookout Below

Florida

• Edgewood High School (Merritt Island) — ELT-1*

New Mexico

• Santa Fe Composite Squadron (Santa Fe) — Civil Air Patrol Autonomous Emergency Delivery System*

Oregon

• Catlin Gabel School (Tigard) — CGSMAP*

Texas

• Team Astrocube (Austin, TX) — Astrocube

* Denotes a competition team

Tory Bruno, ULA President and CEO, said today’s students are tomorrow’s scientists, engineers, explorers, innovators and entrepreneurs,. The Student Rocket Launch gives students from kindergarten through graduate school hands-on experience designing, problem-solving and innovating with the added experience of launching their work thousands of feet above the ground.

Rob Strain, President, Ball Aerospace, added that the Ball Aerospace interns are an exceptional group of diverse students from 44 colleges and universities who are pursuing careers in STEM fields that are of importance to the aerospace industry. The BIRST program and the company’s long-standing partnership with ULA enable these interns to experience a real-world mission from the design phase of a payload all the way to launch.

Ethiopia has finalized preparations to launch the nation’s Earth Observatory satellite into space by November 2019, this according to Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute.

Institute Director-General Solomon Belay said about 95 percent of the satellite has been completed and system checking and launching will be conducted after September. The satellite will help provide agricultural information, water and irrigation shade amount, rural development as well as climate change in the country, Solomon said.

The satellite will also report data of the forest coverage in the country. For instance, the current and ongoing four billion tree seedlings planting initiative progress can be supervised through the satellite. Professionals in the area have already received training in regard to the control of the satellite.

The satellite has been manufactured in collaboration with the Chinese government. Ethiopian engineers and scientists have been participating in all of the satellite manufacturing and planning processes. The satellite will be launched from China.

A Ball Aerospace satellite used for NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) is ready for launch, scheduled for no earlier than June 24 on board a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Ball built the smallsat, which contains NASA’s first opportunity to demonstrate a new “green” propellant and propulsion system in orbit – an alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems.

Image is courtesy of Ball Aerospace.

As the prime contractor for GPIM, Ball Aerospace is responsible for system engineering; flight thruster performance verification; ground and flight data review; spacecraft bus; assembly, integration and test; and launch and flight support. The spacecraft bus is the smallest of the Ball Configurable Platform (BCP) satellites, which is about the size of a mini refrigerator, and was assembled in just 46 days.

The BCP provides standard payload interfaces and streamlined procedures, allowing rapid and affordable access to space with flight-proven performance. There are currently two BCP small satellites performing on orbit: STPSat-2, which launched in November 2010, and STPSat-3, which launched in November 2013. The two STP satellites were built for the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program’s Standard Interface Vehicle (STP-SIV) project.

Artistic rendition of the GPIM spacecraft.

Image is courtesy of Ball Aerospace.

GPIM is part of NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), and Christopher McLean of Ball Aerospace serves as the principal investigator. The mission will demonstrate the practical capabilities of AF-M315E, a Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate fuel and oxidizer monopropellant developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

In addition to STMD and Ball Aerospace, the GPIM team includes: Aerojet Rocketdyne; U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base; the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; and three NASA field centers — NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

GPIM is one of several payloads launching as part of the Department of Defense STP-2 mission managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. Another payload, the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate-2 (COSMIC-2) satellite, carries five Ion Velocity Meters built by Ball and designed by the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) that will measure one parameter of the space weather environment as part of a successful technology transfer program. COSMIC-2 is a joint mission including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Air Force, Taiwan’s National Space Organization and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, VP and GM, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace, said that GPIM has the potential to inspire new ideas and new missions, which could mean smaller spacecraft, faster and easier ground processing, longer design lives and more. Ball is also developing small satellites for two other NASA missions — the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) and the Spectro Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) missions.

HEMERIA and Thales Alenia Space have signed a smallsat partnership agreement.

HEMERIA will offer its range of smallsats in the size segment from 8 to 27U and will benefit from the expertise of Thales Alenia Space to co-develop a high-tech platform and to provide the payload, dedicated antennas and ground segment.

The general goal will be realized by a number of concrete projects. Thanks to this agreement, HEMERIA and Thales Alenia Space will be able to explore the opportunities promised by the smallsat market for on-orbit demonstration, the constellation market or any other operative project.

ESA’s Education Office is calling for applications for two ESA Academy opportunities that are now open: the Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations Training Course 2019 and the Cubesat Hands-On Training Week 2019, both to be held at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium, during September of 2019.

Photo of students from the Students from Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations Course in 2017. Image is courtesy of ESA.

Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft
Operations Training Course 2019

Description: ESA’s Education Office is offering 30 university students the opportunity to participate in the fifth edition of the Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations Training Course and to learn about the fascinating world of spacecraft operations. This 4-day course without excessive mathematics or technical jargon will take place from September 3 to 6, 2019 and will show students how ‘driving’ a spacecraft is different from designing it.
Open to: Bachelor, Master and PhD engineering and physics students.
Application Deadline: July16, 2019

Access this direct link for more information about the training course and how to apply…

Students performing experiments on their ESAT model. Image is courtesy of ESA.

CubeSats Hands-On Training Week 2019

Description: ESA’s Education Office is inviting 26 motivated university students to participate in the second edition of the CubeSats Hands-On Training Week, to be held from 16 to 20 September 2019. During this 5-day training week, students will learn about small satellite design and testing through lab sessions delivered by Theia Space using a CubeSat training model (ESAT), which will be complemented by technical lectures delivered by ESA experts. This training week is especially suitable for students who are involved in a CubeSat project or would like to be.
Open to: Bachelor, Master and PhD engineering students.
Application Deadline: August 2, 2019

Access this direct link for more information about the training week and on how to apply…

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been selected to design dual small deep space spacecraft to visit near-Earth asteroids in a mission called Janus, led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

One of NASA’s Small Innovative Mission for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) finalists, Janus is designed to fly by two binary asteroids, or asteroids orbiting a common center of mass, to image the system using both visible and infrared cameras. These smallsats will launch in 2022 to reach the asteroid system in 2026.

Downselected for this next phase of NASA’s SIMPLEx program, Lockheed Martin will be working toward preliminary design review. SIMPLEx is a cost-capped program focusing science investigations on any Solar System body, except for the Earth and the Sun, using small spacecraft lighter than 180 kg. The Janus mission is designed to meet these requirements. The mission will investigate how binary asteroids form and evaluate existing theories of how these constantly changing systems evolve.

Deep space missions present challenges beyond what the typical small sat mission encounters in low-Earth orbit. For example, power systems must handle a range of Sun distances and telecommunication systems need to be able to transmit over long distances and be compatible with the Deep Space Network. Lockheed Martin brings the experience of deep space exploration system integration into the design of these ESPA-class, dual small satellites weighing in at about 40 kg. each.

The Janus mission is led by Principal Investigator Dan Scheeres of University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, Colorado. If selected in the final stage, Lockheed Martin Space will design and build the spacecraft and provide mission operations after launch.

Malin Space Science Systems will provide the instrument suite including visible and infrared cameras. The selected investigations will be managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama as part of the Solar System Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 

Chris McCaa, Janus program manager at Lockheed Martin Space, said the company is excited to partner with University of Colorado on this challenging mission to be among the first smallsats to return science data from beyond Earth orbit. Janus will provide the opportunity to blend our long heritage of mission success in deep space with the small sat paradigm, helping to pave the way for a new generation of deep space explorers. Combining the company’s track record of delivering on principal investigator-led missions and the caliber of this science team will give all a greater understanding of the workings of our Solar System. All deep space missions require a balance of reliability and schedule assurance to be successful and, unlike a mission to low-Earth orbit, you must meet the planetary launch window. The asteroids won’t wait for us. To meet those challenges, the company will be applying proven methods from missions such as OSIRIS-REx and Lucy as well as leveraging lessons learned while developing other small sat missions such as LunIR.

GomSpace A/S has been selected by UnseenLabs SAS to develop and deliver their second-generation space system.

The collaboration will result in further enhancement of the capabilities to provide disruptive spectrum monitoring services from space, featuring unique hardware and software.

Under the ATP, signed at the Paris Airshow, the parties will complete work to define the scope and specifications of the new space system to be finally contracted within the fall of 2019.

Niels Buus, the CEO of GomSpace, said the company is excited to continue the collaboration with UnseenLabs. With this project, the firm believes that UnseenLabs will continue to provide a disruptive capacity to their customers for maritime surveillance services provided by LEO satellites.

Jonathan Galic, CEO and Co-Founder of UnseenLabs, remarked that working with GomSpace during the development of the company’s first-generation space system has convinced the firm that they are the correct choice for the firm’s continued roadmap. Their flight proven hardware and software products are a major source of confidence, allowing UnseenLabs to focus the company’s expertise on payloads, missions and services.

Keeping a company healthy for the long term is no easy task considering the ebbs and flows of the space industry and difficult decisions for the overall positive results. As an example one such company, GomSpace is adjusting the organization to reach cash flow objectives. The adjustments will not have an impact on the direction of the company and the ability to meet customer demands.

GomSpace continues to reduce the costs and intends to reduce the staff with up to 30 employees before the end of this month. The change will have full effect from the fourth quarter of 2019. The cost reductions will be aimed at reducing overhead costs in the administration and overhead costs in manufacturing.

Lars Alminde

Peter Worsøe

The cost reductions also include replacements in the Executive Team:

• Lars Alminde, the leading founder of GomSpace, will return to the Executive Team as the Chief Commercial Officer.
• Peter Worsøe, previously Quality Manager in GomSpace, will join the Executive Team as Chief Manufacturing Officer.

Meanwhile, GomSpace is continuing to build up the engineering capacity as they are engaged with the European Space Agency on a number of very important innovative developments of the nanosatellite capabilities in Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden.