A new Do-It-Yourself (DIY) kit launched via Kickstarter by AmbaSat now allows the building of one’s own satellite for launch into space.

The AmbaSat-1 is a tiny space satellite kit that you assemble and code yourself and is now available — watch the demonstration video via this direct link to learn more about the project that provides an easy way to build your own spacecraft and have it launched into LEO.
 

AmbaSat-1 is part of a new generation of satellites known as Sprite satellites. They are tiny spacecraft measuring 35 mm square and just a few millimeters thick. Pioneered by the original KickSat, the company’s goal is to launch groups of AmbaSat-1 satellites onboard a commercial rocket. By shrinking the size of the spacecraft, as many as 200 satellites can be launched at a time, thereby reducing costs.

Once the satellite kit is assembled and programmed, it will be launched onboard a commercial rocket for LEO deployment, where it will then spend up to three months in space. This is a kit, it’s fun, it’s educational and the company is requesting your assistance to make this happen.

AmbaSats are just a little bigger than the size of a couple of postage stamps but have solar cells, a LoRaWAN radio transceiver, microcontroller (an Arduino compatible ATMEGA 328P-AU), memory, a gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer as well as a range of other sensor options. Making use of The Things Network (TTN), AmbaSats are capable of transmitting data to more than 5,000 Earth-based TTN receivers (Gateways) which are spread around the whole globe. No specialist radio receiving equipment is required — the satellite’s data appears over the internet directly to the owner’s AmbaSat Dashboard.”
 

APSI (Asia Pacific Satellite Inc.) and ICEYE have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to support the South Korean New Space market.

Jang Soo Ryoo, Ph.D Chairman and CEO of APSI, and Pekka Laurila, CSO and Co-founder of ICEYE, at ICEYE offices in Finland at the signing of the contract.

As a part of the agreement, APSI will supply ICEYE’s SAR imagery in South Korea and also provide mutual support from both APSI and ICEYE to deliver radar imaging related satellite solutions to the greater South Korean market.

ICEYE successfully launched its second radar imaging satellite, ICEYE-X2, in early December of 2018, in the global EO market. The satellite launch was an initial step toward creating the necessary SAR satellite constellation of ICEYE for frequent and reliable satellite-based information regarding any location on Earth, regardless of the time of day — and even through cloud cover.

ICEYE-X2 radar satellite image of Seoul, South Korea, taken during February 2019.

ICEYE is providing commercial data services to both government and industry users. The company is actively increasing the size of its SAR satellite constellation, with as many as five additional satellites being launched throughout 2019. ICEYE’s small SAR satellites can be manufactured and launched cost-effectively and provide up to 1 meter resolution SAR images.

APSI is a provider of equipment and services for multiple government programs in South Korea, and with the support of ICEYE’s leading technology, will grow to provide further data, hardware and radar imaging solutions to the government of South Korea.
 

Rocket Lab‘s next flight will launch multiple spacecraft on a mission procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider, Spaceflight.

The launch window will open in June, with the launch taking place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

The mission is Rocket Lab’s seventh Electron launch overall and the company’s third for 2019, continuing Rocket Lab’s average monthly launch cadence. The flight follows dedicated missions launched for DARPA and the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program in the first months of 2019.      

The mission is named ‘Make it Rain’ in a nod to the high volume of rainfall in Seattle, where Spaceflight is headquartered, as well in New Zealand where Launch Complex 1 is located. Among the satellites on the mission for Spaceflight are BlackSky’s Global-4, two U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Prometheus and Melbourne Space Program’s ACRUX-1.

The spacecraft manifested on the mission will be delivered to precise, individual orbits by Electron’s Kick Stage. Powered by the 3D printed Curie engine, the Kick Stage carries the payloads to a circular orbit before employing a cold gas reaction control system to orient itself for precise deployment of each satellite at pre-defined intervals. This removes the risk of spacecraft recontact during deployment and ensures each spacecraft is deployed to the ideal orbit.

Rocket Lab has been delivering small satellites to orbit since January 2018. The company has launched 28 satellites on Electron for a range of government and commercial mission partners including NASA, the DOD Space Test Program and DARPA. Rocket Lab’s 2019 manifest is fully booked with monthly launches, scaling to a launch every two weeks by the end of the year. The first launch from the company’s second launch site, Launch Complex 2, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, will also take place later this year.

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO Peter Beck said rideshares have historically presented a challenge for small satellite operators, as they are often at the mercy of the primary payload’s schedule and orbit and said that this exciting mission with Spaceflight demonstrates the new level of freedom now offered to small satellite operators thanks to Electron. Rocket Lab puts small satellite operators in charge, offering an unmatched level of control over launch schedule. Thanks to Electron’s Kick Stage, the company also deliver sthe kind of precision orbital deployment normally reserved for a prime.

ESA and GomSpace have put their scientific heads together to devise an improvement for smallsat systems and subsystems for science missions in deep space. The two companies signed a contract that is valued at 3.900.000 € over 18 months. (3.300.000 € for GomSpace Denmark and 600.000 € for GomSpace Sweden). The contract is carried out under the Science Programme funded by ESA.

In this project, GomSpace will tackle the most critical technology areas that could enable the use of small satellites for a science mission with a launch date as early as 2028. The aim is to design and test various development models at subsystem level to demonstrate a technology readiness level of TRL6.

Small satellites have been proposed in the frame of deep space scientific missions for several years. However, questions about the combability and reliability of the small satellites’ technology, traditionally used for LEO applications with limited performance and lifetime requirements, have remained unanswered or not addressed in sufficient depth.

CEO, Niels Buus, from GomSpace said that this is an important step for GomSpace. Deep Space is by far the harshest environment, you will ever meet. Adapting their nanosatellites to this environment will increase their lifetime and the reliability way beyond state of the art. This will become a significant driver in meeting the technology requirements of tomorrow — also on the commercial market.

Scientific missions to deep space will become key in understanding the origin of the solar system as well as the planetary resources. ESA is working closely with NASA and the international space community to design and exploit these future missions.

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) has engaged Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) as a ground station service provider.

KSAT is a leading provider of communication services for spacecraft and launch vehicles with an extensive and uniquely located global ground network. KSAT provides advanced monitoring services.

The appointment marks the next milestone toward revenue (ASX: 13/5/2019) generation, commencing post commissioning of the Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites¹ . Kleos’ satellites will initially transmit observation data to the KSAT downlink ground station Svalbard in Norway. Kleos will have access to additional ground stations within the KSAT network, currently consisting of 15 locations worldwide through the KSAT Lite platform, which can provide back-up facilities and enlarged flexibility for Kleos.

Andy Bowyer, CEO of Kleos Space said that one of the keys to the company’s success lies in the choice of technological partners and the firm has appointed Kongsberg as they are one of the world leaders for data reception and near real time Earth Observation services. Kleos is proud to work with Kongsberg, with 50 years’ experience in a fast growing and challenging industry and environment.

¹The multi-satellite Scouting Mission system will form the foundation of a constellation that delivers a global picture of hidden maritime activity, enhancing the intelligence capability of government and commercial entities when AIS (Automatic Identification System) is defeated, imagery is unclear, or targets are out of patrol range. The first scouting mission is comprised of 4x smallsats built by GomSpace in Denmark.

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, May 15, for the launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

SpaceX’s Starlink is a next-generation satellite network capable of connecting the globe, especially reaching those who are not yet connected, with reliable and affordable broadband internet services.

The launch window opens at 10:30 p.m. EDT on May 15, or 2:30 UTC on May 16, and closes at 12:00 a.m. on May 16, or 4:00 UTC.

A backup launch window opens on Thursday, May 16 at 10:30 p.m. EDT, or 2:30 UTC on May 17, and closes at 12:00 a.m. on May 17, or 4:00 UTC.

Falcon 9’s first stage for this mission previously supported the Telstar 18 VANTAGE mission in September 2018 and the Iridium-8 mission in January 2019.

Following stage separation, SpaceX will attempt to land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately one hour and two minutes after liftoff, the Starlink satellites will initiate deployment at an altitude of 440 km. They will then use onboard propulsion to reach an operational altitude of 550 km. 

SpaceX’s live launch coverage will start about 15 minutes before liftoff. To watch SpaceX’s live launch webcast or to learn more about the mission, visit spacex.com/webcast.

Sky and Space Global and GOMSpace have entered into a Heads of Agreement consisting of two parts — a new agreement (6U Agreement) and changes to the original agreement from 2017 (as amended) (Pearls Agreement).

By entering into the Heads of Agreement, GOMSpace anticipates the above-mentioned agreements to be finalized no later than May 2019.

The new agreement includes a delivery of the first batch of eight smallsats by Q1 2020 — and an optional batch of eight more smallsats planned for first half year 2020.

The order value of the first batch is 5.3 million euros and the order value of the optional batch is up to 3.8 million euros.

The new agreement is conditional upon secured financing by Sky and Space Global and the parties reaching an agreement on changes to the original agreement entered into in 2017 (as amended) (Pearls Agreement). Both parties expect to reach a definite agreement of the changes to the original agreement from 2017 (as amended) within 30 days.

Axelspace Corporation has announced that their service will officially start on Friday, May 31, 2019.

AxelGlobe is a next-generation Earth Observation (EO) platform constructed by Axelspace, where dozens of smallsats on-orbit monitor the entire surface of the planet on a daily basis.

The following are the details about the service:

• Name: AxelGlobe
• URL: https://www.axelglobe.com
• Content: Distribution of data from GRUS, the microsatellites for AxelGlobe constellation
• Date/Time: From 3 pm, on Friday, May 31, 2019 (Japan Standard Time)

Prior to the official release of AxelGlobe service, Axelspace launched GRUS-1A, the first satellite consisting of the constellation, on December 27 last year, from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia. The first light images from the satellite were publicized on March 11 of this year, following the on-orbit system checkout. Necessary functions both on the ground and in space for normal operations have been confirmed so far and GRUS-1A has now entered its normal operation phase.

Arianespace has been selected by exactEarth to launch the ESAIL satellite, using a Vega as part of the launcher’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof of Concept (POC) flight.

This is the final contract signed by Arianespace for this POC flight, which is now completely booked with 42 payloads onboard.

The ESAIL satellite will be launched in a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 515 km. on a Vega SSMS rideshare flight in 2019 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

exactEarth is a leading provider of global AIS (Automatic Identification System) maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions. Using world-leading satellite vessel detection technology – combined with the most advanced constellation of AIS satellites — exactEarth delivers the highest quality real-time information to customers around the world.

The ESAIL smallsat has a mass of 110 kg. and features an enhanced multiple antenna-receiver configuration for global detection of AIS messages and high-resolution spectrum capture, which will enable the demonstration of advanced future services such as VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) message reception.

After launch and commissioning, the ESAIL satellite will be integrated into exactEarth’s global constellation — which currently consists of more than 60 high-performance maritime monitoring payloads. The ESAIL satellite was supported by European Space Agency (ESA – ESTEC) through the ARTES 21 SAT-AIS (SATellite Automatic Identification System) program, and was developed and built by a European manufacturing team led by the satellite prime contractor, OHB Luxspace.

Vega’s POC flight will be the first mission for SSMS — a program initiated by ESA in 2016 with the contribution of the European Commission. For all European partners involved, its purpose is to perfectly address the burgeoning microsatellite market for both institutional and commercial needs with a new rideshare concept on the Vega light-lift launcher.

Vega is a member of the Arianespace launcher family, along with the Ariane 5 heavy launcher and the medium-lift Soyuz; all three are operated from the Guiana Space Center. The industrial prime contractor for Vega is Avio, based in Colleferro, Italy.

Peter Mabson, the exactEarth CEO, said the company is happy to collaborate with Arianespace and participate in the Vega SSMS mission to deploy the ESAIL satellite. The firm would also like to thank ESA and the supporting national delegates and the Luxspace team for helping to create this advanced technology microsatellite and we look forward to adding it to our global fleet.

Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, added that exactEarth is welcomed among the company’s customers and also as the last passenger coming aboard the Vega SSMS POC flight, which is now completely booked. Everything is now set for this summer’s targeted launch of the first Arianespace mission dedicated to rideshare. Arianespace will continue to offer competitive solutions to all satellites, regardless of their masses and volumes, to the benefit of a better life on Earth.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) successfully demonstrated rapid spacecraft development for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), with the Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2), which launched on March 28, 2019.

Northrop Grumman led a unique team of commercial suppliers to deliver a 150 kg. smallsat from concept to orbit in 20 months. Traditional satellites of comparable complexity typically take many years to get to this stage.

The significantly accelerated timeline of R3D2 was enabled by DARPA’s approach of reducing requirements, reviews, and deliverables, while accepting greater levels of risk than is typical for an operational system. Northrop Grumman, known for its systems engineering expertise and extensive experience in leading successful space missions, utilized innovative rapid-development processes and commercial suppliers to keep schedule and risk balanced.

The Northrop Grumman-led team, included Blue Canyon Technologies, provider of the spacecraft bus, and Trident Systems, who designed and built R3D2’s software-defined radio. R3D2 was launched from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand by Rocket Lab.

Scott Stapp, VPt, resiliency and rapid prototyping, said the company’s team’s success with the R3D2 program is a strong proof of concept that the rapid development of future space capabilities is possible. Northrop Grumman looks forward to continuing to lead the cultural change necessary in the industry, by partnering with the U.S. government, commercial suppliers and startups to deliver prototypes and demonstrations for critical national security missions. Taking thoughtful risks and eliminating bureaucracy allowed us to streamline our processes to achieve rapid timelines.