Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), celebrating 100 cumulative years of on-orbit smallsat operations, will highlight present and future microspace remote sensing missions at the 12th IAA Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth Observation. SFL is a specialty lab building satellites professionally at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS).

On Monday, May 6, at 13:30, SFL’s Laura M. Bradbury will present, “On-Orbit Greenhouse Gas Emissions Monitoring with the GHGSat Constellation.” The paper discusses the GHGSat-D microsatellite built by SFL and launched in 2016 by GHGSat Inc. to demonstrate the detection of point sources of greenhouse gases from orbit. The successful mission resulted in SFL’s being contracted to develop GHGSat-C1 and -C2 for commercial operations.

The paper is co-authored by Michael Ligori, Robert Spina, and Robert E. Zee, all of SFL, and Stephane Germain of GHGSat Inc. in Montreal.

SFL established itself as the go-to provider of smallsats for Earth Observation (EO) applications by developing break-through attitude control technologies for smaller satellites. As a greater challenge for smaller satellites of low mass, attitude control is a necessity for precise pointing of onboard sensors at Earth.

In addition to the two commercial GHGSat smallsats, SFL is developing two atmospheric monitoring satellites and one optical remote sensing satellite at its Toronto facility. These include the DMSat-1 aerosol and greenhouse gas monitoring microsatellite contracted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai, and Slovenia’s first Earth observation satellite, NEMO-HD which will be launched later this year. NEMO-HD is a compact microsatellite capable of 2.8m (actual) resolution, multispectral, high-definition imaging and video.

Visit the SFL booth at the 2019 IAA Symposium on Small Satellites for Earth Observation, hosted by the International Academy of Astronautics. This year’s conference will be held in Berlin, Germany, on May 6-10. Details at http://smallsat.iaaweb.org/.

NanoRacks has appointed Veronica La Regina as the Director of Global Engagement (Europe) and she will be directing NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l, an Italian company co-located at ALTEC in Torino.

Veronica La Regina.

Ms. La Regina will be moving to Torino along with NanoRacks Head of European Operations, Peter Bak. NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l. officially opened its doors for business on April 1, 2019.

NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l, along with NanoRacks, DreamUp, and soon to be announced companies, are all under the parent company XO Markets, the Holding Company of Space.

Veronica comes to NanoRacks with deep experience in the European aerospace community. Prior to joining NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l, she was a Strategy and Business Development officer at RHEA and appointed at the European Space Agency (ESA) – ESTEC as a Business Innovation Expert of the Commercial Partnerships Initiative for Space Exploration in the Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration.

She previously worked for ESA’s Technology Transfer Program Office and the Department of International Relations of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Additionally, she has prior experience at the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna, the International Space University in Strasbourg, Telespazio SpA in Rome, Wave Energy Centre in Lisbon, and as researcher at multiple universities in Europe and in the United States.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from the Electronic Engineering Department at the University of Rome Tor Vergata , a Master’s Degree in Space Policy from the Italian Society for International Organization, and a degree in law from LUISS – G. Carli. Veronica also pursued PhD Studies in Economics at Milan State University while studying abroad at Toulouse School of Economics and Boston College.

In 2017 she was awarded as a “Leader” by the Italian Branch of the Business Professional Women Network.

In May 2018, NanoRacks announced that NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l. would serve as the business development hub for European and Asian customers, in cooperation with ALTEC and Thales Alenia Space. International customers are already enjoying NanoRacks end-to-end turnkey services and technical advice from Italy.

NanoRacks S.r.l. will be hosting their first event in Italy on May 16th, 2019. The event, called “SPACEGATE” will be a free, day-long event, focused on the Italian pathway to commercial space. With speakers from ESA, Thales Alenia Space, ALTEC, NanoRacks, and numerous real payload users on the International Space Station, and beyond. To RSVP, please follow this link.

Veronica La Regina said that NanoRacks brings a new level of entrepreneurship to the game, and she is ready to feed Europe with the spirit of NanoRacks. She will be accessible to European and Asian customers and to make your dreams in space a reality.

Alba Orbital revealed that their Cluster 2 is scheduled to fly on RocketLab out of New Zealand to a 385km SSO orbit later this year.  This news and more about the satellites was included in the following article from a Scottish newspaper.

A SCOTTISH satellite hub has announced seven customers for its second PocketQube satellite mission later this year.

The Alba Cluster 2 mission from Alba Orbital will go into orbit on Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle, with seven PocketQubes integrated into their satellite deployer, the AlbaPod.

It comes after the company sold out its first launch, which will also launch in the third quarter of this year.

PocketQubes comprise 5cm cubes, which can be stacked to make larger variants and clients from Hungary, Germany, Spain and the U.S. have confirmed their place in the second mission. 

The new cluster includes spectrum monitoring payload, built by Budapest University of Technology and Economics, which wants to make a global map of spectrum usage; an optical camera built by U.S. firm Mini-cubes and Hungarian group Advanced Technology of Laser will test a new thermal isolation material in space.

Stara Space satellites will demonstrate a new intersatellite link, encrypted communication and integration with ground station software that allows third party satellites to request data transfer — crucial technologies which are needed to create a real-time global communications constellation.

Tom Walkinshaw founded Alba Orbital in 2012 and the company, which also has offices in Germany, now employs 15 people.

The team has won five major contracts with the European Space Agency, worth in excess of €1.5 million (£1.28m).

Unicorn-1 and Unicorn-2, their platforms, serve different parts of the satellite value chain and with their new AlbaPod deployer, can fly on any launch vehicle. Slots for the second launch are sold out but Alba said others on its third launch are still available, with prices starting €25,000 (£21,300).

Walkinshaw, Alba’s CEO, said: “Getting a satellite to orbit has traditionally cost six figures, taken years and is prone to many delays.

“Alba’s Launch Cluster 2 alleviate these problems, significantly reducing the barriers to launch PocketQubes in a regular and cost effective manner.

“This will help fulfil Alba Orbital’s goal of democratizing access to space.

“We are looking forward to working with Peter and the Rocket Lab team.”

Peter Bec, the founder and CEO of Rocket Lab — a privately-funded company with headquarters in Huntington Beach, California — added: “The satellites of today are getting smaller, doing more and costing less to build, but until now it has been a challenge for them to get to orbit.

“By partnering with Alba Orbital for a rideshare on a Rocket Lab Electron, these small but mighty payloads will get to orbit faster, experiencing a first-class ride and precise orbital insertion to maximize their potential on orbit.”

By Greg Russell, TheNational

SatixFy and GetSAT are offering an advanced MCPC (Multiple Channels per Carrier) system for more highly efficient network optimization to improve ground-satellite link conditions and data throughput.

The new MCPC satellite system will be showcased in both SatixFy’s and GetSAT’s booths during Satellite 2019 in Washington, DC, May 6-8.

This collaboration will enable SatixFy platforms to operate and manage GetSAT micronized antenna and modem products. The system is designed with a cloud-ready architecture in mind. It utilizes a friendly and modern, easy to use management for both equipment and satellite can start with a small network and grow as they expand.

Existing and future GetSAT customers will be able to upgrade their SCPC terminals to operate inside an MCPC network with a shared DVB-S2X up-to 500 MHz forward channel carrier at 1 Gbps of data and on-demand allocation of DVB-S2X 50 MHz return channel at 200 Mbps. The solution will be monitored and configured by an easy to use network management system controlling the terminals and the space segment allocation.  The MCPC system is based on SatixFy’s Software Defined Radio ASIC technology, ensuring state-of-the-art DVB-S2X capabilities from VLSNR to 256APSK and data performance.

GetSAT CEO, Kfir Benjamin, stated that bringing forth additional system capabilities to enhance the company’s customers’ businesses is an integral element of GetSAT’s DNA. The firm is happy to partner with SatixFy to offer greater MCPC empowerment and fulfill another Satcom-On-The-Move (SOTM) market needs.

SatixFy CEO, Yoel Gat, added that the company has been working closely with GetSAT on their modem technology for the past few years. With the new MCPC system, GetSAT’s and other SatixFy’s partners will be able to offer the ability to fully manage a terminal network and the satellite resources, enhancing their customers’ abilities to control missions and provide any critical service.

Kepler Communications announces that former Chief Strategy Officer at Inmarsat, Patrick McDougal, joined the company this month as a strategy advisor to support its business units. Described as a veteran business strategist within the satellite telecommunications industry, McDougal has more than 30 years of senior experience working for global leaders in the sector such as Inmarsat (29 years) and Intelsat (4 years). 

Before joining Kepler, McDougal was a member of the executive management team at Inmarsat where he led a number of initiatives including the acquisition of various companies, securing EU-wide spectrum licenses that advanced Inmarsat’s market strength, and global oversight of the company’s overall corporate business development efforts. 

Mina Mitry, CEO of Kepler Communications said that are very happy to welcome Patrick to their team. The experience he has within the satellite industry is of great value to a company the age and size of Kepler, so they are excited to bring him onboard. With his substantial network and expertise, along with Kepler’s technology and talented team, they will further reinforce and grow their market position as they continue to develop new and exciting partnerships together.  

Patrick McDougal said that as a Canadian who has worked overseas all my professional life, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with the Toronto-based Kepler team — smart, highly motivated and ambitious. He is delighted to contribute his experiences as he believes that they have what it takes for long-term success. He’s happy to be with them for the next stage of the journey.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has signed a contract with Airbus to provide high resolution optical data from the SSTL S1-4, an Earth Observation (EO) satellite that was launched in September of 2018.

SSTL will retain ownership and in orbit satellite operation and will lease imaging payload capacity to Airbus for the lifetime of the satellite, designed to be in excess of seven years.  The new contract will contribute high resolution panchromatic and multi-spectral optical data into the Airbus portfolio which already includes image data from seven satellites manufactured by SSTL, the DMC Constellation and the TripleSat Constellation.

The SSTL S1-4 satellite has a mass of 450kg and is capable of acquiring multiple targets in one pass, using spot, strip and mosaic imaging modes and 45 degree off-pointing agility for a range of applications including urban planning, agricultural monitoring, land classification, natural resource management and disaster monitoring.  The very high resolution imager on board the spacecraft has been designed and manufactured by SSTL and will acquire sub 1 meter resolution images in panchromatic mode and sub 4 meter resolution images in multi-spectral mode, with a swath width of about 20.8km.

Sarah Parker, Managing Director of SSTL, said the company is delighted with the performance of the SSTL S1-4 in orbit, demonstrated by the outstanding quality of the sub 1 meter resolution images of Tampa, Ho Chi Minh City and Chihuahua that the firm has just released. Additionally, Airbus is enhancing its imagery offering by leasing data capacity from the SSTL S1-4 and that service should start shortly.

Phil Brownnett, Head of UK Programs at Airbus Defence and Space, Intelligence, added the company welcomes the S1-4 data into the firm’s Intelligence portfolio to further enhance high-resolution coverage capabilities.

Capella Space will provision the first phase of their smallsat constellation with attitude control systems from Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT), a turnkey provider of spacecraft and subsystems for government, commercial, and academic applications. BCT will deliver the first batch of systems later this year, with full delivery of 12 precision pointing platforms built on the company’s FleXcore product by mid-2020.    

After the success of its first satellite, Denali, which served as a test bed for calibrating on-orbit operations, Capella is enhancing the design of its satellite to offer higher resolution and greater flexibility in image acquisition. The Whitney constellation, which will begin deployment in 2020, will feature 0.5 meter resolution at significantly lower cost than traditional systems. Whitney is the first phase of the company’s build-out of a 36 satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation, capable of revisiting any point on Earth within an hour.

Blue Canyon’s FleXcore system is a high-performance, cost-efficient modular ADCS platform that’s scalable to a wide range of bus sizes and mission requirements. BCT’s ADCS Systems have flown on a variety of small satellites, including micro-sat spacecraft, and was first put on-orbit in 2016. FleXcore offers customers flexible mission solutions by using standard commercial products in the BCT component line to achieve unique mission requirements.

BCT will execute the order from the company’s 54,000 square foot facility in Boulder, Colorado, adding Capella to the company’s list of over 60 missions on-orbit supported by the best-in-class systems. BCT is expected to begin shipping finished systems the fall of 2019. Capella will launch Sequoia, its first imaging mission, for advance bookings, later this year.

While terms of the contract were not disclosed, Payam Banazadeh, the CEO and Founder of Capella Space, indicated that the company has other orders pending and that the company is hiring a range of engineering positions to help the company meet a larger than anticipated demand for data and monitoring services.

Payam said that the race to rapid revisit is on… The next generation of satellite the company puts up will be among the most agile in LEO, capable of a range of operating modes and ground resolutions that will make a big difference in the quality and quantity of data we can provide our customers. As the firm scales from building a single satellite at a time to producing an entire fleet in short order, BCT offers a superior combination of performance, scale and affordability to pull forward the company’s launch schedule.

The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) in cooperation with GK Launch Service,s are pleased to announce an exclusive competition for a Free Launch of 1U cubesat on the First Commercial Mission of GK Launch Services.

Photo of a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle.

All IAF member organizations are invited to participate in the competition and profit from this opportunity to win a launch operated by GK Launch Services, planned for the second quarter of 2020. Please note that this competition’s priority is to reach out to Space University teams from emerging countries.  

The launcher will be Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat. The new generation of Soyuz launchers features high reliability and multi-functionality and will be launched from Baikonur.

GK Launch Services CEO, Alexander Serkin, said the company is are happy to provide a launch opportunity to a 1U cubesat on the firm’s first commercial mission. It is important to GK to support scientific projects, especially those made by students.

The mechanical loads information that secondary payloads (small SC) experience during Soyuz-2/Fregat ground operations and launch may be read at this direct link..

Applications must be submitted to award@iafastro.org by August 8, 2019, and must include:

• Description of bidding organisation and background experience with respect to CubeSats (if available)
• Description of proposed CubeSat mission
• Description of available facilities (e.g. integration and test facilities, ground station)
• Funding and readiness status

A joint IAF – GK Launch Services Selection Board will review the applications and select the winner, who will be announced at the IAC 2019 in Washington D.C. taking place from 21 – 25 October 21 to 25, 2019. 

Founded in April 2017, GK Launch Services — a joint venture of GLAVKOSMOS JSC, and subsidiary of ROSCOSMOS State Space and International Space Company KOSMOTRAS, LLC. — is the operator of Soyuz-2 commercial launches from the Russian space ports.

Renesas has introduced the industry’s first plastic-packaged, radiation tolerant PWM controller and GaN FET driver developed for DC/DC power supplies in smallsats and launch vehicles, bringing cutting-edge IC technology combined with optimal cost and radiation performance to the smallsat market.

The ISL71043M single-ended current mode PWM controller and ISL71040M low-side GaN FET driver provide the ideal isolated flyback and half-bridge power stages, as well as motor control driver circuits for satellite buses and payloads. As private ‘new space’ companies have begun launching smallsats to form large constellations that operate in multiple LEO planes, smallsat mega-constellations also work to provide global broadband Internet links, as well as high-resolution Earth observation imaging for sea, air, and land asset tracking. The new power supply solution delivers the size, cost, and performance that new space customers need for five year mission profiles in LEO planes.

The ISL71043M PWM controller:

• Provides fast signal propagation and output switching in a small 4mm x 5mm SOIC plastic package, reducing PCB area up to 3x compared to competitive ceramic packages. 
• Features a 5.5mA max supply current that reduces power loss more than 3x, and an adjustable operating frequency — up to 1 MHz – that enables higher efficiency and the use of smaller passive filter components.

The ISL71040M low-side GaN FET driver:

• Safely drives Renesas’ rad-hard GaN FETs in isolated topologies and boost type configurations by precisely controlling the gate driver voltage to +3/-5% over temperature and radiation. It also includes floating protection circuitry to eliminate unintentional switching.
• Operates with a supply voltage between 4.5V and 13.2V, a gate drive voltage (VDRV) of 4.5V, and includes both inverting and non-inverting inputs.
• Features split outputs that adjust the turn-on and turn-off speeds, and high current source and sink capability that enable high frequency operation.

Both the ISL71043M and ISL71040M are characterization tested at a TID of up to 30krads(Si), and for SEE at a LET of 43MeV•cm2/mg. Both devices operate over an extended temperature range of -55°C to +125°C.

 The ISL71043M PWM controller and ISL71040M GaN FET driver can also be combined with the ISL73024SEH 200V GaN FET or ISL73023SEH 100V GaN FET, and ISL71610M passive-input digital isolator to create a variety of power stage configurations.

Both the ISL71043M and ISL71040M devices are available now. More information can be found here.

ÅAC Microtec subsidiary Clyde Space plans to build and begin operating in 2020 two cubesats equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers for ORBCOMM in a contract valued at 54 million Swedish Krona ($5.9 million).

Under the contract, Clyde Space will install three dedicated AIS receivers including a receiver based on a software-defined radio (SDR) on each of the four-kilogram cubesats. Clyde Space also will equip the cubesats with antennas to maximize detection of AIS messages, according to an ÅAC Microtec news release issued on April 9.

Clyde Space will deliver AIS data gathered by the cubesats to ORBCOMM under an exclusive license, marking an important step in ÅAC Microtec’s strategy to expand their business by building and operating spacecraft for customers.

ORBCOMM processes more than 30 million AIS messages from more than 200,000 vessels per day for government and commercial customers, according to the news release. For ORBCOMM, this contract demonstrates the firm’s commitment to the AIS market.

Rolf Hallencreutz, ÅAC Microtec chairman, said this project with ORBCOMM represents a major milestone for ÅAC Microtec and Clyde Space as it is a collaboration with an established, leading data services company as well as because of the firm’s strategic move to a satellite service model.

John Stolte, ORBCOMM’s EVP of technology and operations, said the company is pleased to partner with ÅAC Microtec and Clyde Space to enhance the firm’s existing AIS service with two, state-of-the-art, next-generation satellites to continue providing customers around the world with the best service offering for AIS data.