RocketStar’s Firestar thruster was meant to launch on Transporter-11 and 12, does this mean its been moved?QuoteIt’s called the M1.5 and will be demonstrated in space as a hosted payload on D-Orbit’s proprietary OTV ION Satellite Carrier which will go on two SpaceX Transporter missions scheduled for July and October of this year.
It’s called the M1.5 and will be demonstrated in space as a hosted payload on D-Orbit’s proprietary OTV ION Satellite Carrier which will go on two SpaceX Transporter missions scheduled for July and October of this year.
Plans to test the FireStar Drive include further ground testing this year with an in-space demonstration scheduled for February 2025 as a hosted payload on Rogue Space System’s Barry-2 spacecraft. “We are very excited to test FireStar for RocketStar,” said Brent Abbott, CRO at Rogue Space Systems. “We look forward to considering it for future Rogue missions.”
Interstellar Communication Holdings Inc. (the “Company” or “Interstellar Communication”), a holding company that connects and consolidates space-related companies, today announced that it has signed a rideshare agreement with Alba Orbital, a global leader in PocketQube launch services, to launch its first icMercury PocketQube satellite via SpaceX in Q1 2025.PocketQubes represent a revolutionary advancement in satellite technology, offering a compact and cost-effective solution for space research and exploration. Despite their small size of 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm per unit (‘P’), PocketQubes retain impressive capabilities, making them ideal for a wide range of scientific, commercial, and educational applications. By leveraging these compact satellites, organizations can access space more affordably and efficiently than ever before.The 1.5P PocketQube satellite is scheduled to launch with Alba Orbital aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle in Q1 2025. This announcement marks a significant milestone for Interstellar Communication as it prepares to demonstrate icMercury service from space for the first time. With this mission, icMercury will showcase what users can access through the icMercury App via personal satellite service in the future."The Alba Orbital team is excited to welcome icMercury as our new rideshare customer," said Tom Walkinshaw, Founder and CEO of Alba Orbital. "This collaboration is a great example of how we’re enabling more innovative projects to reach orbit and creating new opportunities for exploration and discovery."“In partnership with Alba Orbital, icMercury's upcoming satellite launch via SpaceX represents a pivotal step toward making space more accessible and eco-friendly,” said Lijie Zhu, Chair of Interstellar Communication Holdings. “As your personal messenger to space, icMercury connects people to the wonders of the cosmos.”.
The goal is to transform the satellite mobility market by redefining chemical propulsion and leveraging falling launch costs.While chemical propulsion has dominated space since its inception, electric propulsion has rapidly gained market share in recent decades. Its main advantage is a 4- to 10-fold increase in fuel efficiency, which significantly reduces satellite mass and launch costs. As a result, most propulsion suppliers are now prioritizing electric propulsion systems and working to miniaturize them for small satellites.
Liftero uses nitrous oxide and hydrocarbon propellants that are self-pressurizing, eliminating the need for complex pressurization systems. The upcoming RED5 mission will test their 1 N thruster, with plans to offer thrusts up to 200 N. Their initial product provides a total impulse of up to 25 kNs with a flexible number of thrusters, and the company aims to develop larger systems with a total impulse of up to 500 kNs.
“Nitrous-based propulsion isn’t perfect, but after looking at all our options, it’s the best choice given what the market needs right now. There are more performant propellants out there, but they have some serious drawbacks, and nitrous ultimately comes out on top. We’re also seeing the market trend in this direction, with other companies successfully launching nitrous-based propulsion systems into space,” said Tomasz Palacz.As potential customers line up for 2025 and 2026 missions, Liftero plans to scale its production capabilities.The company remains focused on the upcoming RED5 mission, the success of which will pave the way for fulfilling orders from customers interested in Liftero’s products. The RED5 mission is planned for a one-year operation. However, once enough data confirms the technology works in orbit, Liftero will begin scaling up its production capabilities.
We recently stepped into one at Łukasiewicz – EMAG to carry out Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) tests ahead of our #RED5 mission, following strict military standards.
The propulsion demonstrator, developed for the RED5 mission, has passed all qualification testing and is now awaiting final satellite integration ahead of its launch onboard Transporter-13.
Iridium Satellite LLC (“Iridium”) seeks experimental special temporary authority (“STA”) to transmit in the 1618.725-1626.5 MHz band from its space stations1 in the manner described below in connection with the smallsat Winnebago-3, a spacecraft operated by Rocket Lab USA, which is scheduled to be launched no earlier than February 1, 2025.Iridium requests that its STA have a term of six months beginning February 1, 2025. Iridium asks that the license be issued by December 1, 2024, to satisfy the requirements of the launch integrators.As stated in Rocket Lab USA’s application for Winnebago-3, following on orbit tests the Winnebago-3 mission will culminate with the reentry of a small spacecraft capsule (0.9 meter diameter), that will make a terrestrial landing under parachutes at the Koonibba Test Range (KTR) in South Australia. An Iridium transceiver modem (model 9602) will communicate with the Iridium constellation from the return capsule after it separates and until it lands.
Following the successful Winnebago-1 mission and reentry, the remaining contracted Winnebago satellites (-2 through -4) are all in production and test. Winnebago-2 is flight ready and will be integrated onto Falcon-9 Transporter-12 for launch October 1, to reenter in Southern Australia’s Koonibba Test Range. Winnebago-3 and -4 are slotted for subsequent Transporter launches in 2025, re-entry locations to be announced.
In early 2025, RASCube-1 will launch into orbit aboard a space capsule, built by European start-up The Exploration Company. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the capsule into space, where it will orbit Earth for a short period of time, before returning to for a safe ocean landing and recovery. There are various payloads inside, built by school students from across the globe!
5 hours in the cleanroom in under a minute! Assembly of the RASCube-1 orbital space payload, set to launch in February 2025 aboard SpaceX.
Qualifying the RASCube-1 orbital payload for orbital flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket!
Quote from: OceanCat on 08/25/2023 10:26 amSAT-LOA-20230824-00211 YAC-1-1 on T11, YAC-1-2 .. YAC-1-10 on T12.QuoteLoft Orbital Solutions Inc. (“Loft Orbital”) requests authority to launch and operate a constellation of 10 satellites (“YAC-1”). YAC-1 is Loft Orbital’s first customer constellation, which will be the EarthDaily Analytics Corp. (“EarthDaily”) earth observation system. Each satellite in the YAC-1 constellation includes a VNIR imager, a SWIR imager, and a Thermal/IR imager. The satellites will be phased equally around the orbital plane and provide nearly daily coverage of major Earth land masses.The constellation is expected to be launched on two SpaceX Transporter missions.The first satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2024 and the remaining satellites in October 2024.The YAC-1 spacecraft are based on the AOS Arrow bus originally developed by Airbus for the OneWeb broadband telecommunications company.Basic physical dimensions are 1200 mm x 1052 mm x 1036 mm with a mass of approximately 216 kg.Attachments are in the T11 thread.a supplement from August 13, 2024:QuoteThe launch date for the first YAC-1 mission has moved to February 2025. Except as discussed above, there are no changes to the YAC-1 CONOPs based on the change to the launch date.https://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=29792161
SAT-LOA-20230824-00211 YAC-1-1 on T11, YAC-1-2 .. YAC-1-10 on T12.QuoteLoft Orbital Solutions Inc. (“Loft Orbital”) requests authority to launch and operate a constellation of 10 satellites (“YAC-1”). YAC-1 is Loft Orbital’s first customer constellation, which will be the EarthDaily Analytics Corp. (“EarthDaily”) earth observation system. Each satellite in the YAC-1 constellation includes a VNIR imager, a SWIR imager, and a Thermal/IR imager. The satellites will be phased equally around the orbital plane and provide nearly daily coverage of major Earth land masses.The constellation is expected to be launched on two SpaceX Transporter missions.The first satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2024 and the remaining satellites in October 2024.The YAC-1 spacecraft are based on the AOS Arrow bus originally developed by Airbus for the OneWeb broadband telecommunications company.Basic physical dimensions are 1200 mm x 1052 mm x 1036 mm with a mass of approximately 216 kg.Attachments are in the T11 thread.
Loft Orbital Solutions Inc. (“Loft Orbital”) requests authority to launch and operate a constellation of 10 satellites (“YAC-1”). YAC-1 is Loft Orbital’s first customer constellation, which will be the EarthDaily Analytics Corp. (“EarthDaily”) earth observation system. Each satellite in the YAC-1 constellation includes a VNIR imager, a SWIR imager, and a Thermal/IR imager. The satellites will be phased equally around the orbital plane and provide nearly daily coverage of major Earth land masses.The constellation is expected to be launched on two SpaceX Transporter missions.The first satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2024 and the remaining satellites in October 2024.The YAC-1 spacecraft are based on the AOS Arrow bus originally developed by Airbus for the OneWeb broadband telecommunications company.Basic physical dimensions are 1200 mm x 1052 mm x 1036 mm with a mass of approximately 216 kg.
The launch date for the first YAC-1 mission has moved to February 2025. Except as discussed above, there are no changes to the YAC-1 CONOPs based on the change to the launch date.
SpaceX is under contract to launch HotSat-2 in the first half of next year and HotSat-3 in the second half, SatVu (formerly Satellite Vu) CEO Anthony Baker told SpaceNews May 15.Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) is building both spacecraft, which would be similar to the 160-kilogram HotSat-1 demonstration satellite the British manufacturer provided for a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in June.
Suited, booted and masked for action in our Optical Payloads Clean Room.. SSTL's Hamilton Law is working here on the HotSat-2 Imager build.
Very nice to welcome @satellitevu's top team down here to Guildford to check out progress on their HotSat-2 MWIR (thermal) satellite.
ELaNa 64 and ELaNa 61Two CubeSat missions are to launch on SpaceX Transporter-13 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. REAL (Realistic Electron Atmospheric Loss) (3U) – Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire TRYAD (Terrestrial Rays Analysis and Detection) (6U) – Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
0829-EX-CN-2024Time Flies, 3U-XL from TrustPoint
Iridium Satellite LLC (“Iridium”) seeks an experimental license to transmit in the 1618.725-1626.5 MHz band from its space stations to a smallsat operated by TrustPoint, Inc. (“TrustPoint”) that will operate as the “Time Flies” experimental mission. Time Flies will consist of a 3U XL CubeSat spacecraft which will be launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, no earlier than February 1, 2025
As set forth in TrustPoint’s companion application, the goal of the mission is to test and demonstrate an in-orbit platform for innovative signal and service technology development and demonstration. With this mission, TrustPoint hopes to develop a commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Global Navigation Satellite System/Services (GNSS) at C-band frequencies.
Arkadia Space announces its collaboration with D-Orbit, a recognized leader in space transportation and logistics solutions, for the validation of its first product in orbit. This will be the first time Arkadia launches its propulsion module into space, making it the first company in Spain to place a chemical propulsion system in orbit.The propulsion module from Arkadia, which consists of a fuel tank (hydrogen peroxide), electronic systems, and two 5N monopropellant thrusters, has been designed, tested, and qualified solely by Arkadia’s team. To date, the module has successfully passed all the necessary tests to fly aboard D-Orbit. The inaugural flight is scheduled no sooner than March 2025 aboard the Transporter 13 mission. Vandenberg SFB, California, USAA historic milestone for ArkadiaThis propulsion system will become the first Spanish chemical propulsion system to fly in orbit, solidifying Arkadia Space as a pioneer in orbital propulsion for satellites and space vehicles. The primary objective of this mission is to validate in orbit the performance and operation of the 5N thrusters. Furthermore, it will serve to demonstrate the possibility of long-term storage of hydrogen peroxide, the green, safe, and efficient fuel that Arkadia is betting on as the real alternative to fuels traditionally used since the 1960s, such as hydrazine and its derivatives.“It is a source of pride for us to make history in the Spanish space sector and contribute to its growth. What the Arkadia Space team has achieved in such a short time is admirable, and we are now just one step away from demonstrating in orbit the capabilities of this first product, this team and this company. We expect to gain a lot of trust from customers after this flight and convince them how fast we can develop and deliver reliable propulsion systems” said Francho García, CEO of Arkadia Space.D-Orbit: A strategic and reliable partnerD-Orbit has been selected as a strategic collaboration for this mission due to its extensive experience and reliability in space missions. With a proven track record of successful launches, the cooperation with D-Orbit ensures maximum assurance and safety for the inaugural flight of Arkadia’s propulsion system. Aboard the ION platform, Arkadia Space will conduct its IoD/IOV flight, aiming to meet all its objectives. Furthermore, this mission not only strengthens the relationship between both companies but also opens the door to future collaborations on new missions, positioning Arkadia as a provider of high-quality propulsion solutions within industry.“We are very happy to collaborate with Arkadia on this mission. It has been a true pleasure working together and we look forward to testing their innovative technology in space.” Matteo Zeni, Sales Specialist, D-Orbit
As we gear up for our first flight in March (on the Transporter 13 mission) and many more exciting milestones, we want to take a moment to celebrate the people who make Arkadia Space what it is—our amazing team.
What's Next for ECHOES?In the coming months, the focus will be on the launch of the IOD.1 satellite, scheduled to be launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter 13 mission in March 2025, followed by the launch of IOD.2 on the Transporter 14 mission in July. This will enable ECHOES system to perform exercises under real-world conditions.The demonstrator is led by Startical, and brings together the following partners: Indra, ENAIRE, NAV Portugal, DLR, CRIDA, MITIGA.ECHOES project has received funding under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility programme under grant agreement No 101079448 under CINEA.
We are thrilled to partner with Dcubed for a groundbreaking mission in early 2025! As part of this #collaboration, our #spacecraft will carry Dcubed’s latest generation of actuators for an in-orbit demonstration, taking their technology to TRL 9 (Technology Readiness Level 9).The mission will launch aboard SpaceX Transporter-13, marking a key milestone in validating the performance of Dcubed’s actuators in space. We are proud to play a role in pushing the boundaries of space innovation!This collaboration reflects HEX20’s ongoing commitment to supporting advanced missions and building strong global partnerships. Stay tuned for more updates from #IAC2024 and beyond as we continue driving progress in space technology!
The company's maiden satellite, named Nila after Kerala's beloved river and the Technopark building it is based in, will be launched as part of SpaceX's Transporter-13 mission in Feb 2025.
Nila satellite will carry the payload for in-orbit demonstration from a German company, DCubed.
Nila is a 3U satellite (10cm x 30cm x 10cm) weighing under 5kg and will be sent to low earth orbit (LEO). The satellite will be built in six months, while the platform on which the satellite is based was built and refined over a period of more than a year.
Our Phase II SBIR Journey to develop a low-cost, quantum-resistant CubeSat is coming to an end (Photo is Benjamin, our senior Engineer who escorted our baby to New Hampshire and Bulgaria). Final testing, cleaning, and sealing is completed. Isidore Space COMSEC is now in Bulgaria being integrated into Rogue Space's Barry 2 Orbital Robot (Orbot) where it will then be shipped to Vandenberg AFB for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 onto a Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Rogue Space Systems Corporation (Rogue) announces its next mission featuring new mission capabilities and a compliment of commercial hosted payloads. The OTP-2 spacecraft is planned to launch NET February 2025. The primary objective of this mission will be the testing of Rogue’s developments in mission operations and algorithms for future In-Space Logistics services, requiring close-proximity maneuvering and docking. OTP-2 will have one undisclosed payload, a new propulsion system, an encryption system, a new edge computing device and 5 optical sensors in addition to the spacecraft’s star tracker. Additionally, Rogue will carry out the demonstration and on-orbit testing of these four cutting-edge payloads that will uniquely augment OTP-2. Rogue will be flying their next generation Scalable Compute Platform (SCP) to provide critical computer vision, autonomy, and AI computations through Edge Computing. Rogue will be using the SCP as a testbed for algorithms that will support future RPOD and Logistics operations like the new ASTRA autonomy system. Rouge will be testing ASTRA’s ability to autonomously maintain the spacecraft’s health and execute operational “goals” given to it by the operators, selecting appropriate actions to balance competing priorities and opportunities. Rogue is also offering commercial software hosting on board the SCP to customers to test out their algorithms in space. This effort will be supported by a customer test bench at Rogue HQ to confirm suitability before uploading to the satellite. https://rogue.space OTP-2 will also have 5 cameras of two classes that directly interface with the SCP. Rogue anticipates using OTP-2 as a cooperative target for the next RPO capable mission OTP-3 planned for launch in 2026. “This is a foundational next step for Rogue Space Systems, propelling us forward towards our vision of providing in space logistics services, and for establishing our credibility as a reliable in-space service provider” says Rogue’s CEO, Jon Beam. In addition to Rogue’s own custom technology, OTP-2 will be flying three other hosted payloads for some of the most exciting newcomers to the space market. Forward Edge AI will be flying their new Isidore Quantum® Space Enscamr to demonstrate protocol free quantum resistant encryption in a very small form factor. https://forwardedge.ai/product/ IVO Limited will be flying their new revolutionary Quantum Drive to demonstrate the world’s first propellant free pure electric propulsion system. http://ivolimited.us
OTP-2 update [Oct 17]QuoteOur Phase II SBIR Journey to develop a low-cost, quantum-resistant CubeSat is coming to an end (Photo is Benjamin, our senior Engineer who escorted our baby to New Hampshire and Bulgaria). Final testing, cleaning, and sealing is completed. Isidore Space COMSEC is now in Bulgaria being integrated into Rogue Space's Barry 2 Orbital Robot (Orbot) where it will then be shipped to Vandenberg AFB for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 onto a Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
The satellite will be launched aboard SpaceX Transporter 13, NET March 1, 2025, from Vandenberg Air Force Base. It will be inserted into a circular Sun synch orbit at 510 km altitude, on an inclination from the equator of 97.4 degrees. Atmospheric friction will slow the satellite and reduce the altitude of the orbit, until de-orbiting occurs about 5 years after launch. See the Orbital Debris Assessment Report for details.The spacecraft is a single unit (1U) CubeSat with the dimensions of 10x10x10cm. The total mass is about 2 kg. See the Orbital Debris Assessment Report for details.
An Iridium transceiver modem (model 9603) on HORIS-1 will communicate with the Iridium constellation.