AstroForge has developed proprietary material-refining technology that it will use to extract PGMs from space rocks, said Gialich and fellow cofounder Jose Acain, who also serves as the company's chief technology officer.That technology has been tested in the lab, and it will soon get a chance to show its stuff off Earth, if all goes according to plan: AstroForge has booked a spot on a Falcon 9 "rideshare" mission that could launch as early as January 2023. That launch will send up, among other payloads, an AstroForge 6U cubesat that will extract platinum from a sample it totes to orbit. (The "U" in cubesat dimensions stands for "unit," a cube that measures 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, on a side.) That spacecraft is being built now by OrbAstro, a small-satellite specialist based in the U.K. and New Zealand.
İMECE satellite "walking clean room" [dated May 3]Google translate:Quote from: Anadolu AgencyIMECE, which will be launched from the USA, will serve in a synchronous orbit to the Sun at an altitude of 680 kilometers and will display images within 48 hours after launch. IMECE, which will obtain high-resolution images from all over the world without geographical restrictions, will serve Turkey in many areas such as detection and diagnosis, natural disasters, mapping, agricultural applications. The design duty life of the satellite, which can be used for civil and security purposes, is planned as 5 years.With IMECE, Turkey will have an electro-optical satellite camera with sub-meter resolution for the first time.IMECE will be launched on January 15th.
IMECE, which will be launched from the USA, will serve in a synchronous orbit to the Sun at an altitude of 680 kilometers and will display images within 48 hours after launch. IMECE, which will obtain high-resolution images from all over the world without geographical restrictions, will serve Turkey in many areas such as detection and diagnosis, natural disasters, mapping, agricultural applications. The design duty life of the satellite, which can be used for civil and security purposes, is planned as 5 years.With IMECE, Turkey will have an electro-optical satellite camera with sub-meter resolution for the first time.IMECE will be launched on January 15th.
He said a second prototype satellite Xona is building in-house called Muninn has secured a launch contract for deployment in early 2023.
We have exciting news!The name of our Pocketqube test satellite, which will be launched into space aboard SpaceX's Falcon9 rocket in January 2023, is now revealed! We represent you Satellite "Istanbul"!
Hello Space has signed a rideshare agreement with @AlbaOrbital to launch IoT Pico-satellite constellation via SpaceX. 🤩💫Together we will explore the depths of space! 🚀🚀#pocketqube #iot
Not sure how exactly the Istanbul satellite fits into this, and if this involves multiple launches or not.
Alba Orbital and Hello Space today announced a rideshare agreement to launch an Internet of Things (IoT) PocketQube satellite, ‘Istanbul’, aboard the upcoming ‘Alba Cluster 7’ mission via SpaceX in Q1 2023. ...‘Istanbul’, Hello Space’s first PocketQube satellite getting ready for launch in 2023, serves as an in-orbit demonstration mission for the company’s upcoming IoT constellation of 100 pico-satellites. The Turkish technology startup aims to improve device connectivity at much lower cost to existing ground based solutions, to provide global end-to-end data services for maritime, agricultural and industrial applications.Muzaffer Duysal, Co-Founder of Hello Space, gained national recognition after launching Turkey’s very first PocketQube with Alba Orbital and SpaceX in January 2022 as Captain of the Grizu-263a Space team. Designed by a team of students from Bülent Ecevit University, Grizu-263a was successfully deployed in-orbit via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on board Alba Orbital’s ‘Cluster ¾’ mission - the largest PocketQube launch in history to date.
Alba Orbital to launch pocket-sized satellite built by Romanian High School students with SpaceX in Q1 202315th August, 2022 -- Glasgow, UK -- Alba Orbital and RomSpace from the International Computing High School of Bucharest today announced a rideshare agreement to launch ‘ROM-2’, Romania’s first PocketQube satellite, aboard the upcoming ‘Alba Cluster 7’ mission via SpaceX in Q1 2023. ROM-2 (Romanian Orbital Mission) is a PocketQube satellite that measures 5x5x5cm and weighs 250g.
Satellite Vu signs second SpaceX launch contract to accelerate deployment of thermal monitoring capabilities from spaceQuoteThe deal follows on from their first deal signed with SpaceX in February, which will launch the first of Satellite Vu’s planned constellation of satellites in May 2023; meeting the urgent demand from businesses for data that can assist the energy transition.Basically, Satellite Vu announced today that their second satellite will launch on Transporter-10, but the press release also mentions that the first satellite (which was originally expected to launch on Transporter-7) was now scheduled for May 2023 (meaning Transporter-8).
The deal follows on from their first deal signed with SpaceX in February, which will launch the first of Satellite Vu’s planned constellation of satellites in May 2023; meeting the urgent demand from businesses for data that can assist the energy transition.
Request to Extend Launch DeadlineUmbra Lab, Inc. (“Umbra”) requests a sixty-day extension of Condition #21 of its license (CallSign S3095),1 requiring launch of all satellites by January 13, 2023. Additional time is requireddue to launch delays beyond Umbra’s control.Umbra is authorized to launch and operate six satellites under its License. Umbra has successfullylaunched three of its six authorized satellites and plans to launch two more satellites on theupcoming rideshare mission scheduled for December 2022. Condition #21 of the License providesthat “[t]his license will be null and void for any satellites not launched before January 13, 2023”(the “Launch Period”). Umbra is not able to meet the requirement for its sixth satellite due to adelay in the launch (until February 15, 2023), imposed by the launch services provider and beyondUmbra’s control. In an abundance of caution to allow for further minor launch delays, Umbrarequests an extension, until March 14, 2023, of the deployment deadline specified in Condition#21.Umbra understands that the Launch Period requirement is based on 47 C.F.R. §25.122(c)(2) andwas imposed to ensure that all authorized satellites deorbit within six (6) years. Umbra will be ableto comply with 47 C.F.R. §25.122(c)(2), regardless of launch date, by deorbiting the satellitewithin six (6) years using the propulsion system. Moreover, Umbra will not operate the satellitepast the end of the License term (January 13, 2028). The later launch is not expected to materiallyshorten the satellite’s lifetime, if at all. Under nominal conditions, the satellite would still havenearly five (5) years to operate, which is close to the maximum expected mission lifetime for thesatellite.Given the modest extension of the Launch Period and Umbra’s ability to ensure that the satellitedemises within the six-year License term through active deorbiting, Umbra submits that this briefextension of time is justified. Further, grant of this extension is in the public interest2 because itwould allow Umbra to continue providing its government and commercial customers with highqualitySAR imagery at a time when such imagery is in high demand as a result of world events.
Brief Description of the Mission: The Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density (LLITED) program consists of two nearly identical spacecraft, LLITED-A and LLITED-B, that will provide coincident measurements of Earth’s ionosphere and thermosphere layers to characterize the Equatorial Temperature Wind Anomaly (ETWA) and the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA).Identification of the anticipated launch vehicle and launch site: LLITED is manifested as part of the upcoming Momentus Vigoride OSV that is manifested on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-7. The mission orbit will have an apogee of 495 km and a perigee of 495 km and will be inclined about 96.4°.Identification of the proposed launch date and mission duration: The LLITED mission anticipates a launch in February 2023. The main mission phase is approximately 12 months.Description of the launch and deployment profile: The LLITED spacecraft will be deployed from the launch vehicle from a CubeSat dispenser. Typically, the launch vehicle will optimize separation timing to reduce the likelihood of collision between CubeSats. Both LLITED spacecraft combined will fill a single 3U slot in a flight qualified spacecraft dispenser.
VR-6 has a planned launch on a Falcon 9 rideshare presently scheduled for February2023. VR-6 will be affixed directly to the Falcon 9 vehicle and deployed into a targeted sunsynchronousorbit with approximately a 97 +/- 1 degree inclination and an insertion orbitbetween 480 to 520 km circular orbit.3 VR-6 will then conduct a series of maneuvers, duringwhich VR-6 will make minor inclination changes while staying within the 96 +/- 1 degree range.After separation from the launch vehicle, VR-6 will undergo commissioning and conductmaneuvers to a 495 km circular orbit, i.e., the “Second Orbit.” Upon completion, VR-6 willdeploy all of the customer payloads.4After the payload deployments, VR-6 will conduct two sets of maneuvers to test thecapabilities of the propulsion system. First, VR-6 will conduct LTAN change maneuvers bytransferring to a maximum 547 km x 547 km orbit, dwelling for approximately 30 days, andreturning to approximately a 495 km orbit.Second, VR-6 will conduct a 180° phase change maneuver by transferring to a maximum515 km orbit, dwelling for approximately 5 days, and returning to approximately a 495 km orbit.VR-6 will then deploy a demonstration solar array (distinct from the solar arrays used on thevehicle for nominal power generation) and conduct testing of the demonstration solar array.Upon completion of the demonstration solar array testing, VR-6 will relocate to a final410 km x 350 km elliptical end-of-life orbit. See Table 1 below (summarizing the relevantorbital parameters for the mission). Momentus calculates that VR-6 will have sufficientpropellant remaining at the conclusion of the mission to conduct further perigee reductionmaneuvers, which could reduce to months the demise of the VR-6.As demonstrated in the attached ODAR (see Exhibit 2), a 520 km circular sunsynchronousorbit would be the worst-case scenario in the assessment of orbital debris risk, andVR-6 would re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in approximately 11 years from that altitude.5 Atthe target final orbit, 410 km x 350 km, Momentus calculates that VR-6 will de-orbit withinapproximately 2 months, which complies with the FCC’s proposed new de-orbit requirements.6
4 See Exhibit 5. As explained in the attached ODAR, VR-6 includes a failsafe deployment timer. Thetimer system commences upon deployment and begins a countdown that will trigger the release of thedeployable customer payloads after seven days, which is intended to ensure deployment in the event thatthe VR-6 bus experiences a failure and Momentus is unable to command the deployment. See Exhibit 2.