Astranis secures another SpaceX Falcon 9 launch for additional GEO satellites
Astranis has signed a contract with SpaceX for another Falcon 9 launch, to launch five more MicroGEO satellites later this year.
These satellites are headed to Geostationary Orbit (GEO) to provide broadband data services for customers all around the world — customers such as Thaicom, a major satellite operator in Thailand, and APCO, an internet service provider in Mexico — where they will connect millions of people to affordable broadband internet. Once on-orbit, these five satellites will join the growing Astranis fleet.
On December 30, 2024, Astranis successfully launched four MicroGEO satellites on a dedicated Falcon 9, for customers in the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States. The satellites completed Initial Commissioning and on January 10th and began their orbit raise to GEO, where they will enter into service this summer.
This event followed the launch of the firm’s first first satellite, Arcturus, in 2023, which is operating on-orbit today, completing short-term demonstration missions for both commercial and U.S. government customers.
Astranis is scaling faster than any other GEO operator in history, and the company is now launching more satellites than the three biggest GEO incumbent satellite operators combined.
Astranis ia flying 5 MicroGEO satellites simultaneously on-orbit today, with more than 400 employees, and numerous upgrades to the firm’s in-house manufacturing and testing capacity. The company is pushing the boundaries on new technology for high orbits, both for their upcoming Omega satellites and for new defense programs with the U.S. Government, including Resilient GPS.
BlackSky wins multiple, multi-year contracts to accelerate the development of India’s commercial EO capabilities
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has won multi-year contracts that include assured access to subscription-based, low-latency, high-cadence imagery and AI-enabled analytics services.
The contracts also include the delivery of one, high-resolution, EO satellite and launch support operations as well as on-orbit maintenance services. These contracts have a combined eight-figure value.
With subscription-based assured access to BlackSky’s current high-cadence, real-time imagery and analytics services, the customer has guaranteed access and first-priority tasking capacity over their national and regional areas of interest.
Once operational, the high-resolution, electro-optical satellite will work in parallel to BlackSky’s dynamic monitoring constellation to deliver mission-relevant insights at industry-leading speeds.
“Contributing to the development of India’s commercial Earth observation capabilities is an immense honor, and we look forward to supporting our customer’s upcoming launch and on-orbit operations. BlackSky’s combined offering will provide India immediate foresight into critical events impacting the nation as it continues to expand its sovereign space capabilities over the next few years,” said Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO.
O’Toole continued, “The customer has taken an innovative two-part adoption approach toward accelerating its space-based monitoring capabilities by first taking advantage of our commercially operated model for on-orbit sensor systems, while simultaneously activating a Spectra® subscription, which provides immediate access to BlackSky’s high-resolution, low-latency imagery and AI-enabled analytics services.
www.blacksky.com
New space signatures for Copernicus Contributing Missions
Nineteen satellite data companies have signed agreements to provide new or enhanced services to the Copernicus program in their roles as Copernicus Contributing Missions.
During the 17th Space Conference in Brussels, ESA and the European Commission consolidated their commitment to providing commercial complementary data through Copernicus Contributing Missions (CCMs) by welcoming 10 established and well known Earth Observation (EO) data supply companies that recently signed contracts as part of the CCMs activity.
Six of the new signatories are major European space industry players that offer EO data from European satellites and four are well-known EO data providers offering commercial EO data from satellites that are not part of EU territory. There was also a symbolic ceremony for nine European space scale-ups already under contracts with ESA for CCM, which will become part of the Copernicus Space Data Ecosystem (CSDE), the key Copernicus data platform that offers free access to Copernicus Sentinel data on Earth’s land, oceans and atmosphere.
The integration of the nine European emerging CCM companies will further complement the existing large Sentinel data portfolio with additional complementary EO data.
The Copernicus Contributing Missions are commercial satellite missions that play a crucial role in delivering complementary Earth observation data to meet the needs of the Copernicus Services and the requirements of public authorities. The CCM program is funded by the European Commission and implemented by ESA.
Welcoming these additions as evidence of the growing importance of complementary commercial Earth observation data for the Copernicus programme, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs, Simonetta Cheli, said, “The combination of institutional and commercial data solutions allows us to maintain the global leadership of Copernicus
in Earth observation. The ESA Earth Observation directorate is providing a significant contribution to the Copernicus programme. With CCM activity and more, we are developing and evolving the Sentinel family at the same time. These events show ESA’s firm commitment in supporting the European Commission in keeping the Copernicus programme ahead of the game, by working very closely with our key European space industry players, to ensure that Copernicus remains the most advanced Earth Observation system in the world”.
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) has jointly signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space to develop Element #2 of its High-throughput Digital and Optical Network (HydRON).
HydRON is an advanced laser-based satellite system that will transform the way communications are handled in space. This phase will establish a satellite collector in LEO that is capable of connecting different orbital layers using cutting-edge optical technology.
Just as fiber optic cables revolutionized internet speeds on Earth, laser communications are set to transform how data is shared in space.
Today’s satellites face a growing challenge: they collect more data than they can efficiently transmit to Earth using traditional radio-frequency communications. By using laser technology instead, HydRON promises to dramatically increase the speed and security of space-based communications while reducing costs.
The system, developed with Thales Alenia Space in Italy, will work alongside Element #1 of HydRON—a ring of ten satellites in LEO, developed with Kepler Communications and announced last October—to create a comprehensive space communications infrastructure. Together, they will link satellites in various orbits—from LEO to GEO—with ground stations using laser technology.
Under this new contract, Thales Alenia Space will develop a crucial component of the HydRON system: a satellite collector in LEO equipped with advanced, laser communication terminals. This satellite will serve as a key relay point, receiving data from other satellites and transmitting it either to ground stations or to satellites in higher orbits.
Element #2 will provide global coverage and increased data processing capacity (throughput), enhancing the amount of data that can be transmitted per second while reducing the cost of sending each bit of information.
The project brings together expertise from across Europe. Thales Alenia Space in Italy leads the development and provides the on-board packet router—essentially the ‘brain’ that directs data traffic through the satellite. Mynaric contributes their advanced optical communication terminals that will transmit and receive the laser signals, while the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Officina Stellare are developing fixed and transportable optical ground stations respectively.
The HydRON Control Centre will be created by Telespazio with support from Thales (Romania), and Mbryonics is contributing optical testbed facilities to ensure the system’s reliability.
www.esa.int