SIA PRESIDENT’S REPORT – MEMBER NEWS FOR JANUARY 2020
Since our last SIA Member News Summary, press releases and posts from many SIA Members including Eutelsat, Iridium, Inmarsat, Lockheed Martin, OneWeb, Planet, SpaceX, Telesat and Viasat have released news. Please see the summary of stories and postings below and click on the COMPANY LINK for more details.
SPACEX On Jan 29th, SpaceX announced the successful launch and deployment of 60 new Starlink broadband satellites. The satellites were launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Earlier in the month, SpaceX successfully launched an additional batch of 60 Starlink satellites.
ONEWEB On Jan 27th, OneWeb announced that testing of the Company’s next batch of satellites had been completed and the 30 satellites have been attached to the Soyuz launch vehicle dispenser in preparation for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
PLANET On Jan 27th, Planet posted a blog written by Planet’s Chief Strategy Officer, Managing Director and Co-founder Robbie Schingler titled “The End of a Decade: The Start of a New Space Era”. In the post, Mr. Schingler writes, “Over the last decade, we’ve entered the era of the “Space Renaissance,” a rebirth of space activities that are accelerating innovation. Agile aerospace—a philosophy of spacecraft development that encourages rapid iteration—was largely just a thought-kernel in the minds of aerospace experts 10 years ago, and now it’s an ideal that many in the space industry are striving for.” For more details, please click on the PLANET link above.
VIASAT On Jan 21st, Viasat Inc., announced it had been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract worth a maximum ceiling of $90 million, to provide special warfare operators of the United States Air Force (USAF) with Viasat’s Battlefield Awareness Targeting System—Dismounted (BATS-D) handheld Link 16 radios (also known in the U.S. Department of Defense nomenclature as the AN/PRC-161 radio). In addition to equipment, the IDIQ award covers associated operator training and maintenance. BATS-D is the world’s first and only handheld Link 16 radio. It bridges a critical gap between air and ground forces by providing warfighters at the tactical edge with real-time, secure, reliable access to integrated air and ground information for improved situational awareness and enhanced close air support communications.
SIA PRESIDENT’S REPORT – MEMBER NEWS FOR JANUARY 2020
EUTELSAT On Jan 17th, Eutelsat announced that its EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite was successfully launched into Geostationary Transfer Orbit by Arianespace using an Ariane 5 rocket that lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana (pictured above). The separation of the all-electric satellite occurred after a 27-minute flight and the spacecraft systems checkout was successfully completed over a period of 3 hours. The EUTELSAT KONNECT communications satellite, features all-electric propulsion and operates in Ka-band. EUTELSAT KONNECT will assure full or partial coverage for up to 40 countries across Africa and 15 over Europe. Offering total capacity of 75 Gbps, by next autumn this high throughput satellite will allow the operator to provide Internet access services for both companies and individuals at up to 100 Mbps. (Photo credit: Arianespace.com)
PLANET On Jan 16th, Planet announced that its RapidEye constellation will be retired at the end of March 2020. “After 11 years of faithfully gathering imagery, it has aged gracefully, to say the least. RapidEye has gone above and beyond, making invaluable contributions to our global Earth observation dataset since being acquired from BlackBridge in 2015. The constellation has been in operation nearly four years longer than its design life and has generated the largest global archive of five meter satellite imagery to date. Having surpassed its mission, and in accordance with Planet’s satellite operating license, we have chosen to retire the satellites proactively, staying committed to space exploration best practices and space debris regulations.”
LOCKHEED MARTIN On Jan 16th, Lockheed Martin announced that a new era of space-based computing is now being tested in-orbit that will enable artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud networking and advanced satellite communications in a robust new software-defined architecture. Recently, athe Company launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft. Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months, and was funded completely by Lockheed Martin Research and Development funding. This orbital proving ground is validating payload hardware and software, and is packed with new technology that fits into a satellite the size of a shoebox.
TELESAT On Jan 14th, Telesat announced that Ball Aerospace and General Dynamics Mission Systems have agreed to collaborate with Telesat in separate demonstrations that will highlight how high-performing commercial satellite systems, such as Telesat LEO, can provide important advantages for the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center's Commercially Augmented Space Inter Networked Operations (CASINO) program. CASINO is focused on operationalizing Blackjack, a project of DARPA. Blackjack is demonstrating how the military can increase the resilience of its networks by using commercially-derived LEO satellite constellations to disaggregate space-based comms that support DoD missions.
INMARSAT On Jan 14th, Inmarsat and Orbit Communication Systems Ltd. (TASE: ORBI), a leading global provider of airborne communications and satellite-tracking maritime and ground-station solutions announced the development of an innovative new Ka-band multi-purpose airborne terminal. The compact Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT) 30WGX, featuring a 30-cm (12”) antenna, will be able to deliver high- throughput wideband communications via the Inmarsat Global Xpress worldwide network for a broad range of airborne platforms. Built to fulfill “anytime, anywhere” connectivity requirements, the lightweight, small-footprint terminal combines high performance with Orbit’s industry-leading reliability to address new opportunities in military aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Following certification, volume production of the terminal is planned for Orbit’s US-based facilities.
IRIDIUM On Jan 13th, Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced that on December 19, 2019 a Letter of Compliance was signed by the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), stating it has positively verified the operational and technical requirements as requested by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for Iridium to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service. The issuance of the letter formally authorizes SIA PRESIDENT’S REPORT – MEMBER NEWS FOR JANUARY 2020
Iridium to now provide satellite GMDSS service. GMDSS is a safety of life system that helps rescue mariners in emergency situations while at sea. IMSO serves as regulator for the system, which is partially comprised of satellite networks that transmit distress information to rescue coordination centers around the world, in addition to the dissemination of navigational and meteorological data to vessels at sea.
SPACEX On Jan 6th, SpaceX announced it had successfully launched its third launch of 60 new Starlink broadband satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Falcon 9 first stage supported a Starlink mission in May 2019, the Iridium-8 mission in January 2019, and the Telstar 18 VANTAGE mission in September 2018. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
INMARSAT On Jan 6th, Inmarsat and Get SAT, announced a successful demonstration and deployment of a unique Dual Sat terminal solution for U.S. government agencies. The innovative solution employs Get SAT’s lightweight micronized Milli SAT LM terminals using Inmarsat’s worldwide Global Xpress Ka-band network. The solution significantly reduces installation costs and efficiently manages communications-on-the-move. Dual Sat provides an antenna diversity solution for mobility platforms where obstructions such as ship’s superstructures would cause blockage for a single antenna system. This solution is ideal for the roll on, roll off requirements of Special Operations and Executive Staff onboard Afloat Forward Staging Bases (AFSB).
RETURN TO PRESIDENT’S REPORT WEB PAGE