
Edinburgh, 30 September 2021. – Aistech Space SL has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd (OrbAstro) to fly its first Guardian mission, OrbAstro said.
OrbAstro´s ORB-6 satellite platform will host an Aistech multi-spectral imaging payload to enable commercial services, it said.
The aim of the mission is to address environmental sustainability. High-resolution thermal imaging service provider Aistech is planning to deploy a constellation of 20 thermal-enabled satellites altogether.
The multispectral telescope will be able to collect high-resolution infrared data for use in the public and private sectors. Aistech claims they want to tackle critical threats to the environment like forest fires, water waste, pollution, and illegal activity.
OrbAstro´s ORB-class platforms are specifically designed for the constellation market, the company says. They are equipped with Ultrascale+ and LPDDR4 based onboard computing, electric propulsion, full attitude determination and control system. They also have dual star-trackers, S-band transceivers, and optical communications terminals as per OrbAstro.
Launch is scheduled for Q4 2021 onboard a SpaceX rideshare mission.