Satellite Launch Business

HyImpulse Technologies and Adamant Composites have announced the successful completion of a hydrostatic burst test of a groundbreaking linerless Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. This marks a key milestone in developing HyImpulse's orbital Small Launcher SL1.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Avio have selected a consortium of the University of Nairobi (UoN), the University of Arizona (UA), and Space Trust as the first awardee of the ‘Accessing space with Vega C’ program. As a result, the team will launch a CubeSat, the NaSPUoN-0GPM2030, at no cost on board the Vega C rocket.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched the second developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) today, February 10, 2023, at 09:18 hours IST from the first launch pad at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. The SSLV-D2 mission aims to inject EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into a 450 km circular orbit in its 15-minute flight.

Ovzon AB has learned that there will be additional delays in finalizing the satellite Ovzon-3. Ovzon has also shifted launch provider to SpaceX to accommodate an updated launch window, with liftoff on a Falcon 9 rocket targeted between July and September 2023.

The 2023 edition of the Small Satellites & Services International Forum (SSSIF) will be held again in Malaga from February 21st through 23rd. The SSSIF aims to reflect and discuss the global market, present challenges and future needs, and also debate the necessary cooperation between the United States and Europe both at the level of space agencies and at the level of private companies. Furthermore, it will pay attention to the role of Space Agency missions and programs in Earth exploration and Government scientific missions and their applications for private initiatives.

NASA has invited U.S. and Indian space agencies dignitaries and media members to see the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)’s science payload in a Jet Propulsion Laboratory clean room. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar is an Earth science satellite that NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are jointly building. NASA invited the dignitaries to get a look at it before shipping it out to its last stop in Southern India before launching it into orbit. 

Space BD has announced the deployment of the CubeSat OPTIMAL-1 into space from the Japanese experimental module Kibo on the International Space Station (ISS) at 6 pm (JST) on Friday, January 6, 2023. Space BD provided all support for the deployment of the OPTIMAL-1. However, ArkEdge Space Inc., Pale Blue Inc., Seiren Co., Ltd., the University of Fukui, the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation developed the CubeSat.

Spacemind, the space division of the Italian company NPC, has successfully launched three Italian nanosatellites, DanteSat, Futura-SM1, and Futura-SM3, into orbit. The successful launch has also validated the operation of the new SMPod CubeSat deployer, onboard equipment, and a larger version of the Artica deorbiting sail.

Capitol Momentum, German research and market intelligence company, and UK-based space news outlet European Spaceflight have partnered to release an analysis on micro space launchers in Germany. The report is titled "The Road to the Launchpad: A Comparative Analysis of Germany’s Microlaunchers."

The first Lockheed Martin LM 400, a flexible, mid-sized satellite customizable for military, civil, or commercial users, rolled off the company’s digital factory production line and is advancing toward its planned 2023 launch. The agile LM 400 spacecraft bus design enables one platform to support multiple missions, including remote sensing, communications, imaging, radar, and persistent surveillance.