The contract covers InOrbit NOW Launch Service for two AAC Clyde Space ’s 6U CubeSats built for the Eutelsat LEO for Objects (ELO) Constellation
Fino Mornasco, October 8 th , 2020: Italian in-orbit transportation company D-Orbit has announced a launch service agreement with Swedish-British small satellite manufacturer AAC Clyde Space. The contract covers launch and deployment of two Eutelsat LEO for Objects (ELO) 6U CubeSats in 2021 developed and built by AAC Clyde Space.
Eutelsat’s ELO is a constellation that aims at providing global Internet of things (IoT) coverage from low Earth orbit to support sectors like transport, oil and gas, and agriculture. The constellation, in combination with ground infrastructures, will enable companies to gather data from tens of millions of objects, irrespective of their geographic location.
“We are very happy to have the opportunity to grow our relationship with AAC Clyde Space. The main goal behind the InOrbit NOW Launch Service is to turn D-Orbit into an essential element of the New Space revolution,” commented Renato Panesi, D-Orbit’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). “This contract with AAC Clyde Space is the latest of a series of launch agreements we signed with companies that are building innovative space infrastructures that will act as force multipliers for countless businesses here on Earth.”
According to the agreement, D-Orbit will launch and deploy the two AAC Clyde Space’ satellites on two separate missions. Taking full advantage of the versatility of D-Orbit's launch service, each mission will be tailored according to the customers' requirements in matter of timing and deployment, using either the company's proprietary deployers or ION Satellite Carrier, a spacecraft designed to transport a combination of small satellites to space and release them one by one in different orbital slots, after changing altitude, inclination, and RAAN before each release, according to customers’ needs.
“I’m thrilled that leading companies like AAC Clyde Space and Eutelsat see in D-Orbit the right partner to keep pioneering innovative solutions for the space market” commented Matteo Lorenzoni, InOrbit NOW Launch Strategy Manager.
D-Orbit is currently testing its first ION Satellite Carrier in orbit; the mission has already validated the company’s approach to satellite deployment.
About D-Orbit
D-Orbit is a New Space company with solutions covering the entire lifecycle of a space mission, including mission analysis and design, engineering, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch, mission control, and end-of-life decommissioning.
The company’s competitive advantage is the versatility of its launch and deployment services that can be tailored to the customer’s needs, from the launch procurement of a single spacecraft using standard deployment strategies to the precise deployment of a full constellation with ION Satellite Carrier, a satellite dispenser developed and operated by D-Orbit.
ION Satellite Carrier can host a batch of CubeSats or microsats with a total volume up to 64U or 160kg of mass and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, enabling deployment schemes previously unavailable to spacecraft with no independent propulsion.
Committed to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, D-Orbit is the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.
