Exolaunch preparing eight Spire Lemurs for Soyuz flight

SAN FRANCISCO – German launch services provider Exolaunch is providing launch services and mission management for eight Spire Global satellites scheduled for liftoff July 5 on a Russian Soyuz rocket, the two companies said June 6.

Spire l…

iCubeSat 2019, 8th interplanetary CubeSat Workshop

iCubeSat 2019, the 8th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop
28-29 May 2019, Milan, Italy
www.iCubeSat.org

Download your conference poster at:
https://icubesat.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/20180526a_icubesat2019poster.pdf

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Sky and Space Global, low on cash, seeks new investors for IoT constellation

SAS Global, in an April 15 notice to the Australian Stock Exchange, said it needs to raise 7.2 million Australian dollars ($5.2 million) to prevent further delays with its constellation of low Earth orbit satellites.

Australian startup Fleet prepares Series A to fund next 10 satellites

Fleet Space Technologies will begin raising money next week from investors in a Series A financing round after service launch immediately filled its four cubesats with customers.

Mars cubesats fall silent

The twin cubesats that played a key role in NASA’s most recent Mars lander mission have been out of contact with the Earth for more than a month, suggesting their trailblazing mission has come to an end.

Kepler Communications raises $16 million for telecom constellation

Canadian satellite startup Kepler Communications raised $16 million from investors, securing funding to build and launch its first-generation constellation of up to 15 satellites, the company announced today.

ÅAC Clyde looks to constellations as future of business

ÅAC Clyde, the company being formed by Sweden’s ÅAC Microtec and Scotland’s Clyde Space, says its primary business is shifting from satellite subsystems to constellations as smallsat operators begin fielding more satellites.

“No encryption, no fly” rule proposed for smallsats

Small satellites that have propulsion systems, but don’t have encrypted commanding systems, pose a small but real threat of being hacked and endangering other satellites, according to a new study.

Cubesat co-inventor Jordi Puig-Suari sails into the sunset

Jordi Puig-Suari, the California Polytechnic State University professor who along with Bob Twiggs, now a professor at Morehead State University in Kentucky, invented the cubesat in 1999 as a university teaching tool, is preparing to head off into the sunset. Literally.

Kepler to co-develop third satellite with UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult

Kepler Communications, a Canadian startup designing a network of 140 telecom cubesats, has teamed up with the Satellite Applications Catapult in the U.K. to build a third and final prototype before pressing on with the full constellation.

Akash Systems raises $3.1 million to build its own line of energy-efficient cubesats

Akash Systems, a San Francisco startup that sells RF power amplifiers for satellites, announced Jan. 30 it has raised $3.1 million in seed round funding, which it plans to use to develop its own line of cubesats.

Swedish company to acquire cubesat manufacturer Clyde Space

Swedish space company ÅAC Microtec announced Dec. 22 it plans to acquire Scottish cubesat manufacturer Clyde Space, creating what the companies believe will be a dominant force in a growing sector of the industry.

Fleet details 100 nanosat constellation for Internet of Things connectivity

The space industry has at least 10 startups all wanting to use cubesats or other small satellites to help keep all manner of interoperable devices connected to a rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.

General Atomics ramping cubesat production, muses railgun smallsat launcher

General Atomics is better known for building Predator combat drones and mining uranium than building spacecraft, but that could change as the company develops an interest in building defense-focused cubesats.

Minotaur 4’s canceled commercial cubesat rideshares could spark policy changes

Following a decision to pull eight Spire commercial cubesats from an Orbital ATK Minotaur 4 launch from Cape Canaveral Aug. 26 carrying a military payload, the U.S. Air Force says it and other government agencies are crafting clear procedures on how to handle such future rideshare agreements.

Astro Digital announces first cubesats launched on Soyuz failed

Astro Digital has confirmed that two satellites it launched as secondary payloads on a Soyuz rocket in July have failed, joining several other satellites that mysteriously failed on that mission.