SmallSat 2017
Japanese company plans second launch of privately funded sounding rocket this year
A Japanese company whose first sounding rocket launch last month failed to reach space will try again by the end of the year as it continues work on a small launch vehicle.
Options grow for smallsats seeking secondary payload opportunities
As the number of small satellites seeking launch continues to grow, new opportunities are emerging fly those satellites as secondary payloads on other launches as well as tools to identify those opportunities.
Smallsat developers propose self-regulation to address orbital debris concerns
As the number of cubesats and other small satellites grows, experts advise that some degree of industry self-regulation will be needed to avoid collisions that could lead to more restrictive government regulations.
Teledyne Brown offers ISS platform for testing spacecraft parts in orbit before flying them for real
Teledyne Brown Engineering plans to install a hyperspectral imager built by the German Aerospace Center, DLR, in the firm’s International Space Station observatory in March.
With its first ground station, Clyde Space moves towards turnkey smallsat service
Clyde Space, a company well-known for manufacturing cubesats, commissioned its first ground station with an antenna installed on the roof of the company’s headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland.
British companies plan small satellite hosted payload mission
A British small satellite manufacturer and a startup company are partnering on a mission to fly a series of smallsats carrying hosted payloads of varying sizes.
Ursa Space Systems plans to track oil supplies around the world
Ursa Space Systems, a geospatial data and analytics company, announced plans to offer global reports on oil storage drawn from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data.
ELSE raises $3 million for Internet of Things nanosatellite constellation
A Swiss company with plans to deploy 64 cubesat-class spacecraft by 2021 to support Internet of Things applications has raised an initial $3 million funding round.
Smallsat industry seen as robust enough to survive any bubble
Is the smallsat industry in the midst of a bubble? Yes and no, according to one group of experts.
Smallsat market forecast to exceed $30 billion in coming decade
More than 6,200 smallsats are to be launched in the next 10 years, with the market value expected to reach up to $30.1 billion, compared with $8.9 billion in the previous decade, according to a report Euroconsult released last month.
Harris pivots from hosted payloads to small satellite
The company that played a leading role in promoting hosted payloads and sold excess space on Iridium Communications satellites, is turning its attention to small satellites “because that’s where the market is."
Clyde Space to build cubesat for Audacy technology demonstration
Audacy is seeking to establish a commercial version of NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, which transmits communications from satellites to ground stations.
NASA wants to hear from smallsat builders interested in hitching rides on SLS
"We are seeking your input,” said Kimberly Robinson, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s SLS secondary payloads manager. “We want to make flexible options and accommodate the type of cubesats you want to fly in the future.”
Smallsats need small propulsion. Boston startup Accion has a few big ideas.
Small satellites need their own propulsion systems because most of the widely used chemical and electric propulsion technologies don’t fit well on shoebox-size satellites and they are difficult to scale down. Natalya Bailey, co-founder of Accion Systems, is well aware of this problem.
York and Accion join forces to offer small satellite propulsion
York Space Systems, a Colorado startup planning to mass manufacture standard spacecraft buses, is joining forces with Accion Systems to offer customers the option of integrating Accion’s ion engine with their satellites.
NGA director supports commercial remote sensing regulatory reform
Facing increasing pressure from both industry and Congress, the head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency said the federal government is taking steps to streamline the licensing process for commercial remote sensing satellites.
Lithuanian nano-spacecraft industry player obtains 3.2M euros to commercialize propulsion system, performs successful in-orbit test
Lithuanian nano-spacecraft equipment maker NanoAvionics has announced the company secured some 3.2 million euros (US$3.7 million) in funding to commercialize its Enabling Propulsion System for Small Satellites (EPSS), and performed a successful in-orbit test of its chemical propulsion system onboard a CubeSat.
NGA director hopes to foster next “unicorn” by inviting innovators to feed at agency’s data trough
“Our idea is to invest the data into the U.S. economy, U.S. companies, universities and inventors,” NGA Director Robert Cardillo said Aug. 7 at the annual Conference on Small Satellites. “We give data and get back data and technology in return.”
Cubesat reliability a growing issue as industry matures
As cubesats move from technology demonstrations and university projects to operational missions for companies and government agencies, ensuring those spacecraft are sufficiently reliable is a growing issue for the industry.
CloudIX joins race to develop small rocket
CloudIX plans to conduct its first test flight in December of a prototype balloon-launched rocket designed to send cubesats into low Earth orbit.
