Focus: Smallsats

Rideshare launch provider Spaceflight will send 10 additional nanosatellites into orbit for Internet of Things (IoT) network developer Astrocast in late 2021, the companies announced Feb. 6. The new contract […]

SpaceX is now accepting bookings for rideshare launches for small satellites.  Customers can now book a mission online by selecting their desired orbit, earliest launch date, and payload mass. SpaceX bills […]

Kinéis, a French IoT connectivity provider, has raised 100 million euro, reaching its capital target. Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), Bpifrance via the fund […]

Rocket Lab launched its first mission of the year — dubbed “Birds of a Feather” — on Friday at 02:56 UTC from the company’s Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s […]

Smallsat launcher Rocket Lab has started construction on a new Long Beach, California, facility which will serve as its headquarters, provide incremental production capacity, and Mission Control Center capabilities. The facility […]

MethaneSAT has selected Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) to develop and build the spacecraft bus for its first mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2022. The donor-funded mission aims to […]

Mission operators at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have lost contact with the Asteria CubeSat, which studies planets outside our solar system. The last successful communication with Asteria […]

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has designated Mitsubishi Electric as the prime contractor of the new satellite for Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-2, Mitsubishi Electric announced on Sunday.  Mitsubishi Electric aims […]

GomSpace (GS) and Lockheed Martin Space will develop and deliver a GS 6U nanosatellite to Orbital Micro Systems (OMS) in the United Kingdom, the companies announced Wednesday, Dec. 18. The […]

Capella Space announced Monday that in 2020, it will launch seven Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites and start commercial operations. The company bills itself as the first small satellite SAR […]

In a recent analysis, Frost & Sullivan forecasts that 20,425 satellites will be launched between 2019 and 2033, with North America leading the way, followed by Europe. The company says […]

Rocket Lab successfully launched its 10th Electron spacecraft on Friday morning. The launch delivered payloads for Spaceflight and Alba Orbital. The mission, “Running Out of Fingers,” lifted off from Rocket […]

Arabsat is one of the world’s biggest operators, and a major player in both the Middle East and Africa. However, like most traditional Geostationary Orbit (GEO) operators, it faces decisions […]

LeoSat’s ambitions to build a LEO constellation may not see the light of day now as Sky Perfect JSAT and Hispasat decided to pull back from in its investment in […]

NanoAvionics CEO Vytenis Buzas defines his small satellite-building business as an homage to the smart industrial practices of the American automobile industry. What emerged as a spinoff of Lithuania’s Vilnius […]

Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) today revealed its role in supporting MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s Agile MicroSatellite (AMS) mission. BCT will design, manufacture, and operate a 6U CubeSat the mission, which aims […]

Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) announced today that it has delivered a small satellite designed for NASA to measure the microphysical properties of cloud water and ice particles. […]

NASA selected two proposals to demonstrate small satellite technologies to improve science observations in deep space, which could help NASA develop better models to predict space weather events that can affect […]

Kleos Space, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance Sata-as-a-Service (DaaS) company, changed its launch provider to Spaceflight for the Scouting Mission1 satellites, which will now launch into a 37-degree inclination. Following the […]

Arianespace has revealed its GO-1 mission, a rideshare service for small satellites directly entering Geostationary Orbit (GEO). The mission will take place in the first half of 2022, and aims to […]

LeoLabs revealed LeoTrack, a commercial satellite tracking service for smallsat and cubesat operators. LeoTrack, delivered as a web-based subscription, offers satellite operators a range of monitoring capabilities, including precision tracking of […]

Ten years ago, our industry began to rethink the utility of the platform that had kicked off the space age, positing that smallsats offered untold commercial and scientific potential. While […]

OneWeb revealed the successful test of its six satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). All satellites delivered high-speed, low-latency services, with speed of more than 400 Megabits per Second (Mbps) which […]

Kleos Space, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data provider, completed all acceptance reviews and the satellites are mission-ready awaiting transport to RocketLab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. The satellites […]

An increase in U.S. government and military spending on launch services, combined with a sharp spike in small satellite activity and the emergence of commercial space travel and tourism will […]

Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) was selected by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Small Spacecraft Technology program and NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley — in collaboration with the University […]

HEMERIA, the space division of NEXEYA, and Thales Alenia Space signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on nanosatellites. HEMERIA design, supplies, integrates, and enables space systems and products help meet the needs of […]

Spaceflight will launch seven spacecraft from five organizations later this month on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 at the southern tip of Mahia Peninsula, on the east […]

The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is seeking information on services capable of conducting coordinated collection planning across multiple commercial satellite constellations, and advanced analytics on large volumes of commercial […]

Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) successfully deployed the de-orbit drag sail on-board TechDemoSat-1. The deployment of the Icarus-1 drag sail, which was supplied by Cranfield University, marks the end of mission operations […]