General Atomics OTB Satellite Ready for Launch

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has completed full system and “ready for launch” pre-flight testing of its Orbital Test Bed (OTB) satellite. OTB will launch as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Technology Program (STP-2) flight on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The OTB hosts multiple payloads on a single platform for on-orbit technology demonstration.

Among the hosted payloads on OTB is NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Deep Space Atomic Clock, designed and built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which supports deep space navigation and exploration.

GA-EMS’ Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) OTB is a versatile, modular platform designed for the simultaneous launch of multiple demonstration payloads. Hosting multiple payloads on a single satellite eliminates the need for customers to bear the costly burden of a dedicated platform and launch.

“As the small satellite industry grows, the OTB hosted payload platform can increase the number of flight opportunities, reduce the cost to access space, and provide a more adaptable approach to managing the integration, launch, and on-orbit operations to support commercial, civil, educational, and military payloads,” said Nick Bucci, vice president of missile defense and space at GA-EMS.

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B-SAT Selects Arianespace to Launch its Next Satellite

NOAA is expanding its work with commercial satellite companies for weather data, working with 14 companies to acquire data across seven categories to improve weather forecasting.

NOAA announced partner companies to the Space-Based Environmental Monitoring indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract on Sept. 10, in an expansion of NOAA procures commercial data. The five-year base period begins on Sept. 1 and has a five-year base period and a five-year option that goes through Aug. 31, 2036.

Five companies were named to be eligible to provide GNSS-radio occultation (GNSS-RO) data for atmosphere profiling and ionospheric space weather: Spire Global, PlanetiQ, Ethereal Space, Precursor SPC, and Tomorrow.io.

Spire, Tomorrow.io, Muon Space are eligible to provide GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) data for land and ocean surface observations.

Four companies are eligible to provide microwave sounder data for traditional and hyperspectral atmospheric temperature and moisture measurements: Spire Global, Tomorrow.io, BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems; and Weather Stream.

Five companies are named for multispectral imagery which includes low-light and wildland fire applications: Ethereal Space, Tomorrow.io, Muon Space, Hydrosat, and Tropical Weather Analytics.

Spire Global, PlanetiQ, Ethereal Space, and SpaceX are named for thermospheric neutral density for satellite orbit predictions.

And four companies — Tomorrow.io, Care Weather Technologies, Iceye US, and Umbra lab are named for scatterometry, altimetry, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and K/Ka/Ku-band radar, to measure atmospheric features.

No vendors have been named for infrared sounders to provide atmospheric vertical temperature and moisture profiles.

“NOAA is maximizing the impact and value of high-quality environmental data provided by our commercial partners that will benefit the American weather enterprise,” said Taylor Jordan, NOAA assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction. “NOAA will support data streams and projects that harness cutting-edge instruments and science that advances our mission to protect lives, safeguard property, and strengthen the nation’s economy and national security.”

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