Via Satellite presents five nominees for the 2021 Satellite Technology of the Year award, to be announced at the Via Satellite awards luncheon at SATELLITE 2022 on March 23.
Astroscale, ELSA-d (End-of-Life Services Demonstration) — The world’s first active mission dedicated to demonstrating debris docking and removal. ELSA-d consists of a servicer satellite with a magnetic docking mechanism and a client satellite. In less than a year, it set operational benchmarks for rendezvous and proximity missions and successfully tested capture and release of the client spacecraft. It will pave the way for Astroscale’s multi-client ELSA-M servicer.
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Capella Space, Capella Console SAR Self-Service Tasking Platform — The first online self-service portal allowing customers to directly task Capella’s synthetic aperture radar satellites, search the image library, and receive alerts when new acquisitions are ready — eliminating the need for a middleman. Customers include the U.S. Air Force, National Reconnaissance Office, and Space Development Agency.
LeoLabs, Costa Rica Space Radar Facility — LeoLabs’ fourth radar site, first in an equatorial region, and first in the Americas capable of tracking objects down to two centimeters. It completed LeoLabs’ coverage of all LEO inclinations and was credited with rapidly tracking debris from Russia’s November 2021 anti-satellite test. Space debris is involved in 97 percent of all potential LEO collisions, per its data.
QuadSAT, Antenna Calibration Drone System — UAV drones that provide antenna testing and calibration for satellite ground systems regardless of location, eliminating the need to transport antennas to test sites. QuadSAT performed validation campaigns for both OneWeb and SES in 2021.
Spaceflight, Sherpa Next-Generation In-Space Transportation Vehicles — A modular family of orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) that can serve as free-flying rideshare deployers or interplanetary transports. Sherpa-FX1 deployed on SpaceX Transporter-1 in January 2021; the industry’s first electric propulsion OTV (Sherpa-LTE1) flew in June 2021. By mid-2021, Sherpa OTVs had deployed 52 payloads for 15+ customers. VS
